A chance to really own and establish a unique visual style for a brand doesn’t come around often, so let’s jam on how we can to capitalize.
First off, for cinematographers— this is going to be a pivotal choice. I am lucky to get to work with some of the best and brightest rising stars in the business. A good friend of mine is Cole Graham, who I think would be a perfect fit for this. I have already started talking to him about what we could bring to the visuals to make them unique.
Off the top, one thing I would love to do with this spot is lean into a more textured, celluloid look. You’ll notice that beautiful grain is across all the images I have used in this treatment— it grounds our spot in a cinematic language that is rarely used in pharma spots, if at all. I think exploring a colour grade that emulates the look of 35mm would be a simple but effective choice to signal to viewers that this is something different.
I had a look at the references you sent me, I think they are great. 2 of the 3 are a simple shutter drag motion blur, in which you record at a lower FPS and keep the shutter open longer to capture that “blur” effect from things moving across the sensor. Super easy to get done— although, because it’s a lower FPS, that’s where the motion doesn’t quite appear smooth and it’s somewhat jittery. I think this is a great option for some of our “activity” shots, but I think we need to add one more technique that keeps our 24fps motion. So, let’s put a pin in that and say, we will use some of that technique for sure.
The third reference you sent is using a technique done in post-production. Not to say I don’t like it, I really do, but I think for this, we should be figuring out a way of doing it in camera so we aren’t relying on VFX to get the key look we want. It also requires motion of the subject to make the effect right, something that we might not necessarily have or want in every shot. Perhaps we augment or enhance slightly in post, but I want to get it as close as I can on the day…
So I have a solution to get excited about that I think will achieve the same effect…