Face to Face….with Shishir Patel and Sam Oliver

This week DDB London and Philips announced the next phase of their Parallel Lines campaign with a step into another dimension. The campaign already picked up awards in Cannes last month, including the inaugural Film Craft Grand Prix for The Gift ,and the next film in the series, Circus, will be a 3D offering directed by RSA's Barney Cokeliss which aims to continue the campaign's success.

Created to showcase Philips' full HD 3D cinema proportion LED TV, the film is a period piece set in a fun fair which again uses only the six lines of dialogue present in the previous five films. Not out until September as a 2D online experience and a fully 3D in-store promotion, shots.net caught up with art director Shishir Patel and copywriter Sam Oliver, two of the brains behind the campaign at DDB, to find out their thoughts on the campaign's progression and the use of a third dimension.

What made you want to shoot a Parallel Lines film in 3D?
Philips are launching a range of 3D TVs in September, including one which is 21:9 format, it was an ideal opportunity to continue the campaign with a new cinematic story specifically written for 3D.

What were your initial reactions to Barney Cokeliss's script?
It stood out for a number of reasons, but at the same time we were spoilt for choice. Around 50 treatments were submitted by RSA directors all in all, and there were some really great ones in there, a really huge variety. Barney's one stood out because the whole circus/fairground setting of the story lent itself so well to 3D - the acrobats, the performers, the rides. It was also a very different story and use of the "Unicorn" motif to what we'd done before.

You shot the ad in a real circus/fun fair last week, what was that experience like?
It was good fun. I (Shish) won a cuddly toy on the bow and arrow stall between camera set-ups! But generally it was cool, it was like stepping back in time; it was a traditional steam fair so all the rides and signage were just like they used to be back in the early 20th century. We had a great wardrobe department too; the film is set in the 30s/40s and the costumes and setting gave the whole thing a real period feel. There were some restrictions too; obviously the British weather, and also the funfair opened to the public at 4pm every day, so we had to make sure we were out of there by then; but we managed to work around it.

What are your thoughts generally about the use of 3D up to now?
It's still in its infancy as a mainstream medium. There's a lot of gimmicky stuff out there but at its best it can immerse you deeper into the world of the story and make the whole experience more vivid and enjoyable. Films like Avatar are proving that. It will be interesting to see how future film-makers further use this new tool to enhance storytelling.

When and where will we be able to see the finished Circus film?
The 3D film will be revealed in September and will be supported by an in-store retail experience. A 2D version of the film will also be presented on www.philips.com/cinema and www.youtube.com/philipscinema, but we're also exploring other opportunities to screen it.

How hard was it following Philips Carousel and how did you come up with the idea for Parallel Lines?
Carousel was a tough act to follow, but it was also an indication that the client was willing to push boundaries and do something different. We just tried to get Carousel out of our heads and do something completely new.

Are there plans to add any more films to the Parallel Lines series?
Hopefully, we'll see. The competition entries are being uploaded onto the Parallel Lines YouTube channel already on www.youtube.com/philipscinema, and we hear of some interesting entries that are still in production. And what with all the treatments we've received on this idea to date, it seems it still has some legs.