How Free Society Pushed the Limits of Possibility for Pepsi’s New Logo
When a major brand changes its logo, people take notice. But when a major brand changes its logo, and then launches an ad where the logo literally stays in the front and centre of the screen the entire time - that’s unignorable. And that’s exactly what Pepsi did when it released its new icon last year, launching a 30-second spot displaying the branding moving through a variety of diverse and exciting scenarios, without ever wavering from centre screen.
Of course, doing this would not be an easy task. But just how much creativity went into physically achieving this? As it turns out, there was a lot more to this project than met the eye. Led by the team at tabletop production company Free Society, this campaign required custom rig building, a combination of tabletop, virtual production and LED walls, and even two directors - Etienne Proulx and Chris Muir - to execute effectively. It was a feat of technical mastery, flawless collaboration, and shows just how much work goes into pushing the boundaries of cutting edge production processes.
So, to find out just what this took, and what the experience was like, LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sat down with Free Society’s executive producer, Tony DiMarco, head of production Dan Arki, as well as Etienne and Chris, for a chat.
Behind the Scenes Film
LBB> Starting from the top, how did you get involved with this project? What was the script for this campaign like, and why was this something you were keen to do?
Tony> This was part of our tabletop production company, Free Society (freesociety.tv), where we have Pepsi USA as a semi-regular client with our director Etienne Proulx. The company loves technical challenges, and is built around solving them.
The general concept was brought to us by the creative team, but the actual scenarios were fleshed out as a group. Specifically, the idea was to make the scenes modular so they could cut various versions/re-edits (i.e. one more tailored for football season).
LBB> Tell us about the storyboarding process! What immediate ideas came to mind, and from the get go, were you working with the idea of keeping the new Pepsi logo permanently centred?
Tony & Dan> The original agency creative had a couple of pre-viz variations that went into testing. Once the final concept was chosen, it had the Pepsi logo centred throughout. So, our directors, Etienne and Chris Muir, then began brainstorming ideas for a long list of assets to capture. Overall, the client wanted this to be modular, so we stuck to singular, impactful executions versus a linear story.
LBB> Seeing as this was a collaboration between two directors, how did you strike a balance of workflow, in order to bring out the best results possible?
Chris> From the get-go, Etienne was a dream to work with – super collaborative and none of the ego you can sometimes run into while co-directing. I think it helped that we both live in very different ends of commercial directing, so to speak – his approach is an incredibly technical combination of gadgets and magic that I can barely comprehend, in order to create these amazingly kinetic visuals of the product, where I’m more about figuring out what the human element is in the scene and how to find a genuine emotional connection to a product.
So, while we collaborated pretty closely in terms of the initial story we wanted to present to Pepsi, once I knew where my ‘world’ started and his ended, the filming process was completely separate. But we were always sharing screenshots with each other when we were really excited about something, or Etienne had figured out a super technical solution to a dilemma we were having.
LBB> In the behind the scenes film, it’s noted that the goal of this was to push the limits of what was possible and do something new. So, how does one ideate for an ask like that?
Tony & Dan> Through a combination of Etienne’s mantra: ‘to push the limits of what is possible and do something new and unexpected’, an understanding that ‘post is for the impossible’, and this is what Free Society is built to do with its full-time rigging staff and motion control technicians.
Oh, and as far as ideating, in Etienne’s words, it’s a lot of ‘waking up at three in the morning with an idea’.
Etienne> Pushing the limits, for me, means shooting something new or something you’ve never seen before. Adding to this, there were multiple great ideas that were created and captured, but didn’t make it in the final cut.
LBB> Throughout the pre-production phase, how did you strike a balance between planning for something doable within the timeframe, while also ensuring the end result would be spectacular?
Tony> Splitting the shoot between the tabletop and live-action helped a lot. It allowed both directors to parallel path the project.
Etienne is a former master rig builder. He intimately understands how liquids and bubbles move. He is constantly looking for new ways to showcase the liquid with maximum taste appeal. He really focused on the liquid ripple over the logo and large swirl that the camera pushed through.
