Polène

A workshop out in the open

The film opens on a stone slab set among tall grasses, and on a plain rectangle of tan leather resting on it. It folds by itself. The edges lift, the flap closes, the handle draws tight, and the bag appears without a single hand touching it. The workshop gesture, played out in open wind, with no workshop. It is the kind of shot that only exists in 3D: filming it would mean filming a leatherworker, and you would watch the hands rather than the material.

Our approach

The film starts from a storyboard, then the camera moves are built in 3D on simplified volumes, mainly for the cinematic shots: framing, trajectory and rhythm are settled there, before any imagery. That is what holds the restraint of a leather goods campaign rather than the usual drift of generated shots. After that it all comes down to the leather. The grain was built irregular, with a slight sheen where the hide stretches over the corners and a flap that sags with the weight rather than holding a fixed shape. The light stays that of an overcast sky, wide and soft, the way the house lights its own campaigns: the curves read through their shadows and not through highlights. The sound design is written in the same movement, shot by shot, with its own treatment for every transition.

Self initiated project. No affiliation with the brand.