Responses by Favio Vinson, director, Papaya Films.
Background: Animal cruelty is something that, sadly, happens in many forms. The treatment of animals in testing phases is something often spoken about but rarely portrayed on screen. The idea of the campaign was to tackle an ongoing issue through a fresh approach in order to reach an audience who wouldn’t be familiar to those topics.
Design thinking: We felt we had to develop a concept as simple as possible and deliver it in an unconventional way. On the concept, we felt placing human beings in the position of animals who are victims of invasive treatments would create a sense of pathos in the viewer’s mind strong enough to raise awareness for the cause. Then, instead of going for blatant horror, we decided to shoot the film with beautifully crafted aesthetics, almost like a fashion film. We felt the message would be delivered strongest through this ambivalence in the viewer’s mind over whether to stop watching an unbearable scenario or keep watching a beautifully crafted visual.
Challenges: Precisely reaching this thin line between beauty and horror at every scene. Each shot had to be balanced in its essence: On the one hand, not falling back into conventional gore to depict of suffering. On the other, not cover crafting the aesthetics too much, which would have worked against the awareness the campaign aims to raise.
Favorite details: The casting. Given the nature of the film, we had to chose very specific physics and frame them in a way that wouldn’t over expose them either. For obvious reasons, the wrong choice of casting could have very easily backfired on us and ruined the entire purpose of the film.
New lessons: You’re only as good as the people you work with to articulate your vision. This idea started as something very simple that we were supposed to shoot over a weekend between friends. Bringing in collaborators is what made the project bloom into a full-scale production.
Visual influences: We drew a lot of inspiration in many contemporary fashion films. We also heavily studied Leigh Powis’s sport ads.
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