Target C9 - San Francisco Video

 

We're excited to officially launch the director's cut of the Target C9 Active Apparel video.  Shot this past summer on the streets of San Francisco, the video was produced by JCP in collaboration with Minneapolis based Knock Inc.  This version of the edit is a cut-down from the original 9 minute spot currently playing inside the San Francisco's recently opened City Target. Be sure to check out the Video Preview post which offers additional insight into the storyline as well as how the project came together. 

For the director's cut, we worked closely with Chadwick and the team at Splice to pull some select shots and sequences and shorten the overall edit by about 3 minutes. It's a bit longer than our typical spots, however, the "day in the life" storyline requires a longer edit to tell the full narrative of multiple activities taking place throughout an active day of living on the streets of San Francisco. Our project tapped a broad palette of crew from Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Minneapolis.  San Francisco based Panlicker Productions coordinated all aspects of talent, locations, permits, and logistics. The crew shot below highlights our finish line smiles. A big thanks to everyone involved at all levels including the Steadicam expertise of StillMotion as well as camera support by Eric Schleicher. Sam Serbus' internspective blog posts (day 1-3, day 4) offer a nice behind the scenes glimpse of how things unfolded during this quick paced production amid the streets of San Francisco.  Thanks of course to John Fontana as well as Paula, Mark, and Melissa of The Gren Group Inc. for their tireless energy and behind the scenes support of all projects.

It's been quite a year including recent travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2012 is nearly wrapped and we're already looking forward to a what's in-store for 2013.  On the horizon are many updates to the portfolio, website and director's reel, as well as new projects in the works… 

Target C9 - San Francisco Video

On the farm for Winfield...

“Farming looks mighty easy when your plow is a pencil and you're a thousand miles from the corn field.” - Dwight D. Eisenhower 

While summer is in the rear-view mirror it's nice to revisit long days and our time amid farm and field; taking in life first hand alongside modern day farmers.  It's always great to partner with Colle+McVoy and this was another fine experience collaborating for Winfield.  

We've been on a number of agricultural shoots over the years and it never ceases to inspire and amaze us with the overall process; it's a true "get your hands dirty," experience.  Blue skies, fresh air, and rolling hills gently woven into a seemingly endless landscape of Wisconsin farmland has a way of regenerating the senses and opening up a new perspective on what is right in front of us.  A number of the images were created from unique angles, whether climbing up on top of a grain elevator or getting down to the level of the roots, we were able to capture several different options to help tell the Winfield story.  This production was unique in that we spent time capturing visuals of a crop duster.  There is a true art and level of aerodynamics that these pilots possess.  We heard him coming from miles away, the sound of the blades gave away any chance of sneaking up on our crew.  Near the end of our time shooting this part of the project the chopper did a fly-over only a few feet from our heads, and no doubt laughed as we all hit the dirt in surprise and fear for our lives.

It's never dull and always new- farm, ocean, rural or urban.  What an opportunity the camera provides looking behind the scenes, revealing everyday life in visually interesting and engaging ways.

The Director's cut of the Target C9 project is coming along nicely.  We'll have a final version to share soon.
  

On the farm for Winfield...

Target C9 - San Francisco Video Preview

The C9 Active Apparel line of clothing from Target is being featured for the first time in a store of its own in San Francisco's recently opened City Target.  The debut of this flagship location is unique in that it is one of a kind and features a 9 minute looping video created by the JCP team. The video concept was created by the Minneapolis based agency Knock who approached us earlier this year to collaborate and produce a montage of active, athletic based visuals. The purpose of the video is to highlight C9 apparel as well as captivate store patrons with an engaging array of athletic activities including yoga, running, walking, gym exercise, soccer and bicycling interweaving amongst one another throughout the city of San Francisco.  With the focus on the athletes and clothing, we were tasked to create a seamless piece that would take the viewer on a journey throughout all of the activities within the city. It was a challenge to shoot in an icon rich setting and not just show all of the well known landmarks.  We worked with a San Francisco based production crew to uncover and shoot amid lesser known landmarks, places that would appeal to the city inhabitants stating "this is my city, my San Francisco."

