MAGNET / Beauty inside a treatment by Chris COTTAM
AIM My primary aim with these two films is to show the smart, precise, and pleasing functions of the various Magnet Kitchen ranges. I want to show off the aesthetic of the product, the smoothness of the operation and the quality of the build. With the ‘transition to glass effect’, we will be able to relish the quality and design details of the kitchen and its fittings, showing the viewer that this is a brand that is strong and beautiful from the surface right down to the elements that are hidden from sight. I want combine these elements within a set of commercials that have a true and premium authenticity. The kitchens need to feel ‘real’, they need to reflect the personality of the owner with accents of colour and dressing befitting of their lifestyle, they need to be lit with shape and consideration allowing us to see and appreciate the details, as well as giving the images richness and texture. In conjunction with the above I want to create an atmosphere in the films that conveys style and luxury. The word aspiration is often overused in commercial advertising, but here it feels essential and will be the backbone of what I want to achieve. Magnet and its ranges will be viewed as an investment that conveys pleasing function, satisfying sophistication, effortless design and unique personality.
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LOOK & FEEL From the first frame to the last, I want to give the films a real ‘Wow’ factor. Opening on a wide shot we can see the design and layout, the lighting, and the personality of the kitchen. The story will be told in this first shot. The look and feel of the kitchen is inviting, clean and unique. It feels lived in and not like a showroom. We see it is a room on which we can stamp our own style choices. We want to see ourselves where we see the man or the woman enjoying all the aspects and convenience of this design.
When the ‘transition to glass’ effect takes place it feels organic and smooth, it adds to what we see and keeps the same lighting style and atmosphere. It is not clinical and scientific but rather conveys the sense of appreciation for the craftsmanship and design. The feeling is one of trust in the product, even though you can’t see it you know it is working for you. This will also be communicated in the smoothness and fluidity of the motion of drawers and cupboards closing flush and precisely. 3
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FUNCTION AND DESIGN With a pre-built set the kitchen will be fully dressed and functioning. Clean and beautifully lit the primary aim of the films is to show the ease and style of the function and design. The secondary aim is to show how this slots in seamlessly with the lifestyle narrative of the kitchen’s use. With the finesse and focus of contemporary car commercials, the ‘transition to glass effect’ allows us to see the inner workings of the kitchen structures. This will be complemented with smooth moves and considered frames from the camera. I will want to move in very tight on some of these function and design elements to show and appreciate the detail of the workings. As with the Look & Feel of the films, there will be a wow factor in the design and function of the products we see.
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GLASS EFFECT
DRESSING & PROPPING
We have a really strong and experienced post-production and effects team that is hugely advantageous in the creation of the ‘glass transition effect’. I’m really looking forward to collaborating with them in the pre-production period to talk about ideas and options for our films. I would like to develop, with them, detailed and varied options for directions in which we can go in order that we enter the filming days with a full and comprehensive understanding of what the end results will be. This will inform the order and in some case the framing of what we want to achieve.
As for the effect itself, I will investigate various options as to how to tackle the transition from solid state to glass. As written it is a ‘click’ transition where the solidity snaps to the ‘see through’ effect of glass. I would like to consider a slightly more organic effect that shows more of an image dissolve around the various features of the kitchen that are in frame at the time. With this solution we may find that it tells a clearer story of looking into the inner working of the products, rather than suggesting that glass is a purchasable option; a point that needs to be avoided.
On any project that relies heavily on a postproduction technique it is important that the effects supervisor works very closely with the team in creating the look for the transition both in the run up to the shoot and during it.
This effect is one of the key visuals for the films and as such needs to be looked at as early as possible in order that we all feel the right direction is being taken.
Dressing and propping elements are vital in giving the sets an The contents of the cupboards and drawers will be seen through the authentic, signature style; melding the look and layout of the kitchen ‘glass transition effect’ and as such need to be carefully considered. with the personality and character of the owner. Throughout each film there should be a clear colour palette that I believe bold accents of colour in the utensils will help add to the complements the overall tones of the kitchen design. These should overall feel as well as more personalised items such as vases, picture also reflect the cast of each film. frames, recipe books and clearly individual knick-knacks. Dressing and propping will help avoid a clinical or too uniform feel. I’m not I would like to brief the designer in order to present a full mood suggesting mess in anyway, but rather inspiring the viewer with an board of suggested propping and dressing for the pre-production honest look at how they might see their kitchen in their own property. meeting in which we can agree and discuss all of the above. 6
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LIGHTING The primary lighting effect for the films should feel like natural daylight from the windows. This ‘single source’ lighting effect (created in the studio) will give a shape and texture to the kitchen layout. I will allow for subtle shadows at the edge of frame that will give focus to whatever specific elements we are looking at. In addition to this I would, with dressing and propping, add some small practical lights to add variation and texture to the frame. On close up and details, the lighting will be added to in order to show off the elements in the best way possible. I want to avoid sharp flood lighting that just makes everything bright. This is not attractive and will not show the product in the best way. The overall tone of the lighting will allow us to move away from the feeling of a showroom kitchen and into the realm of real, sophisticated, attractive looking living spaces. The colour temperature will be warmer, and this will be reflected in the grade in line with the Image Striver guidelines.
