How Spy Films’ Angelo Cerisara Championed Unique Ways to Eat KitKat
For something as simple as a basic chocolate bar, you wouldn’t expect there to be much debate over how to eat it. Just bite it and enjoy, right?
Well, with KitKat, that’s not quite right… or at least, not if you ask most people. In fact, if you decided to just chomp straight into one of these sweets, most fans would probably label you something akin to a psychopath. After all, what’s the point of having two attached wafers if you don’t break them apart, and just treat it like any other confectionery offering? That’s half the fun!
It’s for this reason, and the fact that nobody can truly agree on the correct way to enjoy a KitKat, that creative agency Courage launched a new campaign called ‘#MyBreak’, which leans into the debate to the umpteenth degree.
Directed by Spy Films’ Angelo Cerisara, the two headlining spots embrace a whole new degree of bizarre and wacky, with the likes of symmetrical houses and precisely inverted KitKat stacks, to a live python spectating a man’s reptilian approach to consuming chocolate.
All in all, it serves as a fun way to remind Canadians that, at the end of the day, there’s no right way to consume the snack, so long as you do it your way, and you entirely own it.
To learn more about how these spots came to life, LBB’s Josh Neufeldt sat down with Angelo for a chat.
LBB> From the top, what was the brief for this project, and why was this something you were keen to be involved in?
Angelo> The brief was something like, ‘Let’s shoot a guy eating a KitKat while staring at his python’. How could I not be attracted to this?
LBB> What was the pitch process like, and what was your initial vision for each spot?
Angelo> The first thing I pitched was about the guy eating like a reptile would. So, sliding out his long tongue, sticking the little KitKat on the tip of it, and rolling it back into his mouth. The girl was all about precision and symmetry - we actually built a symmetric set for that scene. You know, the ceiling recreated the triangular shape of one KitKat on top of the others… her body position, everything there is symmetric. I always wonder if those things come across to viewers in the end?
LBB> Tell us about the storyboarding process! How did you expand upon these visions and draw up the situations you see in each ad?
Angelo> I shot the film on my iPhone, did a little edit, and then did the storyboard based on that. You figure out a lot of things when editing.
But, the wrapper part of the ‘Sandwich’ film - when she turns to the paper wrap and pauses as if she was disturbed by it - was all improvised. We fit in all those shots a few minutes before the wrap.
LBB> Let’s talk a bit more about the creative itself - each spot has a very distinct vibe, down to the slightly sweating person involved and the way they eat their KitKat product. What were you aiming for with each?
Angelo> The direction was to create a sweet, intimate moment, even if the action felt super bizarre. It’s so that you feel the guy is actually trying to communicate something to the snake… not just showing off his tongue tricks.
As for the sweat? I just wanted the python guy to feel more like a reptile, bathed in a hot and humid environment. Sweat also helps this tactile feel on the skin I really dig in terms of look.
LBB> Building on this, what sort of equipment did you use for the whole shoot? And what inspired these decisions?
Angelo> We used an Alexa 35 and Panavision lenses. My DP, Krzystoff Trojnar, created a specific LUT aiming for a tactile feel of the picture that wouldn’t feel too glossy. So, we got the client on board with the look on set. I feel that’s important since directors and DPs are less and less involved in the post; so you export the proxies close to what your intentions are, and the offline already has a taste of it.
LBB> And as a whole, what was the shooting process like? Do you have any anecdotes from the experience?
Angelo> Remove the rat traps from the house before you shoot there with a snake.
As for the filming, that was mainly driven by the fact that during the fitting a few days before, I rehearsed with the actors, and we’d been in touch over WhatsApp trying the performance over and over. So, on set, everything was pretty quick.
Fun note, the KitKats were coming straight from a freezer. No freezer and it would have been a mess. I realised that during rehearsals.
LBB> Were there any particularly challenging shots?
Angelo> The snake didn’t like to go towards the side of the room we wanted. So, naturally, there was the moment where the people on set came up with the most absurd theories (‘Oh, maybe the light there is bothering him’, ‘Oh, maybe if everyone moves to the other side he’s gonna go there’). Ultimately, we sat in silence for an hour waiting for Kiwi (that was the snake's name) to explore the whole room before he decided to look in the right direction. A snake handler was slightly holding his neck, but we couldn’t force it too much because you’d see it’s fake if the snake ended up levitating.
LBB> When it came to aesthetics and the look and feel, what were your main aims and ambitions, and how did you achieve them through lighting and colour?
Angelo> The direction was to create something you could feel like touching. Kind of like what I did with STU BRU (see below). My DP and I had very specific references.
For the snake film, we were both aligned to create a humid, sweaty environment with a yellowish tropical feel.
LBB> Another crucial aspect is the sound design! How did you really emphasise the sounds of KitKat in the final spot, as well as ambient/background noises?
Angelo> For my cut, I worked with an artist named XAVIER (Fold, London) for the soundtrack of ‘Python’, creating an electronic sound that could roll you inside a hypnotic state. He has a great sensibility for this kind of thing.
LBB> As a whole, what was the post process like? Did you have a hand in bringing the edit to life?
Angelo> I was in Tokyo, and my editor, Raj Ramnauth (Nimiopere), was in Toronto. Basically, there’s no worse possible time zone combination! But Courage gave us enough time to work on it. Raj is great, and to be fair, we spent more time finding the right soundscapes rather than building up the structure.
LBB> What lessons have you learned in the making of this campaign?
Angelo> Having time to get bored before a job is important. When you don’t know what to do with your days, you’re unconsciously letting space for unusual ideas to come up. I had my flight to Toronto from London super early and spent a lot of time just chilling with the production and the agency.
LBB> Finally, are there any elements of the project you’re particularly proud of? And why?
Angelo> The process, and the relaxed and supportive vibes from Spy Films as well as the agency. If the vibes are great, it means you won’t have fear of trying out things, and sometimes it’s just that which makes the job go well.
