Film Craft > Film Craft

SWAY

TBWA\Media Arts Lab, Los Angeles / APPLE / 2018

Awards:

Silver Cannes Lions
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Film

Overview

Credits

Overview

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A lonely girl walks down a snowy holiday scene. She selects Sam Smith’s “Palace” in her iPhone, and is instantly in lock-step with the music. This isn’t a typical holiday song, but reflects seasonal themes of nostalgia, togetherness, and heightened emotion. She is taken by the song as she absentmindedly dances into the arms of a stranger. They surrender to the moment, sharing the song and escaping into an expressive duet. The arresting choreography is not set to a beat, but rather the emotional inflections of a master vocalist, Sam Smith. Their trust grows as Sam’s vocals build and together they become more audacious. As Sam’s performance hits a virtuosic apex, the couple tries an impossible move: she runs up his body into a surreal flip, landing safely in his arms. As the their dream breaks and the song ends, we’re left with a beautiful memory of their love.

BriefExplanation

A young woman walks down a snowy European street and stops to select Sam Smith's "Palace" on her iPhone. As the song begins, it transports her—from the world of her ordinary reality into a daydream. Day turns to night, and she finds herself dancing under a spotlight. As she dances through the streets, suddenly, she's jolted back to 'reality' when she collides with a stranger on the sidewalk. They swiftly re-enter the daydream together as she plucks one of her AirPods from her ears and places it in his. The two share the song and an acrobatic dance together under the spotlight. They move around the city, lost together in the dreamworld. And just as they're about to kiss, we return to the same street corner where they began. It all happened in her mind. As they part ways, the audience is left with a message: move someone this holiday.

EntrySummary

“Sway” is a story about the power of music to connect all of us. To take us out of our ordinary reality and transport us somewhere magical. The film aims to remind us what the holidays are all about: Sharing special moments with the ones who mean the most. And that even in a world that sometimes feels cold and lonely, we all have the power to move someone.

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