GIANT Films’ Karien Cherry recently directed NBC Universal’s new campaign for the South African market. Made up of four standalone 60 second spots, each featuring an ordinary South African’s extraordinary story, the campaign is held together by the tagline ‘100% Character Uncovered.’
“I come from a performance and theatre background so when I read a film script or a commercial brief I’m looking at opportunities for storytelling and performance, and trying to understand which truths we’re exploring. The visual expression of the piece then flows from what I want the audience to feel,” says Cherry when I ask her to tell me about herself as a director. It’s no surprise then that NBC Universal came knocking on her (metaphorical) door to ask her to direct this campaign which focuses entirely on telling great stories. “It was a novel experience to be approached to direct this campaign! Over and above visualising the creative direction for a brief, pitching is an incredibly intense combination of strategy, problem solving and sleepless nights. So it was great not to have to elbow my way towards winning this job,” she quips.
The campaign offers an authentic glimpse into characters that have managed to (re)write their own stories, hence the tagline which precedes every spot/story in bold lettering: 100% Character Uncovered. With NBC Universal utilising their in-house advertising agency, and this particular brief originating from their London headquarters, this meant that the majority of the job had to be facilitated remotely between South Africa and the UK. The brief from the agency was to portray the unique character of four diverse subjects, each within their own 60 second spot. Cherry says that the agency allowed her the creative freedom to offer up ways in which she thought the team could best achieve that. “Refreshingly, they didn’t approach the job with preconceived ideas about what would work for a South African audience and instead sought out my input as a local director every step of the way,” she says. Despite an extensive research phase on NBC’s part to select the four final candidates, Cherry’s first responsibility on the project was to offer her invaluable opinion on their shortlist. “And they followed that up with actually replacing one of the four characters on my recommendation. It’s rare to work within such a trusting, collaborative environment and it laid the foundation for us to push the boundaries of the project.”
While the concept itself originated within the agency, the execution was a hugely collaborative process. Cherry spent time with each character, alongside them in their daily lives where she interviewed them and thereafter transcribed the interviews, editing together the voiceover scripts using their own words. “I then presented the scripts with accompanying visual scenes and mood boards to the agency, and went from there,” she expands.
With each spot realised through a documentary approach, the campaign exhibits an honest feel throughout, “balancing spontaneous, real-life sensibility with beautifully composed, cinematic visuals,” explains Cherry. “It was clear that a documentary approach would allow our characters the space and time to reveal themselves to us. We worked around our characters’ schedules and the dramas of their real lives, and accessed spaces they were familiar with,” comments Cherry. In order to enhance the desired realistic and spontaneous feel, the campaign was shot handheld and relied on mostly natural lighting, “which allowed us to move quickly and have a less intrusive presence,” Cherry explains. “I go into a shoot of this nature knowing that, if I’m lucky, a part of our day will turn out completely differently to what I had planned. Being willing and able to embrace a spontaneous moment on set could offer up the truth of that moment in a way that could never have been scripted – and that’s the magic of cinema. Both you and your gear need to be flexible enough to change course at the drop of a hat.”
Apart from the underwater footage featured in one of the spots, which was shot on the Red Dragon, DOP Pierre De Villiers shot the campaign on the Sony FS7 using a set of Zeiss Super Speed primes that enabled shooting in low light conditions. “The FS7 offers great ergonomics, allowing long hours of handheld work, and is a good size for documentary shooting where you often need to access small spaces. Combined with its image quality and low light capabilities, it offers a huge amount of value in this budget range,” says Cherry.
When asked why she thinks this campaign will resonate with audiences, Cherry explains that resonance was always a driving force in the execution of these ads, saying: “They absolutely had to be powerful enough to evoke an emotional response from our audience. I knew that we had to allow each spot to be authentic to that character, and the final elements of the campaign do reflect each character in a unique way.”
The spots are being screened on DSTV as well as on the Universal Movie channel. The entire campaign is also available online along with cut downs and other social media content. By Chanelle Ellaya
KEY CREW:
Director: Karien Cherry
Producers: Laura Sampson and Leanne Sanders – GIANT Films
DOP: Pierre De Villiers
Water support: FroqSquad (Brendan Bennett, underwater camera operater)
Post-production:
Offline editors: Xander Vander, Willie Saayman and Emily Bussac – Upstairs Ludus
Colourist: Terry Simpson – Black Ginger
Composer: Clare Vanderleur
Sound Design: Stephen Webster – The Workroom
