Over the course of a pulsing and climactic minute, the 2017 Cloadfoam film will seamlessly slingshot between four distinct characters, each styling one of the range’s looks. Our action will be quick and smooth — distinctly real-time — but at regular intervals, during key product moments, we’ll shift gears dramatically and snap into ‘oozing’ slow motion that’ll not only allow us to highlight the product in almost photographic compositions, but enable us to draw attention to particular design features and benefits, with the aid of animatied on-screen graphic overlays. Our spot will resolve with the realization that our characters were racing to meet each other, and catch a view where our setting compliments the collection’s silhouettes and colors.

The top priority of this spot is reinforcing the lightness and almost weightless effect of the cloudform technology in every aspect of our filmmaking.

This will start with performance: as a runner, I know that tough days are trudging while good ones can feel as though your feet don't even touch the ground. We'll work with our talent to ensure that their stride minimizes impact and their facial expressions combine the confident determination of someone well within their comfort zone tone with the exuberance of leisure and play more than the laborious grind of the workout. And we won’t shy away from eye contact with the camera. This will establish an assured tone and set us up for POV tricks we’ll play in the lead-up to our closing composition.

Likewise our cinematography will aid to this effect. Our real-time shots will float — smooth and symmetrical camera blocking achieved through composed and choreographed Steadicam or dolly moves. Our slow motion product moments will have that almost indescribable effect of the ultra-slow motion only possible with a Phantom camera: somewhere between a memory and a dream, we'll see every movement of the ankle articulated in way that freezes feet above ground and draws attention to impact being absorbed by cushioning (see my Levi’s Commuter 2015 film below).

Our setting will be an exercise in contrasts: Crisp, sharp, angular architecture made of glass and shining steel meeting blue skies and clouds will dominate our skylines, while a blur of concrete, brick and rolling shutter doors fill out backgrounds at the ground level. While these settings may combine stark cold modernism with grittier industrial construction, they’ll be unified by their limited color palette, which will create muted backdrops against which our product will pop out and shine. Once in our interior location (stairs), we’ll rely on the geometric lines of the steps themselves to create a clean, uncrowded composition that’ll accommodate and compliment the animated overlay graphics.

Match-cuts will leverage persistence of vision to link us between two characters at a moment that heightens both their difference and similarities. This will happen both during portrait moments — showing the unique characteristics of each of our characters, while reminding us of everyone’s similarities — and during product shots — showing off the range in the collection while unique features better than a side-by-side comparison (see my film for Globe below). Executing these kinds of match cuts immediately before or during transitions into our slow motion product callouts, will not only heighten the effect, but accurately suggest that this or that feature actually exists across the entire range.

Our shooting strategy will be characterized by percise and composed cinematography. Far from the ‘running-around’ documentary-style shooting better suited to lookbooks, we’ll plan and execute a precise sholist that will fit into a very tight edit. Distances will be measured to ensure seamless match cuts between characters, and when possible, test shoots will help us to pre-determine composition and blocking. When our camera’s not static (sometimes necessary for very high-speed capture), smooth movements will be achievied with a dolly or slider. We’ll opt for Steadicam or other lightweight gimbal system place of handheld camerawork. Though it’s too early to decide on gear, and what’s listed above is enough to fill a day, this project seems like an interesting opportunity to utilize a Snorricam or similar rig, which would smooth out the talent’s movements and very clearly separate them from the background.




As our product shots slow to the syrup-paced slow motion of our technical highlights, they’ll come alive in a different dimesion with vivid animated graphic overlays that blossom out of the product and track smoothly along with the motion, indicating a feature and conveying the fuctionality. As the primary effect of these graphics will be to further suggest the light and airy cushioning of the Cloudfoam technology, they’ll bouce along with the feel, a weightless layer above. The design of the titles themselves will be uncluttered and rely on clean lines that compliment the architecture and stand in contrast to the smooth forms of the footwear.

This project presents a unique opportunity to combine and reimagine techniques I’ve leveraged in past projects. We’ll weave together the distinct narrative threads of our characters in a style similar to my 2012 Levi’s Commuter film, the match cuts between our scenes and characters will build upon a technique I employed in this 2014 film for Globe, and the slow-motion product call outs will be similar to the way we helped Levi’s launch their Commuter line for women last year, with more complex and engaging graphic overlays. Finally our edit will borrow from the tone, pace, and energy from my 2014 film that re-launched PONY, ricocheting off the characters with dynamic camera movements to ratchet up energy.

Thanks,
     
         — Felipe