Halifax / Charlie

‘It was a really lovely brief from Guy,’ says Paul, ‘capturing the excess of childish fun experienced by Charlie. It was also important to ensure that the vibrancy of colours stood out in the messy scenes and that the youthful glow in his skin tone wasn’t lost in areas where the environment was darker.’ 

‘Charlie’ follows our eponymous protagonist who has found that ‘extra is always better’. We get an insight into his adventures as he puts that bit of added enthusiasm to his games, resulting in some cheeky mishaps. Through his young (and slightly closer to the ground) perspective, a nostalgia hit reminds parents that they can give their kids a little bit extra too. 

Director, Guy Manuring comments, ‘This is one of those projects where you really hope that the finished ad resonates with people with young children, and also to the young child in all of us. This is something that I was looking to achieve through our choice of scenarios and how they were styled, whereby despite the fact that the ad should have a contemporary feel throughout, there was a conscious attempt to recall influences that remind us of things from our own childhood. Hence the skinny jeans, and nod towards Evel Knievel in the bike ramp scene. 

This approach meant that the grade was also really integral to the overall feel. I wanted there to be a nod towards the look of the 35mm pictures from my own childhood, which meant that we kept the colours slightly desaturated and introduced a subtle film grain which helped to create a natural feel, and softened the digital sharpness a little.

As always, it was a real pleasure working with Paul on this project and I am really happy with the final look that he achieved.’