Tim Maher

Stockmann & the Classic Modern Twist

tim — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 13:15:09 +0000

There’s something so wonderfully simple with this story. I love how you can create such a strong environment with so little; with just the pastel coloured backgrounds, the retro furniture and small pieces of ‘office’ carpet, you’re ready to go.

Once we had decided upon the set, the mood pretty much seemed to write itself. Shadows would have got in the way so a totally non-directional light was the obvious choice. Then, with the models, we went for very understated, subtle poses and expressions. Anything stronger just felt wrong. They were fantastic!

Many thanks to all. Hugs and kisses etc…

Client: Stockmann

AD: Marleena Heikkilä

Stylist: Teri Niitti

Hair & Make-up: Janne Suono

Models: Saori & Jordi / M4 Models

Helsinki Transport Authority #5

tim — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:22:22 +0000

All I can say is, thanks Dynamo and HSL. I love my job!

Wonderfully subtle understatement in the imagery, allowing the personal stories in the copy to take centre stage. The metro sign reflected in the water, the hint of a dog, the scuffed shoes with the untied shoelaces, the boy’s out-of-focus face, the elderly couple behind the sunflowers… So enjoyed working on these. (A quick sidenote, to see the horizontal versions, check out the ‘Advertising’ section in ‘Photography’)

Client name: HSL

Ad agency: Dynamo

Art director: Pia Pitkänen

Moving On

tim — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 11:35:40 +0000

An editorial fashion story, but with movement. Studio-based fashion editorial is such a particular artistic medium, the lighting, the styling, hair & make-up, the model…, that I felt it’d be wonderful to transpose those elements to a ‘videditorial’.

So, no narrative here, just a beautiful model, with beautiful styling… And, voila! Amazing how much fun can be had in a day.

Thanks to everyone for their hard work and energy:

Model: Christel / Paparazzi Model Management

Fashion Editor: Sakke Hytönen

Hair & Make-up: Kristel Tamm / Loisto

Director: Tim Maher / moflo

Producer: Leandro Righini / Capefinn

Editor: Jussi Hellsten / ZOMG!MEDIA

Colour Grading: Timo Luomanen / Post Control

Graphics: Hash Varsani / Not Guilty Atelier

Helsinki Transport Authority #4

tim — Thu, 23 Jun 2011 10:49:13 +0000

Another lovely campaign for Helsinki Transport Authority by the creative team at Dynamo, celebrating the arrival of summer.

Personal ‘snapshot’ moments, the idea of looking into other people’s lives and briefly sharing their joyful experiences… I love their simplicity. And, let me tell you, simplicity in advertising requires a fine balance. For example, without the strong graphic copy, you’d probably need to emphasise the HSL elements more in the actual image, maybe making the HSL boat bigger, or bringing the bus stop sign more to the foreground. But doing that would then interfere with the most important part that the image is trying to capture, the personal stories that are being told. So glad the clients understand this. In these images, copy and image work together just perfectly. Really pleased with the result. I won’t go on about all the technical details to keep the images looking simple (and summery), trade secrets!

And big kudos to the little girl for smiling away on a cold spring morning. What a star!

Client name: HSL

Ad agency: Dynamo

Art director: Pia Pitkänen

Stockmann Let’s the Sunshine in

tim — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 08:11:24 +0000

When we shot this, it was minus 20 outside. With a couple of big fresnel lights in the studio, sunny days were here again…

Keeping things simple is hard; with no props or set, there’s nothing to hide behind. Without a good team around you, it can go badly wrong. Not this time! I love the use of space, the shapes, the shadows. The models were fantastic and worked really hard to add that something special to the images. Very pleased with the result.

Client: Stockmann

AD: Marleena Heikkilä

Stylist: Sakke Hytönen

Hair & Make-up: Anu Levy

Models: Enel / M4 Models, Dovile / M4 Models, Elias / Paparazzi

Nokia N8 Video #4

tim — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 10:11:40 +0000

This will give you more info about the whole project. Some of the rigs have a starring role in this video and you can see us all working hard, trying not to have too much fun.

Director: Tim Maher

Account Director: Joel Diamond / 1000heads

Producer: Leandro Righini / Capefinn

Camera Operator & Editing: Jani Johansén

Music: Yoav

Nokia N8 Video #3 – Climbing

tim — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:54:20 +0000

After jetting to Washington for the Zero-G flight, London for the Capoeira, Ice skating, and Silk Acrobat, Berlin for the Skateboarding, it was off to Olhava in Finland’s Repovesi National Park for a bit of Climbing. What a spot! A sheer wall of granite rising straight up out of the lake and disappearing into the blue skies. Spectacularly different from all our other locations, a little respite from all that concentrated humanity. Enjoy the Peace!

Director: Tim Maher

Account Director: Joel Diamond / 1000heads

Producer: Leandro Righini / Capefinn

Camera Operator & Editing: Jani Johansén

Climber: Andy Gullsten

Music: Sasha Righini

Nokia N8 video #2 – Skateboarding

tim — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 16:08:08 +0000

Berlin, what a city! We hooked up with our man-on-the-ground, Philipp Hambach, social commentator, documentary filmmaker and, in his spare time, the skateboarding video-meister. He hooked us up with our two skateboarding ‘artists’, showed us some of his favourite locations and then we shot till we dropped. Later, we all went out. That’s all I remember.’

Director: Tim Maher

Account Director: Joel Diamond / 1000heads

Producer: Leandro Righini / Capefinn

Camera Operator & Editing: Jani Johansén

Skateboarders: Nahuel Kirchhoff & Thomas Prochaska

Music: The Plastics

Nokia N8 video #1

tim — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 13:30:07 +0000

One of those rare jobs that comes in every once in a while and takes you someplace new.
I was asked to direct a video for Nokia, shooting all the footage on their new smartphone, the N8. No-one knew how good the HD video capabilities were on this device because it hadn’t been launched yet. The idea was to create something amazing that would inspire others to pick up their N8 and produce their own amazing videos. For ourselves, we wanted to see how far we could push this device… We had a lot of fun! As for the performance of the N8, see for yourselves. Remember, this is a mobile device, it fits in your pocket, you can carry it with you everywhere… Incredible how technology makes these leaps and bounds.

I have a lot of footage and stills showing early prototypes of rigs, some discarded, others that became indispensable tools. When I find the time, I’ll try and post a detailed account of the pre-production development stages. It was kind of ‘mad scientist’ time.

Director: Tim Maher

Account Director: Joel Diamond / 1000heads

Producer: Leandro Righini / Capefinn

Camera Operator & Editing: Jani Johansén

Music: Yoav

Helsinki Transport Authority #3

tim — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 11:33:24 +0000

Bright lights, big city… Another great idea from the Dynamo / HSL team. A wannabe rock star coming to where the action is, the train platform at night hinting at being the stage at a rock concert, the ‘stage lights’ flaring nicely in the background, the guitar graphics showing the stops for a ‘satellite’ city and the capital, Helsinki,… the local train between his legs. It’s all there. AND, it’s minus 15 degrees!

Also, technically, I’m very pleased with the image, not just because of the harsh conditions, it just all went as planned. Found the perfect location a few days before, knew exactly when the street lights would come on, mixed available light with flash, that is the actual local train in shot (not in post!). It would have been possible to build the image in post, I just liked the idea of being able to keep it ‘real’, it just kinda suited the subject, rock & roll.

Client name: HSL

Ad agency: Dynamo

Art director: Pia Pitkänen