Shari Albert
Food/Beverage - How I picture It
Bold, delicious images that fill the frame. Unexpected camera angles, dynamic transitions...
You’ve never seen a cereal spot like THIS before. Cerealsly.
I will create that sweet spot between gutsy camera angles, emotive transitions, and an optimistic, and engaging familiarity.
You’ll know it’s Kellogg’s from the first frame - but it’s breaking new ground.
How, you ask? By creating a perfect balance of graphic supers and frame-filling camera angles with a quirky, vintage, modern attitude.
Happy colors that play nicely with the brand and packaging hues; a look that’s not manicured or fake but honest and lived-in.
So what if the milk spills and the cereal bowls don’t match?
That’s the charm that makes it feel real.
Automotive - Tone
Emotional. Epic.
But we never go near a stadium. We keep it at home - where it all starts.
So often the event is the end result. The WIN.
But what happens if we sit with the drama of our lives?
We focus on nuance. It’s about quotidian moments.
Nothing feels art directed.
It’s simply people living - and we happen to capture it.
Nothing stylized.
We reveal an authenticity that’s viscerally and emotionally felt. There’s a sense of selflessness here - the woman who mops up the gym, the guy who maintains the wheelchair…
Within this perceived normality we see the profundity. We feel humility.
We are reminded of how these small moments have a massive effect on our lives. How, these people, often overlooked and ignored - are the same ones who midwife our greatness into existence.
Sound - How It’s Gonna Sound
Who doesn’t love Groove Is In The Heart?
Answer: No one.
It’s a perfect accompaniment to our film. The infectious energy of the song parallels perfectly with our NY visuals. We will cut the film to the song's rhythm using its dips and crescendos to accentuate specific narrative moments.
We’ll start at the drop of the bassline when the action takes off. This lets us know the party is about to start…
Organically, this banger has three sections so, we’ll follow the natural flow of the song. It would be very cool to cut the music out at certain points and hear organic NYC sounds like, “Yo!” and “I’m walkin’ here!”.
Add in car horns, the whoosh of the subway, the ‘ding’ of the subway trains, “Stand clear of the closing doors”, basketballs bouncing, Citibikes dismantling, dogs barking, kids laughing, old women yelling -
Ya know, the New York lingo we hear every damn day. And we frickin’ love it.
Technology - Character
OUR LANGUAGE ISLAND CONTESTANTS
Super-fit, beautiful people in the prime of their lives who, for some reason, love has escaped them... It’s usually due to a deep personal flaw but, don’t tell them! That’s what they need to discover on Language Island.
Frank from France, mid-20s, has abs you can slice a baguette on. Frank is a self-proclaimed Cheese Influencer with his TikTok account, “Amour, Avec Fromage”. He desperately wants to find someone who speaks his love language: dairy and mold. He gets quite emotional at the sight of a perfect hunk of Gruyere.
Aleksandr from Germany, early-20s, personal trainer and DJ. He’s got a weird haircut, a sick body, and a jawline that looks like Ryan Reynolds chews on Brad Pitt’s bones all day. He’s always working out - even when he’s ‘relaxing’ he curls an imaginary weight.
Sakura from Japan, early-20s, a model-slash-actress-slash-model. Known for taking incredible selfies, she can get to angles no one else can because she’s double-jointed. This made her Insta-famous but also brought a lawsuit because too many tweens tried the poses at home and wound up hospitalized.
Karin from Denmark, mid-20s, a make-up influencer and has been known to turn her face into a cat, Gene Simmons, and Ruth Bader Ginsberg. She’s looking for someone who won’t be freaked out when she cleans them with her tongue or rules in favor of women’s rights.
Lifestyle - Vibe
I see this as a playful, oddly comedic, sometimes dark, and always an extremely human story. Everyone can relate to something or someone or something in it. We’ll remain highly cinematic throughout, playing with light and shadow as well as camera movement to highlight or detract the viewer’s attention on what is emotionally important. We’ll move from our more grounded scenes into a more fluid, fantasy state, weaving moments of elegantly theatrical magic into our authentic real-world scenes.
