International. ProBalance's new "Stay Home" ad campaign was shot by Kiran Koshy, renowned Clio Award-winning director, with the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera model. Koshy carried out the project in his own yard with Nigel, the family dog, and his young daughter as protagonists. In addition, he collaborated with the colorist Charles Gerstner, who used DaVinci Resolve to etalonar the final images.
Based in Long Beach, California, Koshy who served as creative director of an agency, and now as commercial director, had already worked with several Asian brands in the past. ProBalance, a Malaysian pet food company, contacted Koshy through his Kuala Lumpur-based producer Directors Think Tank in mid-March to record the campaign, despite knowing he would not be able to carry it out outside his home.
"Stay Home," a collaboration between creative agency Imaginary Friends and Directors Think Tank, focuses on a very patient dog that shows the importance of staying home and practicing social distancing. The images show the pet in a Confrontation in the best Western style with his partner, whom he teaches to sit and take care of himself.
"In March, I was filming an ad for Ritz Crackers in Malaysia with Think Tank when they started closing borders around the world, so I had to postpone the project and quickly return to the United States. My producers at Think Tank called me a few weeks later with the idea of shooting the campaign for ProBalance. I've already done a couple of jobs with pets in the past, and they hoped I could do something from home," Kiran said.
"A few years ago, I had used a Pocket Cinema Camera in something personal after having collaborated in another advertisement where the director of photography used this model. Also, I noticed that many art directors in agencies had Pocket Cinema Cameras," he added. "The camera allows you to achieve images of exceptional cinematic quality compared to other models that cost much more. It's even more compact, so it's possible to use it anywhere. So with this version, I was able to accept the project and keep working while respecting social distancing."
In "Stay Home," the dog Nigel and his daughter Kiran are sitting across from each other until she decides to stand up. The pet then barks gently at her to sit down and take care of her home and herself. Filming took place over two days and incorporated close-ups of both protagonists from different angles, including one on the animal's shoulder.
"Initially, I was asked to record it entirely with a phone, since the agency considered that it would be too much to ask someone confined to their home to use a professional camera," he said. "But I knew that because I had the Pocket I could achieve wonderful images with it. Plus, it's so compact that it would allow me to be creative about the angles I wanted to achieve."
"The shot on Nigel's shoulder was the most difficult of all. Although my son was responsible for the lighting, holding the parasol, and giving the dog little treats, there was no way Nigel could sit still. So I had to lie on my back and hold Nigel between my legs, while operating the camera with my free hand. Everything went great," Kiran said. "The Pocket model is so small and lightweight that it gave me a lot of flexibility to get the shot."
For post-production, Kiran worked with Charles Gerstner, the agency's creative director and colorist. The two had already worked together, and it turned out that they lived in the same neighborhood. After quickly shooting, editing, and grading the images on his own computer with DaVinci Resolve, Kiran sent the material to Charles.
"I have been a colorist and user of Resolve for more than 10 years, and I had already built a post-production room around this tool in the garage of my house. I had already grounded a lot of commercials shot with the Pocket model, so I was convinced that I would receive images of excellent quality," said Charles.
By grading in DaVinci Resolve together with a DaVinci Resolve Mini Panel team, Gerstner had the opportunity to create a pleasing and ideal aesthetic for the campaign.
"We're all going through a tough situation, but we wanted 'Stay Home' to have a warm aesthetic that made the viewer smile. The process was extremely simple, and I only created and used 5 or 6 nodes per shot in Resolve. In addition, by using the panel, it was very easy to achieve the appearance we had in mind," he continued.
After "Stay Home", currently available in Asia, Kiran is working on several projects for different brands around the world, including a possible sequel to this campaign.
"It's an extremely intuitive camera. In addition, the large screen on the back makes it easy to detect overexposed or out-of-focus images. The material obtained is of cinematic quality," Kiran concluded. "There is no reason why most ads in the covid season have to be montages or old material. With a model like the Pocket Cinema Camera and Resolve, it is still possible to do exceptional work and create original content despite the lockdown. Sometimes limitations force us to be more creative with what we already have in front of us. It pushes you to look for simpler ideas and to be more innovative with what we produce."
