Luke Jaden, who earned a slot in this year’s SHOOT New Directors Showcase, exec produced and directed this short film for ZARA Kids titled Sisters. It began as a personal project with Jaden delving into the mundane, human moments of childhood along with the wild joys of exploration as a kid. The short centers on the special bond between two sisters as an adolescent girl reflects about life as she falls into a daydream.
The film stars Jaden’s actual family and was shot in what he considers “the most magical place on earth”–the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Among the dynamics motivating the director was the shared connection between his two daughters which he described as the “boundless, infinite love they communicate between one another. A universal language shared that’s not spoken; yet poetic through silence…or even the way they look at each other.”
This homemade piece was shot on film (35mm & 16mm) by cinematographer Jonathan Patterson. Production company was ONE at Optimus, which represents Jaden for commercials and branded content,
Credits
Client ZARA Kids Creative Skylar Gudasz, writer/voiceover. Production ONE at Optimus Luke Jaden, director/exec producer; Diane Michelle, exec producer; Jonathan Patterson, DP. Editorial Ariana De Simone, editor. Music Delilah Montagu, composer. VFX Optimus Ryan Wood, VFX lead; Tyler Nelson, title designer; Christian Allan, conform & deliverables. Color Grade Ethos Color Cameron Marygold, colorist; Brayden Deskins, producer. Audio Post Wave Studios George Nicol, sound designer. Camera & Lenses Panavision Film Scan and Processing Tony Landao at Kodak NY (shot on Kodak film, 16mm and 35mm). Cast Rory, Indigo and Diane Special Thanks To: Kodak, Anne Hubbell, Yolanda Crocker, Panavision, Stan Glapa, Mike Carter, Camera Ambassador, Erica Duffy, ONE at Optimus, Dave Buehrle, MNRK Publishing, Michael Frick, Stephanie Morgan, Chad Johnson, John Kurkowski, Matthew McCaughan, Wave Studios, Arri.
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.
