PROCESS
Charles Garrett Heather Dundey Chelsea Baldwin Kate Walker
Table of Contents --
Preface
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Company Summary
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Brand Aesthetic
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Aesthetic Interpretation
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Set Outline
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Storyboarding
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Timing & Results
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Preface...
This project, for Professor Oscar Betancur’s “New Media Methods for Retail and Digital Spaces” class, is partitioned into 3 phases: - Phase I : four .gifs for a brand, to be presented on social
- Phase II : one video campaign for chosen brand in that
media, specifically Instagram. brand’s particular style.
- Phase III : one retail layout, complete with floorplan,
drawings, renders, and campaign photos.
When we discussed with Prof. Oscar that we wanted to do Hermès, he suggested carrying the brand through all three phases (the default being a brand change at each phase, as separate projects.). This would allow us to present one grand project, consolidating resources and talent into one vision and saving time by only having to plan/ organize at the beginning.
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Company Summary 4
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A Depth of History Hermès was founded in 1837 by Thierry Hermès as a harness workshop in the Grands Boulevards quarter of Paris, providing high quality equestrian wares to the nobility of Europe. The shops harnesses and bridles won various awards - including first prize in its class in 1855 and later 1867 at the Expositions Universelles in Paris. It was Thierry’s son, Charles-Émile Hermès, who moved the eponymous shop to 24 rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré in 1880. 24 Fauborg is still in operation to this day. With the help of his sons, Charles-Émile created the first Hermès saddles and introduced a greater retail concept. The first Hermès bag was the Haut à Courroies - designed to help riders carry their saddles along with them. When Charles-Émile’s sons took over the company in the early 20th century, the brand saw a number of firsts. Émile-Maurice was granted exclusive rights to the zipper and was the first to introduce them in France, exclusively on Hermès products. Through the 1920s, Émile-Maurice introduced accessories and clothing collections to the brand, it was his wife who told him of the desire for a well made leather handbag - with the first ones introduced in 1922. Two years later, Hermès established points of sale in the US. Their first women’s couture collection to premier in Paris in 1929. Throughout the 30s, Hermès introduced more bags, their iconic carrés (scarves), timepieces. Under Robert Dumas-Hermès, the brand introduced fragrance and their logo, the duc-carriage logo and signature orange color.
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Brand Aesthetic 8
“Leather, Sport and a Tradition of Refined Elegance.”
Émile-Maurice Hermès
Unlike many of the other premier French fashion houses, Hermès was founded as an equestiran wares workshop. The brand to this day is substantially attentive to their founding roots and as such carries a solid air of practicality along its luxury offerings. At the same time, the brand has been in operation for 178 years and projects a sense of utmost confidence. Their advertisments and campaigns are never “brooding” or forced and in fact tend to be on the playful side. There’s a particular buoyancy about Hermès photos; when juxtaposed with the solid institutional reputation of craftsmanship, the result is a carefully administered nonchalance - lightheartedness in just the right areas and the seriousness of the products’ quality speak for themselves.
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Aesthetic Interpretation 12
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An Appreciation
Because SCAD has a formidable equestrian program, we decided to emphasize that shared element. The lighthearted touches will be present, but not as overt. Mis-executed whimsy can quickly appear as cloying and unproffessional so we decided to err on Hermès’ bright and clean color grading, use of equestrian themes and horses, and crisp photography. For our gifs, we wanted to keep it neat and elegant, with a restrained color palette and a focus on composition and texture. For the video portion, we wanted to keep the same model, but add a male model as well - telling a short romance story. For storyline, we decided to focus on the unsaid messages and nonverbal communication between the two riders. They live a life of rules and structure, with little room for dalliance. It is through Hermès that the two can have a reminder of romance in their lives.
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Set Outline 16
A Frame for Fantasy
The Ronald C. Waranach Equestrian Center is located just outside Savannah in the light grassy woods of South Carolina. The 100 acre complex includes paddocks, grazing fields, competition rinks and a barn for the college and student riders’ horses. The area is tightly landscaped and the buildings in the complex are a crisp white. The stables are well-lit and offer ample psychic lines and rich texture. Shooting will be done in a variety of locations on the premises to give a proper sense of atmosphere . With some friends in Equestrian Studies, we’ll have access to the facilities and surrounding areas, horses, equipment and handlers. Shooting the gifs and most of the footage for the film will ideally be done on the same day to ensure cost effictiveness, ample amount of time for post process, and cohesive lighting throughout the content. Wardrobe will be an unobtrusive equestrian attire, with emphasis put on the Hermès accessories: 3 scarves, a bracelet and the fragrance.
