THE PROJECT
In this industry of media production, you don't really have competitors...more like an endless supply of colleagues and collaborators. For this project, we partnered with Owen Braley of We Are Prophecy, a company that focused in creative media campaign creation for brands. Both of us collaborated on the creative concept and the shot list, we asked some friends to volunteer their time (and maybe a couple of toes❄️), and we got to work.
DELIVERABLES:
- 2 custom branded coffee video ads
- 2 vertically resized social media videos
- Series of action and product photos
THE GOALS
We wanted to make a "spec ad" to use as a concept pitch to a few brands that we were hoping to collaborate with in the coming months. We chose two coffee brands that seemed to fit the energy and the style that we wanted to aim for, First Ascent Coffee and Bearded Man Coffee.
Cold plunging is becoming a common practice among health and wellness thought leaders (like Wim Hoff) because of its circulatory, energy, and recovery benefits...but it is still outside the norm for the everyday person. We wanted to capture this increasingly mainstream trend and pair it with a warm cup of coffee to seal the deal for our target audience.
Spec Ad
noun.
an advertisement made without being commissioned.
Often used as a proof of concept to show future clients.
THE SHOOT
We began shooting at 6:00am to capture that beautiful blue hour and sunrise over the red hills in Golden, CO. We hiked along the river to find the perfect spot to have the talent jump in for their cold plunge but we had a little bit of trouble finding the best spot because of how covered-in-ice the river was from a recent cold snap. Eventually, we found a spot where the water wasn't too fast and the talent could quickly get in and out easily and run to their towels patiently waiting on the shore.
In total, the shoot took about 4 hours thanks to some purposefully agile camera/audio setups and good pre-production planning.
THE EDIT
For this edit, I wanted to go for a very personal experience that the viewer could really feel. This was to be achieved through lots of tight shots of faces, feet, details, and a well crafted sound design. We want the audience to think...
"who are those crazy people getting up before the sun rises to jump in a freezing river? They must know something we don't."
We alternate between calm, slow moments and quick cuts to help sell the adventure and the ups and downs of their journey. Not all adventures are crazy, action-packed thrill rides. Sometimes, it is just making yourself a little uncomfortable in order to better connect with your body, soul, and those you love.
The sound design was created with natural audio that was captured mostly on set along with some custom foley. It was spliced and layered together specifically to elicit a dreamlike experience.
The final turnaround time for this project and all deliverables was 3 days.