With the help of two members from the California based Still Motion we had a solid crew with a total of 4 cameras rolling at any given time in each scenario.  Ray and Paul from Still Motion fit the style and speed of our crew well and with the addition of a Stedicam, operated by Ray, we had another way of telling the story from a first person point of view.  The smooth shots provided by the Stedicam whether running, spinning around yogi's in warrior pose, or  keeping up with bicyclists in mid pedal gave an authentic sense of being there with the athletes and raised our overall production value.

The team at Knock were great to partner with from start to finish and San Francisco was a perfect host and backdrop for this production.  We had the privilege to see many aspects of the city and couldn't have asked for a better front row seat for working and taking in the diverse sections of the city that comprise San Francisco.  Enjoy a glimpse into the project through the still images and as a precursor to the debut of the C9 Director's Cut coming soon...
     

Target C9 - San Francisco Video Preview

TDK / Memorex

“It takes a long time to become young.” - Pablo Picasso

The latest technology is often times synonymous with youth culture.  What is cutting edge?  What makes a statement about who we are and what we use?  Form and function overall lead everyday lifestyles and may eventually land the stamp of approval for the cool factor.  Products seem to be adopted at an ever increasing rate as advances in technology continue to improve.  There is a hunger for new, functional products that have the ability to keep pace with the energy and demands of a youthful lifestyle.

This is where we were brought in.  A two day shoot to help capture a look that portrays the latest in a new lineup of products from TDK and Memorex.  Our talent was full of surprises taking up the latest set of headphones, ear buds and other music delivery devices.  As the two tag lines for each brand suggest TDK "Life on Record" and Memorex "Turn Life Up" they each have their own unique approach branching off from the common "Life" theme which led us to several diverse locations to capture a few lifestyle moments over the course of the shoot.  Thanks to Bobbi Peacock and crew for another fun couple of days.  We're always up to something different and that's what keeps us all feeling young and excited for the road ahead...

TDK / Memorex

Emma Berg - Before and Afters

In our last post we debuted the final Emma Berg fashion piece.  With any video project there are always a number of steps along the way to reach the final finished motion piece.  One of the last is the color work or grading, which takes place after the edit or picture has been locked down.  Color and the creation of custom palettes for our imagery is something we spend a great deal of time finessing.  As we merged into the world of motion and film we quickly learned that color is a major step in the process, one that was much more complex than the workflow we've established for our still imagery.  Through collaboration and much conversation with people on the film side of the business we've worked to connect with "colorists," people who specialize in the color correction of film.  We've met some great people, many of which have spent years refining their craft.

The grading for the Emma Berg piece was masterfully done by colorist Sue Lakso of Crash+Sues here in Minneapolis.  During a working session with Sue, she was able to match the raw edited footage to the colored still photos we provided.  As you will see, the difference between the colored and uncolored footage is quite dramatic and emphasizes how important this final step of the process is for any motion project.

We appreciate the expertise of Sue Lakso and the collaborative spirit of everyone at Crash+Sues to help us realize the full potential of the final color work for our project.  It's one more example of how much broader and deeper the pool of collaboration exists when working in the realm of motion and film.
 

Emma Berg - Before and Afters

Emma Berg - F/W 2012 Video Premiere

While new lines are rolling out in New York, London, and Milan, it's also a big week for fashion here in Minneapolis with an ever-growing buzz amid creatives and designers alike.  MN Fashion's "The Shows" gets underway tomorrow, showcasing Spring/Summer 2013 collections from a number of local designers.

We are always on the lookout to partner and broaden our visual experiences in both the world of stills and video.  While we at JCP aren't typically riding along the front lines of the world of fashion, our latest video collaboration provided an opportunity to work closely with one of the city's most active, respected, and influential designers, Emma Berg.
  