Dan> Meanwhile, Tony and Chris have worked with LED walls previously, so after reviewing the creative, it was a no-brainer to take this into a virtual production studio as that was the most efficient way to capture all the various scenarios in a controlled environment.
LBB> With that in mind, tell us about the rigs used to shoot and film the liquid! How did these come to life?
Etienne> Creating/designing rigs has always been a good part of my life; I was a rigger and liquid stylist before becoming a director/cinematographer.
The opening shot was the main rig, where the hero is loose and the hand brings the can to the centre lock position… all of it from an underwater point of view. The can locking position with the camera was a rigging challenge, which took a few days to bring to perfection. Specifically, it took a great contraption with multiple moving parts, electro-magnets, sliders, a motion control system… The list goes on and on.
The other aspect of this shot was, naturally, the underwater point of view, for which we 3D printed a support for our optical mirror to be rigged on the Innovision probe.
There was also a specific shot I wanted to capture in a new way, which ended up being great. This was the inside the cola shot, where the effervescence dances with the lens. This shot is often blurry when you see it in many commercials, so my goal was to shoot it with a special device where we would have full control of every element of the shot: bubbles, ice cubes, cola and motion of the camera.
30-Second Spot
LBB> And from a technical standpoint, how did it all work?
Tony & Dan> Because a lot of our rigs are custom-made from the ground up for the shoot, they’re usually triggered by our MRMC Bolt, which is our motion control arm. This allows us to make sure the timing is precise - we can adjust by milliseconds - which is vital when shooting at high speeds.
Our inhouse rigging team also designed a series of 3D printed can/bottle mounts of various lengths to affix the product to the camera in every situation. This allowed the team on the day to ensure the logo was always in the correct position.
Etienne> All in all, there was quite a bit of R&D invested, specifically for the vibrating liquids and the ideas of sound waves. Specifically, we used very precise sound frequencies and liquid repellent material to fully control our liquids, and it turned out great!
This one shot that didn’t make it in the final cut was one where the can was in the locked position, pouring into a glass. We had fun experimenting and executing this camera move (since the can was attached to the camera), but the challenge was to programme it naturally, so that it looked as if a human was actually pouring the Cola.
LBB> Building on this, what sort of equipment did you use for the whole shoot? And what inspired these decisions?
Tony & Dan> For all the tabletop liquid shots:
- Phantom 4k Flex Camera mount on the MRMC Bolt (high speed robot)
- UR5 Robot as a model mover
- Various custom-designed and printed pieces to affix the product to the camera
- A large speaker for audio waves
On the virtual production day, we used a smaller volume stage at the immersion room. Given the nature of the campaign, this allowed us to reallocate funds to be in the studio for an extra day.
Etienne> Specifically, the Phantom camera being mounted on a Bolt motion control speed arm allowed us to achieve high speed moves that, most importantly, could be repeated. And, the motion control software also facilitated scenes where we needed slow motion image capture.
Beyond that, and aside from the custom rigs, some of the components were 3D printed, welded, or specifically fabricated for every shot. Real ice cubes were fabricated to the perfect size and look for an authentic look on camera!
LBB> The inclusion of an LED wall is also super neat. Tell us more about this! What was working with it like, what were the main benefits, and is this something you’ll look to do more often in the future?
Chris> This wasn’t my first time working with an LED wall, so fortunately, I was coming in aware of the limitations. LED walls are incredible and the technology is getting really good; you can literally set up a room and tweak any aspect of it – where the camera is placed, the lighting, the layout, the colour of the wall paper, etc.
However, even as advanced as it is, I feel like it needs to be shot in a specific way to be believable – in any shot where we were using the LED wall, we’d deliberately throw it out of focus, and then stack the shot with lots of set dressing and talent and then focus on the can in the foreground – so the camera could never focus on the wall or else the illusion broke.
