Q1 2020 SOCIAL SHOOT
LET’S MAKE DOPE SHIT
First, let me just say how great it feels to be presenting our bid for this brand, with this caliber of competition, for the agency that I consider my alma mater. This is a special experience for me, and I very much appreciate being considered this project.
That being said, we’re not here to mess around. At V A G R A N T S, we treat every opportunity as a way to define ourselves as filmmakers in this new era of content creation. We love the challenge. We love the process. We love making the best possible shit that will leave viewers with no other choice but hit the “share” button. So let’s go!
A SHORT STORY CAN GO A LONG WAY.
Car brands know this. These social videos you’ve written are beautiful, thoughtful, and open-ended. Conceptually there are so many ways to make them work for social - as looping GIF’s, photos, video clips or boomerangs. We plan to capture a library of content from which we can choose the strongest pieces to perform in social. But before we get there, it’s critical we weave a visual story for the hero video deliverables - that way we know we have all the right pieces for the heaviest editorial lift.
SOCIAL CONCEPTS
HAPPY QUADRIFOGLIO DAY
ST. PATRICK’S DAY
This is a great concept. It’s elegantly simple. No need to muck that up, but let’s build a short visual story to draw the viewer in and pay off the ending VFX shot. I think we shoot this spot late day into night. Let’s turn on the spot lights and set up some high-key sources of our own. I think it would be great if everything was drenched in a soft green tint. Fast motion driving shots of technical driving, mixed with some abstract close-ups of saturated green smoke will really make this spot sing.
VISUAL EFFECTS
Working with our partner Zero VFX we will design a world in CG that will seamlessly connect to what we’ve shot practically. Using a CG model of the Quadrifoglio, they will animate the final pass of the shamrock with the car speeding out of frame.
Have a look at a similar project that they worked on for Delta Airlines.
ExPLOSIVE ENGINEERING
Fourth of July / New Years Eve
This spot will be absolutely gorgeous! Let’s fully embrace the look of sparks being our key source of light and let it pulse ON and OFF as the cars make their way through this tunnel of beauty! I love the idea of shooting this an area that we can control a bit more where we can light off some pyro without alarming the armed services! I’m thinking a secluded tunnel or dark industrial space.
VISUAL EFFECTS
Utilizing our digital artists, we can make a little pyro go a long way. For the spark tunnel shot, we’ll shoot it with as much pyro as we can (without lighting the building on fire) but in post we’ll create a “mirror effect” of sparks continuing off into the deep background.
LOCATION
Shooting this scene at the Thermal Club would be restrictive and we likely would not be able to use any pyrotechnics. Therefore, we went on the hunt for some alternate locations. Have a look at this great warehouse location in DTLA.
STUNT DRIVER
INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY
I’ve never been a big fan of talking head videos, and I can’t imagine AR followers are either. So, I’d like to take a different approach. Let’s shoot some stunning b-roll of our stunt driver getting ready and getting into her car. We’ll shoot some HERO SHOTS, PORTRAITS, CLOSE-UPS and CUTAWAYS all in slight slow mo. Then we’ll let the driving speak for itself. We’ll shoot high-octane running footage all around the Thermal Club track. Later, when she’s nice and comfortable we record an audio interview (maybe over a glass of wine or a bourbon). This way we get a nice, relaxed story from her. It’s a win/win. Viewers don’t have to watch any talking heads and we don’t have to waste any time precious time on set shooting it!
Here are some examples of this kind of work that we’ve done recently - I’m a big fan of it!
MASSART - Erin Robertson
SHORT FILM: Molly Rowing
NEW BALANCE - First. Film.
ALWAYS ON CONTENT
THERMAL CLUB RUNNING FOOTAGE
Let’s utilize the daytime hours to shoot this content. The Thermal Club offers so many beautiful back drops and it will be great to shoot some scenics around the track. When it comes to running footage, variety is the motive. I’d like to shoot a healthy mix of technical driving with multiple cars, to beauty shots featuring key AR models. For still photographer, we’ll set up at key moments around the track to grab long lens detail shots.
PRODUCTION APPROACH
CINEMATOGRAPHY
We’re going for some pretty stylized looks here, and where I have the vision to bring it all together, we need an all-star DP who will knock it out of the park for us. Here’s a couple we’ve worked with that we’d love to bring on for this shoot.
AUGUST THURMER
EZRA MIGEL
PHOTOGRAPHY
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. The most efficient solve is to pull stills directly out of the motion camera itself. We plan to shoot 8k resolution, and by shooting high frame rate and skinny shutter we’ll be able to grab photo-like focus in critical moments. Additionally, we’ll have our still photographer set up along the track in critical moments to get specific tight shots with sharp points of focus.
We’ve reached out to an LA-based photography agency putting a number of their automotive photographers on hold for our dates. Here’s a sample of their work.
THANK YOU.
We're amped at the opportunity to work on this project and look forward to hearing your feedback on our approach.
