KLM 100 Years

Introduction - Film

For KLM’s 100th anniversary we created an emotional film around three generations. We reconstructed KLM’s history, which has been intertwined with the societal - cultural - and technological progress of the Netherlands as a nation.

Introduction - Cinematography & Film Direction

The KLM film tells the story of three generations of women from the same family who worked with KLM from the early days to the present, serving and caring for passengers from being a flight attendant ending up as the captain of KLM’s newest airplane.

Relevancy - Film

Because of the diversity of the audience we needed to address, we had to

strike the right balance between highlighting KLM’s Dutch heritage and a more generic story that underlined KLM’s 100th anniversary.

The growth of KLM as a company has been intertwined with the progress of the Netherlands as a nation. The country’s societal progress, cultural progress and technological progress is reflected in all aspects of KLM’s business. From the planes to the uniforms of the staff and the services offered. By using these assets and combining them with an emotional story around the magic of flying and the changing role of women in society, we were able to touch both a Dutch audience and an international audience.

We made a 90" and 60" edit, plus a 30" for retargeting purposes. Kantar research concluded that the commercial scored far above all benchmarks for emotional appeal and that the film is (quote) an emotional ad that is enthusiastically appreciated no matter the format.

Relevancy - Cinematography

Technical craftsmanship in this commercial reached the highest possible level for this budget in this period of time, where all disciplines enriched each other by combining their professionalism and quality.

Relevancy - Film Direction

We felt a premium look and feel should reflect a royal brand like KLM, almost every shot in the film was carefully planned and set up to tell the story we needed to tell. We felt all the drama in each of the shots needed to lead up to the empowering message in the end.

Idea/Craft - Film

The film tells a story of three generations that love the magic of flying. In 1934 a young girl looks up in awe to a plane flying in the sky. Years later she becomes a stewardess. In the 70s, her daughter follows in her footsteps. Fast forward: her granddaughter pilots a brand new Boeing Dreamliner 787-10 as the captain of the flight. All generations worked/work for the same airline. Their journey through memory lane covers 100 years of societal progress, cultural progress, technological progress and progress in aviation.

Picture-perfect period detail was created by using some of the original airplanes, building historically accurate sets and by blending archive footage with cutting-edge film techniques. Together with historians of KLM’s Historical Centre, we meticulously reconstructed KLM’s history. We had to be more than just accurate, since KLM personnel, pensionados or ‘fans’ would definitely complain if there would be any flaws. All shots of flying planes were crafted digitally.

Idea/Craft - Cinematography

The first question was if and how we were going to enhance the timetravel of the women’s lives through cinematography. After studying a lot of photography and sharing inspirational imagery we decided only to use colors and lighting for historical reference. Of course art, make-up and costume were of great influence to the images. The shooting style and movement would stay the same throughout the commercial, to keep the flow of one story and give this fast paced three-lives-in-one-minute the feeling of a short movie instead of a mosaic collection of images.

Idea/Craft - Film Direction

Re-creating a narrative that seamlessly flows through 8-9 decades and 3 generations. We kept a strict eye out for the factual past and approached the project scientifically in recreating the historical feel. From recreating long lost uniforms from archival photos to digging up 35mm color stock from forgotten archival reels. Meticulously blending VFX shots and emotional storytelling without loosing the pace (or running out of a limited budget). Shot over 5 days, using historical locations all over The Netherlands.

Briefing - Film

This year KLM Royal Dutch Airlines celebrates its 100th anniversary. It is the first airline in the world to reach this milestone while still flying under the name it used when it was founded. KLM is an iconic brand in the Netherlands. Client asked us to develop a film that would make the Dutch aware of its anniversary and feel proud of the company. The film should be able to bring this message across on both TV and online, and it had to appeal to audiences in other KLM markets too (notably the Nordics). In many of the markets KLM operates in, it is but one of the many airlines offering flights. In some markets the awareness of the fact that KLM has Dutch roots is substantial, in others it is not that high.

Briefing - Cinematography & Film Direction

The brief was to create a heritage film for the centennial jubilee of KLM, strongly rooted in its past with an empowering message for the future.

Jury Feedback

ADVERTISING – FILM / NOMINATION

The jury was particularly impressed by the production value of this film. The history of KLM is told by three generations of women, who at that time only played an important role as a showcase for KLM's service and reliability but have now become full-fledged pilots. The KLM that keeps up with the times on all fronts. In general, these types of corporate films are usually a summary of everything the company has experienced over a hundred years, but KLM tells the story of a woman who becomes a flight attendant and passes on the love for her job to the next generation. This, together with a cast-iron execution, made this film rise above ground level.

In general, the budgets in the Netherlands for these types of films are not sky high. But KLM shows that even with a limited budget, this story can still be told in a grand and almost compelling way. Particular attention has been paid to the historical details. All in all a worthy nomination, the jury felt that the execution was very well done but the idea and message were a bit too thin to receive a Lamp.

CRAFT - CINEMATOGRAPHY / BRONZE

Unanimously a great piece of photography and camera work. From lighting to framing it’s elegant and done with care with lots of details. Could have been more in depth into the execution, the use of devices from the period, using film and style of directing to express a period in a more accurate way or fun way. This could have been nice details and would have brought the piece to a silver for us.

CRAFT - FILM DIRECTION

Solid piece of film and beautifully crafted, with a lot of details, no doubt about it. We hesitated a lot to give a lamp or not: we though it lacks of humanity for a company that transport human around the world, the characters almost being reduced to their wardrobe and hairstyle, without much to express on screen apart from big smiles.