Essentia & Tate McRae
Approach
We can be theatrical, cinematically daring, and offer moments of levity so long as the whole way through - we’re entirely Tate.
Her audience knows her aesthetic and they know her voice as an artist. She’s fun, playful, but also channels vulnerable emotional truths through her music that speak to thoughts and feelings deep inside all of us. That’s what we should aim to create here, the all-encompassing experience of world tour prep creatively translated in a way that gives viewers a kaleidoscopic window into Tate’s inner world.
The real-world multi-talented creatives and performers that have shaped her image as an artist will act as our ensemble cast. Darting in and out of our story, and expertly guiding Tate as she prepares to step onto the world stage. Not only will this make Tate as a performer that much more comfortable throughout the production, but it will also reward all her die-hard day-one fans by featuring the crew and cast members that they’ve come to love as essential members of Team Tate.
Our setups will be composed of artfully abstracted flats that represent Tate’s real prep routine. We’ll see locations that are instantly recognizable, such as dance studios and wardrobe rooms, but we’ll also go deeper and interject surreal elements that visualize the emotional dimension of this journey. Our starting point, Tate’s bathroom vanity, will be the only location that appears completely real. From there, our setups will become increasingly inventive until we’ve totally immersed viewers into the world of Tate. Clever propping and art department will ensure viewers never lose their bearings, and the ensemble seen within the different layers of this world will be key in providing quick-read visual context.
A one-shot feels like the perfect way to tell this story. With no obvious visual cuts, viewers will feel as though they’re a true partner with Tate through this journey. It’s not only an impressive technical achievement, it’s amazing to know that everything we’re seeing represents day-to-day reality for Tate and her team. Behind the scenes, we’ll use wipes, movement, and in-camera effects to hide cuts in a way that will appear visually seamless. These transitions will always work to subvert audience expectations and keep them constantly surprised and engaged as we move from set piece to set piece. Each moment of awe will immerse them deeper into this world, and by the time Tate’s waving goodbye from her vanity they’ll be left breathless, wide-eyed, and eager to run back the tape and watch it all again.
Essentia Hydroboost will be seen as the delicious electrolytic secret weapon that makes this daily herculean endeavor possible. A tasty, refreshing, hydrating respite from the madness that gives Tate the strength and stamina to act as the nexus of this whirling rollercoaster.
In the spirit of Hold my Hydroboost, audiences will see that one swig may be the energizing catalyst they need to kick off their campaign for world domination.
Tone
We have a lot to play with tone-wise because Tate’s a multifaceted person.
She’s curious, passionate, spontaneous, talented, humble, and reflective along with so many other important qualities. For us to authentically capture a personal side of her, we’ll embrace and elevate every aspect of her personality as it arrives before us.
This starts by creating a supportive, comfortable, creative environment complete with collaborators she already knows and loves. Once she feels she has this support, she can freely emote, perform, and express herself in a way that vividly surpasses her public-facing social media persona. She’s always truthful with her content, but now we’ll be able to show her, and her myriad qualities, in a way that fans have never seen before.
The boundaries of our frame expanding as Tate takes her first sip of Essentia will set the tone for the rest of the piece. This is an exciting adventure across a new creative frontier ramping up to a definitive moment in her artistic career. She moves through this world at her own pace, in her own way, and we as viewers are getting a front-row seat to the grand artistic frenzy of tour prep as it unfolds before us.
Cinematography
Our camera is an ever-moving, reactive, tightly choreographed dance partner that tracks Tate through this heightened one-shot tableau of tour prep.
We start as an observer, allowing the familiar framing of a GRWM video to set the expectation for the kind of comfy share out we’re used to from Tate. However, once we pull out and the world expands, every rule and expectation fly out the window and suddenly we’re weaving through set pieces and capturing action with deft lensing that racks to precise choreography at just the right moment. It’s an approach that maximizes the fluidity and stabilization offered by Steadicam, but also subverts expectations through moving set pieces and clever lighting tricks. All of this will be blocked with our DP far ahead of time so that we can effortlessly hit our marks, and freely indulge with new variations on the day.
For each setup we construct, we’ll create a bespoke layered corresponding lightscape that allows Tate and our ensemble to move freely around the environment. This unique lighting design is an important contextual element and gives our look arresting stylistic variation as we move from scene to scene.
Overall our look is saturated, bright, filmic, and pulls from a rich colorful palette inspired by the golden era of music video. We could even explore scanning this whole film to tape if we wanted to kick up the cinematic ante even further. This look builds upon the aesthetic we’ve created for Tate in past music videos, and also works to differentiate Hydroboost as a charged exciting innovative addition to Essentia’s iconic high-level beverage lineup.