DREAM DRIVE
OVERVIEW
It’s 2020 and things are...rough. There’s no denying it. So it’s important to acknowledge, at the outset, the landscape this piece will land in. People are upset, fatigued, lonely and scared. And not necessarily in that order. How does one inspire a consumer base with this disposition? The answer isn’t succinct. And it won’t be born out of this commercial.
However, this piece can move the needle. That’s what Dream Drives means to me. Now, for the personal. I’ve suffered through the cabin fever effects of quarantine all while grappling with the existential questions from Summer 2020; does my black life matter?
So, I understand the need to look forward. The need to dream. This is where this film comes in. It can’t cure racism, it can’t cure COVID-19, it can’t cure our discord. What it can do is inspire us to continue to dream. It can inspire us to get out there, and remind ourselves of the big open, beautiful world under our feet. It can remind us that ‘this too shall pass’. Greener pastures are coming. And we can reach it quicker, if we use an Alfa Romeo. :P.
Narrative
There’s a pernicious rumor that storytelling is somehow difficult to achieve. Even worse, that rumor is partnered with the idea that storytelling is superfluous. That’s a lie. And there are some creative shops out there that have purchased that lie in bulk. To achieve the dream of drives, we need three components to inspire the cantankerous customer base we’re hoping to reach.
Product + Cinematography + Storytelling
= Dream Drives
That formula is tried and true for me. It’s what I used on this Nissan piece. I didn’t want to just create car footage. I wanted to combine style and story to elevate the car. With just two characters and a car we get the short but sweet narrative. Check it out.
Product, you have. The Alfa Romeo is a beautiful machine that turns heads and waters mouths. More on its brilliance later. Cinematography. Capturing the product in a breathtaking way is paramount. This cannot be understated.
Storytelling. This is why you come to Vagrants. Filmmaking is more than lens choice and coverage. Our fatigued audience needs to connect with these spots emotionally. It needs to spark in them something they lost this year. The key to that is story.
Story, story, story. Story is as simple as wardrobe choice for the talent. A businessman loosens a tie, sighs in relief as he gets into his Giulia. A couple, thrilled to get out of the city, pop the rear of their Stelvio, take a seat and watch the Sunset. Story isn’t complicated. It’s subtle filmmaking techniques that elevate the talent from models to characters. And elevates the car from product to a dream.
Big caveat here. We’re keeping this loose on purpose. This list is a conversation starter, not a prescription. All of these ideas can be chopped and screwed to fit perfectly into the narrative we want to create. Genders can be changed and race is irrelevant.
POWER COUPLE
Starting in an urban environment. A man and a woman, both dressed formally, enter their Alfa Romeo. They are a power couple and they know it. From first glance it appears they’re going to a high end dinner date. Or maybe a joint meeting about something important. Maybe a Christie’s auction. But instead they hit the open road. As they travel, they discard their stuffy trappings. The man loosens his tie. The woman takes off her stilettos. The man takes off his blazer and rolls up his sleeves. She undoes her expensive hairdo and puts it in a casual bun. It ends with the couple, far less formal, relaxed even, barefoot even, with their feet in the grass enjoying a view. They were escaping.
GREEN,WHITE,RED
AKA Tokens. Let’s find naturally occurring tokens in the destinations that harken back to the Alfa Romeo. The first, easiest and most iconic one to feature is the colors of the Italian flag and logo; Green, White and Red. To be sure this isn’t a heritage piece we’ll use more than that. Perhaps there’s a rock formation that makes a triangle like the iconic Alfa Romeo grill. We’ll see that natural formation juxtaposed through edit. It can stay abstract so we don’t need to do any extensive propping. The stitch in the leather can cut to the lane lines in the road. The red hues of the sunset can cut to the red sheet metal. The crescent of the steering wheel can cut to the crescent of the setting sun. With nature the possibilities are endless.
We haven’t forgotten that the purpose of all this is to be evergreen. The footage we shoot should fit neatly in a library of content to be used later. Our narratives don’t undermine that effort. In fact they are all built with that in mind. There’s a world, in the edit, where we can combine Power Couple and Tokens. Why not have our cake and eat it too? If they both speak to you on some level let’s talk about capturing it all. Which would further serve your capacity to chop and screw the footage into whatever you want. Staying loose and open is what creates possibilities. We could shoot the power couple with their formal attire at the sunset scene. So you don’t have to use the “undressing” narrative. They can stay formal. Or we can cut them out entirely and focus on the vehicle and it’s place in the beautiful landscape. Everything presented here is meant to fit neatly into a library. My goal is to arm the edit with more narrative ammunition that it can handle.
