SMALL BUT PERFECTLY FORMED PRODUCTION COMPANY BRINGS BARKER & STONEHOUSE TO LIFE

Leeds based production company, Mask Creative, is celebrating this month as the first phase of an ad campaign for premium independent furniture retailer, Barker & Stonehouse, has been hailed a resounding success.

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SMALL BUT PERFECTLY FORMED PRODUCTION COMPANY
BRINGS BARKER & STONEHOUSE TO LIFE

Mask Creative brings magic to top furniture retailer

The four 'Superstyle your house' ads which are currently being aired on ITV, C4 and C5 are the first of a number of projects the Mask team has been commissioned for, to support the furniture store's sales promotions.

After having worked closely with the team in the past, Mask were brought in by North East Ad Agency Different to fulfil the production brief for an ad based around the summer sale, with an autumn campaign to also follow.

Embarking on a journey of creative discovery, Mask & Different worked to create an ad that had real cut through for their client, utilising immaculate attention to detail and precision planning to create a fun, visual, stylised ad, worthy of the premium brand.

A small specialist production company with worldwide experience in co-ordinating all elements of TV Commercials and stills productions, Mask, after receiving the creative brief from Different, project managed the entire production, from location, to nationwide casting, to sourcing stylists and crew, to music and voiceover, to post production editing.

Recognised for their creative touch and impeccable technical ability, Mask didn't disappoint, working with stop-motion animation to set a creative scene for the sales promotion.

Utilising wire frames and a very patient crew, the team created animated scenes within a dynamic room set. The lifestyle backdrop was created with painstaking attention to detail, with items being moved an inch at a time and then re-shot.

The man behind the Mask, Director Johnny Carr said: “We started with a room set styled and finished, then slowly took it apart and captured every move. We worked with the set stylist to work out what props could be moved and how. We used wire frames for a jacket that climbed the sofa arm, fishing wire to move curtains, and wire and foam fillings to help cushion's walk. The crew were all allocated props to move, each movement recorded by the series of cameras remotely fired in unison.

He added: “The sequences were shot in reverse so where the product appears to walk into shot, it is actually moving out. By the end of it the set became nothing more than a floor and 2 walls. It was a great sense of achievement when it all came together – that's when the magic happened!”.

The post production saw the series of 200 images joined together, reversed and put into a movie sequence to create animation.

Creative Director Mark Martin from Different Ltd said, “Apart from being multi talented Johnny is just someone you look forward to working with. He's a 'sunrise' type of person always looking for a better more interesting way of doing things - he's also got that rare ability that not all creative people have got, he's organised and practical.

“As a Creative Director I'm looking to work with people who can take the job on another 100% without losing the concept - Johnny understands how to communicate and never loses sight of this. He's a good grafter too.”

From direction, photography and design, to editing and animation, Mask provides a bespoke service across the full remit of 'above the line' visual advertising campaigns.

One of the UK’s leading photographers who had his own studio at the age of 23, and has since worked with the likes of Audi, Nike and HRH The Prince Of Wales, Johnny Carr established Mask in 2008, for whom he now shoots and directs.

Mask's clients include MTV, Mamas and Papas, Newcastle College, Malmaison, Universal Everything, and Vidal Sassoon to name just a few... and the production company's client roster continues to grow.

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Notes to Editor:

For more information on Barker & Stonehouse please visit www.barkerandstonehouse.co.uk
Visit Mask's website at www.maskcreative.com
See their showreel at www.maskcreative.com/reel
Interviews available with Mask's Johnny Carr

For further information please contact:
Chocolate PR
Rebecca Campbell
rebecca@chocolatepr.co.uk
0113 236 1835

Mask brings magic to top furniture retailer