Words by Charlie Clift, Photographer of the project:
Aristotle once said that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. Nowhere is it as obvious as it is with teamwork. I try my very best to surround myself with people who encourage and inspire me and without them some photoshoots would be impossible.
My biggest commission so far came at the start of 2015 and I can finally share it. I was working with Frontera. Art director, Federico Garcia Arias, mentioned a project for a pharmaceutical company he was working on. Asteoporotic antifracture drugs’ advertising may not sound overly inspirational to you, but trust me - Fede would quickly make you rethink your conservative views. His eyes sparkled with excitement when he explained his idea to me: super grannies. Just think about it: all grandmothers are pretty super, but one can only imagine if they were as healthy and energetic as they used to be - they really would be Super Grannies.
With a great concept in mind, we came up with the idea of a granny character who took caring for her grandchild just that step further (well, a good few hundred steps further). Knitting a scarf? She can knit a mile of it! Making him dinner? Will twelve courses be enough? You get the idea. And we also got a very clear idea. This is exactly where the concept of a great team comes in. With a project like this you simply cannot make it happen without surrounding yourself with the right people. I reached out to one of the best producers I know, Liam Bergin, who would guide me through the process and solve every issue before it ever became a problem. Gylian Hyland who lead the styling was equally great - I mean, where would I get a mile long scarf without her? And of course Jennifer Frazer who was our marvellous granny took pride for a grandson to a whole new level.
The list goes on and I could be here for three days talking about the professionals who turned a mad idea into an actual advertising campaign. Instead, I will give you a taster of the atmosphere we had for the three days on location turning our beloved gran into a Super Granny in this video.
Thank you to all who made it happen. Bring on more inspiring people!