“MOVE AND BE MOVED” – Brand Launch Campaign
The :60 spot is just a small part of a massive 360 campaign we launched for Mazda after nearly 2 years in the making. Filmed in Slovenia/Croatia across 6 shoot days and edited w/ the most condensed post schedule I’ve ever seen, we created content that spanned TV, social, and print. I coordinated a last-minute photographer to help capture static content, and then oversaw post production across multiple 90-hour weeks, finding a new VO for the brand and auditioning over 100 tracks against picture…

60 Edited by Fernanda Cardoso and Leo Scott @ Cartel
Social content edited by Sam Puglise-Kipsey @ WHP
Mixed w/ Jeff Payne @ Eleven Sound
Color/Finish by Daniel DeVue/Benji D @ Trafik

Final deliverables- :60, 2 x :30s, 12 x unique :15s, a handful of :06s, and dozens of stills for print and social use (and every social resize under the sun)

I also had the monumental task of getting three influencers from the US to Slovenia/Croatia: Nika Muhl/Seattle Storm (WNBA), Cliff Kapono (surfer/scientist based out of Hilo, Hawaii), and Helio Meza, a teenage racing phenom from Houston, TX – we cut quite a bit of original content for each of them. Below the 60 TV is Nika’s long form, and then 15s for Cliff and Helio.

Finally, sharing a handful of stills we captured with Tomek Ozlowski, the Poland-based photographer I helped wrangle for the production at last-minute notice…

OSCARS & MARCH MADNESS
Even when the final spots seem the most simplistic, those are often the productions that were the most complex, under the gun, and completely insane at times. Mazda green-lit and killed this Oscars spot TWICE, and then when it was truly green-lit to award, I don’t think I’ve ever pulled off anything on a shorter timeline. 16 days: from the time we awarded the job to having a final spot ready for air (and did we CGI-track a care in there over the that final weekend? maybe…), it was another one for the books. The best part is I reached out to an old line producer friend to help pull this miracle off not only in time, but for about $230K to shoot 2x12s on location in LA. Few will ever know how many times this lived, died, and almost didn’t see airtime, even after we were ready to ship.

We also bundled the shoot to have some real athletes (and a UCLA Bruin, Dylan Andrews – an entirely other wrinkle bringing in agents, mgmt, etc) for a March Madness version of the spot…

The spots ran on air during the Oscars and March Madness, and we of course delivered every iteration of social deliverables, as well.

It was because of this production that my creatives photoshopped me holding a trophy with the inscription “thanks for calling in all the favors, Stu” – again, just me leaning into 20+ years of producing and all of the relationships I’ve gained and maintained throughout my career. Was incredibly proud to have pulled this one off with the help of all those wonderful people around me.

Director: Jason Bergh @ Derby Films
Editor: Matt Murphy @ Exile
Color: Houmam Abdallah
Mix: Jeff Payne @ Eleven Sound
Finish: Exile Finish