FIJI WATER
see the full case study here.
We were approached by the Wonderful Agency to help craft a campaign launching a bold new look for their brand FIJI Water. This would take viewers on a journey from the pristine clouds high above Fiji to an ancient artesian aquifer deep below the surface. Our films aim to show how nature perfects every rain drop to create not just water, but FIJI Water.
PITCH
We were excited to dive headfirst into the project. The campaign would include four: 15 spots (Water, Rain, Aquifer & Clouds), highlighting what makes FIJI Water so unique. In our treatment, we curated a range of references as well as creating original artworks and pre-vis to showcase our creative vision. We felt a mixed-media production approach would work best to bring the concept to life.
PRE-PRODUCTION | PREVIZ
Our previsualizations showed how timing and camera movements might flow to create spots that would be cinematic, enticing and thirst quenching.
PRE-PRODUCTION ︱ STYLE FRAME
The concept centered around the water journey and the pristine source behind FIJI Water – it’s a connection to nature, which is further highlighted through a new bigger and bolder flower on the FIJI water bottles. The desired treatment was super colorful and very saturated, so we followed that idea, cranking out vibrant scenes for our style frames. For each of the four spots, we created individual color themes, while unifying them into one overall palette. Everything about these films feels like nature has turned up your sensations a couple of notches. This heightened reality embellishes light and color, almost pushing it into another spectrum.
PRE-PRODUCTION ︱ CGI MODEL
In part, this campaign will unveil FIJI's new product packaging. Their signature hibiscus flower is now larger, allowing for an eye-catching pop of color. Using CGI allowed us to seamlessly introduce the floating bottles at the beginning and end of each film. These assets can also then be repurposed across other campaign media (stills, POS, social, etc.) as well as future needs.
An incredibly important part to these films is that we were authentic to the plant life that you would see in Fiji, like the Hibiscus flower, Dendrobium orchid, 'Ie'ie and Cyathea ferns. Using CGI, we also crafted rare native wildlife (Orange Fruit Dove and Swallowtail butterfly) to incorporate into the spots.
LIVE-ACTION SHOOT
With safety and sustainability in mind, and with travel restrictions and limitations presented by the pandemic, the spots were shot on a soundstage. A team of about 40 crew members worked over two-days to faithfully replicate Fiji; all of the plants used are indigenous to the islands. The lava rock was set built, we used rain towers and rigs as well as a high-speed motion control camera to create the beautiful, flowing slow motion scenes used in the spots. Using a soundstage gave us full control over the compositions of each shot, building each set and creating the lighting to align with our initial visions from pre-production.
POST-PRODUCTION | CGI / VFX
Some of the live action footage was then embellished with VFX; creating a heightened reality for the eye-catching spots. Here, CGI works effectively to blur the lines of reality and fantasy. Our Aquifer film scenes need to be entirely created in CGI, given that shooting there is not possible, using supplied reference images as a starting point. Matte painting was also utilized to enhance stock footage and photography of Fiji. These elements were created using Houdini, Maya, Nuke and Flame.
FINAL & MUSIC
Music played a big part in contributing to the cinematic feel of the campaign. The score was created by legendary composer Hans Zimmer, who has created music for Hollywood blockbusters like Pirates of the Caribbean, Gladiator, and The Lion King. In pre-production, we looked to his work on Interstellar and Blade Runner 2049 for inspiration. The campaign can be seen on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, Linear Cable, OTT/CTV (e.g. CW, Hulu, Pluto, Tubi, etc.), as well as through a targeted consumer print, digital & social campaign.
