Commuters on Deception Pass Bridge experienced some delays early this week due to a film crew shooting a fancy car commercial.

The crew captured shots of several different Audi models driving across the picturesque bridge. The film crew was from Tilt + Creative Production, a company out of Richmond, Virginia.

Every 15 minutes or so over a period of three hours, the crew stopped traffic so an all-black car mounted with a crane attached to a camera could film the moving vehicles. According to camera assistant Ethan Scoma, the car is known as a Russian arm in the film industry – recently renamed to U-Crane because the company that makes them is actually based in Ukraine.

Laura Hilton, film liaison for Whidbey and Camano islands, said this is one of many commercials that have been filmed on the island this year. In January, T-Mobile also shot a commercial at Deception Pass Bridge. In March, Hyundai captured photography and video at several locations but primarily featured historic Coupeville. Last spring, Taco Time filmed a commercial at Deception Pass State Park.

“In past years we’ve worked with REI, Nike, Asics, Nordstrom, GMC, Lexus, Volkswagen and many other companies,” Hilton wrote in email. “Our rural roads are particularly beautiful for filming car commercials.”

Hilton believed that Washington will be seeing more film shoots in the years to come, as a bill was passed by the state legislature this year that quadruples the funds allotted for incentivizing film production in the state.

“I feel that screen productions are a great fit for the island, since they contribute to our local economy in a multitude of ways without trying to change who we are and, in fact, showcasing the beauty of our island home,” Hilton said.

Photo by Rachel Rosen/Whidbey News-Times The car mounted with a crane and camera films an Audi for a commercial shot at Deception Pass Bridge.

Photo by Rachel Rosen/Whidbey News-Times Members of Tilt + Creative Production gather in a parking lot adjacent to the deception Pass Bridge where an Audi commercial was filmed early this week.