I think this is our best bet, and a technique that really sets us apart.
I want to get some amazing and unique filters on this project that allow us to create the effect we want that communicates our “express recovery” while adding an even deeper layer to the project through this creative choice. By using the same techniques to help sell our reveal at the beginning of the spot, I believe we can not only have a visual hook that engages the viewer right from the get go but create a technique that ties our visuals to our characters hope for the future.
First off, let’s chat the beginning of the spot before our moment. When it comes to opening on a white wall or a studio backdrop, I think it’s effective— but let’s face it: we have seen this type of visual before. We need to ask ourselves, what does this choice do to serve our story? Logistically, we need to mask where they are so that we can focus on the emotion of their lines before realizing they are speaking to a doctor. We also want to avoid dressing multiple sets or moving locations so we can maximize our shooting time on set. We can solve both these puzzles effectively and beautifully with dynamic filtration.
We can hone in on the effect we want with some testing before the shoot… But I am picturing us using blur and refraction— to brighten, bloom, and distort the environment around our hero character when the spot starts. We get to focus on their words and emotion… right up until a SNAP— The filter drops off right when we reach our middle beat for a moment of clarity. That blur and distortion on the edges of the frame are gone, revealing the familiarity of the doctor's office, before we turn to the doctor to get their line.
For the second half of the spot, that’s where the real fun starts. Now we get to lean on some of the slow shutter effects in the references you sent, but with the addition of the filtration for shots and blocking that don’t have a ton of inherent camera or subject movement. That’s where we can use the refraction of the filters to create the “movement” we are seeing on screen, without suggesting that our heroes are jumping the gun on their physical recovery.
One important note on this— A lot of the references you will see in this treatment probably lean a little “dream-like” for my taste. The blessing and the curse of delving into new visual territory is that sometimes it can be difficult to find good references! But to me, this is an exciting thing. We are going to look into filters, perhaps even building some custom ones, that reflect more of that linear “motion streaking” look rather than the more “orbital” dreamy look you see in some of these. Why I want you to look at these references is so that you get an idea of how beautiful a filtered look can be— but noting ours will be unique to us and our “motion” focused aesthetic.
To root the technique even further in our story, I think we are doing something really powerful using the filters in the beginning of the spot alongside the hopeful moments of recover in the second half. It further emphasizes that those potentially worrying thoughts about recovery are in fact changed with the help of Exparel— that the moments of recovery we are showing with the same technique aren’t wistful daydreams, but a concrete reality to look forward to.
Hopefully, you feel the same.