SHINING A LIGHT ON THE EARTH’S HEROES WITH TIMBERLAND AND JAHVED CROCKETT
Getting the message out is actually quite easy these days. Nearly everyone on the planet has access to some type of device which will disseminate their thoughts and opinions to the masses. The true difference between saying something and being heard is presenting it in a way that holds someone’s attention. Jahved Crockett is a master of this. No, not in the sense that he performs wild stunts on YouTube but rather with his directing, editing, and art direction. Shaping content into a sincere and captivating manner is why so many huge companies have utilized his talent. For Timberland’s FW19 Campaign, the goal was to highlight individual’s committed to making a positive difference globally whether in their own backyard on in a country deeply in need of it; Crockett was the professional tasked by the nearly century old company to manifest this. Fashioning a series of interviews with an eclectic group of change makers, Jahved’s mini-productions inspired throngs around the world by telling the stories of these true positive influencers.
Alice Timberland
The nearly one-hundred-years long existence of the Timberland company has taught them that their business is as much about their consumer base as it is about their products. Generating nearly one and a half billion dollars in annual revenue, Timberland has proven they are in tune with this. The focus of the FW19 campaign was to display stories of real people who care deeply about environmental issues. Equally as important was the fact that this quality exists all around the world; presenting individuals from a number of different countries and backgrounds proved this to be true. The success of this project, realized by Jahved, has already been declared a resounding success with the Spring/Summer 2020 campaign already under way.
The ten featured individuals are delivered in a series of beautifully cinematic videos. Introduced collectively as “Nature Needs Heroes”, each is featured in their own Instagram story which relates the specific tactics and course they’ve taken. Durham North Carolina’s Kathleen Elie relates a one-stop online resource on living a sustainable and ethical lifestyle. London based Wilson Oryema imparts the dangers of the world’s growing waste habits. UK photo journalist and documentary filmmaker Alice Aedy has been immersed in the warzones and refugee crisis points of Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Her passion for the environment and social issues is inherent in her daily work. Inna Modja is musician, songwriter, and visual artist originally from Mali in Africa. Her work on the Great Green Wall Projects seeks to plant trees to curtail the expansion of the Sahara Desert and thereby aid in limiting global warming. Amsterdam’s Marjan Van Aubel incorporates exceedingly high efficiency intelligent design into lamps and other devices which utilize the energy of the sun. Loyle Carner from London is an acclaimed musician as well as an ambassador for the London Nation Park City. Viewing these videos illuminates that many different people of varying backgrounds and levels of notoriety all care deeply about the world as a collective and its future.
Working with his team, Jahved shot videos of nearly all of these individuals in Berlin. Assembling all of these international heroes in Germany was perhaps the easiest part of the project for Crockett. He stipulates, “I used everything from state of the art equipment to a 90’s handheld camera to achieve the proper tone and feel for the videos. I added effects in the editing like a Kodak grain for a nostalgic feel, as well as others. If anything, I had too much great dialogue from the people we filmed. They would impart deeply motivating and insightful feelings and ideas which I would have to whittle down to fifteen seconds for an Instagram clip. I really had to be ruthless when it came to the editing. It’s a shame that so many people who subscribe to platforms like Instagram have assimilated to such a short attention span. All the heroes were very humble and kind. I wish I could have spent some more time getting to know them better. I have always had an interest in environmental issues. It is really nice to be part of a campaign that creates awareness for these types of environmental issues.”
Wilson in Berlin
Written by Patrick Wilson
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