Let's Celebrate the Ladies

While updating our website, we noticed something. We have been shooting some really boss images of women — and not the standard issue shots of beautiful, slender bikini models that we’re lambasted with on our social media feeds every day. It’s women as entrepreneurs, women as athletes, women as explorers who push boundaries.

The world is changing the way we look at Arab women - Emiriati women wearing (gasp!) colored abayas, or with their shaylas around their shoulders, at the head of the boardroom table, and at the wheel.

We’re shooting women with curves, women with muscles, women with wrinkles, women with natural hair!

And it’s women shooting, too! We’ve scheduled ultrasounds, feeding times, nap times and school runs into our production schedules - all for women who know the struggle of the working mom all too well.

So the girls at GOOD just want to say that we’re thankful for the amazing ladies (ok, ok, and men!) in our lives who make it work, and who are changing the way we represent ourselves one click at a time.

We Are One

We’re often asked what's our favorite thing about the UAE.

Is it the larger than life lifestyle? Or that you can usually count on blue sky and sunshine? Or is it just really fun to live in a place where impossible isn’t a word you often hear?

Our answer? It’s the people. Every single time. 

We walk on set and it’s a veritable United Nations of clients and crew — we’re blessed to have met and worked with incredibly talented people from all over the world and all walks of life… but this shoot takes the cake.

Merchant Cantos approached us for what on paper looked like a simple project for the Abu Dhabi Department of Community Development. 

24 Portraits. Stills and film. Black and White. 

But the brief was anything but. 

What does Abu Dhabi really look like? Who lives there? How do we represent the beautiful diversity that we are lucky enough see every day?

After a very thorough casting of nearly 200 people, and a little bit of help from DCD’s partners in Abu Dhabi, we filmed and photographed a series of incredible humans - people with determination, strength, wisdom… and some who were pretty cute to boot! 

Beautifully photographed by Katarina Premfors, and filmed by Toby Plummer, we are proud to have been a part of such an empowering project that shows what we love most about the UAE.











The GOOD Stills & Films Edition

One Campaign, One Production, Double the Impact

The 1000 emails. The 100 phone calls, the 10 meetings. The casting. the models, the extras,  the wardrobe, the props, the make up, the stylist,  the permit (the wasta), the lighting, the dolphin, the granny, the trainer... 

Knock out 2 birds with1 stone if you pulled all those resources together!  Such was our fantastic collaboration  with Hywell Waters & the marketing team at Atlantis, the Palm. This clever bunch maximized all energy required  for their next campaign by tackling all mediums possible at once; from your  highway bill board, to your TV & to your insta, no stone was left unturned to keep the viewer cool in water. 

 

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The Year so Far

You see us rollin’? These ads shot by @atifabusamra for @lincolnmiddleeast with @gtb have our hearts in overdrive! 

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And sometimes our work takes us to unexpected places that make the desert look a little more green.... Check out our latest rockstar collaboration with @mcsaatchiuae and @simonwinnall for Aldar! 

Mama Said Knock You Out

Production is no stranger to breaking a sweat, and over the past few months we've definitely enjoyed getting our clients, photographers and talent to show us what they're made of. Whether it was shooting under the 50 degree blazing sun in an Oud Metha sand lot, or sprinting down the back streets of down-and-dirty Bur Dubai, our people showed us that they could handle the burn and keep up with the hustle. And the results get our heart rate to that target zone real quick.

Sven Hoffmann showed us that willpower has no obstacles in his collaboration with Nomads and Under Armour. Tasked with finding gritty locations across the city that reflected our athletes' sport and training capabilities, we were proud to show Dubai as a place where people Train\To Win.

Nick Laham came all the way from NYC to Dubai to make an impact -- packing a powerful punch with graphic images of local superstar fitness gurus in their element.

And if that's not enough to pump you up, Director/DOP Toby Plummer knocks us out with our latest production for CrossFit GOLDBOX Gym, starring CrossFit Games 2017 Champion Tia-Clair Toomey. The fittest woman on earth sure knows how to make us look good.

 

Local Shooter Hywell Waters also knows it's either go hard or go home - shooting a super set for Redtag Fashion that has us pumped.

We don't call it a comeback, we've been here for years. And when you're ready to shoot with a team who knows how to push harder every day, give us a shout. We'll show you what we're made of, and you'll love the gains.

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DIFC | Building the Image Library

Your brand is established. Your campaigns are on point. But isn't the best way to make an impact with a fresh look?

GOOD Stills specializes in producing large-scale content libraries to be used across a wide scope of media.

We shoot for a week, you use it for years.

One of our most recent collaborations was with Dubai International Financial Centre, who approached photographer Katarina Premfors to refurbish the entirety of their image library — lifestyle, architecture, interiors, food — you name it. Our team spent three weeks building a shooting document tailored to Katarina’s style and DIFC's branding guidelines, planning out a tailor-made collection of 200 images to be shot over 10 days.

GOOD Stills Mood Board

First steps...

Our team spent several days looking high and low for different angles, times and scenarios that we could build into our brief.  The images we shot were building blocks to the document we built alongside DIFC's marketing team, illustrating how we would showcase the entire development.   

