The perfect production
50 shots. One day. One perfect production.
Who better to create an online video for one of the UK’s leading baby brands than two baby-brained SHARP creatives – one a father of two, the other a man-child – for an exciting product launch on social media.
Adam: Is there such a thing as a perfect production shoot?
Alex: No, but there is such a thing as the Perfect Prep Day & Night production shoot for Tommee Tippee, which couldn’t have gone more perfectly.
Adam: Squeezing in 50 shots into just one day was a tall order. Most shoots manage about 10.
Alex: What were we thinking?
Adam: Of the best way to launch Tommee Tippee’s new product, of course! The Perfect Prep Day & Night machine is the latest parent essential for any parent who bottle feeds.
Alex: It’s especially designed to not only make daytime feeding easier, but nighttime feeding too with new functionality to help keep the rest of the family sleeping.
Adam: So we came up with the idea of it being Your Dream Machine and designed an online video that told the story of two parents and their baby, about how their day ran smoothly, easily and happily because they had the Perfect Prep Day & Night machine in their lives.
Alex: Both being Edgar Wright fans (who isn’t?) we thought what better way to show this than through an incredibly complex, fast paced and sound design driven montage sequence that would involve 50 shots, 6 set ups, 3 different lighting conditions, all having to be captured in a single day.
Adam: With the added complication of starring a 7 month old baby. Don’t forget the baby.
Alex: And a baby. Some dubbed it Mission Impossible. But haters gonna hate. SHARP is used to turning around big ideas, fast. This was going to be no exception.
Adam: We needn’t have worried. Baby Olivia was a real star on the day – not crying once, smiling on cue, being cute and generally making Kate, our lead actress, broody.
Alex: She once dated Russell Crowe, you know. Learnt that over lunch.
Adam: Fascinating. Now let’s get back to talking about our perfect production shoot!
Alex: Call time on set was 8am. We shot in a beautiful family home just outside Leeds. The crew from Fresh Cut were the epitome of bish-bash-bosh – we all knew the near insurmountable challenge ahead of us, so everyone had to be on point.
Adam: It was set up, block the action, go for a take, did we get it? Right, move on. Rinse and repeat. 50 times.
Alex: Our client from Tommee Tippee was there to oversee everything and her help in getting the all important product shots and functionality demonstrations was a godsend. The machine looked incredible on camera.
Adam: Everyone really did work as a team to get this mammoth production in the can, working through breakfast and lunch, surviving on chocolate flapjacks, cheese flavoured crisps and a non-stop supply of caffeine.
Alex: Tasty. At about 2pm we were feeling the pinch. We weren’t even half way through and we knew we had to be out of the location by 7.30pm.
Adam: But everyone dug deep, with baby Olivia keeping our spirits up by being a little ray of sunshine even as the sun was setting.
Alex: But she did have an hour-long nap.
Adam: It’s all right for some.
Alex: Exhausted, cast and crew took it up a gear and we smashed it, storming through the storyboard to wrap at 6.30pm. Phew!
Adam: The crew made us swear never to write and design a 50-shot montage sequence ever again.
Alex: They loved it really. Made it look like child’s play. Like taking candy from a baby. Went as smooth as a baby’s bum…
Adam: Enough already! I want to see it!
Alex: Well without further ado, here it is…