McGarrah Jessee teamed with Lucky 21 directing duo The Chartrands to create a spot that would showcase how Frost never stops moving forward for its clients. The Chartrands helped the agency create “The Missing 9 Percent,” a commercial that highlights this fundamental ethos with verve and originality.
“When we started our director search we had a visual aesthetic and editorial style in mind and wanted to find the right people who could bring it life,” says McGarrah Jessee Creative Director Brian Jordan. “The Chartrands had a couple of pieces on their reel that truly impressed us. We then took a collective sigh of relief after our initial call because we knew we had a pair of smart directors who would really make these spots beautiful and impactful. Marc and Mel brought a level of care to our project that made it better on every front. And having Marc serve as editor added an efficiency and layer of comfort that was certainly a plus.”
“We loved the agency concept and were eager to illustrate the script with a touch of whimsy and inviting visual style,” comments Melanie Chartrand. In advance of the shoot, Melanie and her directing partner Marc Chartrand spent time at Frost with the McGarrah Jessee creative team. “We saw, firsthand, the concept was a genuine reflection of the Frost culture,” recalls Marc. “It’s a unique message and approach – being bold enough to welcome feedback on how they can evolve with a tone that is equally sincere and playful.”
To present Frost’s near obsessive drive to keep customers happy, The Chartrands filmed at Frost locations with real employees at the fore. The directing duo also filmed macro shots of in-office details that would accent Frost’s fervent spirit and never-ending focus on improvement. Marc and Melanie filmed simultaneously for the coverage needed for the many shots that would ultimately layer to create the heartfelt Frost message.
Marc Chartrand created a whimsical rhythm in the edit, uniting lively match cuts with lingering moments to show the ebbs and flows of life and the paradoxes of experience, youthful perspective, and growth. Marc and Lucky Post audio engineer Scottie Richardson created a quirky cadence with a focus on the ambient sounds of each moment.
"Marc developed a pallet of organic sound bites that pushed my approach to the story,” explains Richardson. “The agency and I worked to pair these nuanced sounds with the music track, playing with levels of subtlety within this energetic flow.”
