IAN WATT
Creative Director, Director (DGA), Film Editor.

Recording Artist as Could Ever signed to Sony Music.

Founder at BANG!™


︎︎︎ About
︎︎︎ Contact
Creative Director, Director (DGA),
Film Editor.

Recording Artist as Could Ever,
signed to Sony Music.

Founder at BANG!™


︎︎︎ About
︎︎︎ Contact

GOOGLE — HOME LAUNCH



Our homes are wonderfully busy. And while that’s why we love it, sometimes it can be a little overwhelming. Google Home is a voice-activated assistant that changes the way we do home. Home automation, task management, music streaming, and answers from Google are just an ask away.




GOOGLE HOME LAUNCH PHOTOGRAPHY - SUPERVISING ART DIRECTOR & PRODUCTION DESIGNER, PHOTO RETOUCHER & COLORIST - GOOGLE HOME LAUNCH PHOTOGRAPHY  - SUPERVISING ART DIRECTOR & PRODUCTION DESIGNER, PHOTO RETOUCHER & COLORIST - 



The very nature of this project was a challenge. Given the inherent limitations of how many digital platforms and formats we needed to accomodate in one shoot, I remember the team first coming to me and saying, “is this even possible to pull off?”







Our approach was, rather simply, place Google Home in the foreground, and use background lifestyle moments to give context to the device’s functionality. The first thing to solve was maintaining this layout across digital’s varying dimensions. The second thing was our limited time on set. We needed to shoot as efficiently as possible, without sacrificing authentic lifestyle moments.







Could we capture every crop size with a single photo? I loved the twofold challenge: tell a great story through product photography, but solve a complex technical issue to get there.

I started by drawing out the 21 unique dimensions, trying to find intersecting points where both the action and the device could be highlighted, in any orientation, in a single photo. A few options finally materialized, and I starting testing them out.

I was able to create templates that I installed on the camera, so the client could preview how the photo would work in the actual design before we even shot the photo.







After a ton of testing, I was confident we could actually pull this off. Nicole was wonderful to work with, and accommodated my crazy template with enthusiasm - although tbh we all rolled our eyes a little.






Once we got the hang of framing scenes in this new way, it was super rewarding to see the results. We dropped the photos into mockups real time to see how they were working in our unique crops.






One of the most rewarding moments for me was seeing our digital shots used as hero lifestyle photography at Google's #MadebyGoogle launch event.
© 2024 Ian Watt