Vol. 35
From enjoying bodily pleasures to enduring bodily pains: life is all about balance, and so is this month’s Cut Culture. We’re taking a look at a cinematic Sisyphean struggle and some opinion-dividing advertising. Is it smut? Is it art? Is it smart? The answer lies within. Sticking with the theme of overheating, we’ll give you a peak behind the scenes of our latest shoot for The North Face x JD Sports, before closing out with an intro to one of our long-time favourite DOPs.
Cut Culture
Saint or Sinner?
When people are debating whether you’ve made an ad or created art, it’s probably safe to assume you’ve done a good job. This work from Saint Lauren blurs precisely those lines - and crosses some other ones, according to some of the more puritanical enclaves of X users. Shot by Henrik Purienne and starring Zoe Kravitz (plus a guest appearance from Jeremy Allen White, who was only in it for about 30 seconds, but we saw quite a lot of him in that brief period), the film brings to life a new 100-page book reflecting the longstanding relationship between the actress and Saint Laurent creative director Anthony Vaccarello. And it probably isn’t a coincidence that the film plays out to the soundtrack of ‘J'ai Deux Amours’ by Josephine Baker, who Hemmingway described as “the most sensational woman anyone ever saw, or ever will.” Unfortunately we can’t ask him if he’d now like to reconsider his position - although we probably will be able to in about 5 years when AI starts reanimating the dead. So, is it objectification? Is it art? Can it perhaps have shades of both? Decide for yourself. Opinion is divided, but attention is not. Maybe that was the point.
The Greater Goodge.
Everyone’s running. But what are we running from? Don’t ask. Just keep hammering pavements until the lactic acid in your legs overcomes the toxic bile in your mind. As Nietzsche said, “To live is to suffer; to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.” More people now than ever before are discovering that an effective way to liberate oneself from involuntary misery is through wilfully self-imposed agony. Withstand. Endure. Overcome. And then eat a pain aux raisin. But don’t get too big for your HOKAs, because William Goodge is here to make you feel a little less smug about your Sunday morning 5k. He’s a former rugby player and model turned ultramarathon runner who recently traversed the continental United States from Los Angeles to New York in a blazing 55 days. He sat down (and then stood up and ran around a bit) with American activewear brand Vuori for Volume 2 of their ‘The Body Follows the Mind’ series. Filmed in the stunning desert landscape of Joshua Tree, the film explores William’s emotional backstory and how he found running as a source of release after losing his mother. If your hill sprint VO2 max drills don’t make you cry, this just might.
BTS
Here it is, The North Face x JD Sports Autumn/Winter campaign… which we happened to shoot on the hottest day of the year. The universe has a cruel sense of irony. As a result, we had models in 3 layers of various jackets in 33 degree heat, which was challenging… for them. Things might have got ugly if the new range of TNF jackets didn’t come equipped with Flashdry Breath technology. Let’s just pretend we planned that intentionally.
This was TNF and JD’s biggest joint campaign of the year, rolled out across social, stores and OOH in the UK, North EU and South EU, so we pulled out all the stops. We drafted in a Special FX team to make it rain - they even they brought a wind machine… which really blew us away. And you may be surprised to know that the rooftop scene was actually shot firmly planted on terra firma. The location we found was perfect in every way except one: it didn’t have a rooftop. So, naturally, we built one.
From city street style to a sweaty rave, whatever situation you’re in, The North Face has got you covered. Even if you’re a model dancing until 2:30am at the height of summer.
Check out a smattering of the final assets as well as some illusion-shattering BTS shots below.
Radar
Truthfully, the only reason it’s taken us 35 months to feature Joby is because we were absolutely certain that we’d done so already. But alas, a swift trawl through the archives disabused us of our misapprehension. Is this the Mandela Effect? Speaking of action, Joby’s a DOP who we’ve worked with for years across a broad spectrum of projects (including Coca-Cola, McLaren and New Balance, to namedrop a few). But most recently, and perhaps most memorably, we climbed a mountain with him for Strongmen (film above). From hard and fast content shoots to in-depth docos, from soundie to drone operator, he’s probably one of the most versatile DOPs we work with. And did we mention he’s Emmy-nominated?
If you want to see more of Joby’s work, check out his website and Instagram.