Camilla Johnson-Hill: "If a model gets drunk, it hits the brand"
Founder of Mercedes-Benz Kiev Fashion Days and Nowfashion.com video director Daria Shapovalova continues to talk with fashion industry professionals. In the new material - consultant and producer Camilla Johnson-Hill. One of the most influential women in fashion is responsible for ensuring that shooting of any complexity is excellent - whether it is an advertising campaign with Kate Moss or the cover of Vogue. Having opened her own production company The Production Club at 22, she worked with industry giants such as Jil Sander, Dior and Tom Ford. In an interview, Johnson Hill talks about how Vanity Fair’s cover story with three Hollywood actors is made and answers the question of whether it’s possible to make a good shoot for little money.
Let's start with your most stellar cover of Vanity Fair with Matt Damon, Daniel Craig and George Clooney. Probably, all your friends envy you because you ended up in such a company?
In fact, all three heroes were filmed separately. So I only met Daniel Craig, who was photographed in London. George Clooney was shot in Los Angeles, and Matt Damon in New York, but at almost the same time, even the film sets were the same. We had two doubles imitating the missing actors, in their place in the post-production they put the real ones. But I like to show people this cover - they all think that I spent a whole day with three actors.
How does it feel to work with supermodels?
The more famous the model, the more self-confident it becomes. My new favorite is Cara Delvigne. This girl has amazing energy. Sometimes we have to get up at four in the morning, start doing hair and make-up at five, set the light, realizing that there will be a difficult day, and there is nothing better than a model that would smile, charging everyone with energy and good mood. I always say that when you go on a shooting, making an exhausting journey for her, it is imperative that there are people on the set that you like. It is not enough that they are professionals in their field, their charisma is important. Kara is one of those people.
Does the choice of a model for an advertising campaign affect brand sales?
The size of the fee model will tell you that this is so. As soon as a celebrity or a famous model is removed for an advertising campaign, people immediately start writing about it on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. There is so much hype around this that such things, whether we like it or not, are deposited in our heads. The problem is that as soon as a celebrity becomes the face of a brand, its beliefs and actions become part of it. If a model gets drunk, its behavior affects people's perception of the brand. When choosing a model, you need to understand that you are selling not only the product itself, but also the appearance of the model, hairstyle, makeup and its lifestyle.
Tell us how the search for locations for shooting. obviously, you often find yourself in the most amazing places!
When we filmed the Salvatore Ferragamo advertising campaign with Michael Jansson and Kate Moss, it was necessary to show that the clothes carry some message, it was necessary to breathe a special message into it. I really wanted to find a place whose colors would be very suitable for Mikael from the point of view of photography. As a result, we shot in the stunning building of the Russian Embassy in Berlin. The guards, I am sure, missed us only because Kate Moss was with us, whom they simply adore in Russia. So we ended up in Germany unplanned, but I knew that the location would look amazing with the styling of Anastasia Barbieri, pictures of Michael and Kate Moss. I knew for sure that such a combination would be flawless.
Is it possible to create a great shot with a small budget?
Yes, yes, and yes again! You don't need a huge budget to create an amazing photo, and in fact, some of the best work I was involved in creating were created with a small budget. Editorial budgets are usually small, but most often the pictures are the most beautiful, and the photographer behaves the most creatively. Now some really talented young photographers, such as Daniel Jackson, Tom Allen, Boo George, are gaining momentum. And although they do not work with endless budgets, they manage to create amazing photos.
What do you prefer to work on - with fashion shots or advertising campaigns?
Shooting editorials means showing existing trends and ways to properly wear clothes. What is really interesting is to work on brand advertising campaigns, because your task is to persuade a person to spend their money in the store of this particular brand. The clothes themselves are not always attractive, and you need to make them look really good. You are responsible to many people, whether they are shareholders of the company or its many owners. I enjoy working in situations of this kind, there is some kind of conflict in them. I like to do the impossible.
When you have an amazing photographer, and he shoots a good product, an exceptional moment suddenly comes - you see it right away
You produced the shoot with Mark Jacobs, where he appears as Andy Warhol. She has already managed to enter the history of modern gloss. Probably, you understood it already in the process of shooting?
It was an unforgettable job for Interview: the cover with the face of Marc Jacobs, where he appeared in the image of Andy Warhol. Katie Grand, Fabien Baron worked on her, and Michael Jansson was the photographer. Mark was free for only a few hours, but eventually it took more time. We had a real Andy Warhol wig, which in the end was not useful. With each new frame, the pictures were getting better and better. "It will be an important shoot," I thought then. This is what happened. The cover came out amazing, then Mark even used this image on his T-shirts.
Which brand campaigns do you consider the most interesting and at the same time relevant in our time?
I really like Saint Laurent, Edie Slimane does a great job. I have never worked on his campaigns, but I would like that. I collaborated with him when he was still in Dior Homme, and that work brought me great pleasure. Slimane is very interesting as a person: he is a visionary, and he likes to visualize things. What he does for Saint Laurent is modern and in keeping with the moment. I am also interested in Céline, but only the last few seasons.
While shooting, can you just say that it’s what you need, just by looking at a certain frame?
Yes. When you have an amazing photographer, and he shoots a good product, an exceptional moment suddenly comes - you see it right away. This frame will not necessarily lead to the fact that the advertised product will sell better. There were several campaigns that, I was sure, should take the brand to a new level, but this did not happen. Images that are not too perplexing to the consumer, are the most successful in advertising.
