The Social Media Renaissance
By Alixandra Rutnik on Mar 02, 2022
New member campaign shows us the dangers of social media comparison
Social Media is probably the biggest love-hate relationship out there, which is why we now have digital well-being programs like Sync to help us out. You can take a quiz that will tell you if you are an “app-aholic or a casual clicker?” Here’s to hoping for the latter…
Dynamic Duo Director Mohamed El Zayat and Creative Assistant Carine Howayek are back at it again creating a campaign for Sync with an unmistakable message: social media comparison is dangerous, destructive, and distractive. So, how do we fix this massive problem?
We caught up with Zayat and Carine to discuss filming the Renaissance artists with iPhones campaign that is getting alot of eyes and attention– on social media nonetheless.
Obviously, this campaign is a critique of the damage that has been done to all of us because of social media comparison. The campaign is borderline dark comedy– Zayat, what inspired you to take this angle?
When I first received the brief, I fell in love with it. First, because I think the message is fun, and well who doesn’t want to do a timepiece? Da Vinci was in the initial brief and I suggested adding Newton which the agency loved. I think we clicked straight away as I sent the treatment.
I wanted to make the stories entertaining and different from one another which is why one film is an inward dark, visually intense struggle while the other is a silly, colorful story. The emotion in Da Vinci is dramatic and somber while it is light and more superficial in Newton. I went for a subtle approach in both films where I didn’t accentuate the appearance of the phone and made it feel natural within the story.
"I wanted to make the stories entertaining and different from one another which is why one film is an inward dark, visually intense struggle while the other is a silly, colorful story."
Social media and technology are the literal best and worst thing that has ever happened to us as a society. Thoughts on this?
Of course, I agree. Social media is amazing in keeping you connected, in sharing different points of view with a wide array of people that would be difficult to come across in real life. If used correctly, social media can widen your horizons, work great as self-promotion, entertain you, and much more. On the other hand, it can consume you, distract you and it’s extremely addictive.
Why did you choose Da Vinci and Newton? Why not an Insta-Influencer? Tell us more about your directorial approach for this campaign.
The agency and I went back and forth on who should be the main characters for the film. We all agreed on Da Vinci from the start, but we wanted to feature people that the average Middle Eastern viewer would immediately recognize and we of course had to face rights issues.
For example, we almost shot a film for Um Kulthum a legendary Egyptian singer that was idolized in the Arab world, but we couldn’t get the rights to use her. She was perfect and relatable.
Da Vinci is an all-around artist and scientist but better known for his art, whereas Newton is known for being the father of physics.
Both are iconic creators who have largely contributed to humanity which makes the stakes quite high if they are distracted from discovering the formula for gravity (in Newton’s case) or amending the Mona Lisa due to self-doubt (in Da Vinci’s case).
I think the simplicity of the concept dictates taking a historical icon and applying a modern problem to their daily lives. The dichotomy of seeing a Renaissance artist or a late 17th-century scientist with a smartphone conveys the message and has the stopping power to catch the attention of a viewer from any generation.
"The dichotomy of seeing a Renaissance artist or a late 17th-century scientist with a smartphone conveys the message and has the stopping power to catch the attention of a viewer from any generation."
I went for a darker and more realistic approach in Da Vinci because I believe that self-doubt and imposter syndrome is an extremely dark feeling that could very much consume you (but of course, you can’t maintain realism when a renaissance artist takes out a smartphone).
In the case of Newton, I went for a more farcical and light-hearted approach, namely because I always found the story itself endearingly silly (and of course not historically accurate), because it’s the story of a man and an apple.
I thought it would be more diverse and efficient for the campaign to have different storytelling styles. The agency shared my view. I did however stay very true to both eras on a visual level and that is always a fun challenge for any filmmaker.
What were the memorable moments when working with Simon, Mira, and Cold Cutz on these two films?
Working with Simon was great. We quickly got along and saw the films eye to eye. Regardless of the amazing cinematography he produced for the film, there was a key moment that stuck with me. A member from the art department was using a hammer to fix something in the Newton tree, while Simon was right behind him. The hammer head was made of steel, and it detached mid-movement from the handle and flew in Simon’s direction. All he did, was move his head slightly to avoid being hit while keeping his cool like a boss. He just looked at me and said “I saw it coming.”
Neda from Cold Cutz is one of my favorite editors who has an extremely strong sense of storytelling and scary attention to detail. As a director, if you make a mistake, she will catch you and call you on it. She has an objective sense of what works for the story regardless of what is visually pleasing. Sometimes I fall in love with my shots and she brings me back to my senses.
I’ve been working with Mira since he was a smoke operator before he became a colorist, and back when I was a creative. We go way way back. We have learned a lot from each other, mainly I’ve learned from him. We once were grading a commercial, and it took us nine days, nine (eight-hour sessions) to get it right. He taught me many technical terms in coloring that I now show off.
In this specific project, I had a fallout with the production company and we went our separate ways in the post process. They went for a more cost-efficient colorist regardless of our agreement.
So, I decided to take the material and go to Mira, who ended up grading the films for free, because 1- we are friends who go way back and 2- because he loved the films and wanted them on his showreel.
The grading session only took three hours and I think he did great. Funny enough it was harder to grade Newton than Da Vinci because the Georgia sun was inconsistent in November. Simon matched the light perfectly but Newton’s bright-colored costume kind of gave us away.
Due to a logistical screw-up, I ended up arriving to Georgia four days late. This is when Carine proved her strength. She did the initial scouting without me, sending me videos and stills from every location. She handled the initial casting like a champ.
It was the first time she handled prep without me and she did great. In general, she is involved with me from the treatment phase until the final phases of the post-production on the artistic side, given her background as an art director. Lately, she has become much more experienced in the production process too.
“Smartphones are designed for addiction–” Carine, how did you tap into that stat when creating these videos?
That’s the irony of it, but also the strength of these online films. The message is right there while the target audience–Gen Z– is watching it and processing it simultaneously. When we received the brief from the agency, it immediately made us think of the current world we live in. Social media is playing a big part in affecting many out there and even though we are talking about Gen Z here, this aspect of social pressure and influence is found within a larger and older generation too.
"The message is right there while the target audience–Gen Z– is watching it and processing it simultaneously."
You've been working as a creative assistant for a while now. What was most exciting about working with Zayat on this shoot?
As Zayat mentioned, I needed to manage a few days on the grounds without him and it was a challenging experience. What made it exciting was the trust and leeway that he gave me. Since I started working with Zayat, I find myself learning something new on every project or taking on a new challenge. We brainstorm and prep a lot in the pre-production phase making sure we see things eye to eye, so I can make sure to make the most out of being a creative assistant to him.
Any career advice for creative assistants?
Planning ahead can be key to focusing on your ambitions in this field. But it is also crucial to observe around you and learn to adapt if you decide to tweak your path a bit. I started out working as a creative in the agency space for a few years, but decided to focus on the production edge and make something out of it. I basically mixed my conceptual and art direction background with the production field. It will take some time to make this “position” something everyone understands, but I’m on it.
One Club for Creativity Members get featured here on the One Club website and across our social media channels. Have a new project you'd love to share? An upcoming exhibition and you'd like us to help spread the word? Drop us a line at membernews@oneclub.org. We always love to know what our One Club Members have been up to, so don’t forget to send us your cool work!
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