To launch the New Optrex Eye Warming Mask, Optrex and Havas London collaborated with renowned sound designer, electronic musician and former DJ, Ash Sargant, to create a uniquely relaxing album that provides the ultimate escape to Cloud 9.
The accompanying film, directed by James Caddick through 2AM, follows Ash on his mission to capture and rework particular sounds from stressful everyday urban environments to make the bespoke ‘Cloud 9’ relaxation album.
Director James Caddick said about the project: “It was a lovely brief and there was a great deal of freedom afforded me and my team by Elliot Harris (creative director), Tom Manning (creative) and Charlotte Lawrence (agency producer). The client was also totally on board, this was really new territory for them, but they allowed us to get on and do our job.
"The idea felt like an immediately filmic story that I could relate to, one man on a mission going against the flow. Ash was great to work with. Despite being quite camera shy, he really got into the project and was always happy to do another take.
"It was a big challenge for me and my team in terms of budget vs scale / ambition and Dale Healy (producer) made lots of impossible things happen. It’s real thinking on your feet stuff, guerrilla style filmmaking and I loved that.
"The DOP Adrian Peckitt was integral to the shoot, a truly creative filmmaker whose attitude to limitations is that it’s just a challenge to make something even better and more beautiful. He chose to shoot on vintage old school lenses so we got lots of unusual flares with a Sony A7s camera which had fantastic image quality and was brilliant at filming in low light and tight spaces, especially good for planes and trains.
"My editor Charlie Moreton at Work did a fantastic job of selecting and stitching the large amount of footage together to form the piece. He has an intuitive eye and ear for a story and enabled me to develop the piece beyond what was on paper.
"The whole project came together perfectly in the online thanks to a beautiful grade from colourist Matt Turner at Absolute and final sound design which was so integral to the project from Dave Cooper at Scramble.
"I loved making this film. Next up I want something bigger with a similar attitude of trust and enthusiasm. I reckon with that team we can make some really spectacular work."
To view James' reel click here