Taylor James New York

ABOUT

AirWick Fresh New Day Scented Oils fill your home with soft fragrances that won't overpower. To show just how much other scents overwhelm, we decided to build a real potpourri explosion for AirWick's spot with Havas Worldwide. Inspired by filmmakers Wes Anderson, Christopher Nolan and Jonathan Glazer, we chose a spectacular in-camera approach, with a finished product that stuns from start to finish.

Before sharing our pitch, we tested our own on potpourri explosions. With AirWick's emphasis on being natural, we knew live action would be the best approach; additionally, live action would provide realism, time and flexibility. We believe this test was instrumental to us being awarded the work.

The home's architecture was a challenge. We wanted a space where you could: see the plug in, and the rest of the room behind it; and that could look both old and smelly, and new and fresh. A New England-style home emerged as the clear answer.
Each room was its own unique set. The space was heavily art directed, with Wes Anderson-inspired symmetry. While at first we considered building the set at two thirds of the size, this would call for more things to be changed in post.
In the look and feel of the new home, we created a visual connection between the space and the product packaging.

A live action shoot allowed for flexibility -- and even gave us more time to create additional shots and angles. The house was built quickly in about a week, coming together in 3 days. It was being built 24 hours a day in shifts.
When we found ourselves with time, we came up with the shot of the room filled with flowers. This time and flexibility allowed us to elevate the creative at every point, and have an abundance of options in the edit room.
Air cannons were to explode potpourri to show the house bursting at the seams with the overpowering odor. The house's door and eight windows were all rigged with air cannons to explode in unison. On set, our first test failed -- the real potpourri, not yet completely dried, was heavy. However, because of our test during the pitch, we knew we could do it. A last minute order of fresh flowers created a lighter load. The pressure was awesome, blowing the potpourri fifty feet across the soundstage.

Our explosion is stitched together in the wide shot; different takes were combined to create one perfectly choreographed explosion that fills the garden in one sequence.
This project was a joy from beginning to end. With the time, flexibility, and realism that live action allowed, we created a fun and entertaining CV.

MADEIT CREDITS

  • AirWickClient
Annual 2022 People's ChoiceBurstingProduction Contributor:

Taylor James has been a Contributor since 25th November 2015.

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