And we’ll create delicious, unexpected in-camera magic that feels visceral and emotive, rather than created on a computer. These will be surprising moments that will stay with our viewers long after they finish watching. It’s fresh, bold and full of dynamic energy.
Comedy - Introduction
The other day I was multi-tasking so hard, I lost my phone in the house and I had to use another phone to call my phone to find it. The good news is I found it... in the fridge. The bad news is... it was next to my glasses.
Technology helps our lives run more smoothly. With it, we can do anything from transfer money to different bank accounts to tell our spouse to, “Please pick up toilet paper (heart-emoji-poop-emoji).” But sometimes, you really just need another human with an opposable thumb and a live brain to help you find your fridge-phone.
Life can get complicated, messy, and hectic. We need to utilize technology to help make it easier, but we can’t lose sight of the human connection which is often the missing link when what’s supposed to help us, makes us crazy. This is where Charles Schwab comes in. They’ve brilliantly figured out a way to combine the best of both worlds in order to make our lives better in the present and ultimately help us in the long-term with our investments with the assistance of the Schwab Intelligent Portfolio. The use of high-end technology is there to make you money, but you can talk to a person whenever you want, to make you sane. With these films, we’ll reveal some small, all-too-human moments everyone can relate to that will make the corners of our mouths turn up with a bit of a chuckle, and a lot of identification.
Fashion & Beauty - INTRODUCTION
Denim.
It’s the go-to answer to that universal question, “What should I wear today?”.
It’s what makes us the most comfortable and the most at home.
It makes us feel… like ourselves.
Pulling on your favorite jeans is like wearing a second skin—it may be covering your body but it’s really comfort for your soul.
A good pair of jeans can stay with you through many phases of life. They become a part of us, with each pair telling a unique story. As the ever-present witness to our lives, they’ve been through as much as we have. Maybe that’s why a good pair of jeans seems to have its own personality, whether that’s well preserved or beat up and full of holes? Whatever stage your denim is in, it’s a reflection of your history and your identity.
In this campaign, we’ll take a look at individuals’ stories via the request, “Tell me about that pair of jeans you’ll never forget,” asked by an off-camera, omnipresent voice. Our answers will be from our talent in the form of cinematic non-linear sequences filled with nostalgia and romance. Our overall narration will be genuine, provocative, intimate, joyous, and above all, deeply human. This is how denim becomes an allegory for life.
ComedY - DIRECTOR’S APPROACH
They say good artists borrow and great ones steal. And this, my Franz, feels stolen. Like from an overheard conversation at a party. But then again, how could it be? There were zero occasions this year. Speaking of occasions... That’s all anybody wants to do right now- see their friends and celebrate one of the many canceled milestones we missed this year.
People want to revel in the notion of a return to normalcy, which is another reason these spots are so great. We see people having fun IRL and not on a screen. They’re celebrating together. As Franz. Franz for life. Franz before foes. Franz Kafka. Ok, maybe not the last one, but coming up with Franzia wordplay is something I could do all day long. See? Fun!
Each vignette offers something for someone to connect with. Everyone from a rancher in rural Mississippi to a midwestern millennial groomsman, to a freakin’ astronaut will have a scene and character to relate to in this spot. Whether it’s the character’s emotion, the reveal within the scene, the nostalgic feeling we all share right now, or all of the above.
We want to portray the brand as welcoming, joyous, accessible, fresh, and upbeat. We’ll reveal the product in varying and surprising ways that enhance the world instead of taking you out of it. We’ll take good care and spend time on the different ways to incorporate the FRANZIA box into the stories and make sure every glass poured looks gorgeous, mouthwatering, and appealing in every shot.
About Shari
Shari is a veteran actor and star of the iconic film, The Brothers McMullen, who realized she wanted to create the tales she told. Now focused on film and commercial treatments, she’s also written a comedy web series, stage plays and TV pilots. Muses include Madeline Kahn, Dorothy Parker, and her dachshund.