Filmmaker Kasra Farahani, known for his creative work as a concept artist on movies like Marvel’s Black Panther, Allegiant, Insurgent, and Alice in Wonderland, directed this spot for the Square Enix game Final Fantasy XV out of agency Omelet. Titled “Stand Together,” the commercial features Florence + The Machine’s cover of the song “Stand By Me” and encourages the spirit of adventure as four young “David” insurgents tackle an intimidating “Goliath”-like foe.
Farahani directed the commercial through production house Chromista.
Credits
Client Square Enix Agency Omelet Grant Holland, chief creative officer; Josh Smutko, Clemente Bornacelli, creative directors; Tiffany Lam, art director; Ernesto Campabadal, copywriter; Dan Ruth, chief production officer; Caitlin McBride, producer. Production Chromista Kasra Farahani, director; Ross Emery, DP; Sandy Haddad, Ted Robbins, exec producers; Kev Cahill, on-set VFX supervisor. Music “Stand By Me,” Florence + The Machine. Editorial Work Editorial Stewart Reeves, Arielle Zakowski, Keith Hamm, editors; Mario Baird, exec producer; Erik Vogt-Nilsen, assistant editor. Telecine Company 3 Siggy Ferstl, sr. colorist; Matt Moran, exec producer. VFX Luma Pictures, Santa Monica, Calif. Jay Lichtman, managing director; Steven Swanson, sr. VFX producer; Kevin Souls, VFX supervisor; Michael Perdew, production supervisor; Raphael A. Pimentel, animation supervisor; Alexandre Cancardo, 2D supervisor; Catherine Hughes, digital production manager; Andrew Kalicki, Timothy Bond, digital coordinators; Daniel Kepler, technical coordinator; Claire Pereira de Souza, Flame artist; Alex Khan, Eddie Porter, Gian Ignacio Lombardi, Joey Sila, Joe Censoplano, lighters/compositors; Cameron Sorgi, jr. lighter/compositor; Federico La Tona, jr. compositor; Mathieu Aerni, lead character artist; Anthony Grant, lead model/texture artist; Schiller Jean-Louis Jr., Stchen Zhang, Tadao Masuyama, model/texture artist; Marcos D. Romero, character rigging TD; Monika Gelbmann, technical animator; Ari Flesch, Annie Jan, Erica Robinson, John Trudgian, Jeroth Diggenden, Meg Grube, Justin Brunett, Nicolette Kiss. Ross Novak, Tiffany Wang, animators; John Cassella, sr. effects TD; Karl Rogovini, effects TD; Tom Allen, effects artist; Christian Salvador, Meagan Green, Michael North, roto/paint artists; Lenny Gordon, lead tracking/matchmove artist; Ambrose McDuffy, Dominic Francis. tracking/matchmove artists. (Toolbox: Maya, Zbrush, Mari, Nuke, Flame, ftrack, SynthEyes, PFTrack) Music/Sound Barking Owl Kelly Bayett, creative director; Houston Fry, music editor; Michael Anastasi, sound designer; KC Dossett, producer. Audio Post Lime Jeff Malen, audio mixer; Lisa Mermelstein, audio assistant; Susie Boyajan, exec producer.
How do you top one of the most viral brand videos ever made? Spoiler alert: you can’t. But when Dollar Shave Club tapped Zack Seckler to direct a new campaign to revive the absurdist humor of its iconic launch video, he knew he had a rare opportunity to create something special.
The brief was simple: introduce the concept of a physical “Club” that people would love to join while showcasing Dollar Shave Club’s products and embracing the weird. From script to direction and post, Seckler--an alum of SHOOT’s 2021 New Directors Showcase--was invited to help sculpt that vision.
The result is this “Welcome to the Club” spot which invites us to join a unique, seemingly exclusive but in reality an accessible and affordable fraternity of Dollar Shave Club members. But you need to know the password or more accurately, the two-word phrase--"shave money."
“The Club” campaign brings the brand back to its humorous roots, reflecting a new chapter after being acquired by Nexus Capital Management from Unilever in late 2023. The work takes Dollar Shave Club back to its disruptive beginnings and what made the brand a viral sensation from its inception in 2011.
