mini TREATMENT BY
DYLAN MARANDA
and
WILDGIFT
As always— a true pleasure to get to share ideas with you within the foundation of our working relationship.
I can't begin to express the gratitude I have for the trust that we've built together over the years. I know for a fact I have made the best work of my career under the umbrella of this collaboration, and I want this campaign to be no different.
You have an amazing idea here— I hope you know me well enough to trust that I am not just saying that. This is one of the most exciting briefs I have ever been given, as it combines many of the themes and filmmaking techniques that excite me most as an artist.
I can’t wait to get nitty-gritty with you on these ideas, but know that, like every treatment, I see this as a starting point for discussion rather than an end-all, be-all. If something feels off in this, let me know, and we can hash it out.
All that said, let's dive in...
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“GREAT STYLE CAN COME FROM ANYWHERE AND ANYONE”
This really struck a chord with me when we had our brief.
The democratisation of fashion is a mission worth striving for, but what you've so keenly honed in on is that it's the people who wear a brand that truly make it.
Real people, with real stories... who make the everyday amazing.
We all have these people in our lives. It could be the incredibly overeducated high school teacher who encouraged us to write (thanks, Mrs Yeung!), the longstanding leader of a community tradition, the librarian everyone knows, the chef of a local institution, the building concierge who gives treats to all the dogs, or the coach who leads a high school team to a surprise championship.
They are people who are amazing to begin with, but it's through JCPenney and the way it celebrates them that they not only look amazing, but finally feel amazing.
We are showing that the extraordinary exists, that the magic created by everyday people is always present — but through the brand and the way we capture them, our everyday people are able to realize just how special they are, and we as viewers get to witness that on screen.
That's what is core to this idea. It's what has me so excited. Every filmmaking decision I discuss after this is tied back to this thesis.
So how does that show up in filmmaking technique...
KEY REFERENCES
Have a watch of these two if you haven’t already. These are strong anchor references I will be coming back to in this treatment...
Our spots, for all intents and purposes, are small documentaries. But I want you to throw everything you think you know about the aesthetics and conventions of "non-fiction content" out the window.
What I want to point you towards is the documentary concept of "Magical Realism," or what I like to call Sur/Realism.
This is something that usually shows up more in a photographic tradition, but it's a primary interest of mine as a filmmaker: translating this concept into the moving image.
I'll save you the long, boringly academic description of the idea and put it very simply:
What I want to attempt is to marry the non-fiction real with the aesthetically sublime in every frame. To widen the spectrum between what's grounded and unfolding naturally in front of us and the magical undertone that makes the people we're filming feel extraordinary.
That can mean a lot of things, but in the case of our spots, it's how we make our subjects and the clothes themselves feel special.
Whether it's the patience of waiting for the perfect light, the symmetry of a composition, an in-between moment that unexpectedly stands out, or a subtle breaking of the fourth wall.
Every frame should feel like a painting.
Intentional, composed, and beautiful — only to be contrasted by what unfolds within it, something incredibly human, raw, and alive in the moment.
See where I'm getting at here?
Hopefully I still have you ❤️
Now, when it comes to these two references specifically, both are shot with this effect, but I would place them on opposite ends of the spectrum.
I want our films to fall somewhere in the middle, keeping a hint of the irreverence from The Golden Spurtle, a touch of the soulfulness of Laurel from the Mountain, but injecting an editorial fashion sensibility throughout — all while maintaining that dreamy, perfect light, locked-off portraiture, and a highly refined, composed documentary approach.
This is all in service of creating something that feels truly special, stylish, and elevated, while remaining noticeably grounded in the richness of everyday life...
Kind of exactly how we want our JCPenney styling to treat our film heroes.
Let's talk about this for a moment, as I believe this is where we make or break these spots.
I spent 12+ years as a touring theatre actor with formal training, so it might surprise you to hear that I deeply enjoy working with real people, or "non-actors," in this capacity. In fact, probably close to 50% of my reel has been cast this way, so I have quite a bit of experience with this style of working.
What I want to share is this...
This type of casting always, always, always works best when we give real people the chance to play themselves on camera.
This is very different from casting real people and asking them to act. That doesn't work.
Now, that doesn't mean real people can't be pushed, asked to try new things, coached into being vulnerable, helped through a difficult process, or give amazing and moving performances. Quite the contrary— I find that real people, when given the safe space to explore their true selves, can give you moments on camera that will take your breath away. However, it's important to start from a foundation of trust and safety, and to maintain that throughout the entire shooting process.
What we're asking people to do is be vulnerable, and that's hard. But where I feel I excel as a director is in demystifying that process, keeping the shoot fun and collaborative, and always keeping the talent top of mind. I find that, in the end, almost everyone walks away thanking us for creating such a unique space for self-exploration, and we get to leave with some truly incredible moments on camera.
