The simple things that make up life are extraordinary: from the first rays of sunshine heralding the start of a new day, to the sparkling birthday candles celebrating the start of a new year. Through it all, we rely on ordinary comforts to elevate those moments and give us greater quality of life.

That’s the idea behind a new marketing campaign from LEVOLOR, designed to help consumers understand how something as simple as their blinds and shades can provide comfort, peace of mind or tranquility — anything that can make their lives better. We saw it as a fantastic storytelling opportunity and a chance to tell a story in an innovative way.

To learn more about the campaign and our unique approach to capturing the creative assets, I talked with Creative Director Vivian Mize and Motion Editor Chris Walters.

The challenge

VM: New homeowners, in particular, have so much to consider that they don’t always remember to think about things like blinds and shades. That’s why, in 2018, we focused on creating moments of awareness to help consumers understand the “why” behind window treatments.

In 2019, we set out to take consumers on a journey that strengthens LEVOLOR’s differentiating quality. Now the consumer understands blinds and shades matter — great. Window treatments factor into everything from design aesthetic and natural light to privacy when you’re at home and peace of mind when you’re away. But what sets LEVOLOR apart from the rest?

The answer is simple: quality. And a quality brand plus a quality product equals quality of life.

The solution

CW: Change is a part of life, but no matter what happens, you can always count on the quality and reliability of a LEVOLOR product.

VM: We needed a way to illustrate that quality via the durability and consistent functionality of LEVOLOR blinds and shades — that day-after-day, year-after-year use makes LEVOLOR unique and enhances life for the end user. But to prove the longevity piece, the creative execution had to be wholly authentic.

Our solution? Stage different scenarios taking place in the same home, year after year. Show day changing to night and the characters growing older as LEVOLOR remains constant.

It was a great idea but not an easy one to execute in 15 or even 30 seconds.

The how

VM: We had to show the passage of time without, frankly, a lot of time. On top of that, every interaction needed to include LEVOLOR blinds as a focal point, reinforcing everyday life and routines’ reliance on the brand. Chris Walters, one of our motion editors, came up with a brilliant solution.

CW: I saw a Showtime show — “Kidding” with Jim Carrey — that included a scene shot in a unique way. The scene was 2.5 minutes long but shot with one big, slow, sweeping move of a 360-degree camera. In that single take, the character experienced life changes, from remodeling the kitchen to getting a puppy.

That’s where I got the idea to shoot the LEVOLOR spot in one huge take. As life changed for the family, the windows and products would stay the same.

VM: The story — not the technical approach — still had to lead. I loved the idea, but I told Chris we couldn’t lose the message because we wanted to shoot it a certain way.

CW: I’m an editor, so having no cuts and truly shooting a single take was out of the ordinary for me. It was a leap.

I saw this as a creative opportunity to take a brand to a place that would captivate audiences in a different way … but it was crazy risky. We’d have to get through everything in 30 seconds, and if we blistered through it, no one would be able to tell what’s going on. It’d feel frantic and rushed.

I wrote a queue list with clear commands and camera commands and quickly saw we’d need a big crew — at least 10 to 15 PAs (production assistants) just to move items. And by the time we arrived in Chicago for the shoot, we’d already done months of preproduction including building the set in our studio, putting a camera on a stabilizer and doing the moves with our team members as talent.

For the real thing, set builders had to constantly come in and switch out the set. There was no time to mess up.

VM: We took a thoughtful approach — in fact, we had two backup plans in case Chris’ idea didn’t work.

CW: On day one, it was clear everyone wanted it to work. You could feel the energy on the set. We all knew this isn’t something a lot of people do, and that caught fire.

The spot opens with a moment of tranquility, as the pregnant mother steps toward the window, to establish an emotional attachment.

After that, we moved the camera 180 degrees between the living room, foyer and dining room. Each time the camera moved, the set changed, even down to the plants growing larger as time passes. Meanwhile, a visual effects team set up blue screens outside the windows so the seasons could change with each scene.

With so many moving parts, it felt like controlled chaos. Photography also had to change the lights to match the seasons in the script without actually being able to visualize those seasons, since we were using blue screens.

I always felt confident in our team, but I also felt the weight of knowing we were trying something really hard.

Then we nailed the first take, smashing that weight. We knew we’d done it, and the whole set erupted.

Last thoughts

CW: Good creative work speaks for itself, meaning you don’t have to spoon-feed the message or the product to your audience.

This ended up being what we call a multiple watch spot, because you pick up on new subtleties every time you watch it. It draws you in.

VM: The spot is working really hard for the brand. Our plan for LEVOLOR this year focused on fewer, bigger, better things, and we put a lot of eggs in one basket. We were thrilled with the final result, and this single shoot gave us all the assets we needed for a whole year — 30-second and 15-second versions of the TV spot, three digital videos and still photography.

CW: We had a fantastic crew. Having an idea is one thing, but when everyone buys into that idea and shares a sense of pride for the work, that’s even better. In the production world, when you’re on set, there’s no time to guess. We were trying something new and had to capture a lot of deliverables.

But the planning was really key. It took months of work. We put every moment on paper so that when we showed up for the real thing, we’d just have to execute.

I’m proud of the final product. It shows you can be ambitious. That sometimes, you can take a chance instead of playing it safe. That doing something different can elevate the result. I’m thankful our clients at LEVOLOR embraced the creative approach, and I can’t wait to see what it does for them.