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One-on-One with J. Brown |
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 A national commercial
introducing Panasonic?s new
GU87 cellular phone with built-in
digital camera was shot with
the Panasonic AJ-HDC27 VariCam?
HD Cinema Camera by Director/Cinematographer
J. Brown of TOMBO FILM (Hollywood,
CA) for ad agency Ocean Group
(New York, NY). Dubbed ?Phone
Flirt,? the ad, which debuted
during the Academy Awards show
on March 23, is currently airing
during major sports and entertainment
events.
Because the production company selected more cost
efficient high definition video over film, Brown could
affordably capture eight alternative endings for the
commercial during the initial shoot. Two 30-second
commercials (with different endings) have been running
nationwide, and the alternative endings have been
utilized in a promotion on the Panasonic web site.
To encourage viewer involvement, visitors to the Panasonic
home page (www.panasonic.com) can interact with the
commercial by viewing its alternative endings, and
then vote for their favorite. A silent version of
the ad is running on the Panasonic/NBC large-screen
Astrovision display in Manhattan?s Time Square, and
different versions have been used in sales meetings
and for trade shows.
To
continue reading J's Bio, click
here.
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 Question: Tell
us about the ?Phone Flirt?
ad.
J. Brown: It?s quite playful. The idea was
to create a fun interaction between two people that
gives you a unique message about a picture-taking
phone that also lets you send pictures back and
forth with text and voice messaging attached. So
what happens when a beautiful, young lady takes
a sexy picture of herself, thinks she
sends it to her boyfriend, but instead sends it
to another guy? Intrigued, the guy sends his picture
back. Back and forth the pictures go until at last
the guy gets caught by his girlfriend and looks
to camera with a sly look of acknowledgement. We
shot the spot indoors in Malibu, and inside a loft
in downtown L.A.
Question: Why
did you shoot so many different endings?
J. Brown: The main objective for
creating different versions of the commercial was
to provide lots of options for editing purposes.
We had the luxury of shooting 46-minute tapes (in
DVCPRO HD) at the fraction of the cost of film.
It wasn't until later that the idea of running different
versions and having viewers vote on their favorites
arose.
Question: What
were your first impressions of the VariCam?
J. Brown: The VariCam gave us a
lot of flexibility. I haven?t shot video in some
time, but my background is in broadcasting, and
I was reminded of how versatile and easy video is.
And I was certainly pleasantly surprised at how
easy the camera is to use, and how good the imagery
is.
Question: How did
the camera perform on location?
J. Brown: The camera is excellent
at hand-held work, which I wanted to use extensively.
I was able to let the camera roll through take after
take, which made for a much freer experience with
the actors and models, and contributed to better
performances. We planned to color correct in post,
so I didn?t tweak every shot as I went along. We
had an HD monitor with us, and I really liked not
having to wait for next-day dailies to adjust lighting
or other production elements. We could immediately
see what we were getting, which led to a feeling
of definition and certainty.
Question: What
about lighting implications with the VariCam?
J. Brown: We had pretty controlled
lighting situations, and the camera?s performance
was impressive. In Malibu, we had an overcast day
outside, so inside we were able to shoot against
windows and sheers largely with natural light. Inside
the loft, again we used natural light coming from
the windows. I lit wide open to decrease depth of
field and achieve a more film-like look.
Question:
Did you shoot off-speed?
J. Brown: The camera tech and I
experimented with some slow-motion, which looked
really good. But the decision was made not to use
any speed effects in the final cut.
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| As
a director and cinematographer, J. Brown is a strong
visual stylist whose commercials play like short movies.
Beautiful imagery, eclectic casting and natural performances
characterize his work, making his spots entertaining
for the audience and effective for a wide variety
of advertisers including Coke, AT&T, Credit Suisse,
Bayer, Bell South, Google.Com, and now Panasonic.
A prolific shooter, Brown honed his directing and
camera skills while shooting 75 days a year as an
in-house spot director at the Federated Bon Marche
conglomerate. Wearing several hats including writer,
producer, creative director and editor, Brown's work
for Bon Marche, Macy's, Calvin Klein, Levis, and Polo
Sport caught the attention of The National Regional
Advertising Competition, who honored Brown with a
number of Gold and Silver awards.
His recently helmed spots for BBDO, DDB Needham Worldwide,
Young & Rubicam, McCann Erickson, Merkley Newman
Harty, & FCB have been shot in locations throughout
the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe.
Brown discussed the VariCam commercial shoot from
his TOMBO offices, located in a 1910 Hollywood building
that, in its early years, was used by Charlie Chaplin
and Mary Pickford to house personnel working at their
nearby film studios.
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