Visionaries Director Henry Dean's latest campaign promoting The Times' coverage of the upcoming UK General Election highlights the pervasive impact of politics on everyday life by integrating Westminster-related objects and symbols into typical British scenes.

Director Henry Dean had this to say about working on the project: “As with anything topical, one of our main challenges was a tight timeframe. We knew an election was brewing, but didn’t know when it would be called. Either way, we had to get the campaign ready so it could be launched at a moment’s notice, and have as much of a shelf-life as possible.

I was determined to make something that stood out in the political/news landscape by feeling considered and refined. In a world of iPhone soundbites and screenshotted tweets, giving this campaign a premium look and relaxed pacing was key in making something that would give audiences a moment to pause and think.

While the scenes themselves are relatively simple, the scope of the spot was quite ambitious considering all the locations, props and moving parts involved. Our legendary location manager Duncan Woods was one of my closest collaborators from the start. Logistics mattered just as much as the look on this one, and he was able to help bring the vision to life in a way that still worked across a jam-packed two day shoot.

As a director, I like to hunt for projects that will stand out. A main facet of my work is making the everyday feel spectacular, and making the extraordinary feel accessible. As soon as I read this script, I knew that this spot did both of those things. Politics is an arena where everything can so easily get torn apart, where hope can quickly evaporate from one week to the next. I wanted to use this campaign as a chance to make something that lingered, feeling fun and fresh while still conveying the subject’s importance. Overall, it’s a campaign that feels very ‘me’ and I am proud to have directed it at what feels like a crucial time in British politics. I can’t thank the team at Pulse enough for trusting me with their vision.”

CREDITS

DIRECTOR: Henry Dean

DIRECTORS AGENT : The Visionaires UK

AGENCY: Pulse Creative London

ECD: Russell Ramsey

PRODUCTION COMPANY: Pulse Creative (in-house)

PRODUCER: Agnes Szyperek

1st AD: Joe Mulvihill

DoP: Jack Maddison

STEADI: Gary Kent

GAFFER: Sachin Parmar

PRODUCTION DESIGNER: Emily Pirouet