As the third largest jeweler in the nation with 375+ retail stores, Fred Meyer Jewelers is a major player in the jewelry market. With the holiday season around the corner, they sought to create a special seasonal TV spot that was a little outside of their comfort zone. They wanted something fresh and unique to get customers in the Portland and Seattle area excited about the holidays, making them top-of-mind for jewelry purchases.

My big idea was to create a eye-catching, stop motion spot using live actors, with sets built entirely from paper and cardboard.  I had my hand in just about every aspect of this campaign– from concept and art direction to music and post-production. It was a true labor of love.

With the help of iconic animators Laika (creators of Coraline and Paranorman),  my set ideas came to life. I provided examples of tree, cloud, mountain and house designs to assist them in the development of the overall set aesthetic. Our killer prop guy built a 7-foot version of the paper tree for the actors to carry and decorate, as well as a classic wooden sleigh for them to ride in (also my design).

I recruited the buzzworthy Northwest band, Wild Ones to create an original song to accompany the spot and helped with lyric development. If you want to explore more of their music, go here: http://wildonestheband.tumblr.com/ or here: http://wildones.bandcamp.com/

We shot the actors in slow motion frame-by-frame and ramped their speed in post-production in order to achieve the stop motion effect. The result was a heartwarming, original spot that told the story of a couple preparing for the holidays and moving through various Pacific Northwest-themed environments. Check out the paper renditions of the Portland sign and Seattle skyline- they’re spot on!