Vol. 7
On your marks, get set, go. In this volume of Cut Culture we’ll be taking a look at a rogue running campaign and a mesmerising masterpiece of a music video. Speaking of music, we’ll also give you a peak behind the scenes of our recent shoot for Puma with Young T & Bugsey. And if all that that wasn’t enough, we’ll introduce you to one of the most fashionable directors you’re ever likely to meet.
Cut Culture
Snapped.
We probably ought to preface this with a disclaimer: as a general rule, it’s not advisable to see speed limits as a challenge. With that being said, if you are going to try get yourself clipped by a speed camera, make sure you do so wearing a pair of running shoes with some sweet junglist sounds playing in the background. That’s what French boutique running brand, DISTANCE, decided to do in Paris a couple weeks ago. Following a new law limiting the speed limit for vehicles to just 30km/h (18 mp/h) within the city - a law that pissed off motorists and delighted environmentalists in inversely equal measure - ad agency BETC recruited a group of French runners to prove that, under the new laws, the Peugeot will no longer be the fastest beast on the road. However, that wasn’t their sole intention (sorry). DISTANCE then used the actual speed camera pictures for an outdoor guerrilla campaign, displaying posters in the shop windows and on social media. And all that without even having to hire a photographer. That’s the stuff of parsimonious production dreams.
Is This a Dream?
The sheer quantity of posthumous releases from deceased musical artists in recent years can have a bit of a ghoulish quality to it. However, when done right, it offers one more otherwise unattainable glimpse into that artist’s mind and talent. The latest release from Mac Miller’s estate is an example of getting it right. And a big part of this has been due to the accompanying music video. The track is from the Faces EP originally released in 2014, which is particularly cherished by fans due to its psychedelic-jazz leanings and gloomier themes dealing with addiction, death, and psychosis - all of which would wind up being tragically rather prophetic. Given the sensitivity, getting the music video right was a Herculean challenge, but it was smashed out the park in full hypnotic, dreamlike glory. Directed by Sam Mason and produced by production company Hornet, the video follows a computer-animated version of Miller’s dog, Ralph, as he travels through the looking glass, so to speak, encountering metaphorical characters from Miller’s life. Mason wanted to really capture the rapper’s early life through the video, telling Pitchfork he “asked Malcolm’s family to send me bits and pieces from his childhood, scenes from the town where he grew up, objects, toys from his room - little pieces of his life that I extrapolated outwards and used to inspire the story.” And the result is a visual masterpiece that plays out to a soundtrack loaded with the haunting poignancy of a generational talent gone too soon.
BTS
Puma, featuring Young T & Bugsey.
We didn’t exactly start from a blank page for this one, as Puma had already launched a European campaign around electronic and techno dance music. However, within the parameters of the aesthetic already set, we had to take the original idea from Berghain to Brixton to make it relevant to a UK audience. And we had a little bit of help from MOBO-winning duo, Young T & Bugsey - who, by the way, were both pure class.
Following 2 weeks pre-production and creative development, we knew we wanted to create something that had the feel of a premium music video, so we built a studio set with a helping hand from set designer Dora Miller (and by ‘helping hand’, we mean she spent a week doing it).
With just one day pre-light and one day to shoot, we enlisted Charlie Sarsfiled as director, who we knew was the man for the job due to his copious amounts of experience in the music industry, having worked with artists such as Stormzy, Jaykae and Dizzee Rascal (you might remember him from last month’s Cut Culture).
JD subsequently decided to make the campaign their lead in-store campaign across Europe, so you might have clocked some of our work if you’ve been on a high street anywhere across the continent over the last couple months.
Check out the hero edit, some of the stills, and a few unseen BTS shots below.
Radar
Jack Bowden - Director
Meet Jack Bowden. An independent director who has helped launch fashion campaigns all over the world. And he’s done it for the likes of Nike, Misguided, Primark, and Nicholas Kirkwood. Not to mention our own recent shoot with Kurt Geiger’s sister-brand Shoeaholics, which, ahem, has just gone live (keep ‘em pealed for a BTS look at that one in the next volume of Cut Culture…). He brings dynamic camera movements and a poppy pallet that marry a contemporary edge with a commercial sensibility, and is undoubtedly worth keeping an eye on.
Head over to Jack’s Instagram to check out more of his work.