Samsung

Originally scheduled to shoot in Australia, this Samsung campaign moved to L.A. at the last minute when wildfires forced a pivot. We hit the ground running with multi-day scouts from Malibu to Palos Verdes to find our locations. We shot six scenes across two days, made trickier by a wild storm passing through.

The product drove the creative challenge. This was Samsung's first outdoor TV, built for extreme brightness in direct sun, so lighting design was central. The challenge we were given for the daytime scenes: flattering to talent, but unmistakably outdoors with some visible beams and shadows across the TV. We utilized strobes for day scenes, and continuous lighting for the cinematic feel of the evening scenes.

Each location required a custom wall build for mounting the TV. The TV itself was a foam mockup (with the final TV graphic added in post), which meant tight collaboration with the post team about what they'd need from each plate.

Clients and agency folks flew in from South Korea, and our bilingual producer Ben kept the room translated in real time — his calm voice in my ear all week, narrating in both directions. (I think I heard him in my dreams for a few days after.)

The shoot wrapped on a high. Glad to have made some new friends, and looking forward to working with this team again.