Week 1 | Ideation and Research

Introduction

SCAD partners with Harbor and ETC to simulate the experience of a professional team project. Students work alongside industry mentors to develop their own concept for a commercial and bring it to life within a 10-week period.

The Team

Zachary Malich Compositing

Ella Lawlor Look Development

Nidhi Jallepally Pyro FX, Cloth FX

Mia Laplanche Cloth FX and Hair FX

Emily Marcelis Lighting

Concept

During this first week, our team focused on gathering references and planning the shots for our project. 

Boll & Branch is a brand with a strong emphasis on craftsmanship and the quality of its raw materials which we aim to reflect throughout our project.

Our ad features two distinct locations. The first is a dreamy, cloud-filled expanse designed to evoke the softness of the linens. The second is a modern hotel room, which presents the sheets in their natural environment to display their real-world appeal. To clearly differentiate these two spaces, I pulled unique lighting references for each setting. The dreamscape is lit by a pink sunset with subtle purple-tinted shadows, creating a sense of surrealism. The hotel room is illuminated by a warm yellow-orange sunset, grounding the scene in reality while still giving the feeling of luxury.

In addition to this, our team spent time discussing which shots would best showcase the product’s unique qualities. After several rounds of ideation, we finalized a sequence of five shots designed to flow together while emphasizing the craftsmanship and luxury that drew us to Boll & Branch.

I sketched detailed storyboards that were later stitched into an animatic. This allowed us to visualize the pacing, transitions, and overall story of the ad.