Also, for some of our more rapid moving shots, the parallax of the wall would actually ‘lag’ behind the camera movement, creating this terrifying nauseating effect, so we had to chill out some of our more dramatic movements or just keep the LED wall as a static image.
All this being said, I often found myself being fooled when watching on the monitor because it looked so life-like, and honestly there was no way we’d have been able to grab so many technical and dynamic shots without the freedom to just literally ‘load’ a new set within a few minutes. It’s definitely the future, and I’m sure we’ll all be seeing a lot more of it as time progresses.
15-Second Spot
LBB> And as a whole, what was the shooting process like? Do you have any anecdotes from the experience?
Chris> The shooting process was intense, but a lot of fun. Josh Clark, Paul Brown, and Neil Goldberg were super collaborative and hands-on, which I actually prefer from creatives, so whenever there was a challenge, we’d all figure it out together.
The hardest part of the entire process was that almost the entirety of the movement of the can, which was achieved thanks to Barry Parrell, our DP, who heroically had to shoot every shot with the Pepsi Can mounted like a two-foot bayonet on the front of his camera. If the talent was going to drink from that can, then Barry was lifting that camera up over his head and corkscrewing 90 degrees to get the action looking right – basically operating and puppeteering at the same time. It was pretty impressive to watch, so hats off to Barry for the incredible puppetry.
Etienne> For the opening shot, I had to handle casting, and I strongly suggested I should do it myself! I have a great experience in hand modelling, and in this case, I knew the rig super well after building it.
LBB> When it came to aesthetics and the look and feel, what were your main aims and ambitions, and how did you achieve them through lighting and colour?
Chris> Relaunching the Pepsi logo globally was a big affair, so we wanted to make sure that the campaign had a broad appeal in terms of scope. We wanted this spot to feel bright and energetic – with the can as a centrepiece that ‘fit’ into this broad array of iconic social situations we can all relate to. So, we basically aimed to have as rich a palate as possible, and as wide a variety of locales as we could shoot, and then incorporate the can organically.
Because the can was mounted to the camera, there was no real way to ‘light’ it in the specific way that you might end up doing on a static pack shot… which I was a little nervous about going in, but once I realised that the eye is always focally ‘locked’ to the can and, more importantly, the new logo, it didn’t really matter. It was much cooler and more dynamic to see the can and the logo shift and change through all the various settings.
LBB> What lessons have you learned in the making of this campaign?
Tony & Dan> The benefits and shortcomings of using the LED wall! It’s great for what we had to accomplish with the can as the central focus, some art department and talent as the mid-ground, and then the LED wall as the third layer and backdrop - that works well. But, from some of our tests beforehand, we learned that using the wall as a direct background isn’t as effective.
Etienne> That teamwork between agency creatives/clients is essential in a campaign like this one! The agency creative team was full of great ideas, and brought a great vibe on my set.
Chris> I think if anything, this shoot reinforced my view that while technology like an LED wall can be super exciting, and more or less game-changing for a shoot like this – there's just no such thing as a magic bullet, and with any new thing, you have to be on the hunt for the limitations so they don't end up surprising you on the shoot day. I'm always a little wary when someone, whether it’s your DP or a cutting-edge studio, is pushing the most advanced, coolest toy – just because they're in love with it, doesn't mean that there aren't going to be hiccups – and better to figure them out ahead of time, so that you're watertight when the camera starts rolling.
LBB> Finally, are there any elements of the project you’re particularly proud of? And why?
Tony & Dan> Overall, we’re really proud of the whole project, and how it came together fairly seamlessly. That said, we’re also especially proud of the look of the liquid. Cola is hard and unforgiving. The rigs needed were very innovative, and we were happy and excited to push the boundaries!
Chris> The opening shot of the fridge. Honestly, it almost killed us – no motion control, just one continuous handheld movement. Plus, there was the ‘toss’, which was a delicate choreography between the DP and the talent. If anything just slightly off, either the camera or the can itself would wiggle and ruin the shot. So, I think it’s one of my favourite shots purely based on how hard we worked for it.
