Artist Camille Boyer Finds Boldness in Simplicity

The artist Camille Boyer has been working on sets for over twelve years, honing her craft as a production designer. Signed with L’eloi, a creative production company, the last two years have seen Camille explore her directing talents for the first time, with projects for clients like Sheertex, L'Oréal, Kijiji, Love Wellness, Tim Horton, Cheetos and Velocity. 

Focused on doing more with less, her commercial visuals make smart use of space - never crowding the frame and creating graphic lines and shapes that, at once, appear organic. The products are always elevated and imbued with effortless elegance. Speaking about her approach Camille says, “I think when you feel insecure about something, you add more and more and more. As a director, I start by asking what's essential and what’s just smoke and mirrors. I want to make things that are clever and well thought out.”

Today, LBB spoke to Camille about her move into directing, why creating a positive on set environment is essential to her, and the creative project that's she's currently pursuing.

LBB> Camille, tell us a little bit about yourself - were you always creative? What are some of your first ‘creative’ memories?

Camille> I have always been creative, I’ve never done anything else professionally. When I was a kid, I didn’t know much about art, my family isn’t artsy or anything like that. I would write stories, make drawings and sculptures without knowing that it was art. I didn’t develop the proper skills until I went to art school at 17 and learnt to translate my creativity.

LBB> You studied in Montreal and also Hong-Kong. What was your experience of Hong-Kong like and what did the time there teach you?

Camille> I studied visual arts from 17 to 20 and then I went to university for set and costume design. During my bachelor’s degree I got the opportunity to go to Hong-Kong so I ended up doing a year of visual arts there. I went back and forth between visual arts and set design. 

Studying abroad is so interesting because everything's different. It smells different, people have different ways of living and ways of doing things. The year prior to Hong Kong, I was in a loft with 12 other people in Montreal, living a very social life where everyone was artistic. Everyone was pushing each other to explore and influence each other. But in Hong Kong I spent a lot of time on my own in my room working on my stuff, my inner thoughts, and working out what I find interesting and inspiring. 

Above: Camille's art direction for Wired magazine

LBB> How would you describe your artistic practice? Do you have any particular influences in your own work?

Camille> I’m very influenced by everything that I see, whether that’s pieces from other artists or even a rock on the ground or a simple colour. It’s all the same to me. I wouldn’t say that I’m super influenced by any one person. I’ve worked in production and set design with photographers or directors, and they all influenced and inspired me in different ways. 

I do have my own style and aesthetic. I’m told it’s quite elegant, I can make products look expensive which is useful in this industry. Often a lot of the products look basic in real life and I can elevate them on camera, make them look interesting and feel purposeful. 

LBB> You’ve moved from production design to directing. What has that transition been like?

Camille> I was always very collaborative in other people’s projects and at some point it made sense that I should try and work on my own. Until that point, I had so much respect for the directors or photographers I worked with that doing my own thing felt like a silent dream. 

I finally feel now that it’s all building up to something. Every time I’m on set, I feel like I’m learning something new, and I get the feeling that this is what I’m supposed to do. 

LBB> What are some of your favourite pieces of work that you’ve done as a director?

Camille> I loved working on the Sheertex campaign and I staged a choreography in a gallery for that project. This piece is very me, keeping it very simple but then adding emotions and characters. 

Recently, I shot a commercial for Cheetos that was super fun because it was a comedy and I had a lot of fun on set. Last week, we shot a Velocity ad with really amazing technicians and professionals. Afterwards, a lot of them came to me saying that they all had a good time and had fun shooting, which is the best part of directing for me. Because I've been on so many sets I know what I'm looking for. I'm friends with producers in real life, I want them to be happy when they're on set. I care for the people. The on set experience is super important.

LBB> Tell us a little bit about your creative process - what’s the first thing you like to do when a brief comes in?

Camille> That process is still evolving for me. When I was a production designer, I simply spoke to the client and the director and then images would pop into my mind that I would sketch out. I’m starting to learn to do that now as a director. What I’ve been doing recently is trying to forget everything, and sitting down with a pen and paper, white noise, and sketching to try and find my own take. I like to connect to my own voice first before bringing others into my creative process. 

LBB> Do you prefer concrete or open-ended briefs?

Camille> It depends. With commercial projects, it’s better when a client knows what they want. It's much better to have a lot of information on what the client wants, and then you can make it better. You offer solutions and you problem solve, elevate it. So I think in a commercial context with big ads, it's better If we all start from the same basic foundation. 

When it comes to a more creative project, I do much prefer an open ended brief. With Sheertex, they wanted someone dancing in the gallery with their product. From there we thought about what the story should be, who's the dancer, what type of music? I thought if we're going to be in a gallery, then we should make art with the products and exhibit them. But had the client said beforehand “We want this in that moment”, it wouldn't give us the opportunity to explore creatively. In an open brief there's more space for things that. I can push forward a little bit and think outside of the box.

LBB> Finally, what’s next on the horizon for you? Any dream projects you would love to work on?

Camille> I’m working on a creative project at the moment and I don’t know what the outcome will be; I’m going with the flow, I don’t want to put any pressure on myself. It feels exciting.

A dream would be to work on a commercial project that’s visually striking and also emotional, as sometimes the very aesthetic stuff can be too cerebral.