Looking at the full spread (which also appears in the mag but I admit I did not inspect it closely at the time) it looks as if what *might* have happened is that the horizon line was hitting the models near thigh height, and someone said "hey, let's arrange them to fit the horizon line" and thence followed a lot of minute adjustments of camera height, and a lot of yelling and shuffling models around and adjusting poses (by radio, natch because the distances were pretty great).
This admirably fits Rob's model of "look, we're burning a couple million bucks here, best we generate a great deal of activity to make it look like we're earning our lunch, eh?"
I can visualize a lot of similar things "Nah nah nah that truck's color is all wrong it's got to match her purse, wot? Go round me up another truck, but it's got to be THAT color, see? see? Here, take the purse with you to the lot and pick out the right truck this time and make it snappy!" all for an out of focus blob in the distance.
Even if it is just a scam to fluff up the budgets, does it work?
elliot, do you believe that these surrealist (if that's even the right word) elements affect us even if we don't consciously note them? Your remarks suggest that you do?