Earlier in 2017, Macy's introduced a new marketing model that relies less heavily on promotional deals in an effort to win over consumers. “The Lighthouse” focuses on Macy’s brand love or the things about Macy’s that endear it to customers’ hearts and fill them with memories of the brand.

In order to quickly signal that “The Lighthouse” is something special, we needed a visual tone that immediately captured your attention. Like a classic film, we sought to achieve a timelessness where the story is inherently relevant and powerful. Visually, there were no references to time – the wardrobe (carefully selected from Macy’s) was comprised of timeless pieces. The goal was to bring something genuine and emotionally powerful in the final scene so that viewers connect the warmth and human kindness to Macy’s. To get to and to maximize the impact of that warmth, we needed distance, intrigue and a problem to solve. By spending a good portion of the film in the cooler, desolate, and quieter filmic moments, we were able to effectively juxtapose cold and warm and, in so doing, allow the true warmth of human character to enliven the story.

The cinematography in “The Lighthouse” is brooding, spectacular, and genuine, creating two visual ‘islands’ – one of the lighthouse and the other of the family holiday home. The look and visual tone and cinematography are rooted in the themes of dark and light, cold and warm, sad and happy, distant and together. It was through this contrast of extremes, that we created the magical filmic place for the story.