Stephen Vitale, an alumnus of SHOOT’s 2015 New Directors Showcase, directed, wrote, produced and edited this spec spot titled “Agent of Sleep” for Tempur-Pedic mattresses.
The spec piece plays like an intense action film in which two guys are in an all-out fight. Both, though, are eventually subdued–by a mattress.
Vitale said of the concept, “I think the mattress should make us sleepy, not the ad for the mattress. I decided injecting a form of chaos into the tranquility would be a thrilling approach. I love spy/action films: Bond. Bourne. Mission Impossible. So I integrated genre tropes of both mattress ads and spy/action films in an effort to subvert the expectations of each.”
CreditsClient Tempur-Pedic mattresses (spec commercial) Production Stephen Vitale, writer/director/producer/editor; David Bolen, DP; Carter Ross, first assistant camera. Color Bryan Smaller, colorist. Music Patrick Sullivan, composer. Audio Sean Bennett, sound recordist. VFX John Schick, VFX artist; Phil Paterson, GFX artist. Choreography Yoshi Sudarso, fight choreographer. Performers Yoshi Sudarso, Cory DeMeyers, Kara Flowers, Casey Himes. Voiceover Tim McKernan, VO artist.
Director Gia Coppola Teams With Mejuri For “A New York Minute”; 1st Episode Takes Us To The Grocery Store
Mejuri, known for turning fine jewelry into an everyday luxury, has partnered with director Gia Coppola (The Last Show Girl, Palo Alto) and The Directors Bureau in Los Angeles, for the first time reimagining the brand’s story as episodic content. In a series of microfilms, co-created by Coppola and premiering following New York Fashion Week, Mejuri eschewed a typical celebrity campaign and cast us as voyeurs to a group of aspiring young women--real people, not actors--at the crossroads of their adult lives against the backdrop of New York City.
Titled “A New York Minute,” the series features five real-life friends, who include one perfectly imperfect heroine named Emma. The women celebrate ordinary moments and interactions which reveal, sometimes retrospectively, the extraordinary within the mundane. Adjacent to the brand’s own community, the 30-something year old cast includes Laura Love (Emma), Rebecca Ressler, Natalie Vall-Freed and Rozzi Crane. Mejuri’s jewelry makes an appearance as the best supporting actor.
“When I met with Gia and The Directors Bureau team, there was instant creative and personal chemistry and a natural alignment on the desire to push and blur the lines between marketing, storytelling, and the construct of what a ‘campaign’ could be,” said Jacob Jordan, chief brand officer, Mejuri. “Gia was able to push that idea into something that truly feels new and artful, with a realism and relatability that almost feels jarring. Gia was such a perfect collaborator and partner, someone I had complete trust in to be a catalyst for Mejuri’s values of celebrating women as their truest selves. I can’t wait for us to continue to tell the next chapters of this story.”
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