Our alchemical transformation got its own film series. The first instalment looks like a training tape found at the back of our archive.
A transformation of our own
Doing brand work for yourself is hard, as we’ve watched plenty of clients discover before us. Landing on our new direction and look took some time. Somewhere along the way, alchemy turned out to describe what we do surprisingly well: carefully measured ingredients, patient processes and ordinary materials turned into something of lasting value. Where we landed: Werklig is the Nordic Brand Alchemist – all for socially engaged brands.
To celebrate, we wanted to take the alchemy theme somewhere with creative freedom and a healthy dose of unconventional spirit. So, we wrote a brief for a series of one-minute-ish films, each made with a creative partner free to interpret brand alchemy as they saw fit.
A training tape from the archive
For the very first film, we partnered with director Jan Sederlöf and production company Breakfast Helsinki. They read the brief and made a film about the very thing we do. Instead of one film, they proposed two, styled as an early-1990s corporate training video – the kind of VHS tape you might find in our archive, addressed to a new employee.
The production leans into its limits. The wonderfully talented team built as much as possible by hand and in camera. Set designer Ansku Heiskanen’s sets are studio-like by design, the golden egg is papier-mâché, and DOP Tuomas Nurmi shot it all in the over-bright colours the format calls for. When almost anything can be generated with AI, a visible human handprint is worth looking at. “Erikoismeininkiä”, as we say in Finnish.
These two films are the first in our alchemy series, and we’re glad they’re the ones that laugh at our own trade.
Credits:
Written and directed by Jan Sederlöf
Produced by Breakfast
EP: Nita Rehtonen
Producer: Milja Kipahti
DOP: Tuomas Nurmi
Editor: Julius Greis
VFX: Heikki Nummi
Colour Grade: Rikhard Vellamo
Sound design: Akseli Soini
Online: Sampo Sirén
Production Design: Ansku Heiskanen
Wardrobe: Juho Pihlajaoja
Make up and hair: Karoliina Viinikari
1st AC: Aaro Visala
Gaffer: Samuel Valkola
Grip: Aki Ruostepuro
Cast
The Alchemist: Niklas Von Lüders
Narrator: Petteri Lassila
Pawn Shop cashier: Irina Ljan
Pawn Shop money counter: Unto Liimatainen
Thank you:
Kamerafirma
Valofirma
Jarkko Liikanen
Grade One
Mikko Savinainen
Mia Ekman
El Camino
Niko Henttonen