Digital Artwork – Imaginary Lines
Photography – Geof Kern
Art Direction – Mark Dickens
Agency – The Blue Hive
Production – BPH Productions
Client – Ford UK
On the “Stop Dreaming” campaign for Ford UK, we had the opportunity to work with a talented team that included photographer Geof Kern, BPH Productions, and The Blue Hive creative director Mark Dickens. We provided Capture and Phase One cameras as well as artwork.
Campaign concept – Stop dreaming and get a new Ford
Geof Kern and I flew into London with seven cases of gear that included two Phase One 80 megapixel cameras, lenses and computers, everything we needed for capture. We based ourselves in Shoreditch and spent several days shooting backplates around the London metro area. The daydreaming locations were small and complicated. They included a conference room, hair salon, gym, and a bathroom.
A couple of the rooms were about half the size necessary to fit in a car. We determined the placement for each of the vehicles by measuring and imagining the room with a car in it. This is something Geof is really great at. We also had to determine the content necessary for Mary to build new spaces for the cars as envisioned. We shot those assets as well as all the backplates required. Back in the U.S., Mary had to quickly comp some images to make sure that the spaces were going to work. The hair salon and the bathroom presented the most challenges, where half of each space had to be created.
Once the location shots were complete, we moved to Park Royal Studios to shoot the cars. The position of the car, the camera angle, and the lighting was carefully set up to create a look that matched each location. We were working with an outstanding crew that Included Ben Hills, Roger Richards, Dan Ross, Sam Maclwee, and Gillian Hyland who provided the knowledge, talent and humor necessary to complete this complicated project. Somehow I managed to hurt my back getting out of a taxi on the first day of scouting. Dan and Sam went the extra mile and showed up at my hotel every morning at 7 to drag around my cases of gear.
We completed the UK portion of the job and handed off the images to Mary and her team to create the artwork at Imaginary Lines in Texas. Rooms were built, then talent and cars were added and retouched. Finally, reflections, shadows and lighting completed the illusion necessary to make the images work for Mark, Geof and Ford. Thanks to Mark and Geof for including us in a truly fun project!. It allowed us to meet and work with a skillful and fun team while creating some spectacular images.