The Best Planet

With over 5 million YouTube views and counting, this campaign has received accolades and praise from the Russian media and general public.

As a creative team, we found that simplicity was king with this project. We created complex sound beds and then kept stripping the layers back until that key sound remained for each shot. The soundtrack had to grab our attention, entrance us, and give the film an other-worldly feel.

The thinking behind the sound design was that each shot should have a focal sound that gives it an identity. A sound that helps tell the story behind each scene. A sound that casts a fresh perspective on what we’re seeing, by being seemingly authentic to the shot but slightly removed from the reality of the scene.
As well as creating separation, these detailed focal sounds often bridge the scenes, and feel like a natural segue between the vastly different locations that we’re switching between. For example, we’ve used the sound of the sea to filter and internalise the girl’s thoughts, the thunder to connect to the people jumping in the water, and hard-heeled footsteps as transitional elements through the concluding shots of the film. And every sound has to penetrate the music to just the right degree.
It was a challenging sonic journey and we had to make many decisions of taste, all the while being respectful to this astonishing array of amazing destinations on our planet.

1. Inspire Russians to travel at a time when most Russians can't afford too, or international travel just isn't a priority.
2. Elevate the idea of traveling from a simple trip to a more aspirational and meaningful experience.

The director’s treatment and agency brief asked for the sound to play a starring role. To be complex, yet carefully considered; both minimalist and macro.