Olenka Campaign Ad S/S '15: The Visual Breakdown

This campaign video was designed to introduce the newest Spring-Summer 2015 line of an up-and-coming brand based in Indonesia, named Olenka. However, the video was so beautifully executed and seamlessly cohesive that I would like to argue that it is considerably film art as well.

The use of space and planes in this video was brilliant - although it was shot in what seemed like a dark studio, the video artist successfully pulled out key colours from the collection and utilized the blank space by filling it in with the movements and soft textures of the coloured fabrics. I was also captivated by how well he used simple special effects such as backwards-playing and mirroring image to create a fuller and more dynamic screen. One scene that caught my eye was when the model wrapped a long piece of cloth on her neck and the cloth flowed towards the camera at a quick pace - the angling, movement and texture of the cloth and the still-expression of the model synchronized so effortlessly and perfectly.

The short clip successfully conveyed the essence of the collection to its viewers by putting the bold colours up-front and contrasting it with the dark background, mimicking most of the pieces in the line, and emphasizes movement through the model and the clothing, as many of the pieces in the collection was beautifully layered and meant to create the movements in fabric as well. What I loved most about this video was that not only did it representatively capture the essence of the line itself, it also embodies the brand in its entirety - the fun and dynamic characteristic of the brand was embodied in the trance-like dance of the models and the playful combination of bold-coloured fabrics, and it even incorporated contemporary traditional Balinese music, which perfectly aligns with the fact that the brand takes pride in being a local Balinese brand that aims to take Bali's fashion market into the rest of the world.

As aesthetically-pleasing as the video is, the video artist also successfully conveys the underlying message that the brand wants its' viewers to be aware of. This expressive aspect of the video is similar to the functions of art itself, and therefore toys with the idea that the future of digital media, though sometimes made for mass consumption, can be considered art as well.