I'll tell you what I say to every non-actor I work with right off the top, because I think it holds true for how we need to think about these characters from start to finish:
"I will never ask you to perform as anyone other than yourself."
Could you? Trick question — we all can. We just need the safe space to do it.
We'll get into the specifics of how this philosophy translates to casting, performance, and script writing in those sections, but I wanted to get it on the table first.
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I want to get nerdy and nitty-gritty for this section, as my hope would be to invite you into this filmmaking process as part of a team. So let’s all get on the same page for our plan of attack.
This isn’t going to be a typical commercial shoot, but that’s what we should be excited about. I want to list through a couple things that we can all talk about collectively to make sure we are all on board.
- I want to take an extended scout and prep process on these projects. When it comes to our Teacher Takeover, this is less important, as we're limited to the single location of the school and the group of teachers within it. But on our Town Takeover, this is key. I'll give you some context: we had a very small budget on a similar shoot with the same approach. What I needed on that, which is also imperative to this creative, was time. All of the locations in that previous shoot were given to us for free, or next to nothing, because we were invited into those real locations through the time I spent there. Real houses, the union hall, gathering spaces, workshops — they all came from spending a week before shooting getting to know the guys, preparing them for the filmmaking process, and being invited into their lives. Town Takeover will be no different. The best locations aren't the ones we make or dress, but the ones that really exist. For us to be invited into that restaurant, that house, that library, that business, or that karaoke spot, we need to spend the time establishing those relationships first. It also gives my cinematographer and me ample time to find frames, study the light, and prepare compositions that we know we're going to come back and shoot on the day. I want to keep our crew small, allowing us to move quickly and nimbly to access places and people that we wouldn't be able to with a larger footprint, while extending our shooting window to make sure we create something that feels much larger in scope than a two-day commercial.
- I want to let our casting guide what we decide to capture. I think the scripts are fantastic as they are, and I want to preserve exactly the message, magic, and structure that you've built into them (more on that in the script section). But I don't want to limit us by trying to find specific people who might not exist — forcing a square peg into a round hole, so to speak. I want us to cast a wide net and let the stories of the people themselves help drive the creative and what we ultimately set out to capture.
- As far as the structure of the shoot, let me know how this feels: one or two key story beats or scenes surrounding available locations. These can involve multiple shots, but it's important for our cast to be doing something they would normally do. We can build an exhaustive list of those scenarios throughout the casting and prep process so we can decide what we want to shoot. Then, one or two formal portraits where we get our outfit supers and see them in their environment. I absolutely LOVE how these are handled in the brief. If we have these locked down going into the shoot, we'll be in a great position to capture a healthy amount of talent, give ourselves the time to craft meaningful and aesthetic visuals, and leave enough breathing room in the schedule to pivot or explore whatever comes up when working with real people in real locations.
Excited to talk more about this approach when we chat again!
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This will be integral— and it’s a process we should start right away.
I am excited to become extremely involved in this process. Every audition, every conversation, every tape is an opportunity to learn something about the people we're inviting into this campaign, and begin that process of trust and connection from the get-go.
I want to spend time talking with them. What are they passionate about? What does their day actually look like? What are they known for? What’s the outfit they wear where they feel the most like themselves?
What I hope we get through this process isn’t just something that excites, but begins to inform the wholistic story of the films themselves. I want to make sure we have a wide variety of people— different bodies, backgrounds, ethnicities, and ages… But beyond that, what I look for while doing this might surprise. I am not seeking the most confident, the most self-expressive, the wackiest, the most comfortable on camera, or the coolest… What I need to see most from them in this process is the willingness to explore oneself. Once we know they have that, everything is gravy.
Another note I might point out, which I haven’t had the chance to do before this, is that we can take advantage of building these campaigns around real centralized communities. Places where the people we cast actually know each other. I'd love for our casting process to reflect that. If we're casting teachers, let's ask them about the other teachers in the school. Who's been there forever? Who organizes every fundraiser? Who's secretly the funniest person on staff? If we're in a small town, let's ask who everybody knows, who's always helping out, who runs the local institution, or who's the first person they'd introduce us to. Rather than treating casting as individual auditions, I'd love it to feel like we're slowly mapping the communities themselves.
As far as directing performances— for me, it all begins with trust. As I mentioned earlier, I'll never ask someone to perform as anyone other than themselves. Instead, our job is to build an environment where people feel comfortable enough to simply be who they are. From there, my role becomes one of gentle guidance rather than performance direction—finding situations, conversations, and moments that allow someone's personality to naturally come forward.
I think if we approach casting this way, by the time we arrive on set we'll be in a position to be invited guests who have been trusted to tell the stories of a community, rather than unknowns dropped into making a commercial.