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MOTOROLA X SWAROVSKI
THE BRIEF
Motorola invited me to pitch in a triple bid for the launch of their Oboe wireless earbuds, created in collaboration with Swarovski and Bose. Produced in partnership with music agency MXML, the campaign centered around internationally acclaimed cellist Rusanda Panfili.
FINDING THE STORY
My starting point was finding a visual metaphor for Rusanda's creative process as a composer, with the earbuds at its centre.
An Alice in Wonderland-inspired journey felt like the perfect fit.
The earbuds become the portal through which she falls down the rabbit hole into a mysterious world, where we encounter her alter ego, who reveals a stunning composition for her to bring back into the real world.
The film was shot over two days, with access to Swarovski Kristallwelten limited to the hours after the museum closed each evening. Combined with Rusanda's demanding touring schedule, this required meticulous planning and close collaboration between the production, music and creative teams to bring an ambitious vision to life.
CAMERA TECHNIQUES
SLOW FRAME RATE
For the moments where Rusanda discovers inspiration in the everyday sounds of Innsbruck—and for parts of the alter ego performance—I wanted to experiment with slow frame rates, inspired by films such as Chungking Express. We tested both 6fps and 8fps before settling on 6fps as the perfect balance for the Alexa 35.
FVP DRONE
We had just one hour to capture the FPV drone sequence, relying on the notoriously unpredictable weather of the Austrian Alps. The was the bridge from Rusanda's apartment into the real world, where she finds inspiration in the everyday sounds of the city.
The TRINITY 2 was an essential storytelling tool, from the rabbit hole transition to the alter ego performance, the maze and the various installations at Swarovski Kristallwelten. Its fluid, dreamlike camera movement echoed the elegance and emotion of Rusanda's performance and composition.
TRINITY 2
THE FINAL RESULT
The campaign attracted close to one million views on YouTube, with Rusanda also creating a series of social videos that offered a behind-the-scenes look at her creative process and our collaboration.
Although the Razr phone featured in the original shoot, Motorola was so pleased with the final film that they expanded the campaign to include both the Oboe and the Razr as The Brilliant Collection.
We heard that the bespoke diamond-encrusted electric violin created for the film now has a permanent home in the CEO's office.