Star director Michael Steiner on the shooting set

A roaring log fire at the touch of button

Swisscom TV introduces the best log fire Switzerland has ever seen

Slow TV has never been so inviting, so warm – so Swiss. In an exclusive for Swisscom TV, Michael Steiner, the director of “Wolkenbruch’s Wondrous Journey into the Arms of a Shiksa”, remakes a classic.

Roger Baur, Corporate Journalist
11 February 2019

A burning log fire has got to be the least eventful TV viewing of all time. That being said, a blazing, crackling fire makes a pleasant change to the usual rapid cuts and frenzied sequences. This is what inspired director Michael Steiner (of “Wolkenbruch’s Wondrous Journey into the Arms of a Shiksa”, “Rascals on the Road” and “Grounding” fame) to take on the remake of the quintessential Swiss log fire, in an exclusive for Swisscom. The finished product should be like Swisscom TV itself – made in Switzerland, made for Switzerland. And, of course, it has to be wood sourced from the Swiss Napfgebiet region.

Benchmarking by top director Michael Steiner. Countless international log-fire productions were analysed.
Only the very best hand-cut, seasoned beech wood from the Swiss Napf region was used in the making of Füürabig.
Numerous fireplaces were up for the role.
Markus Gisi is one of the full-time innovators behind Swisscom TV. On Michael Steiner’s set, he was responsible for some truly special effects.

This somewhat tongue-in-cheek promotion is designed to show that, in its quest to serve its customers, even the most uninspiring programming is better with Swisscom – and that the company’s TV product is honed to the very last detail. “Füürabig is like Swisscom TV itself,” explains Markus Gisi, Head of TV Product Management & Experience Development at Swisscom. “Just like Swisscom TV, it was developed and will continue to grow in Switzerland.” He goes on to say that a number of employees across a range of units are engaged in rethinking our understanding of television and further improving the offering on an ongoing basis. “There are very specific requirements and interests at play in a multilingual country such as Switzerland. The in-house nature of our development allows us to take these into account wherever possible,” continues Gisi.

From the outset, therefore, it was a given that the very best Swiss film crew around should be put in charge of making this unique show. With “Füürabig”, the decision-makers spared no expense in producing what Gisi refers to as “the best log fire Switzerland has ever seen”, employing only the very best in camera, props and special effects experts that Switzerland has to offer. At 120 minutes in length, “Füürabig” is exclusively available to Swisscom TV customers in UHD/HDR resolution and features special effects in minute 85. That’s when viewers will see a unicorn flying into the flames. We kid you not.