Cotopaxi FW22 - “Free to Roam”

Production Lead, Photo and Video Direction, Still Photography

 

Overview

Across an 11 day trip to Alaska, I was lucky enough to produce, art direct, and act as a second shooter to create a set of 350 still images and 6 videos for Cotopaxi’s Fall 2022 marketing campaign. Our group spent 7 days shooting outerwear, packs, bags, and accessories at 10 different locations. We spent a day on the Matanuska Glacier with a glaciologist as our guide, hiked coastal trails and mountains in Seward, took a water taxi to a remote overnight cabin stay in Resurrection Bay, and more. It was an unforgettable production and an amazing team effort to accomplish everything on our shot lists. I’m excited to share more about my role on the project and the finished campaign assets below.


My Role

  • Casting

  • Location selections

  • Permitting a variety of location types

    • State parks, national forest, private property, water taxis

    • Prior to obtaining permits, I had to work with our COO to obtain an Alaskan business license

  • “Fireman duties”

    • Things rarely go 100% according to plan, maintaining a flexible and solution-oriented attitude to put out fires and keep the production moving was key

    • Product samples for a new hero product showed up inaccurate and not shootable… I coordinated a last minute mission for our Ecomm coordinator to fly to Alaska and hand-deliver accurate product samples that arrived in Salt Lake City the day after we left for Alaska

    • Half way through the shoot I was laying in bed at around midnight when i learned that a landslide had taken out the road leading to our boat launch for the next morning. We were scheduled to get on the water taxi and start shooting at 7am the next morning… by 1am I had coordinated with the boat captain to find a new pickup spot and keep the show on the road.

  • Managing the budget, contracts, and invoicing

  • Logistical coordination, scheduling, and bookings for entire crew

  • Grocery shopper, late night cook

  • Hiring and directing a few amazingly talented contractors

    • Adam Wells - Still Photography

    • Jacob Oster - Videographer and editor

    • Jacob Callaghan - Colorist and musical score

  • Art direction for photo and video

    • Established visual look and feel for campaign stills and video

    • Worked closely with Adam and Jacob both before the shoot and in the field to bring the vision to life

    • Photo and video selections, editing and musical direction/selection

  • Second shooter

    • Acted as second stills shooter while in the field for additional product coverage

    • Digital and 35mm B&W film

    • “Dad Cam” Mini DV Operator

Snaps from the shoot

Here’s a look at some of the I captured throughout the trip, including final images used in the campaign and some BTS :)

 


Finished Campaign Assets

Here’s a look at some of the final assets created for the campaign.
Videography by Jacob Oster
Photography by Adam Joseph Wells

Season Anthem Video

Fall Hike Short

Adventure Travel Short

Glacier Trek Short