You never work Alone…

From Ideas to final Print Ads   mike@mikeotoole.com

The Great Italian Cinematographer Vitorrio Storraro once said that “All great films are a resolution of a conflict between darkness and light. There are infinite possibilities for the use of light with shadows and colors.” 

 Alone is an Irish Charity that brings light into the lives of older people , no question about the work they do . Alone is a charity . Alone is a state of being. Alone is a feeling. Alone is being alone.

I was asked by Irish Advertising agency Bonfire to contribute to their ideas for a series of posters , here are four of the final ones.  Art Director Sean Hynes and I discussed the project, and we picked out the objects . Our feeling was to create a look that would be consistent no matter what size the objects or rooms that we photographed. I thought of films that I liked and I loved the look of The Immigrant , which was photographed by Frenchman Darius Khondji . I used his work as a style but his colours are more sepia, I wanted something rich , warm , inviting , not dreary or a confusion of colours . His films are shot on sets , however we shot in real houses and apartments , my mother chipped in as location scout and found me one of her friends houses for one image. The colour  was all done in camera with lighting gels and the lenses I used are the same ones used for film making. I think they have a film feel , and although i was thinking of adding grain back into the pictures, i felt no need .
No major retouching or tweaking was done, we wanted the objects to have a personality almost be the characters in the story. This is the result of a good creative collaboration, between client, agency and creative and working with heart. 

Agency : Bonfire Dublin Ireland 

Concept : Ian Doherty and Sean Hynes

Client : Alone

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