At Monday’s WWDC keynote, Apple announced the latest iteration of the iPad Pro, leading with a 75 second commercial that is as slick as one would expect with any Apple product launch. The iPad Pro will sell by the bucketload no doubt, but “Any Given Wednesday,” directed by Leonardo Dalessandri, is worthy of recognition itself as a supreme piece of commercial filmmaking.
This isn’t the first time we at Fstoppers have written about the talents of Dalessandri, and it’s great to see talent recognized and trusted with a brand like Apple. His distinct style is an elegant cacophony of stylish video, soundtrack, and transitions.
By my count there are 70 clips in this 75-second commercial, but Dalessandri ensures the viewers attention is kept by seamlessly stitching his transitions with minute attention to detail. If you are looking to bring stylish transitions to your own projects, try scrubbing over the transitions of “Any Given Wednesday,” breaking down the techniques used to move from one sequence to the next.
The first prominent transition we see is a swipe on the new IPad Pro from left to right which takes us onto a close up shot of a red-headed woman via a school bus. If you blink, you'll miss it, but it's a classy transition that increases the production value of the advertisement. There are no fancy effects here, just prepared camera movements, attention to detail with the edit, and excellent choice of sound effect to accentuate the transition.
It would also be remiss not to point out Dalessandri’s wonderful use of speed ramping, his excellent framing, and the fact he’s created a video which is fit for purpose. The commercial fits wonderfully into the existing Apple brand, shows off some new features of iOS 11, and will undoubtedly help sell iPads. Dalessandri, and the team compiled by Radical Media, I salute you.