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Story Boards and Shots 20
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Visual Campaign pt. I : .gifs Graphics Interchange Format, or .gif, is an increasingly popular image file format that allows multiple photos to be played out in a stop-motion-like style. The format has been around since the beginnings of the internet, however their popularity has spiked among millenials on social media platforms like Tumblr, Twitter and Instagram. As such the first part of the visual campaign is 4 .gifs, each team member coming up with a concept and composition and executing them as a team. The descriptions of the .gifs are as follows
- Heather : The horse and rider come into frame from opposite ends, the rider comforts the horse and pets its head, featuring the bracelet. Logo. - Kate W. : The rider is facing away, featuring a chignon and a scarf wrapped on her neck. A gust of wind loosens the scarf from her neck, she reacts and reaches for the scarf as it flutters in the air. Logo. - Chelsea : Various shots of the rider strapping up, fixing the saddles, buckles etc, in fast succession - contrasted with her lightly adjusting her scarf. Logo. - Charles : The frame opens on a super close up of the horse’s eye gazing into the camera, as the horse blinks, a quick fade into the same composition with the girl’s eye. Logo
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Timing & Results 24
17 Research Marketing Strategy Story Mood Board Style Frame Storyboard Art Direction Location Props Equipment Talent Shoot Editing Rough Final Edit
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Gantt Chart 22
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Pt. II : Film 30
Process Filming took two separate sessions to produce enough footage to work with in the 1 to 2 minute range we were provided. The first session of filming was done as an addition to shooting the stills needed for the .GIFs, since all of the crew, models, hair/stylists were there. Most of this footage can be seen comprimising most of the scenes at the latter half of the final cut. Upon review with the class, we identified the rough spots in the film, and areas which needed to be improved upon - such as showing more of the male model, and developing a backstory between the two that would justify the romantic interaction. This warranted the need for a second shooting session, to gain more content in these areas. Access to the SCAD Equestrian stables was difficult the first time, due to the nature of the scenes that inluded horses. SCAD is very protective over their stabled horses - many of which are donated or the students’ own that were transported from hometown stables. These animals alone were easily the most expensive equipment we worked with, some costing tens of thousands of dollars in total expense. Thus we were accompanied by a handful of equestrian students at all times. The scenes that involve horse-riding were done through stunt double equestrian students, as was all handling to move the horses to location. Second session filming, which didn’t require horses, was more lax. At the time, classes were going on in the main stables so we were shown to another stable with similar architecture with next to no foot traffic, which hugely aided filming.
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Shots List pt. I 1.) Pre-Establishing Shot: unfocused, high exposure of canopy branches / Spanish moss, emphasis on color, sunlight, bokeh - : ~5 sec 2.) Cut-To: medium closeup of model (mid back, up) facing opposite camera, away from stables into green distance. low depth of field. hold ~4 sec. Model makes sudden nervous twitch (i.e., quickly moves hand to rub back of neck). Quick 80% Arc-to-Closeup (3/4 view face) of as she turns to face stables (sped up in post?) 3.) Cut to Establishing Shot: Stables, model at long/wide shot, back to cam at right 3rd of frame, slight slow zoom out. Model begins walking towards stable. 4.) Cut to Front-on shot of Stables’ Barn Opening (see Set Outline: Bottom Left pic, but zoomed further out to frame with the white exterior of the tunnel) with Model midframe facing away from camera walking into stables. 5.) Tracking/Follow Model walking down stables, Medium Closeup at profile approx 3 seconds. Cut to extreme closeup tracking model’s hand as she runs fingertips across the wood of the stable doors, following behind, low depth of field, slight slow mo. 6.) Dissolve to Trophy/Tack Room: Racking focus of various textures (leather on saddles, shine on the metal and buckles), cut to medium shot of model middle frame facing (hopefully a mirror/vanity or window or something) away from camera. model makes same nervous gesture (hand to rub neck etc.) 7. Cut to POV of model lightly holding/carressing Hermès scarf (low depth of field etc.) hold 3ish seconds. Cut to extreme closeup reaction shot of model’s lips at 3/4 view, model purses lips. Cut back to POV Model holds scarf tighter/ wrings slightly and wraps it around wrist. (optional: cut back to reaction shot model, same xcloseup, as she moves her gaze to mirror/window, catch reflection in eyes) 8.) Quick dissolve or cut to table or wooden surface, extreme closeup, low DoF, passing shot as model brushes finger tips across wood in faster movement than in stable. (optional: similar to metal buckle, brass, etc. shine/shadow flicker as model passes by) Quick dissolve/cut to Hermès perfume closeup at 3/4 sitting on table, admire/hold for 2ish seconds. Track bottle as model picks up and sprays to neck. 33
Shots List pt. II 9.) Cut to: Extreme closeup of spray-to-neck interaction, low DoF, slow mo. Cut to xcloseup of wet skin on neck, cut to xcloseup of model undoing bun, slow mo hairography moment.
10.) Cut to: Racking focus xcloseups of horse textures (fur, mane). Low angle medium shot of horse in stable (making him look massive). Close up of horse at profile 1/2 of frame at left, model comes into right half. Tender moment (optional: xcloseups of petting, horse eye and such). Quick closeups of model adjusting straps, brushing dust off leather (probably a clean saddle but still), putting foot into stirrup. 11.) Cut to: black frame, hold for a suspensful 3 seconds. 12.) Shock cut to tracking shot of horse galloping, medium closeup (enough to see hands/arms of rider/stunt double but not face). Various closeups of horse while in motion, emphasis on muscles. Closeup crab/ passing shot of tail (butt to tip) gradiating into slowmo, catch sunlight. 13.) passing worms eye shot of horse galloping by, dissolve. and that should be it for filming at the stables, the rest will occur on another set. music mood: Paracosm by Washed Out
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Gantt Chart
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Results 40
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