Bang & Olufsen commercials on both sides of the Atlantic are known for their visual depiction of sound, helping to bring the beauty of audio to life. This latest endeavor out of the European market achieves that objective with an especially poignant, elegant simplicity, demonstrating for us the importance of sound to a blind man.
However at the outset of the spot, we don’t know that our protagonist, a male guitarist, is blind. We see–and more importantly we hear–him pour water from a bottle into a glass below. The water cascades into the glass, filling it up. As he lifts the bottle upon completion of the pour, a few scant drops descend into the now full glass. One droplet hits the water, causing another droplet to rise from the glass and then fall back and submerge itself in the body of H2O. Each drop’s impact creates an audio stir, magnified by a heightened sense of hearing.
It’s at that point that the camera shows us the man’s face, revealing that he is blind. The end tag contains the Bang & Olufsen logo, accompanied by the slogan, “Learn to Listen.”
The Shammasian Brothers–Ludwig and Paul–of Godman, London, directed and edited this piece, aptly titled “Learn to Listen.,” for the client’s in-house agency, the core creative team consisting of art director Tim Snape and copywriter Matt Fee.
Ed Sayers and Dan Sayers executive produced for Godman, with Natalie Taylor serving as line producer.
The directorial team was drawn to the project because of the challenge embodied in the script: A blind man who–by listening–could fill a glass of water without spilling a drop. The Shammasian Brothers’ approach was to capture simple, beautifully constructed shots so that every action’s sound would stand out. To capture those shots, the directors deployed Arriflex’s new digital camera, the Tornado. The pouring water was lensed at the film equivalent of 2000 frames per second.
The helming duo worked with DP Karl Watkins. Initially the Shammasians wanted to shoot on film but the budget, they said, wouldn’t have accommodated the cost of extreme slo-mo. So they went with a 35mm camera for the real-time shots and then the latest Arri high-speed digital camera for the extreme slo-motion water elements. The two were then combined at One Post, London.
Additionally, Dave Child, head of 3-D at One Post, created water droplets, using Maya, which match and seamlessly flank the real droplets in the shots. The Maya droplets were composited into the shots by One Post’s Richie White, providing depth of field.
Colorist/telecine artist Simone Grattarola of One Post had to match the Tornado high speed-lensed images with those captured on 35mm film.
Audio mixer/sound designer was Andrew Sherriff of Adelphoi Music, London.
The principal actor was Athelston Williams.
Largely on the strength of this spot, the Shammasian Brothers earned inclusion in the third annual SHOOT New Directors Showcase (see p. 1 story).
