We designed a custom title sequence that would breathe life into the POI logo to highlight key themes from our protagonist utilizing a photo realistic thaumatrope to cycle through the elements. Each character in subsequent episodes will have different themes to provide a bit of foreshadowing. Our creative director developed a detailed storyboard and color palette for our animator to interpret through his own “voice.” We stress the importance of autonomy for our creatives and allow them space to deliver unique results.
Persons Of Interest
Persons Of Interest
This docuseries shines the spotlight on ethical entrepreneurs and charismatic founders who use business profits to positively impact the communities they operate within. Working with our sister company Can & String, we developed the concept, brand and collaborated on the "look" for the pilot episode. We also worked on mapping out a destination specific strategy for future seasons.
Foundation
Our research focused on small to medium private businesses in the United States, primarily ones whose founders were closing in on handing over control of their companies. There are over 9 million businesses owned by a member of the baby boomer generation in the U.S., a figure that conservatively puts around 3 million businesses up for sale over the next decade.
We looked for charismatic owners who put their profits to work in their communities and improved working conditions for employees. Most had little interest in publicity, so telling their stories accurately would require serious person to person investigation. The commonly known term "person of interest" is someone law enforcement is after for questioning in a criminal case, but our definition seeks answers to questions from the perspective of people that know our 'person of interest' the best.
Optics
Creating a recognizable style for the visuals in the film was key to building the brand for POI. One of our goals was to center the people on screen, especially with the primary angle for interviews. Principal photography was shot on Red cameras using Canon and Sigma cine lenses while taking advantage of natural light as much as possible. The large sensors and Red’s image processing allows for great detail in the mid tones as well as lots of latitude in the dynamic range for color grading. The Scarlet was our B-cam and we alternated between the Gemini and Dragon for A-cam depending on the light.
Narrative
Our message to carry through each episode and the overall POI brand, is business can be used for the good of communities. Another theme is no-one accomplishes great things by themselves, and it’s crucial to the longevity of a business to employ people of high character.
Pilot Episode
Setting the stage for future Persons of Interest, our pilot episode highlights the journey of Julian MacQueen, who built Innisfree Hotels from a single motel in Mobile, Alabama to a company with over 3,000 employees and two dozen hotels.