PROJECT: Cotton Citizen Anthem
GOAL: In this 60 sec. commercial, we will show a quick glimpse into how the products are made and the lifestyle of the people who wear them. This is a fast-paced, upbeat, lifestyle piece that shows Cotton Citizen in a way that people can watch and get excited about. By keeping it short and sweet, we allow ourselves to keep the viewers attention and raise our chances of it being shared with others. We will shoot in a variety of locations and scenarios to show that Cotton Citizen can be worn anywhere, in just about any situation. For example: We'll show a girl going to do her laundry at the laundromat, and then cut to a scene of another person going out with friends...showing the contrast of how/where these clothes can be worn. The goal is not to get too in depth. It's light-hearted and fast moving, never staying in one place too long. We're just showing glimpses into these different scenarios.
THE EXPERIENCE: We will open on a wide shot inside the busy LA facility, cut to a sign or sticker or something that says "Made in America", then cut to a quick sequence of tighter shots of the products being sewn together, dyed, brushed off, etc...basically showing that a lot of hard work goes into making them. We will then start to bring in the "lifestyle" element: showing different moments of people wearing the products in different environments. We'll continue to cut back and forth from the products being made, to people wearing them.
"MOMENTS": Here's some of the lifestyle moments that I think would be good to happen throughout the piece. We can set up these scenarios however we want, but the key to getting great stuff with this, is putting people in a real-life situation and let them be real on camera. (We can brainstorm together and add in more of these that we come up with, collectively, that represent the brand in the right way. These are just examples.)
- a girl getting up in the morning and throwing on a pair of sweats and a shirt and walking down the hallway
-a guy throwing on a shirt and going for a run
-girl going to a laundromat to do laundry.
-in an apartment with a guy and girl, flirting.
-inside a dimly lit music studio where a group of people are hanging out and making music, etc...
-group of a few friends doing a donut run late at night
-friends hanging out on someone's porch or driveway
-girl looking in the mirror at herself before leaving the house
How We Will Accomplish This:
CINEMATOGRAPHY- The camera will almost always be handheld and constantly moving. By doing this, we keep the eyes of the viewer moving and the energy of the piece very high. We are often right up in the action, making the camera feel like another person in the room. We will always be shooting in the best light possible. This means planning ahead and scouting our locations before we shoot them, to check when the light will be best. Majority of shooting will be during the hours of sunset and sunrise.
Camera........Arri Amira or Red Epic: These are cinema cameras that are fairly small and compact. They allow us to achieve top cinema quality footage but with a hand-held style that we are going for.
Lenses..........Zeiss CP2's or Cooke mini S4's: These are both cinema lenses that have a distinct look that will give a unique quality to the overall look of the finished piece.
SOUND DESIGN- Sound Design takes your project from pretty good to GREAT. After the edit is complete, we will go through and add-in a professional sound design to the entire piece. Adding in subtle sounds like: machinery, sewing, dye spraying, feet running on the ground, people laughing, etc...This is one of the biggest thing that people overlook when it comes to commercials. Hearing all those things makes you feel a commercial in a way that you couldn't without it.
Here is a couple examples of good sound design:
COLOR: The majority of the "look" of the commercial is done in-camera. The magic takes place afterwards, though. We will color grade the commercial to fit the style and overall aesthetic of cotton citizen. It will have a beautiful filmic, yet professional look.
LA FACILITIES- We will shoot in the LA facilities, showing a few products going from start to finish. We will see the hands-on care these products get, and the unique dyeing process that they go through.
------------------------
Visual References:
Here are a few commercial's that are similar to what we are going for.
- New Balance: https://vimeo.com/99662110
- Spotify: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMGwPYGPEJs&feature=youtu.be
Thank you for taking the time to look this over. I hope this is something that you are interested in, and we can move forward with it. I am definitely already excited about it. I think we could make something epic, and it'd be a great thing for Cotton Citizen.