The Video Shoot With Very Tiny VIPs: Nintendo Amiibo Character Figures

Here at Cine Rent West we're used to working with tight security.

We've had an armed guard stationed at the stage door to make sure nobody got an unauthorized photo of next season's basketball shoe.

We've had agents patrolling the hallways to make sure their celebrity clients were not being "approached."

But we've only had one production that was locked down so tight, there were personnel assigned to keep eyes on the talent every second of the production day.

Then again, these weren't your run-of-the-mill star athletes or actors. These were the yet-to-be-released international superstars of gaming: The amiibo character figures from Nintendo.

Standing about three inches tall and made of durable plastic, these figures have been embedded with special circuitry. When you tap one against (or just hold near) certain consoles, they connect via the Near-Field Communication reader, unlocking all sorts of bonus features in compatible games.

The figure itself may even jump into the game.

We freely admit we have no idea how any of this works. But if it makes millions of kids around the world happy, we're all for it.

This particular Nintendo shoot was done on a table top and featured characters like Mario, Link, Yoshi, and Pikachu. The production was directed by Juliana Lukasik of the @Large agency with Shawn Sundby as DP. A group of really cute little kids provided the human talent.

As you might imagine, there was a strict no-photo policy on the set. But @Large was kind enough to share several of their production stills (see below).