Cassiano Prado‘s latest work for adidas and Guaraná Black are both captivating pieces of storytelling.
It’s a great jumping off point to share with you a bit more about Cassiano, a gifted commercial director with strong roots in design and music videos. Beyond acclaimed international spots, we sat down with Cassiano to discuss his upcoming television series (it’s got serial killers!), where he likes to shoot, and how idea turned into execution for the aforementioned spots.
Where are your favorite places to shoot?
My favourite locations to shoot are currently London and Uruguay.
London because of its diversity on locations and casting – you can work with very experienced actors, which is always delightful.
Uruguay for its local feel. Very agile company moves, reduced crews and friendly mood on the set.
Can you fill us in on the adidas shoot? What was it like shooting with Messi?
Adidas was an incredible experience. We traveled across the planet shooting with big stars, trying to get the most out of their restricted time. Part of our job was to keep restructuring the script based on the footage we’re able to get. It was a undergoing creative process along side with the agency TBWA/LA. Messi ended up giving us more than we expected. He is portrayed lying down in bed, dreaming, which I thought was a kind of achievement.
What was the brief for Guaraná like? How did you achieve those stunning visuals?
The brief for Guaraná Black was pretty open. The initial idea was to shoot at night, in colour, and project graphics over the waves. We thought about that a few times and it didn’t grow on us – it seemed like mannerism only for the sake of it. We spoke to the agency about getting down to its essence – let’s make it simple and dark. That’s the strongest you can get. The only extra touch is the bullet time in the water that breaks its classic-ness a little.
Do you feel that your background in graphic design and music videos informs your aesthetic for spots like adidas or Gurana or others… How does that historical influence come to play?
To come from a visual background has two sides. Although advertisement tend to be only about eye-candy imagery, most of it isn’t. A good storyteller shouldn’t think about the look and feel before discussing its essence. That has been my constant effort.
What is coming up next for you?
I’m currently developing a dark comedy series in Brasil which happens to be quite relevant to the country and the whole world, in fact.
It’s about a serial killer who targets corrupted politicians and architects the deaths thoroughly, according to the corruption crimes these politicians committed. The killer happens to be a sweet old lady – the matriarch of the most representative family of politicians in power in Brasil.
I am very excited about it.