Onstar GEN z OLV

Thank you for the opportunity to take this project on. There’s a simplicity to each scene that conveys so much in such a short time span. Not overly complex, but rich in character blocking, talent direction, and cinematography. We are going to have a lot of fun with these and I’m looking forward to taking you through my approach.

Aesthetic

The stylistic approach is to stay natural. This goes for camera movement, how we light our subjects, and how we color correct the footage. Nothing overly flashy, but has cinematic integrity. The shots need to feel relatable, and thus natural light will be our friend. 

Approach

I have had the opportunity in the past to work on spots that are under 15 seconds. It’s always a creative challenge, I love it. There is a subtlety to approaching each scene - and a lot of finessing involved for each shot. So much can be conveyed in a short amount of time. I will work directly with the talent to find the perfect and subtle action that will work within each scene. Blocking is crucial, both for talent and camera. It typically takes no more than a couple of rehearsals to get into the right flow. And when it comes together, voila.

Scene Breakdown , Casting, Locations

I’ve put each scene in the order in which we’ll shoot them throughout the day. Looking at your deck, I can confidently say that we can shoot this in a day. No problem whatsoever.  However, we are going to want to choose locations based on proximity to each other. I found a good route for us to take for the day of the shoot that you can view below. 

Because you have a new boyfriend.

Location Malibu - Zuma Beach / Nicolas Canyon county Beach

Wide open airy setting with a sea-scape and some mountains in the background. A quite tranquil setting ironnically juxtaposed against the beat up VW bus rolling into frame. Shot early morning so the sun is directly hitting the van and lighting the entire background for a bright, poppy, and warm vibe.

Casting Kylar

Kylar is dear friend of mine who happens to own a very beat up, but trusty, VW bus. It has character but is a little suspect. Kind of like Kylar. He has a heart of gold and is a creative genius, but if you happen to take a moment to watch this video profile of him and his VW, then you may understand a little more of what I’m talking about. The sickle is purely a decorative item, I swear.

Because dead batteries and flat tires…

Location Calabasas / Malibu Canyon 

I did some research and it looks like there’s a location that would look like a very inconvenient place to break down under 30mins from our last location. Shot during the middle of the day, high noon. The absolutely worst time to be stranded.

Casting Tre, Dylan, Tommy 

I have a group of buds who love adventuring - they look like a bunch of funky cowboys. As for the car, my fiancée owns a 1970 international scout that we can easily stage as being broken down. As for using an RV, we may have to source one. But this is 360 Double Wide, we’ll get our hands on one if need be.

The International Scout

Because Sometimes they want to see you safe.

Location Tapia Park Public Use Area aka Malibu Park

Set no more than 20 minutes from our previous location lies a beautiful oasis of a park. Canopied trees, a river creek and park benches fill the space for infinite options to film this scene. This will be shot around golden hour/dusk so we will really use that to our advantage with lens flares and shadow play within the trees. Creating a truly serene atmosphere.

For the daughter on her phone, lets brainstorm a way we can achieve this. I am thinking that we create a very small outdoor set nearby and light the subject to feel like it’s an interior setting. All we will need is a singular wall and diffusion the block out the remaining sunlight.

Casting TBD

Because you’ve always been a safe driver

Location Anywhere

The sun will be setting or will most likely have set at this point. This is great for us because we will be filming the car while it’s stationary, and create a synthetic environment that conveys that she is driving in the rain. We will surround the car in duvetyne and completely sculpt the light around her and the car to emulate street lamps passing by and rain drops falling on the windshield.

Talent Natasha + Sami

These are two lovely people I have collaborated with in the past. Each of them have a happy-go-lucky nature about them, which will be a perfect starting point for talent direction. Both have experience acting and modeling.

Sound Design

We are going to want a sound person recording for each scene for foley and dialogue (if any) needs to be captured. I can envision the sound being subtle, ambient and more so environmental rather than overbearing. Since our viewers have to go the extra mile to click on the video for sound - it’s safe to say the edit has to work without sound as well - because a large majority of viewers will view it silently.

About the Director

Here’s what he’s currently jamming to:

THANK YOU!

Thank you kindly for checking out the treatment. I appreciate the opportunity and am looking forward to hearing your feedback and creative input.