Joybird | Dialed In

The Challenge:

The team at Marketing Architects came to me with a fun creative challenge and a clear vision: bring to life Joybird’s “Design Your World Differently” campaign on a tight budget. The concept followed our hero talent cycling through different living room styles via the Joybird app. The script called for a high-end set build, clever transitions between sofa styles, and a moment to emphasize Joybird’s pet-friendly fabrics. It was the kind of brief that gets me excited…playful storytelling with some technical hurdles to solve.

The Solve & My Approach:

From the jump, I saw this spot needing three key things: smart production design, kinetic, repeatable camera moves, and a narrative hook to tie it all together. I’m a huge nerd for all of this stuff and was hyped to get into the weeds. Here’s how we made that happen.

The Catalyst for Our Story:

In the early concept, our hero walked into a new space and decided she needed a sofa, but we felt like that moment could use a more visual spark. Enter Fido (I wish I had his actual name).

In talking it through, I pitched the idea of a dog sitting proudly on a moving box as she enters. Not only did it help kick off the story in a visually fun way, it also reinforced Joybird’s pet-friendly message. It was a light-lift tweak that paid off with charm and clarity.

Smart Production Design

The stage was small and full of support beams which meant we had to be incredibly intentional with our layout. I knew it’d be crucial to be precise with the measurements and immediately started bugging my production designer Jessica Garrison with bad sketches.

It’s super easy for a stage build to end up feeling like a wooden box, especially when your space is tight. My go-to trick is to insert a sort of faux hallway to give the illusion of more rooms just beyond the frame. My DP, Patrick Ouziel and I even taught ourselves a 3D program to find the best way to work within our space. With that design and a lovely color palette, we ended up with something that felt super high end.

Motion Control

As fun as it is to get to use cool rigs, I love using motion control as a problem solving tool. Repeat passes allowed for us to easily transition between different sofas, the speed and fluidity of the Milo gave us the kinetic and preicse feel the spot needed, and the versatility of the rig allowed us to make our day. It was super important to both the client and agency that these sofa transitions felt simple and motion control allowed us to rely mainly on practical effects.

Previz

While I like to previz all my work, something with as many transitions, camera moves and practical moving parts as this spot really calls for it. Enjoy the tour de force that is my iPhone previz starring me and my DP’s cat, Gary.

And the final spot. Voila.

And a little something extra…