DIESEL ICONES MODERNES a treatment by
AG ROJAS
We have an opportunity here to tell two vastly different stories in two vastly different ways. The first is our manifesto, a very graphic and beautiful exploration of faces and characters who represent the strength and relevance of our demographic. I want this to feel like a very elaborate light installation, the lights themselves should feel like a vibrant, commissioned work of art. This first film is about mystery, and it’s about confidence.
The second film is a collage of memories. It’s a tapestry of spontaneous, youthful moments. We will tap into how it feels to be young, the carefree nature of our actions and decisions, the randomness of our lives, the boundless energy of the amazing street cast people we’ll find. If everyone committs to my concept for this film, we’ll create something true and pure that no one has ever seen in advertising. Let’s talk a little about the first film...
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ICONES MODERNES 1
I plan to keep this film very simple. This film comes down to three things: LOCATION | CASTING | LIGHTS
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LOCATION I want to place the film in a space that was once considered an impressive space for artists to showcase their work. Imagine an old movie palace in Detroit, or soundstage in Cinecitta, or an abandoned opera house in East- ern Europe. Nothing that’s too derelict of course, it should have some life left, really beautiful old paint that will be caught by the neon lights. Why do I want this? I think the space should have as much character as our casting and lights does. I don’t want to just place it in some abstract void or dark warehouse. Even if we never see the full scope of the grandiose location, the spirit and energy of an artistic space will be inspiring and beautiful.
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CASTING This is a really fun part, and it’s actually not an incredibly difficult one either. There are so many amazing young people out there with really interesting faces and personalities that we can showcase. I know you guys have already started on the process, and I’d love to come in and collaborate with you on finding more people. I have a good amount of contacts when it comes to street casting around the world and with our brainpower combined we can grab the most eclectic people possible. It would also be nice to make sure these people have some sort of creative instinct as well. Instead of just being pretty faces, they’re artists, musicians, athletes. They are three dimensional.
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LIGHTING First off, since we’ll be in a controlled space and we won’t be doing too much spontaneous filming (that’s more in the 2nd film), I really want to shoot this on 16mm film. Neons always read beautifully on film, and it will add a really incredible texture and grain that we can’t replicate digitally. The colors are going to be deep and gorgeous, and it won’t feel like anything else out there at the moment. Secondly, I want to add another concept to the halo idea. What I want to do is set up a bunch of neons of vary- ing sizes all around the space we find. The lights flicker and turn on to reveal each of characters who deliver the line, but the placement of the neon lights all feel random, they’re not connected in any way. Then, as we reach the end of the film and build to a crescendo, our camera finds a wide angle in which we shift perspective slightly and all the lights connect to create the giant halo. They all feel disconnected except for on this one spot in the building. It’s going to feel like an art installation, the neon lights hanging from heavy chains, they’re going to have weight to them. It will add another layer to the proceedings to only reveal the halo at the end as a surprise and only because the camera moved ever so slightly to reveal all the lights connected by our perspective.
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ICONES MODERNES 2
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This film will not be simple, but it’s going to be fucking awesome. My treatment for this is basically: TRUST ME. I have young directors who are amazing at directing youth who would love to do this job. I have directors in Los Angeles, Beirut, New York, Berlin, London, Ireland, Chile and more. What I want to do is give each of them a brief and a specific camera and some money and have them go out and shoot for a week. They will prep for a week, street casting and sending over a small treatment about what they plan on shooting, and then after we approve, they’ll go and shoot it. That’s basically it. It’s very similar in spirit to the documentary series I curate and created called TRIBUTE For my video for Portugal. The Man, we shot on six different cameras, including: Red Epic, 16mm film, Japanese Toy Camera, VHS, and iPhone. We made that video for very little money in 20 days with four people. Now imagine what we can do with TEN DIRECTORS, TEN CAMERAS, TEN WEEKS, and A BUDGET. We are going to create something that has never been seen before. We’re going to make the most true portrayal of youth that has rarely ever been seen in advertising. This may sound like hyperbole or hubris, but I really
believe if you guys committ to my idea, we can make something incredibly special. I will be one of the ten directors and then I’ll oversee the edit with my great editor in Los Angeles. It’s going to be a super-energetic collage of true youth. We’ll provide each director with some of the more simple Diesel articles of clothing which they can inject into their scenes in a very natural way. Once everything is cut together, it will have a very unique texture from all the different qualities of camera resolu- tion, as well as just from the various ways that each of these directors look at life. Their point of views will come across. In conjunction with the short-form ad, we’ll create a long-form version of it that will live online, as well as a web- site collage that will allow people to choose which character to explore. So, each director will have their own 60 second film that people can just click on specifically to explore a single person. It’s going to be epic. Let’s go on this adventure together. That’s it! Thanks!
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