The Pool Collective’s Christopher Ireland directs ‘Salt In The Blood’ doco with Canon Australia
The POOL COLLECTIVE and Canon Australia have launched a documentary about Tom Carroll, “Salt In The Blood” directed by Christopher Ireland; a portrait of the man behind the surfing legend and concurrently a piece of marketing that cuts to the core of an international retail brand.
Instigated by Canon Australia, Carroll unpacked thousands of film slides he took as he “made sense of the world” on tour that were forgotten for over 40 years.The photographs were rediscovered, and an untold story surfaced.
When presented with this unique set of circumstances, The POOL COLLECTIVE and Canon Australia recognized an opportunity to create something different, to tell that story through a format befitting its depth. In this case, a 25 minute film.
Throughout the eight-month process with Carroll, we see memories surface and emotions faced as we begin to understand
what compelled Carroll to take these shots and what they mean to him in retrospect. As a result, we are prompted to think about why we take photographs and what they mean to us. In the end, it’s a unique and broadly relatable story that happens to nod to the Canon brand without avarice or
product sell to cheapen the experience.
Says Ireland: “My approach was to be unorthodox. I wanted to engage Tom in a way that was unfamiliar to him. At one point I decided to set up a video diary in his house and began to direct him by proxy, having him speak to the viewer directly. He didn’t really know where I was taking him and, at times, neither did I. What came back from that footage was surprising and revealing.
That’s what inspired me most about taking on this project – being able to explore a story as I uncovered it and to develop a message organically. It’s amazing to work with a partner like Canon who trusts you to find that story and is willing to explore alongside you.”
After the film premiered at the Bells Beach Rip Curl Pro, it has since
been selected for the Bali International Film Festival (Balinale), and will be airing on National Geographic Channel and Qantas InFlight Entertainment.
Through this project, Canon Australia and The POOL COLLECTIVE have
embraced this breed of content marketing that is indicative of what thoughtful, authentic long-form film can do to support a brand.
Upcoming showings:
National Geographic Channel
24 September 2018, 20:30 AEST
Balinale
26 September 2018, 18:30 GMT+8
Qantas InFlight Entertainment
1 October 2018 – April 2019
Director: Christopher Ireland
Producer: Cameron Gray
Executive Producers: Cameron Gray, Kate Guaran, Christopher Ireland
Editor: Michael O’Rourke
Colourist: Fergus Rotherham
Post Production: The Editors
Music: Adam Spark & Glenn Sarangapany
Sound Mix: Electric Sheep Music
Poster Design: Chris Doyle
Canon Australia
Senior Manager Consumer & Product Marketing: Kate Guaran
Partnerships & Advocacy Manager: Lucas Townsend
Events & Marketing Manager: Yasmin Uzunlar
The POOL COLLECTIVE
Business Manager: Hannah Nixon
Marketing: Ari Mojdeh
Associate Producer: Lisa Pham
Quicksilver
Consumer Activation Specialist: Sam Griffiths
Social Media Manager A/NZ: Tom Cole
4 Comments
I’m sure it would be interesting. But I’m kinda getting sick of brands thinking people give a shit about watching anything that is long form with no idea.
Canon tends to do a heap of this stuff … and Pool Collective are milking it for all it’s worth. Good on’em! Seems they managed to talk Canon into doing something that they benefit more from.
It’s self indulgent stuff that lacks strategy and any marketing know how. What does Canon actual stand for these days? Doco’s and short films Isn’t going to solve the brands problem of dying a slow death to camera phones.
They need serious help.
@Willow what is the difference between a brand such as Canon creating films like this as opposed to a corporation such as Amazon? As an industry we should be encouraging brands such as Canon to be brave enough to invest their marketing dollar into telling real and entertaining stories irrespective of how long it takes to tell that story. Most brands don’t have a story to tell, instead they’re cajoled by hucksters in adland into forking over large sums to create worthless 3 minute content films that nobody will watch… or worse still, pre-rolls and bumpers that are nothing but skip bait created by dullards who think the same shit that worked on tele for the last 50 years will hold water online. The real shame is the ad industry’s neglect of the true possibilities of storytelling in the digital age… and that is where the real death is taking hold
@wind in the… Hear! hear! I was lucky enough to go to the screening of the film and I actually purchased a Canon camera because it inspired me to do so. @Willow, you clearly haven’t seen the film, or if you have, I’ll have to assume you’re just a cliché jaded blog troll.
I’m with Willow on this.
@ wind in the …, your question shows your lack of understaning. I’m not sure how you can compare a progressive company like Amazon with a irrelevant brand like Canon. Amazon are thriving, Canon is dying. The everyday person will never carry a big DSLR around anymore. Other proggresive companies like Apple and Samsung have made sure of that. This work from Pool is just talking to themselves – other pro photographers.
@ the weasel, ferrets…, nice try. Do you really expect us to believe you went and bought a new Canon camera after watching this film? Ha.