The directorial duo Mindcastle–consisting of Danielle Krieger and Casey Warren–from production house Sanctuary has teamed with effects studio a52 on a spot for Microsoft Mesh, which enables presence and shared experiences via mixed reality applications.
This resourceful technology which facilitates meaningful collaboration and connection is showcased in this client-direct commercial, aptly titled “Mesh.”
Client Microsoft David Wolfe, John Nguyen, creative directors; Dave Carleson, concept artist. Production Company Sanctuary, Culver City, Calif. Mindcastle, director; Pat Scola, DP; Noah Thomason, live-action producer; Melissa Myers, production designer; Preston Lee, founder/exec producer. VFX/Animation a52, Santa Monica, Calif. Jesse Monsour, Urs Furrer, VFX supervisors; Kirk Shintani, art director/CG supervisor; Richard Hirst, Andrew McKenna, Matt Sousa, Steven Wolf, John Valle, Michael Vaglienty, Enid Dalkoff, Flame artists; Dustin Mellum, Ariana Ziae Mohseni, Aemilia Widodo, Weiyo Sha, Bryan Cox, Josh Dyer, Jose Limon, Jade Smrz, Joe Paniagua, Mike Di Nocco, Derek Friesenborg, Joseph Chiechi, Mike Bettinardi, Christoffer Bjerre, Haram Jung, Lusine Arakelyan, 3D artists; Jeff Han, design art director; Carlo Sa, Christoffer Bjerre, designers; John Valle, online editor; Niki Love Goodwin, sr. producer; Sara Dotson, production coordinator; Stacy Kessler-Aungst, head of production; Michael Steinmann, head of CG production; Patrick Nugent, Kim Christensen, EPs; Jennifer Sofio Hall, managing director. (Toolbox: Flame, Maya, Vray, SpeedTree, Houdini, Nuke, Photoshop, Substance Painter, Cinema4D, After Effects). Color Primary, Santa Monica, Calif. Daniel De Vue, colorist; Corey Martinez, color assistant; Jenny Bright, color producer; Thatcher Peterson, exec producer. Editorial Rock Paper Scissors Ted Guard, editor; Michel Shugarman, assistant editor; Sasha Grubor, producer; Shada Shariatzadeh, exec producer; Dre Krichevsky, head of production; Eve Kornblum, managing director. Music Future Perfect John Connolly, composer/partner; Maxwell Gosling, partner; Nathalie Cordoba, 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.
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