Lights, Camera, Major Tom
2019 was an exciting year for Launch Agency. Our crew made a big move from Carrolton to Dallas right before the holidays. We needed an exciting way to share our new coordinates and spread some holiday cheer. Creative Director Dean Oram gives us his insight on how our team came together and developed an out of this world moving campaign and holiday card.
What was the inspiration for the 2019 moving and holiday campaign?
At Launch, we’re all considered part of the ‘Crew’. In our agency rebranding, Caliber Creative (our design partner on our revamp), created an astronaut icon. That was the seed that led to Major Tom
Describe the process for creating the campaign? Did you do any sketching, location scouts, etc.?
We knew we wanted to let people know we were a) moving to a new space and b) Happy Holidays. From there, we created a teaser campaign hinting at the move, with a longer format Holiday video rolling out after that, that carried on Major Tom’s odyssey. We sketched and pulled scrap images to create key frames for the basic storylines. Refined the action from there. Scouted locations. And then went out and found ourselves one brilliant NASA-style space suit. Lastly, we cast Major Tom from within the ‘Crew.’
What was it like to shoot the entire campaign on an iPhone? Was it easy? Were there any challenges?
Fun. Really fun. Easy? No. Main challenges were to make sure we covered enough scenarios and moments of action to be able to edit (in iMovie) without needing reshoots or pick-up shots. We’re novices at this after all.
Dean and Richard finding the right angle 
Dean directs Alejandro 
Major Tom catches the DART 
Riding the Uptown Trolly 
Setting up at DART Cityplace Uptown Station
Was there a budget for the project?
The budget extended to the purchase of the NASA-style suit and the music. The rest was a combination of donated time and free labor from our ‘makers’ within.
Who was on the team for this project? What was each person’s role?
Team consisted of April Steinbach (Writer/Wardrobe/Make-up/Crowd Control/Public Relations while on locations), Richard Wezensky (Director of Photography/PA/Runner), Zach Deutsch (Crowd Control/Public Relations while on locations/PA), Myself (Director/Editor), Ray Ives (Actor/Comedic Genius), and Alejandro Hernandez AKA ‘Major Tom’ (Actor) .
What’s next for Major Tom?
The world’s his oyster. He’s now a permanent member of the crew. And likely to show up in a myriad of spaces in the not-too-distant-future.