GOOD Stills Recce

DIFC encouraged us to submit a variety of nationalities and ages of models to represent the diversity of people who live and work in their neighborhood.  Casting is, without a doubt, one of the most important parts of a successful shoot. We knew that with an allocation of four models per day, we needed talent who were very versatile and able to keep the energy up!

GOOD Stills Casting

Just as important as who we are shooting is how they look. Our wardrobe stylist prepared mood boards showing how our cast would be dressed for every scenario we detailed, making sure to cover a range of styles. Each person needed to feel like a real, individual character-- from the super suited and corporate type, to people from a more youthful and trendy crowd.

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Let's Shoot!

With our shoot document and a rock solid schedule in hand, Katarina and our team had a veritable photography playground at our fingertips for 10 days. For each location we had a mood board of inspirational shots to keep us going throughout action-packed days.

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After the Shoot...

A very happy client received 200 images showcasing how people really live work and play in Dubai's financial hub. We are proud to have created a foundation of imagery that feels honest to such an exciting Dubai neighborhood, and genuinely look forward to our next collaboration.

So now that you know how it works...

Get in touch! We're always looking for new people to creatively collaborate with -- so let's talk about how we can build a better image for your next campaign.

Aldar | The Bridges

We are GOOD. We work with the best agencies, on the most interesting briefs for clients who have vision. In the UAE, we shoot with the best in the business, and we make it possible to shoot with some of the best from abroad. The people on our sets – agencies, clients, crew – are family, and it fills our hearts with pride when our family grows to include more like-minded and talented people.

The shoot for Aldar The Bridges with M&C Saatchi was no exception. They allowed us to collaborate with them on one of our all-time favorite projects this year. Perhaps we sound like a broken record when we say this, but with each shoot we wrap, we are continually impressed by how our team and clients are able to surpass our expectations.

Asked to produce an image library to promote an upcoming development on Reem Island, Sam Robinson came to Dubai for our third and absolute best collaboration to date. As the development had not yet launched, we were tasked with finding locations across Abu Dhabi that would embody its urban, yet stylish Manhattan-like feel. Over 3 days, we shot 32 final images that broke the stereotypes of what Abu Dhabi living is supposed to look like. It was modern, active and made the city look fresh and cosmopolitan.

It was a lifestyle shoot with big ideas and simple execution. In all, something beautiful we are happy to share with you.

It's said that what is done in love is done well. Thank you to the people who make us love our work, and give us the strength to do GOOD.

Aldar The Bridges
Agency: M&C Saatchi
Photographer: Sam Robinson
Post Production: The Laundry Room
Assistant: Ollie Coleman, Mark Offemaria
Digital Assistant: James King
Producer: Jolianne Ray
Production Manager: Carrie Ryan
Wardrobe Stylist: Tina Choie
Wardrobe Assistant: Kirsty Walker
Hair & Makeup Artist: Lidia Trzos
Models: MMG Talent & Wilhemina Dubai
Locations: Beautiful Abu Dhabi

 

 

 

Abu Dhabi - Your Extraordinary Story

As a production team who has been in the UAE for nearly a decade, we cannot put into words what an honor it was to work alongside Boomtown Productions and M&C Saatchi on what was possibly one of the most humbling and interesting campaigns we've ever had the pleasure to shoot. Abu Dhabi Tourism sent us on an incredible journey through an Emirate we never completely explored. From architecture that could illustrate pages in a sci-fi novel on Saadiyat Island, to Bronze Era ruins in Al Ain, and running with the wildlife on Sir Bani Yas Island, we shot and discovered everything extraordinary that Abu Dhabi has to offer. The people we encountered and the truly awe inspiring places we saw made us proud to be based in the UAE. And proud to do our work. We hope you love these images as much as we do, and that you are equally inspired to go exploring.

New Work, New Year

Seems like we got so busy that we haven't had a chance to update in a minute. It's been a great start to the new year working with The Atlantis, ADCB and Damas, and we have so many more amazing projects already lined up for February. Huge thank you to everyone who has supported us in the lead up to our 5 year anniversary. Check out some of our new projects that have come out and let us know what you think!

Wild Places with Land Rover's #MYLAND Project

Photographer Dom Romney collaborated with the team at GOOD, Y&R Dubai and Y&R London to shoot three images for Land Rover's #MYLAND campaign. Dom survived flying through the worst sand storm of the decade, hula hooping with Oryx on Desert Island, and being shot at by the locals in Tabuk! What an adventure. We finally have some images to show after months of hard work by our team. Check out some of the incredible, remote places we were able to discover on our journey.

Four Years Later!

So, it took us a long time to do this. We know. 

We’ve been hard at work for the past four years. We’ve shot with the best, we’ve gone through the worst, and in the end, we’re all still here. Still standing. Still loving what we do. And getting better at it every day.

We couldn't have done it without the amazing people on our team.

Or the clients we shoot for.

Watch this space. Behind the scenes, location shots, the on-set and pre-production shenanigans. It will all be here.