Again, we’re elevating the people we see from models to characters. So let’s give these individuals perspectives. An Alfa Romeo power couple is affluent, worldly, diverse and thinks outside the box. Let’s find actors that embody that mentality. They should look good in formal wear and also look comfortable in their casual clothes. And performance is key! Though, there are no lines they still need to exude the energy we need on the day. Their ability to perform will be top of mind during the audition process.
I see them encompassing three spectrums, which we can mix and match. Straight Laced, Rebel or maybe some form of playboy and fashionista.
LONG LENSES
Just because it’s for social channels doesn’t mean it can’t be cinematic. We’re inspiring a dream. So let’s make it look like a dream. This is where lensing and shot composition comes into play. Long Lenses, 100mm and up, are a great way to compress space. But if used on a big landscape shot can actually give the feeling of great depth. While still staying intimate.
REFLECTIONS
The car as a storytelling device. There’s no better light source than the sky. It provides texture with the reflections. Let’s use it. The reflections can also serve as mortises for the story. Further connecting the car to the world, the characters and the dream. And we’ll make sure to get some shots clean by flying in a flag or silk to block out the reflections for a cleaner look. Evergreen!
BACKLIT BY THE SUN
Don’t be afraid of the dark! It doesn’t require a big night shoot to get some really compelling shots of vehicles at night. A simple Astera Tube (a wireless and programmable light source) used with a tight lens can give some incredible detail shots. And we can also backlight the car with the sunset. Either way our story can extend without losing a beat.
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY | Garrett O’BrieN
Garrett has been a long time partner and friend. His eye for visual storytelling is unmatched. His ability to make gold out of the worst production circumstances cannot be understated. And most importantly he has extensive lifestyle and auto experience.
Knowing that we have a lot to tackle with our motion team, we’ll want to approach photography as seamlessly as possible without eating away at our time and resources. Gregory Waldo is a Vagrant that has been shooting alongside our video shoots for a long time. For driving shots he will be riding right alongside the video team and finding his opportunities for epic photos but he will also have the entire third day to set up specifically for photos. This gives us the time to shoot the cars parked in grandiose settings and capture all the intricate detailing of the cars. Shooting plates of the car and background and using battery powered LEDs and strobes, we will capture the natural setting but highlight the beauty of the Giulia and Stelvio.
THE PLAN
This project requires the right crew and equipment in amazing locations on a tight budget, so we went out and found just that. The Vagrants family runs deep and we are so excited with the team we have holding in Aspen, CO. Basing our production out of the chic ski town will prove to be advantageous in so many ways. The scenic locations are gorgeous and all within quick striking distance of downtown. Our local crew is a group of close knit, highly qualified film professionals with a ton of experience shooting automotive in their backyard. By using a small, specialized, local crew, we’re able to allocate our budget to the best equipment available. The camera car they are providing is a decked out Ram truck, which just feels right for an FCA car shoot.
THE BALANCE: PHOTO + VIDEO
When we set out on these content capture missions, the key is to maximize every minute and every production dollar. We know that this content has to go the distance for you and your client, so we go the extra mile juggling photo and video needs to get everything checked off the list. Once our desired locations are locked in, we will create a detailed shoot schedule and coordinate photo and video teams to work in tandem in the best natural lighting conditions.
WORKING SCHEDULE
DAY 1 / MORNING
Video team shoots CAR A in nearby 1st Dream Drive location
Photo team shoots CAR B details in modern urban setting
DAY 1 / AFTERNOON
Video team shoots CAR A in modern urban setting
Photo team shoots CAR B in nearby 1st Dream Drive location
DAY 2 / MORNING
Video shoots urban scenes with talent.
Video + Photo team shoot CAR A in 2nd Dream Drive location
DAY 2 / AFTERNOON
Video + Photo team shoot CAR B in 2nd Dream Drive location
DAY 3 / ALL DAY
Photo Team shoots car details and parked hero shots in multiple locations
A LITTLE PLACE CALLED ASPEN…
As mentioned, what we love about basing out of Aspen is its’ close proximity to epic landscapes. This will provide us more daylight time to be shooting vs. traveling. From Aspen, there are Dream Drives minutes away in any direction but two of our favorites are Castle Creek and Roaring Fork. We would chose one of these to shoot on Day 1.
ROARING FORK
CASTLE CREEK
For a different aesthetic with more geological outcrops there are great options about 2 hours away. We love the variety of shots we could get from the tunnels and hairpin turns at Colorado National Monument.
Co. NATIONAL MONUMENT
Aspen is a small town but it has a lot of modern architecture that feels aspirational and urban. There are many options, but we like one block in particular that has the Aspen Art Museum and modern apartment buildings next door so we can easily establish a residential look or a more abstract urban aesthetic.
DOWNTOWN ASPEN
THANK YOU
For the opportunity to put forth our ideas. We’re excited to partner with your team and make some magic.
