I had a lot of fun putting together this integrated shoot for legendary brand Dakine. I directed a project for them last year and so I was excited when they came back to me again with even bigger ambitions for their new “Journey With Us” campaign.

The client needed a large number of assets covering both stills and motion and it was important that the style of imagery did not feel over-produced so it would resonate with their younger audience. They wanted the still assets to take priority and the motion content to be looser b-roll style shooting that would allow flexibility for various social cuts.

Their team was very collaborative and we worked together to build a budget and production plan. In the end, we decided the client team would take the lead on casting and styling, and I would produce the rest of the shoot.

For the motion content, I pulled in one of my favorite DPs John Roderick who shot the last Dakine video for me. I brought him into the creative discussions early, and he and I worked closely on production planning so we were completely in-step by the time the shoot days arrived.

Since the DP and I would shooting the same day, side by side, I built my the shot lists with both stills and video in mind, working through a narrative arc that would provide a natural progression for both of us.

I spent a lot of pre-pro time location scouting specific areas on the Venice Beach Boardwalk and the 30+mile stretch of Malibu coast (which we utilized from one end to the other). I’ve shot in both of those areas quite a bit so am very familiar with the territory. However i knew I needed to know exactly what spots we would shoot, what the order would be, and what the light would be like when we got there. I would need to pull filming permits in advance for some areas, plus the shoot days would have a tight schedule and a caravan of cars in tow.

It was clear that we would need a really small and nimble crew to move through a number of locations quickly. As we moved through the day he and I would assess each scene, sometimes taking turns or sometimes shooting simultaneously. We shot entirely with natural light, supplementing here and there with reflectors and flags.

The talent and crew on this project were so great and we rolled smoothly through two long days. Our martini shot was at a beach on the far tip of Malibu with a gorgeous sunset and an unusually warm February night.