To promote the launch of its Verdera Voice Lighted Mirror with built-in Voice Control, Kohler tapped RSA Films’ filmmaker and visual effects artist Robert Stromberg (Maleficent) to direct this centerpiece TV commercial for its new “Mirror, Mirror” campaign.
The “Mirror, Mirror” spot features a modern-day “evil” queen using Kohler’s first mirror-of-its-kind in the market to transform from a villainous character into the best version of herself. At the queen’s bidding, the mirror turns the lights on to make up mode, starts her music playlist, informs her of the nail salon’s hours, adds items to her shopping list and, in a surprise twist at the end, starts her Kohler DTV+ Shower System.
Credits
Client Kohler Camm Rowland, executive creative director; Ewa Lonska, associate creative director/art director; Beth Kerin, associate creative director/copywriter; George Friedman, head of production; Natalie Lum Freedman, producer. Production Company RSA Films Robert Stromberg, director; David Mitchell, managing director; Tracie Norfleet, exec producer; Alejandra Quesada, producer; John Mathieson, DP; Elicia Laport, head of production; Jin Kin, production designer; Jordan Gottsacker, set sr. interior designer; Ami Goodheart, costume designer. Editorial Whitehouse Post Tobias Suhm, editor; Amanda Marien, assistant editor; Lauren Connolly, producer. VFX Carbon VFX Julien Biard, colorist; Angelica Anderson, color assist; Matt Bregger, Ed Nichols, Heidi Anderson, Flame artists; Steven Wind, Flame assist; Kate Soczka, sr. producer. Audio Post Another Country Erik Widmark, Drew Weir, mixers; Patricia Ramos, audio assist; Tim Konn, exec producer; Louise Rider, producer. Music Yessian Dan Zank, composer; Jeff Dittenber, sound designer; Michael Yessian, exec producer; Lars Makie, producer. Music Licensing Marmoset Stephen McNally, music licensing coordinator.
Dancer turned director Ezra Hurwitz collaborates with Ailey II artistic director Francesca Harper, featuring movement as museum pieces against the Whitney Museum of American Art’s striking architecture for this short film titled Echoes of Ailey. Commissioned to celebrate “Edges of Ailey” at the Whitney Museum, the film accompanies the first large-scale exhibition on the life and enduring legacy of visionary artist and choreographer Alvin Ailey. “Edges of Ailey” is currently on view at the Whitney until February 9.
Animating iconic images from Alvin Ailey’s 20th-century repertory, the film expands on the exhibition by constructing a visual narrative around his storytelling and influences. Set to Radiohead’s “Everything In Its Right Place,” dancers from the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Ailey II, and The Ailey School capture the emotional core of the company’s history--physically situating Ailey’s masterworks amongst the Whitney’s collection.
“As a child, my grandmother took me to Ailey’s Revelations once a year,” said Hurwitz. “No matter how often I saw it, the work captivated me. There isn’t one specific thing I hope viewers take away from the film--or one way to interpret its images. It’s meant to be an abstract work, like Ailey’s creations.”
Turning to his archive, Hurwitz and Harper illuminate key sequences symbolic of Ailey’s profound legacy, closing on an uninterrupted sequence from "I’ve Been Buked," the opening movement of Ailey’s legendary "Revelations." Carrying a watershed moment back to its own medium, Echoes of Ailey captures the multigenerational impact of Ailey’s work, continued by his organization. The short film first premiered on Nowness.