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CAMERA My suggested Director of Photography will be Clive Tickner (B.S.C) who has a wealth of experience in commercials and features. I have a strong working relationship with him and trust that he will be able to bring an incredibly premium feel to the films with his 35 years of experience in the industry. http://www.cliveo.co.uk/ The role of the camera in these films should match the tone and look of the kitchen. It is smooth, beautifully framed, always subtly on the glide adding a strong sense of high quality and luxury to what we focus on. Even on the smallest of details, we gently glide past our subject giving it depth and texture. The lifestyle elements, whether it involves the man composing or the woman cooking chocolate, will have a rich and photographic feel to them concentrating on detail and composition, shallow depths of field add a sumptuous air to what we see. The ‘transition to glass effect’ will also use subtle gliding movements in order to add an organic feel to the effect, thereby avoiding anything too clinical or ‘science’ led. We will appreciate the detail but in a way that employs attractive photography.
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LIFESTYLE & NARRATIVE
The lifestyle and narrative of the scripts hints at both aspiration as well as dĂŠcor choices. One script has a man who is composing in his kitchen whilst the other has a woman making chocolate. I want the feel of their respective kitchens to reflect both gender and lifestyle choice. The man is interested in his gadgets, he has a speaker that is flush with the cabinets in his kitchen, he can control the volume from the kitchen island and can close the Show & Hide Sink to create more space for his scoring manuscripts. He has made colour choices and design choices in his kitchen that are appropriate to him. There are splashes of colour around (from his glass of orange juice on the counter to the colour of his MP3 player and his clothing) but there are also more neutral, masculine tones including the clean brushed steel of his laptop, the graphite tone of his stereo system and even the choice of utensils or kitchenware on display. Our man is comfortable in his kitchen. Comfortable enough to concentrate and work knowing that everything he needs is on hand. He feels at home there. Our woman enjoys her kitchen; it is where she can explore her culinary skills as well as having home comforts like a beautifully fitted coffee machine. She also has space and room to engage with her activity. The kitchen has become more than a functional space in which to cook and then leave. It is a place where one can spend the day; it is a place that is decorated like other rooms in the house. There are style choices that she has made in the kitchen that reflect who she is. The mugs are a mixture of personalised and set pieces, the colours are bold and varied; there are photographs on the shelves alongside cookbooks from her travels. We feel, as with our man, that she has created this space for herself. The Magnet range has given her the base foundation of stylish design and crafted workmanship and she has added her layer of personality on this. For both these commercials, I want to avoid getting bogged down in too much of a linear narrative for the lifestyle angle of the films. The priority is the kitchen first and foremost. The lifestyle narrative is more of a broad brushstroke; it is a tableaux or mood that communicates quickly and simply an aspirational living space.
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CASTING There will be naturalness in the casting that supports the authenticity of what we are showing. I want to avoid ‘acting’ or ‘modelling’ as this can really throw the focus off what the primary concern is: the kitchen and its beautiful design. Understated yet complementary to the scene, the casting should reflect the lifestyle choices made in each kitchen set. There will be warmth in their personalities, an aesthetic that is character led rather than model perfection and an expression that is relaxed and at ease. Your creative briefs will lead demographic choices, but I’ve added some reference images for examples of a direction we can go in.
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WARDROBE Wardrobe should be casual and contemporary in styling with cohesion to the overall colour palette of each set. High street items with individual accessories will give the look a personality led identity.
MUSIC There is a brand theme with the track Inside and Out that is a good starting point for our music. We have discussed the possibility of tweaking the original track to suit the identity of each scenario. Casting should inspire these tweaks and what we see our heroes do. A composition arrangement for the male script could be classically inspired with perhaps a light, electronic ‘chill out’ feel where as the female script could go down the route of something with a bit of zest inspired by the French bistro sound or something with a hint of contemporary jazz. I would ask for pitches from an assortment of composers to help us in our choices for direction.
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ADDITIONAL 10sec script Shaker grey The additional 10 second script for the Shaker Grey style will be in keeping with the values of the 30 second spots in style, effect, detail and tone. We introduce the film with a gorgeous shallow depth shot of the homemade jam before the revealing the kitchen in a wide shot with Lucy at the stove. We instantly feel that the commercial has the same premium feel and attention to detail that we have enjoyed in the longer films. The only difference is the glass transition shot may work on this wide in its entirety as the special effects ‘device’ has already been revealed in the 30sec films. This allows us to tell the story in shorthand; an important point because the visuals will have to balance with the on screen graphics in a very short space of time. Our heroine Lucy will have a simple action; she is at the stove preparing more jam and simply reaches up to a cabinet very close to her in order to grab an ingredient. It is this close, quick action that allows us to push in for the tight detailed shot of the function and design of the door, as well as the important soft-close operation. Stylistically for decor and dressing, I will reflect the personality of who Lucy is, making sure that utensils, ingredients, crockery and knickknacks feel like an authentic representation of the desired demographic.
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CONCLUSION This campaign has the potential to take the Magnet brand and develop it further into having a real, authentic and premium feel. The films have a function in that they are there to show off the product and its inherent beauty, but it also acts as a lifestyle choice. Magnet represents a lifestyle choice for your home that inspires us and allows us to really imprint who we are and how we live. Thank you for giving me the chance to treat on these scripts. I’m excited by the prospect of collaborating with you further in order to create a campaign that we can all be proud of. Thanks, Chris