Imagine working with the National Heroine of Barbados, Robyn Rihanna Fenty.
For filmmaker Vonley Smith, this dream has now become a reality as his latest work for the pre-promotional campaign for Fenty x Puma has been viewed by millions of people across the world.
A smiling Smith noted that the once in a lifetime opportunity was destiny, as at the time when he was contacted by Hometeam—a global film production company— he had no idea that his work would be used by the nine-time Grammy Awardee.
“I was contacted by Hometeam, a global film production company, who does some of the biggest brand work out there, from music videos and original content, while also partnering with production companies such as Apple, HBO, Samsung, Google, and Disney to name a few.
“To be a part of their Puma x Fenty marketing campaign in collaboration with Hello Superheroes and That’s Jimmy was amazing. When I got word that they wanted to hire me, I was shocked but ready to go all out and do my best as I knew that this was a moment, even though small, to create on the world stage but also represent Bim,” he said.
Smith, who is an international filmmaker, said he experienced the release of his work with the millions of Rihanna and Puma fans all over the world and said it was nice to experience it with the world.
“I saw it at the same time as the world, so I also got to experience the feeling of wow or surprise people would have felt in the moment. The amount of persons that were expressing their excitement after watching the clip of Rihanna’s old home was a really cool thing to hear, see and experience.”
Smith said the experience of working with Rihanna’s Fenty was fulfilling yet challenging as there was a tropical wave affecting the island on the day he shot the content.
“Even though it was raining, a lot of tourists were still coming in and out of the small road of Rihanna Drive, making it harder to get the shot without disturbing their first-time experience. So, I had to get creative and exercise lots of patience. After a day and a half and 115 shots later, I was able to call it a wrap and hoped for the best. It was truly a mental exercise of patience, resilience with an incredibly high use of my imagination. A lot of the shoot was trying to imagine where the Fenty x Puma footballs would fall on her house, how they would move and how they would feel. It had to feel authentic, so hand-held camera movement was perfect for making everything look as real as possible, seamlessly blending reality into fiction and vice versa,” he said.
This is not the first time Smith has received international acclaim as a few months ago he received a Bronze medal for his 48-hour film Murphy’s Law in the Toyoko Film Awards and since then, he has continued to make a name for himself on the international circuit.
“I have been working on my independent multifaceted feature film which is a documentary on the ocean. This has taken up most of my creative energy due to it being an enormously grand challenge. However, it is a story that is really dear to my heart and I have been chipping away at it over the last three years. So that’s my main goal from now until 2024,” he said.
(Write Right PR Services)
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