Alexa's practical applications
Mackenzie Sheppard unfolds the many tricks up Amazon's Alexa Tablets' sleeves in a playful display of practical filmmaking.
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Credits
View on- Agency Client Direct
- Production Company ProdCo
- Director Mackenzie Sheppard
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Credits
View on- Agency Client Direct
- Production Company ProdCo
- Director Mackenzie Sheppard
- Editing Cartel
- VFX Time Based Arts
- Color Time Based Arts
- Sound Design 750mph
- Production Services Indochina Productions
- Creative Director Darryl Mascarenhas
- Group Creative Director Aaron Sanchez
- Principal Creative Director Jake Matthews
- Creative Director Curtis Beach
- Head of Production Emily Goldmann
- Executive Producer Benton Roman
- Executive Producer Ian Pons Jewell
- Executive Producer/Partner Zico Judge
- Executive Producer Emma Wilcockson
- Head of Production Yvonne Ortiz
- Producer Tim Wild
- Production Designer Roberto Bonelli
- Art Director Carlos Cosio
- Art Director Ding Arkart
- DP Oliver Millar
- Editor Leo Scott
- Executive Producer Viet-An Nguyen
- Post Producer Greer Bratschie
- VFX Supervisor/Creative Director Dave Hunt
- VFX Supervisor Lucy Lawrence
- 3D VFX Supervisor Sam Osborne
- 2D VFX Supervisor Lucy Lawrence
- 2D VFX Supervisor Stephen Grasso
- Colorist Ruth Wardell
- Sound Designer/Audio Mixer Sam Ashwell
- Executive Producer/Owner Nicholas Simon
- Executive Producer Daniel Ho
- Executive Producer Tash Bloom
- Producer Ion Tycho
- Producer Stephane Pagniez
- Line Producer Boong Pongsangson
Explore full credits, grab hi-res stills and more on shots Vault
Credits
powered by- Agency Client Direct
- Production Company ProdCo
- Director Mackenzie Sheppard
- Editing Cartel
- VFX Time Based Arts
- Color Time Based Arts
- Sound Design 750mph
- Production Services Indochina Productions
- Creative Director Darryl Mascarenhas
- Group Creative Director Aaron Sanchez
- Principal Creative Director Jake Matthews
- Creative Director Curtis Beach
- Head of Production Emily Goldmann
- Executive Producer Benton Roman
- Executive Producer Ian Pons Jewell
- Executive Producer/Partner Zico Judge
- Executive Producer Emma Wilcockson
- Head of Production Yvonne Ortiz
- Producer Tim Wild
- Production Designer Roberto Bonelli
- Art Director Carlos Cosio
- Art Director Ding Arkart
- DP Oliver Millar
- Editor Leo Scott
- Executive Producer Viet-An Nguyen
- Post Producer Greer Bratschie
- VFX Supervisor/Creative Director Dave Hunt
- VFX Supervisor Lucy Lawrence
- 3D VFX Supervisor Sam Osborne
- 2D VFX Supervisor Lucy Lawrence
- 2D VFX Supervisor Stephen Grasso
- Colorist Ruth Wardell
- Sound Designer/Audio Mixer Sam Ashwell
- Executive Producer/Owner Nicholas Simon
- Executive Producer Daniel Ho
- Executive Producer Tash Bloom
- Producer Ion Tycho
- Producer Stephane Pagniez
- Line Producer Boong Pongsangson
Call it a rejection of generative AI, call it a return to playful filmmaking, but whatever the reason, it seems that directors are delighting in practical solutions nowadays.
Case in point is Here For All Of It, a gloriously tricksy new spot for Amazon's Alexa Tablets, conceived by the company's in-house creative team and directed by ProdCo's Mackenzie Sheppard, in which a POV protagonist flips, floats and flies through a host of the device's uses.
Attempting to do the lion's share of the magic in-camera, as the accompanying making-of film [below] goes to show, the piece has a frenetic sense of sorcery that keeps the tricks coming.
