Hi there! Yet another drop of our Q&A collaboration, and this time its with Seb Edwards for his ad ‘Orange - Trust Journey’ and trust us when we say we had the most insightful learning.
For those of you who are new to our content – you’ve been missing out on some great content, but we’ve got you covered. We are Good Ads Matter, a celebration of Good Ads and Ad Makers alike. Our on-going segment, as you now know of as the ‘Ad Makers’ Q&A’, is a weekly online collaboration with the makers of the ad themselves– a participatory activity where you get to ask them questions directly in the comment section and have an exciting and meaningful one-on-one conversation!
Taking you back, let’s take a look at the ad, and learn a little more about the Director.
Orange - Trust Journey
About Seb:
Seb is a multi- award winning director whose creative endeavors have been met with critical acclaim and numerous accolades, including multiple Lions and the prestigious Craft Grand Prix at Eurobest. Seb has almost exclusively created award winning work for clients like Volkswagen, Nike, HTC, the COI, Vodafone, Luta, Adidas, the Red Cross and Barclays.
Seb is behind some of the most memorable commercials like Penny ‘The Rift’, Lacoste ‘Timeless’ and more recently ‘Rumble’ for Tyson Fury x Francis Ngannou.
Visit here and take a moment to fully immerse yourself in the brilliance of his work.
Back to the Q&A...
Orange, ‘Trust Journey’, a brilliant visual treat to the eye! As the protagonist journeys from her office to a fantastical world of acres of fields and cliffs higher than the clouds, she meets along the way people just like herself, people she can trust!
Through a dream-like narrative done justice to by grand art direction, this ad leaves us entranced as the story unfolds and urges us to take the big leap without a second thought.
Here are a few questions you asked, and we were fortunate enough to hear the answers from Seb himself!
User 1: As a commercial filmmaker, how do you effectively balance creativity with meeting commercial objectives? And What inspires you as a filmmaker... are there any specific directors or works that influence your style?
It's always a tricky balancing act in commercials. Winsome & you lose some. The main thing is to work with clients & agencies who have creative ambition and want to make something great. As for inspiration? I guess subjective filmmakers who create character- driven work. Make films from the inside out.
User 2: If I have observed correctly, not only do your films have a melodramatic narrative but also a commanding background score. Although both the elements are grand,somehow the pace of the music feels slower and heavier compared to the limitless visuals, which strikes a masterful balance between the two. What inspired this unique style?
I feel the music expresses the feelings and inner-journey of the main character. So it brings an emotional scale to the film, which balances the grand visual landscapes.
User 3: Great ad by the way Seb. What gave you this insight and how did your creative brain go in the direction of trust with colleagues to acres of field and depiction of the outside world in this way? What was your inspiration for this brilliant ad?
Thanks! The film plays out on an epic scale, but I wanted to make it feel personal & relatable. About learning to have faith in yourself in an uncertain world. So the landscapes were more metaphorical than literal.
"Awesome ad! How long did it take to plan this?" asked one of the users.
About 6 weeks I think.
User 4: Definitely one of my favourite works from you along with the Rumble and Big Leap spots. Those have really strong and simple ideas. Yet the execution takes it to a whole another level. But we all know reality is, sometimes clients would give feedback that could water it down. How do you handle feedback and make sure your vision comes to life?
Yeah, that's always hard. But you have to stand behind what you believe in, whilst not alienating people. In the end it's their film, so you have to convince them you're making the best version of what it can be.
User 4 followed up: Thanks for the insight. Curious about your process. Once you get the brief from the agency, how does your treatment phase begin? Do you start with improving the narrative/script? Do you come up with visual techniques? Do you think about music? Love to get into your thinking more.
It starts with asking yourself what's the film you'd like to see. What excites you. Then selling that vision back to the agency/client with as much visual/narrative/audio clarity as possible.
We had an absolute blast with a fun Q&A session, and Seb was incredibly humble, answering all questions truthfully. There are even more questions answered on our Instagram post! Be sure to check it out and scroll through the comment section for Seb's insightful responses.
Here are the full credits for the Ad-
Country: France
Year: 2023
Brand: Orange
Agency: Publicis Conseil
CEO/CCO: Marco Venturelli
Producer: Sarah Bouadjera
Creatives: Kevin Salembier, Nicolas Hurez , Boris Langlois, Jeanne Lemarchan & Romulus Pectan
Creative Directors: Gabriel Gherca & Fabrice Delacourt
Production Companies: Wanda Productions& Academy Films
Executive Producers: Olivier Dubocage & Andrej Caruso
Director: Seb Edwards
Director of Photography: Justin Brown
VFX Supervisor: Alexis Baillia
Art director: Miha Knific
Editor: Paul Watts at The Quarry Edit
Colourist: Jean-Clément Soret at Company 3
Line Producer: Romain Cavagnac
Production Coordinator: Carla Pommaret
Choreographer: Lenka Vagnerova
Post Production: The Mill
Servicing Production Company: Bas Production
Executive Producer: Andrej Caruso
Line Producer: Sasa Bijelic
Key Grip: Kristian Pogacar
Gaffer: Nejc Prebil
Set Designer: Miha Knific
Construction Manager: Ales Bracovic
SFX Master: Joze Zalar
Stylist: Valter Kobal
Make Up Artist: Alja Susnik
Music: Curation Music
Talent: Chiara Corbetta
Stunts: Filip Krzisnik