Blue Shield
Director’s Treatment by Lorenzo de Guia
Let’s Make Something Great.
Robyn, Ricardo, Forrest, Sarah, and Ilene, thank you so much for taking the time to talk us through the creative the other day. It’s always a pleasure meeting and working with new teams, and I am sure I speak for everyone at Backyard when I say we are excited for the chance to collaborate together.
We touched on a number of things on the call, but what stuck with me the most were the themes of hope, connection, and joy. Healthcare is so often a subject people confront with fear and anxiety - so the idea of focusing on the people instead of the medical charts and hospital settings feels right.
When we have healthcare that is accessible and good, it enables and empowers us to focus on the more important aspects of our lives. It puts into perspective the things we are living for.
I’ve outlined a few key details below, but I mostly want to use this treatment to introduce myself and my vision for the project, and to frame how we can be collaborative partners.
There are 86,400 seconds in a day. This is a story that shows how meaningful each second can truly be.
More Life
Bit of an aside but I wanted to relay a quick story. I’ve been a Blue Shield member myself for almost 15 years now and it wasn't until summer 2019 that I put my coverage through its paces.
I had found a lump in my throat just above my left collarbone. As any ENT doc will tell you, that’s a terrible spot to find a lump. For about a year and a half I went through a battery of tests, biopsies, MRIs, cat scans, blood panels, multiple doctors of multiple disciplines (some at the UCSD Cancer research center in San Diego and others in NYC) while they tried to figure out what was wrong.
Anyhow, I mention all this because when we started chatting about the deck on the zoom I realized how deeply the creative resonated with me. When I was going through all of that, suddenly nothing mattered more than life itself. I quickly begin to assess the important things in life and the time I craved to keep on living. The moments described in the deck that I hope to capture on our shoot were all the things that I, myself - and probably everyone - hopes to keep on doing: Spending time with family, laughing, hugging, playing. Seeing old friends, sharing a joke - in short, having real quality time for the things that matter most. These moments are the glue that make up our lives; moments of joy, inspiration, and love.
I was blessed to have the coverage that I did (and that ultimately everything was okay) and certainly everyone should have access to good quality healthcare.
This campaign celebrates the quiet and often lost moments of daily life.
Cinematic Realism
For most of my work, I always try to find a balance between craft, authenticity, and humanity. This job is no different. We want to create scenes that feel effortless and honest yet are designed, planned, and predetermined. For me, this is what I call cinematic realism.
Viewers will feel present in each scene. They’ll feel the emotion of actually being there - each moment should resonate instantly. Much like Robyn had mentioned on the call, it will be as if we are flies on the wall watching life unfold, but we will capture this with purpose and precision.
Let’s explore three avenues to do this: Visual Style, Casting, and Production Design & Locations.
Visual Style
I love the images in the deck the team has curated. Each feels personal, raw, and unfiltered. A mixed-format approach will certainly add to that.
First off, the camera will be handheld for 99% of what we shoot. We may decide to have a drone shot here or there but if we want to feel in our world we will be mostly handheld. I’ll also discuss options with our DP for camera.
I love the idea of 35mm but I also think large format, full frame digital on a Sony Venice might be the way to go for a few reasons: Full frame allows beautifully rendered fall off. Faces, portraiture, and light also look amazing. Secondly, shooting digital will allow a lot more latitude in terms of light and dark. This means we can light less and utilize more available light without compromising our image. Lastly, I have in the past had tons of success mimicking a 35mm organic look digitally (NHL). And since we will be mixing with Polaroids, iPhone, and photography, those elements can give us an even more organic feel for our spot.
All that said, I'm happy to talk it through further and find the perfect balance for our needs.
In terms of the formats let’s go crazy! I can shoot alongside our DP on my iPhone (both horizontally and vertically) as well as photography. As I mentioned on the call, I would be happy to spend additional time with each of our cast capturing real life photos, video, and more. It might even be fun to grab something like a mini dv camera to add another layer of texture. Of course handing the families a camera to shoot on their own as well as encouraging them to do videos is a fantastic idea.
In the end, we should provide our editor options on how the story unfolds. We may opt to simply use a few photos here and there, or try something with a bit more texture.
P.S. We should chat aspect ratio. Could be very interesting to have something that’s a little different from our standard 16x9 and widescreen - especially since we are playing with multi-formats.
Casting
I love working with real people. There is something unique and undoubtedly honest that real people bring to camera. My NHL job was a similar set up.
As we go through the casting process, I would love to Zoom or meet with as many of the final cast as possible to get to know them and learn a little bit about their story. This can also help in getting them comfortable working with us.
I also love that we are open to a diverse cast that can tell unique stories and perspectives.
It would also be great to search for people that have had major health related issues. Things like heart transplants, cancer survivors, people in wheelchairs or amputees. Their experiences can subtly enhance each of their stories. For example, a father who had triple bypass surgery, could be getting a haircut from his son in the garage. With his shirt off, we would notice the vertical scar on his chest and imagine how that experience made him who is he today.
Production Design & Locations
For the production design & locations, I want to employ a lived-in aesthetic.
