Suave Believers
Most think Suave is to cheap to work, and if you're a black girl with natural hair you'd pretty much pass it right by. But Suave is loved amongst its most loyal fan base, and so the powers that be determined that what it had was an image problem. Most would opt to rebrand, but regardless of your feelings about Suave the name still carries weight, you can't just throw decades of hard work out the door. So instead they set out to make the brand relevant with some good ole fashion trolling.
Trolling might be to harsh of a word. Switcheroo perhaps? Eck that word seems to dated, lets stick with trolling. The plan was quite genius, Suave disguised itself as a chic new brand named Evaus. The weeks leading up to our shoot Evaus was sent to beauty bloggers and influencers who would review the shampoo thinking it was the latest luxury branded hair care product. When they arrived on the shoot day to tell us about their experiences thats where the caper was exposed.
I was over the print/photography part of this campaign, tasked with doing portraits of the 12 girls who graced our studio. Working in tandem with the Director and DP we laid out a game plan to make sure we wouldn't step on each others toes when it came to splitting time between print and video. The set was lit with a series of Arri Sky Panels and a couple of 10K HMI in lue of strobes, There wasn't a moment I couldn't capture. I shot with a Canon 5Dmk III and an old school Canon 7D for good measure. Even after all these years my 7D still held up, and even out paced the 5D in a few cases. Check out the rest of the campaign and a few of my favorite snaps below.
Till the next time - M
Miss Universe US Virgin Islands
Any time I get to run around with two types of cameras on the beach I remember why I love what I do. Over the course of 4 months my team and I crafted the photo and video elements for what would be Carolyn Carter's 2016 Miss Universe run.
The project started in New York City where a small, but nimble, team filmed Carolyn's week long preparations for Ms. Universe. This involved her inaugural Miss Universe photoshoot with Fadil Bursha, runway training with Lu Sierra and working with her costume designer Martin Izqeurido. I paired with long time friend and amazing cinematographer Jamal Solomon to help me craft a sensible documentary visual look. We knew from the beginning we'd be shooting on the c100. Its a very light and capable camera and helped us immensely with the amount of locations we had. Added to that fact I was also editing this project I didn't want anything with a heavy file type. These videos would live online, no need to muddy up my hard drives with heavy RED or ALEXA footage.
LOOK & FEEL
Carolyn & I were very in sync on the look and feel she wanted for this project. From the photos to the video we wanted to make sure her bright and positive attitude came across in everything. We also wanted an aesthetic that took on a tone of a Documentary film. Carolyn has been doing pageant work for years and I wanted to make sure that we captured just how polished and precise that that process is.
I doubt many of us know what it truly means to represent a country. How do you do it? That question dawned on me as the 2nd portion of our campaign started up in the US Virgin Islands.
The answer to the question above… It ain’t easy. But if you start with being an amazing person you'll have an easier time representing your country.
Our schedule was packed sun up to sun down. We experienced a vacation through a looking glass only. No time to enjoy it, just smile big as that windswept beach passes you by… That isn’t to say we didn’t venture to some great places. A mountain trek Tan Tan tour, Scuba Diving off the coast and Carolyn volunteering her at AZ Academy which sits on one of the highest points in the USVI. Everything was jam packed. Carolyn had speaking engagements as well as different out reach efforts that she passionate about. With her being on her home turf she was adamant about getting out into her community and continuing to do some good. The woman put a typical work week to shame it was on the rest of us to keep up with her.
One of the most common questions Carolyn received during her tour was "Is Miss Universe still owned by Donald Trump?" I'm happy to say that it isn't. Due to his horrible way with words and people (still amazed that idiot will be president) he was pushed out of the organization.
I’ve known Carolyn for years, she’s competed in several pageants around the world including Miss World, Miss Supernational and Miss Earth. Miss Universe is a beauty competition with a heavy platform to call attention to very important causes the that still plague the world. Carolyn is an active spokesperson for HIV/AIDs awareness in the Caribbean and it was heartwarming to see an entire Island flock around her to help push her message. In return Carolyn gave 110% to the people she met, and her smile never faded once. I truly felt like I was apart of the family and intern I think we captured some very intimate moments, getting to show both sides of the Miss Universe process was a first for me. Blending the heartfelt moments with her more campaign glam images took some learning, you'll find in most jobs you're doing one or the other and it was very interesting to make both Superstar & Superhero work in tandem. From start to finish this gig was amazing, a big thank you to Carolyn and her team. Keep a look out for her this year as she competes in Miss Universe 2016.
Director & Photographer: Michael Cooke
Produced By: Michael Cooke & Alison Jarvis
Edited By: Michael Cooke
Cinematographer: Jamal Solomon
2nd Camera: Alexander Bock
Sound: John McGall
Music Provided by Audio network & Musicbed
The Rundown Seasons 1 & 2
Real Talk, Real Tv, Real Vibes
That is the catch phrase from our exhilarating host Giselle D' Wassi along with Dj Stephen The Rundown is a travel/lifestyle show focusing on all things music and entertainment in the Caribbean. This show spanned over a year. We shot season one in Trinidad in February and we just wrapped season two in Miami. And at the end of the day it was a realization of how hard it is to start a project like this from scratch, and the juicy successful feeling to see something you've helped create reach its full potential on Broadcast TV.
I drew heavy from my time working at TBS where shoots like this were the norm. A heavy studio day, energetic talent and subject mater, a condensed schedule, these were all familiar pressures. But the control of the studio environment, and a solid production team spanning above and below the line is what made the days.
The Rundown is also uniquely special because our shooting schedule are centered around Carnival celebrations. The energy and life force feeds off of that. All our subjects are in one place at one time so we must go to them. After a long day of studio shoots most of our guest had events, parties, fetes or celebrations that evening that spoke even more true to their character and that would allow us to capture a festive Caribbean experience.
Machel Montano concert/Trinidad
Its quite amazing actually.
Shooting a broadcast level quality talk show without alot of the usual support or resources can be challenging. The production company, Align Pictures, put their heart and soul into this project. They trusted me with their visions and asked me to help them craft the look of the show. In technical terms we were making a canned show. Shooting entire seasons that would then be sold, to the network for distribution. In the midst of all the chaos, It helps to be surrounded by some therapeutic scenery.
The Rundown was not an easy project. These type of shows are rarely made outside of large networks, for good reasons. Networks have resources, standing studio space, advertising dollars and everything else to whip these out as if it were nothing. For all the reasons that it shouldn't have been done, I think that was honestly the driving force in me signing on to this show. Cordielle and Caroline brought me their idea, backed by all their years of experience and laid out a plan for success. If it weren't for the connections of Cordielle and Caroline at Align Pictures, the personality and far reaching influence of our host, a series of deals, negotiations and amazing timing I'd be hard pressed to think there would be a second season, let alone a first. True it had bumps along the road, but each hurdle, hardened our resolve to push forward. Taking the plunge to create this with some courageous people and finally seeing it have its day in the sun just makes it all the more rewarding.
-Mike
