Telling a Poolside Love Story with a Luxury Lounger Twist

Many years ago, IKEA did it with a lamp, but very few before or since have managed to give an inanimate object a personality and story to get invested in. However, in this short film for Brisbane’s Calile Hotel, Florence director Scottie Cameron weaves an unexpected and stylishly shot romance between a guest at the luxury urban resort and… a sun lounger.

Titled ‘Poolside Attraction’, the 90-second video offers a humorous twist on the usual vacation scene - holidaymakers fighting over spots by the pool - and instead presents a whimsical, surrealist tale of a lounger that vies for the attention of one lucky man.

Speaking to LBB’s Ben Conway, the Australian native director discusses how the wacky project came about, adding the right amount of absurdity to the mix, and the tricks to anthropomorphising a chair.

LBB> How did this project come about? What was the brief like from The Calile Hotel?

Scottie> The team from Calile had seen some of my previous work and had the crazy thought, ‘That’s the guy for us’. From there, it was a very lovely process as I was coming in from the very start and having conversations with everyone evolved without too many constraints. The brief was in the vein of, ‘Let’s make something whimsical and witty to do with the hotel. Oh, and we also have a really nice pool. What do you think?’. 

LBB> You wrote and directed the piece, taking inspiration from ‘what makes The Calile, The Calile’ - what were the key, quintessential elements of the hotel that inspired the work?

Scottie> From those conversations, it was clear that the pool area was the main attraction of the hotel and something I should focus on. I tried not to do too much research on or specifically reference The Calile, as I didn’t want to be led by a previous idea. My thoughts on that were that I’m sure they’d tell me if someone else had made a film about a pool chair longing for someone before. 

LBB> The film has a slightly absurd, quasi-romance story - where did this idea come from? What inspired this direction?

Scottie> It just kind of arrived from thinking about what we could do with the pool chair. Thinking, ‘Maybe the chair has feelings too’. Flipping the dynamic seemed like just the right amount of absurdity if we then played it all very straight and serious.  

LBB> How did you achieve the soft but vibrant visual aesthetic? It’s quite filmic and retro-feeling! What equipment and techniques did you use?

Scottie> It all mostly came through in the wardrobe decision and making that a juxtaposition to the hotel. I love block primary colours and try to insert them into most of my projects. The hotel is really beautiful in its aesthetic of stone, concrete and greenery, but you zoom out from it a little and see it stays in that lane. It sounds super obvious, but by dressing Jack [the protagonist] in red, yellow and blue, he stands out in contrast. Then, shoot it on a lovely Arri LF with some old Cooke lenses and you’ve got yourself a picture!

LBB> One of the ‘characters’ is obviously a sun lounger - how did you go about personifying and giving character to this inanimate object?

Scottie> It was a bit of an all-in risk on that gag, and there was no going back once we committed. Fingers crossed, it would work when it came time to edit. I could feel it would be funny if the chair made its way around the hotel and into places it would never usually be. That would make it obvious it was longing for something. There were a couple of rules - that the headrest had to face him and that it was in close proximity when we saw it - that both added to its anthropomorphizing.

It was also a very conscious decision to have it jump cut around rather than animate or see it move (except for the last time you see it when it strolls off on its own). It was nice to see it resonate when the edit started coming together.

LBB> Without dialogue, the sound, music and framing become ever more important to telling the story - how was the storyboarding part of the process? Did you work closely on the sound design and music selection?

Scottie> After location scouting in pre-production, I was able to construct all of the story through still photos and some of my very rough storyboards. We then got that over to someone who could clean it all up and have our entire film laid out in front of us. It’s great having that luxury, as when it comes to shoot day, everyone involved knows exactly what we’re doing. 

Sound design I knew was always going to be crucial, as it added a fun element to sell in that the chair was moving. There are the rolling and squeaks of the wheels before it stops and is noticed. Hotels also have so many great sounds going on, and exaggerating any and all of them adds to the mood. I love that it’s a bit embellished.

The music was composed by a friend and collaborator of mine, Bobak Lotifpour. We’ve worked together on my personal film work, so I have a great rapport with him in getting a film to where we need it to be. The score needed longing but with a sense of carefree fun. Music plays such a massive role in the mood, and we didn't want our chair to look and feel like a stalker if it was too dramatic.

LBB> What is your favourite moment from the film, and why?

Scottie> I like the little moment at the exterior of the elevator. I think it’s the second time Jack sees the chair, so there’s this innocent confusion about it.

LBB> Did the hotel provide any interesting creative challenges, environments or interactions to work with?

Scottie> I learned that it is VERY tricky making a film in and around a fully functioning luxury hotel. Our shoot day schedule was a carefully organised piece of logistical mastery. We were very conscious and empathetic towards any guests staying, so that came with a set of constraints on when we could photograph the pool and for how long. There were guests just millimetres outside of our frame. The second we cut and wrapped the pool scene, every single one of the chairs was taken, and the pool was full again. It’s a living, breathing creature, that hotel.

LBB> What was the hardest part of the project, and how did you overcome it?

Scottie> Securing a pool chair to hang by the pool for the down day we had. No amount of ‘But I’m the director!’ helped with that.