Michael Drapp

Lifestyle - INTRO

Back in college, the woman I eventually married kept her music collection in a dresser drawer that would fall to the ground if you pulled it out too far, because of the weight of all the records. I will never forget the night our junior year when her roommate was out of town and we had the apartment to ourselves. She pulled out The Smiths, and we danced through the entire album.

The way we organize and listen to our music has changed, but the power it has to transform an evening or the course of an entire relationship remains strong as ever. This is the truth we’re capturing in an authentic and visually gorgeous way in this campaign.

These are intimate and engaging human connections brought to life by an immersive musical experience. It’s universal and deeply personal at the same time. Let’s tap the gamut of emotions in these spots and create a truly inspiring and captivating campaign for Sonos.

Casting - LEO & HANNAH

Hannah just started her first year at med school and is using this as one final break before she hunkers down for a challenging new semester. She picked up the cycling bug from her mom, who used to take her out for early morning rides on weekends all through her childhood. She’s so grateful to be able to continue to share experiences and rituals that they have had together for so many years.

Leo could have gone to college, but instead he followed in his father’s footsteps and works in the painting business. He’s Hannah’s younger sibling, but Hannah really sees him as an equal. She saw the way he shined in school, and she really admires the fact that he’s doing work that is in his blood, work that he enjoys, rather than chasing someone else’s dream. For his part, Leo always looked up to Hannah as a bit of a role model growing up. She was popular in school but kept him under her wing...

Automotive - VISUALS

These spots are cinematic snapshots of real life, and the visuals should capture that feeling without affectation. For our images to be as authentic as our heroes, we need to face up to their grit. I want to film these men honestly and let their eyes and the details of their surroundings do the talking. These faces have seen their fair share of tribulations and come out all the better. There’s no reason to Hollywoodize it; they’re humans like we are.

Our shooting style won’t draw undue attention to itself but will heighten the stories with a filmic attention to detail. From frayed rope passing through leathered hands to the the sky spread out wide behind our truck and our windmill, we’ll photograph these stories with a strong visual cadence. We’ll depict the strength and resilience of these men and their trucks against backdrops that demand attention. The Ram trucks are handled with confidence on dirt, on concrete, over scrub, wherever we need to take them.

I like to bring on multiple cameras and we’re not afraid to roll. The Alexa is wonderful because it looks like film, but smaller cameras like Red and Amira look beautiful too and are nimble solutions for tight-fitting areas. Our fleet footed approach ensures that we’ll be there for the right moments when they happen without imposing our presence on the frame. From wide shots to macro, our images will beautifully convey the full scope of each hero’s condition and provide a stock of options for how each story can be built in the edit.

Lifestyle - STORY

Since these stories are somewhat open-ended and the casting hasn’t been finalized, I’m going to run through this spot as a bit of a freestyle. While we are sticking to this idea in spirit, the details are bound to change as we learn more about who we cast and where we’ll be going with them.

I could just as easily imagine Paul Nicklen in these situations, or visualize a similar tempo happening with Ariana in Seattle, or the countryside of Upstate New York with April.

Alaska. Finally. Fly into Anchorage.
We start with a closeup of a road map - Jimmy’s finger tracing a line up the coast. We see a quick shot of him searching for flights online, then another with his Amex Gold card being whisked out and set on the table. He types in the destination. Prints a ticket. He’s off.

Jimmy looks out the window on a flight, and we see his POV of clouds going by. Great white-capped Alaskan mountains are reaching up as the plane descends.

Sports - INTRODUCTION

There are all too many ways of getting a cheap leg up in life. From nepotism and financial privilege, to good luck or good looks, not every success story was earned through sweat.

But the NBA presents a different reality.

Anyone who’s made it to the Association has done so by playing on their own terms, paving their own road, and outworking the competition. Unprecedented dedication and inexhaustible will power are prerequisites for reaching the top heights on the hardwood.

Budweiser is aligning itself with a blue-collar work ethic by saluting these overachievers. Through six cinematic/animated docu-portraits, we’ll celebrate the tenacity of the human spirit and tell the untold stories of some of the NBA’s most inspiring players. We’re teaming up with a collection of crazy talented young-gun artists to illuminate stories that come from the deepest recesses of these players’ souls.

Food - APPROACH

We have reached the promised land. Pizza heaven. The music swells, the lighting becomes more vibrant, and the colors more saturated. Golden sunset light floods through the window, with a soft haze in the air so that we feel the shafts of light. Occasionally, this light will beautifully flare our lens, creating energy and adding a sense of motion.

We cut to a heroic, sweeping view over top of the pizza on the oven rack. As if the door was just opened, a rush of steam pours out, and the delicious cheese is bubbling and puffing hot.

The way we photograph the pizza feels like flying over a landscape in a helicopter shot. The wide-angle probe lens starts at far right and travels across the pizza as a hand with an oven mit pulls it out.

We see a hint or corner of our kitchen with a Delissio Pizza box stacked on the counter, slightly out of focus, and other utensils making this feel like an actual, lived-in kitchen even though it will only be a small section.