Reuniting with director Keir McFarlane, this project for the smartphone brand Oppo was an exercise in crafting a heartfelt, emotional narrative. The campaign's core message was a powerful one for a tech company: encouraging fathers to put down their phones and spend more meaningful time with their children.
My role as cinematographer was to create a visual language that felt warm, authentic, and emotionally resonant. To enhance the sense of authenticity, we intentionally framed our shots to have a candid, almost accidental quality, evoking the feeling of a cherished home video. This approach was designed to draw the audience into the quiet, beautiful moments of connection between a father and his child as if they were witnessing a fleeting, genuine memory.
To achieve this gentle, intimate look, I chose to shoot on the RED Epic paired with Cooke S4 lenses. The Cooke S4s are renowned for their beautiful rendering of skin tones and their overall warm, pleasing character, which was a perfect match for this kind of storytelling.
The two-day shoot was a smooth and efficient production. We focused on creating a collaborative and calm on-set atmosphere, which allowed the actors to deliver genuine, heartfelt performances.
The final film was very well-received, with both the client and agency loving the results, and it even garnered press in advertising industry publications. It's a project I'm proud of, as it demonstrates the ability to deliver a polished, emotionally compelling story for a major international brand, smoothly and professionally.