Credits
View on- Agency Client Direct
- Production Company ProdCo
- Director Mackenzie Sheppard
-
-
Unlock full credits and more with a shots membership
Credits
View on- Agency Client Direct
- Production Company ProdCo
- Director Mackenzie Sheppard
- Editing Cartel
- VFX Time Based Arts
- Color Time Based Arts
- Sound Design 750mph
- Production Services Indochina Productions
- Creative Director Darryl Mascarenhas
- Group Creative Director Aaron Sanchez
- Principal Creative Director Jake Matthews
- Creative Director Curtis Beach
- Head of Production Emily Goldmann
- Executive Producer Benton Roman
- Executive Producer Ian Pons Jewell
- Executive Producer/Partner Zico Judge
- Executive Producer Emma Wilcockson
- Head of Production Yvonne Ortiz
- Producer Tim Wild
- Production Designer Roberto Bonelli
- Art Director Carlos Cosio
- Art Director Ding Arkart
- DP Oliver Millar
- Editor Leo Scott
- Executive Producer Viet-An Nguyen
- Post Producer Greer Bratschie
- VFX Supervisor/Creative Director Dave Hunt
- VFX Supervisor Lucy Lawrence
- 3D VFX Supervisor Sam Osborne
- 2D VFX Supervisor Lucy Lawrence
- 2D VFX Supervisor Stephen Grasso
- Colorist Ruth Wardell
- Sound Designer/Audio Mixer Sam Ashwell
- Executive Producer/Owner Nicholas Simon
- Executive Producer Daniel Ho
- Executive Producer Tash Bloom
- Producer Ion Tycho
- Producer Stephane Pagniez
- Line Producer Boong Pongsangson
Explore full credits, grab hi-res stills and more on shots Vault
Credits
powered by- Agency Client Direct
- Production Company ProdCo
- Director Mackenzie Sheppard
- Editing Cartel
- VFX Time Based Arts
- Color Time Based Arts
- Sound Design 750mph
- Production Services Indochina Productions
- Creative Director Darryl Mascarenhas
- Group Creative Director Aaron Sanchez
- Principal Creative Director Jake Matthews
- Creative Director Curtis Beach
- Head of Production Emily Goldmann
- Executive Producer Benton Roman
- Executive Producer Ian Pons Jewell
- Executive Producer/Partner Zico Judge
- Executive Producer Emma Wilcockson
- Head of Production Yvonne Ortiz
- Producer Tim Wild
- Production Designer Roberto Bonelli
- Art Director Carlos Cosio
- Art Director Ding Arkart
- DP Oliver Millar
- Editor Leo Scott
- Executive Producer Viet-An Nguyen
- Post Producer Greer Bratschie
- VFX Supervisor/Creative Director Dave Hunt
- VFX Supervisor Lucy Lawrence
- 3D VFX Supervisor Sam Osborne
- 2D VFX Supervisor Lucy Lawrence
- 2D VFX Supervisor Stephen Grasso
- Colorist Ruth Wardell
- Sound Designer/Audio Mixer Sam Ashwell
- Executive Producer/Owner Nicholas Simon
- Executive Producer Daniel Ho
- Executive Producer Tash Bloom
- Producer Ion Tycho
- Producer Stephane Pagniez
- Line Producer Boong Pongsangson
"Everything you see started as a physical effect," says Sheppard, "so it's about 80% practical and 20% CG enhancement. We built all sorts of rigs that fanned out, flipped open and revealed these impossible little spaces. We previsualized the entire film on a phone countless times, but ultimately it came down to our lead wearing a helmet-mounted camera rig and performing all the choreography herself. It was really fun to do everything the old-fashioned way."
"We started with the idea that the Alexa Tablet is as versatile as a Swiss Army knife," says principal creative director Jake Matthews, "and built a whole visual world around that metaphor. We leaned into practical, sleight-of-hand illusions to make the magic of the tablet feel tangible and real."
"The challenge was making an ad for a tablet that does just about everything without turning it into a product demo," says Darryl Mascarenhas, director brand creative. "We want customers to feel the magic of the tablet with creative that feels like they’re using it themselves."
