Kaleidoscope of kisses for Armani
Imagine the first warmest day of a London Summer, sticky, dusty, heavy and pollen ridden. Now add hay fever, an early afternoon call for a commercial and a trip to the countryside.
You could say it was not my hottest day to be kissing a handsome stranger.
The call in question was for the Emporio Armani 2008 perfume advertising contest, where hundreds of film makers try to create something different that makes them stand out and can be considered Armani standards.
This is what I am listening to right now… and because I think it is good to share…
I was met at the station by the lovely Polly, who only needed one look at me to drive without any questions to the nearest pharmacy. Loaded with allergy relief tablets and water, we went on to join the rest of the filming crew.
The theme was slightly daunting considering that we had not met the male models we were going to be kissing. We had been briefed beforehand but we were pitched on the spot, and if it wasn’t because it was so well organised (J. Watson rocks) and the whole crew was so professional and attentive, it would have been a bit of a nightmare.
As usual, there was a bit of waiting around, five female models and five male, two of the latter didn’t turn up and the show had to go on so they managed to persuade a couple of guys that were around the College to fill in. We were lucky they were lovely!
J. Amedume, the director, is amazing. Not only he made us feel completely at ease, he was also able to think in our shoes. He took the awkwardness away and all that was left was a very funny situation, and who hasn’t been in one of those situations before, right?
So then you are, beautifully made up, very Armani glow and shimmer, sleek hair, a couple of huge cameras rolling and about 14 people staring from behind them. On top of that you need to remember the choreography (about three steps), and the pace. You are told exactly to which way and to what speed, and for how long, and where your body needs to be facing, when and where your hand needs to go, oh, yeah, and don’t forget you are half naked and you have this guy you don’t know coming at ‘cha.
The good thing is that by the fifth take you have got used to all of the above. And… well, you concentrate on the ‘kiss’.
I love the final cut of the ad, and out of hundreds of entries, it entered the top five! We met up to celebrate a few months later and we made a few of the crew kiss each other. Revenge has never looked so beautiful!
Kaleidoscope of Kisses by J. Amedume
Congratulations to all!
RN
PS: This I didn’t find too nerve breaking (thanks to the crew being so pro and understanding, I am sure). Or maybe those nerves dwarf in comparison to a catwalk I did a few weeks back for an Aveda Hair show, but more about that some other time!