Premiering online via the JCP Blog, the video will officially debut on the big screen this Thursday evening as a part of Minneapolis-St. Paul Fashion Week and MN Fashion's "The Shows,"  just before Emma and her Spring / Summer 2013 line hit the runway.  Shot this past Spring, the video highlights Emma's Fall / Winter 2012 line.  A common theme in her design work is the use of color or the lack thereof depending on the season and her overall vision for the collection.  The juxtapositions of her bright whimsical Fall / Winter 2012 line paired with the mute, stark backgrounds in the video emphasize Emma's creative design sense creating a playful, yet sophisticated darkness evident in many of her collections.
 
As stated in the preview post, this was an idea brought to life through the collaborative efforts of the JCP team, Grant Whittaker and Emma Berg.  Eric Schleicher / Filmerkid joined as assistant camera and JoLynn Garnes handled the edit paring our visuals with a haunting audio track by Marijuana Deathsquads. Sue Lakso, of Crash & Sues, came on board as the colorist and Danny Schmidt created the graphics closing the video.

Described as a "style-savvy art maven," Emma Berg has carved out a unique niche in not only the realm of fashion, but also works closely in the promotion and introduction of emerging artists through her website MPLS Art.  Like all of our creative endeavors we are excited and proud to have a wealth of talent so close to home to reach out to as we ourselves work to further evolve and grow.    

MN Fashion Week runs from Sept. 23rd – 30th.  Once again, be sure to check out the latest from Emma Berg this Thursday, Sept. 27th.  Events to be held at the Grain Belt Bottling House in Northeast Minneapolis.  Doors open at 6:30.

Produced & Directed  - Jonathan Chapman
Art Direction & Styling  - Whittaker Style
Editing – JoLynn Garnes
Assistant Camera – Eric Schleicher
Production – John Fontana
Talent – Arquette / Vision
Music – Marijuana Deathsquads
Graphic Animation – Danny Schmidt
Colorist – Sue Lakso / CrashnSues
Special Thanks to the Ritz Theatre

Emma Berg - F/W 2012 Video Premiere

Emma Berg - F/W 2012 Video Preview

My ideal as a designer is to appeal to the woman who is driven by the creative side of life or at least has a strong appreciation for it. -Emma Berg

This past spring we had the privilege to work with fashion designer Emma Berg on a motion piece showcasing her Fall / Winter 2012 creative collection.  The still imagery featured offers an early glimpse into the visuals we came away with.  The project came about through discussions with Grant Whittaker who describes himself as a “Fashion and Creative Catalyst.”  We had been in talks with Grant for a few months about possible opportunities to join efforts. Our backgrounds in the creative community are somewhat different, however we embraced this aspect with mutual respect for the work we’ve both created as well as the relationships and network we are always working to expand.  Partnering with Grant, and eventually Emma, opened the door to something refreshingly foreign, as our experiences have been somewhat limited in the world of fashion.  It was a great opportunity with unique challenges; the type of project we are always on the lookout for as we work to refine and expand upon our visual experiences.

We paired up Emma’s fashions with two models amid various Minneapolis locations ranging from the Ritz Theater to Harriet Island.  The stark, muted environments provided a welcome contrast to the vibrant colors of Emma’s Fall/Winter 2012 collection.  The backgrounds also highlight her sense of “sophisticated whimsy with dark undertones” - a common theme in Emma’s fashion work.  This juxtaposition of bright colors against the neutral textures may seem counter-intuitive, but works nicely with her style and is a thread that runs through her upcoming collection as well.

We are excited that our video will be hitting the big screen at MN Fashion’s “The Shows” on the evening of September 27th.  The video will introduce Emma as part of her upcoming Spring/Summer 2013 runway show.  In Emma’s new line for Spring/Summer 2013, which may have people thinking about radiant colors, Emma has moved in the opposite direction working in a more monochromatic palette reflective of her personal interpretations of current affairs in the domestic political arena.

We’ll be debuting the video on September 24th, here on the JCP Blog.  There’s a fine list of contributor’s that we look forward to recognizing and thanking.  Just like a show, this video and the collaboration around it is another opportunity for Emma, Grant, and ourselves to influence an audience, further introduce our work, and exhibit how we all continue to evolve in the creative community.
 

Emma Berg - F/W 2012 Video Preview