While most of our locations will depend heavily on the moments and families we choose, nothing in the world of our story should feel too clean or too perfect; rather, it should have a feeling of life happening in and around the spaces. These are areas where people live, breathe, work, and play. This might mean blankets strewn on couches, unfolded laundry on beds, or a sweater laid simply on the back of a chair. In a word, honest.
I also want to leverage spaces that feel as diverse as California and the Californians we will represent. Different types of homes, apartments, churches, playgrounds, and more. Let’s lean towards authenticity and realism vs plastic and perfect.
Approach
I mentioned this on the phone briefly but wanted to reiterate here:
I want to maximize the time we spend capturing footage and I propose the way we do that is by taking a docu-style approach to this project without sacrificing quality or imagery. Put simply, I want to put our resources where they matter most while still producing intimate, beautiful moments. We should have a nimble crew that can move quickly to get our story. Each scene will still be composed, blocked, and choreographed, but our handheld camera and lighting will bring these staged moments to life in an authentic and honest way.
The goal will always be to get beautiful imagery but what we don't want is to pour resources into toys and trucks of gear. Instead, let’s utilize time of day to get natural light and opt for a simple, practical approach to capturing our story. This will holistically free our cast from nerves but also allow us to be nimble and reactive.
Let’s also maximize each of our talents and spaces by shooting multiple moments with each cast and try to use every conceivable area of home or location.
Moments
Here are some of my favorite scenes/moments, including some from the creative team’s deck:
Two brothers play fight in the Pediatrician’s office. When the doctor walks in both immediately act like nothing is happening but then one brother tries to subtly keep it going.
An African American man enjoys conversation while getting lined up at his barber.
A skinny teen lifts weights in the garage in front of a mirror.
A young girl celebrates her first forward cartwheel on the balance beam in gymnastics class.
A family gathering celebrating Grandma’s 100th birthday. Her great-granddaughter sits on her lap and helps blow out the seemingly endless candles while everyone laughs.
An African American mother braids her daughter’s hair while she takes a selfie of the two of them.
A young kid is fascinated by a caterpillar crawling on his fingers.
An intense game of basketball between wheelchair hoopers.
Father teaching his son how to use the drums/Older man revisiting his drumming days in a music store (much to the dismay of the workers who give him a look).
Hispanic son gives his father a haircut in the garage (we can clearly see his heart transplant scar).
A double amputee man on running blades sprints down the straightaway of an outdoor track.
A Filipino nurse sits down for dinner with extended family.
A doctor gives a baby a shot but playfully uses song to bring the baby joy (you have to watch this).
A mother enjoying Mah Jong with friends when her child jumps up on her lap.
Teens making a dancing Tik Tok video and laughing.
A lesbian couple doing IVF get the news they are pregnant.
Additional Moments
Some quick brainstorms of additional ideas.
A teen getting a cast off gets smiles and applause from family, friends, and nurses.
50-something year old woman at dentist takes selfie while dentist joins in.
Family is woken up by kids running in room and hopping onto bed.
A mom and daughter are on the bus while the daughter plays with a toy airplane.
Military mom comes home and is greeted by family.
Traveling parent Zooms with family from hotel.
Mother and child plant together in the garden.
Water balloon fight. Could be one of those prank style ones where a teen goes up to someone, hands them a bucket of water balloons and then both go at it like crazy.
A Skateboarder with his arm in a cast meets up at a skatepark with friends. He busts out his mini dv camera and films them.
Cooks taking a break tell each other elaborate stories laughing.
Farmer walks down field with daughter on shoulders
Kids help dad wash the car (with teen who wants to hang with friends but is then hosed by little brother.
A hetero couple find out they have a positive pregnancy test (smile, laugh, cry).
A gay couple watch their son run for first base during a little league game.
Notes on Sound
Although we don’t have any dialogue in the script (just voiceover) I still feel it’s important to capture ambient sound from our scenes. Laughter, small bits of dialogue and interactions can add to the texture of each moment and will help fill out our world.
Notes on Post
This story will be built in the edit. I have a handful of editors I could recommend if the team is looking for them. We will want someone who will find all the micro moments and off-the-cuff interactions that happen.
I started my career as an editor and I enjoy being part of the post process (so long as you’ll have me). No matter what, I’m happy to continually give thoughts and ideas to help tell our story.
Additionally, to help connect the people in our story, it might be fun to consider having a few moments that subtly match edit into the next scene. For example, a son giving his father a haircut might then loosely cut to a mother braiding her daughter’s hair. I don’t think this should be something that carries through every moment but if it were to happen twice or three times it can subtly suggest how we're are all interconnected through healthcare.
Looking Ahead
Thanks for checking all this out. I look forward to collaborating with the team and ironing out all the details as the job comes into focus.
Also, I don't build imaginary walls on set - I hang out in video village and chat with everyone. Come hang out with me at monitor and let’s do #allthethings necessary to tell the absolute best story. Let's push to get what is most honest, most true, and most beautiful. I will be a partner in the creative process to help everyone shine. I greatly appreciate the consideration and look forward to taking you through the treatment.
-Lorenzo