Manchester Arndale Christmas 2015 Video Shoot

I’ve been hinting towards the transitions to Autumn and Winter on my blog over the past week or so, and after attending the Manchester Arndale Christmas 2015 Video Shoot on Tuesday I am well and truly starting to feel festive! Today I’m going to be giving you a sneak peek at what to expect from the huge Winter campaign from Manchester Arndale that will be kicking off sooner than we think – you won’t want to miss it.

When I was invited along to get a backstage look at a video advert shoot, I wasn’t sure what to expect. As a blogger, I’m no newbie to photoshoots (hello, guilty pleasure) but aside from filming my own YouTube videos in my bedroom, I’ve had no experience of video shoots before. Turns out they’re a big deal. A BIG DEAL. Arriving at the studio in Manchester I was blown away by the size of the operation; a huge warehouse studio filled with people ready to make this advert happen. The professionals on board included a production company, a creative agency, stylists, make-up artists and of course, the babes of Manchester Arndale. I was excited!

Manchester Arndale let me in on a little secret – that their Christmas campaign this year will come in two halves, based on two very different ways to style clothes. I arrived on set for the second half of the day, which some amazing party looks being styled; think glitz, glamour and all things stylish! The first look was the one shown above, which consisted of an incredible sparkly culottes jumpsuit (so on trend this AW15), some glittery court heels from Dune (there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home) and the most wonderful faux fur jacket from Next. I loved the above shot – dragging a Christmas tree across the floor is such a cool and alternative way to interpret a festive scene.

One of the obvious things about a video shoot that I never really thought about, is the need for movement and texture. These aren’t just going to be static photos, they’re going to be part of a huge Christmas video advert which needs to be different and catch people’s attention. Part of the idea behind Manchester Arndale’s Christmas Advert Campaign 2015 is to add special effects and graphics to the film to make it look like the model is making things happen! Luckily enough, the model for the campaign, Caroline Buist, is a also a yoga teacher which made making those moves easy. I have a lot of admiration for a gal who can high kick in a pair of heels, trust me.

As a fashion blogger, I was of course really interested in the choice of clothes for the shoot. The ladies of Manchester Arndale and their stylist told me that they took a HUGE shopping trip around the shopping centre to pick and style up the outfits prior to the shoot, in order to save time on the day. When I asked what the key trends were for this Autumn Winter, they mentioned including a mix of 70’s vibes, festive party dresses and toughening things up with leather and studs. A good mix, I think. All of the outfits were styled, photographed and packaged up on the day before the shoot to minimise changing time on the day – there were a number of outfits for both halves of the day, which meant it was a pretty big task!

Getting to have a look in the dressing room was an experience in itself! You can’t imagine the chaos of having to get ready for a whole new hair and make-up look in a whole new outfit with co-ordinating shoes and accessories in just a couple of minutes. Time is of the essence on a shoot and so it’s important to minimise changing time as much as possible – hence the planning of the outfits before hand. I asked the make-up artist on set how she managed to do a whole new make-up look each time, and she confessed she used MAC foundation for a long-lasting flawless base and then changed the eyes and lips for each new look.

I was able to watch Caroline get ready with Becci and Becky (the make-up artist and the stylist both going by the same name!) and it really is a precise operation. As the colour of nails are so important to an outfit, each look called for a new set of falsies. As painting Caronline’s nails a different colour or glueing on false nails would take too long, press-on nails were used to make it time efficient. A great idea, I think, and just one demonstration of the attention to detail that goes into a look! Similar, for the different night time looks, a pair of lashes were added or removed as a quick way to change up the eye make-up.

The above look has to be my favourite of the day – the sparkles make it festive, yet the leather jacket gives it a modern edge. I’m told this dress was a bargain from the Gold Label TK Maxx in Manchester Arndale; it’s original price was £3,350 down to just £200 – a decent price for a formalwear dress. The leather jacket was from Warehouse and the jewellery added for the close up shots was from Swarovski. I am in LOVE with the necklace, but at £550 it’s a little too pricy for my own Christmas wish list. Well, a girl can dream, eh?

The final outfit I saw styled up has got to be the ideal Christmas party dress. I am SUCH a fan of a Little Red Dress (move over, LBD!) and this number from Topshop is a perfect party piece. Red is just such a classic, festive colour and the skater shape of this dress is so flattering. Accessorised with a pair of red heels and a studded little Moschino clutch from TK Maxx, it’s a go-to New Year’s Eve look, for sure! For this look, Caroline did lots of strutting, posing and dancing. One of the most interesting things about this shoot is that so many different cameras were used to create content for many different platforms (think TV, websites and bus stops!) – I can’t wait to see all the different types.

The finale of the shoot was when glitter confetti hit the fan! Is there anything more Christmassy than a red dress and gold glitter? I think not! This final scene has to be the epitome of festive fashion and really topped off what was such an interesting day for me. Thank you, Manchester Arndale, for having me along to share this sneak peek with you all – and keep your eyes peeled for the final footage which I will be sharing come November…

(It’s a little dark, but that’s definitely me in that picture – I promise!)