Visual Storytelling with Carbon Soldier
At LookDepot, we have the exclusive Australasian rights to StyleShoots, the world leader in technology that enables retailers to create high quality visual assets at scale and pace. As a result, cost efficiency and marketing effectiveness, the holy grail of content production.
With the permission of Carbon Soldier Founder Barbara McCamish, we utilised the simplicity of StyleShoots to develop a creative interpretation of her brand. Working closely and collaborating with Barbara has allowed us to truely understand her brand purpose and vision. Alongside our sister company Asset Factory we took this trust and experimented with a new and playful way of bringing her brand to life.
STEP 1: CREATE
To create cohesion and to ensure that the content could be used alongside the on-model assets, it was important to use the same coloured backdrop. Changing the backdrops is easy on StyleShoots Live. Simply hang the roll and roll it down.
The wooden stand was handmade to emphasise the uniqueness of the Carbon Soldier Brand, it’s truly one of a kind. This stand was made using a wooden pole, square wooden base, screws and glue found at any local hardware store.
To give the clothing body, tissue paper or bubble wrap can be stuffed inside the garments.Giving the clothing this structure makes them easier to style, while also giving the illusion that the outfit is on a human body.
A handy tip is to always keep a basket of pins, clips and fishing wire at your studio to help with styling. To create the floating arms, fishing wire should be pinned from the garment to the side wall panels of the machine. You can move these up and down until you get your desired angle and bend.
TIP 2: ELEVATE
Similarly, fishing wire is also used to achieve this elevated look. A coat hanger can be slotted into the hole at the top of the Live Machines roof. Tie a piece of clear fishing wire from that hanger to the hanger holding the outfit. During post production, remove the hanger and any of the wire which may be visible so that it appears to be floating entirely on its own. This is a great way to create a sense of movement and excitement within your images.
TIP 3: MOVE
Simple movements and GIF animations will give your content an edge. This is especially important when you consider that Instagram and Facebook are favouring video more and more. To create moving images, simply capture a series of still images and edit them together in Photoshop or an online website resource. This can be done with two images, or with hundreds.
Note: You cannot currently upload animated GIFs to Instagram, but there are smartphone apps that will convert your images to video files, or you can drop your images into Windows Movie Maker or iMovie to edit your animation and then export it to the right format.