Dinner without a flame
Our creative response for the Sorrel Range launch film. Fogline Pictures, San Francisco, for Sorrel Kitchen Co. June 14, 2027.
What you asked for, and what is at stake
You asked for a 60-second launch film. What you actually need is to make a gas cook believe induction is faster, in the first six seconds of a vertical feed.
Sorrel Range ships October 12. Your waitlist is 4,200 people, most of whom found you through short video, and preorders open the same day.
A beautiful film about a beautiful stove will not move them. Proof will. If we have read this wrong, tell us now, because everything below is built on it.
The numbers behind the idea
Your own figures, from the waitlist survey and the test kitchen. Each one is a claim the film can prove on camera.
0
People on the waitlist
0%
Found you on video
0s
To boil 2 quarts
0
Launch states, one date
Route A, The Clock (recommended)
One continuous 88-second take on a robot arm. A cold pan goes on, a timer runs in frame, the water boils before the cook has finished the onions. The 60-second cut speeds nothing up. That is the point.
Route B, The Quiet Kitchen
A sound-led film: no gas hiss, no clicking igniter, just a kitchen you can talk in. Strong for the brand, weaker on proof, so it works better as the second film.
Route C, Side by Side
Gas and induction raced on a split screen. The fastest to understand and the easiest to dismiss as an ad. We would only run it as a 15-second paid cut.
Fourteen weeks to October 12
Tight, not rushed. The one fixed point is the stage in August; everything else is built backward from launch day.
Launches we have filmed
Three hardware launches, three different problems. Every one was judged on preorders, not views.
Lumaline Arc, desk lamp launch
A 45-second film built on one dimmer turn, shot on a motion control rig in a single stage day. Preorders cleared the first production run in 31 hours.
Harlow S2, scooter reveal
Filmed on the steepest blocks of Russian Hill at dawn, with a drone and a tracking vehicle. The 9:16 cut held 58 percent of viewers to the end.
Fernwood Sleep, mattress launch
Twelve product films and 80 stills from one three-day shoot. Their cost per preorder fell 37 percent against the previous agency's creative.
The people on your film
Fogline is eleven people in Dogpatch, founded in 2018. These four are on Sorrel from previs to delivery, and none of them hands off.
Theo Bancroft
Director and founder. Directed Lumaline Arc and Harlow S2. Programs every robot arm move himself, which is why the hero take will not drift.
Lourdes Navarro
Executive producer and co-founder. Owns the budget, the stage and the schedule, and will tell you the day a decision starts costing money.
Kenji Hale
Director of photography. Lit Fernwood Sleep. Specialist in steam, glass and black surfaces, the three things that make a stove hard to film.
Mara Esposito
Editor. Cuts the vertical versions first on every launch, and reviews in Frame.io with frame-accurate notes.
Production costs, Route A
All figures in USD. Built from day rates: director 6,800, DP 4,200, executive producer 2,400, editor 1,600, colorist 3,400. Talent usage and music are licensed separately so you can see exactly what you own.
Pre-production
July 6 to August 13, 2027.
Pre-production
July 6 to August 13, 2027.
Treatment and creative development
Director, 5 days.
Storyboard and Unreal previs
6 artist days, including the robot arm path.
Hand talent casting
Two performers, one callback session.
Location scout and permits
Mission apartment, city film permit.
Executive producer, pre-production
12 days at 2,400.
Production, prelight plus three days
August 16 to 19, 2027.
Production, prelight plus three days
August 16 to 19, 2027.
Director
3 shoot days.
Director of photography
Prelight plus 3 days.
Camera crew, grip and electric
Eight crew, 4 days at 7,640 per day.
Production design and set build
Designer 8 days plus kitchen build materials.
Stage rental
Prelight and two shoot days at 6,450.
Camera package with motion control
Cinema camera, high-speed body, robot arm and operator. 3 days at 11,850.
Food stylist
Prep day plus 3 days.
Hand talent session fees
Two performers, 2 days each.
Production insurance
Equipment, liability and stage cover.
Catering and craft service
Crew of 22 across three days.
Post-production
August 23 to October 1, 2027.
Post-production
August 23 to October 1, 2027.
Edit
15 editor days, two review rounds.
Color
3 colorist days, HDR and SDR.
CG product shots
12 artist days for cutaways inside the coil.
Sound design and mix
Stereo and broadcast loudness versions.
Versioning and deliverables
17 masters across 16:9, 9:16, 1:1 and 4:5.
Production management
Production management
Production management
10 percent of production costs.
Licensing
Client-approved third-party costs, billed at cost.
Usage and music
Usage and music
Hand talent usage
Two performers, US paid digital, social and CTV, 24 months.
Music license
One library track, worldwide digital, 24 months.
Schedule to launch
Feedback consolidated within two business days of each review keeps October 1 safe. A third review round adds a week we do not have.
Creative development and Unreal previs
Casting, scout and city permits
Kitchen set build
Prelight
Stage days: hero take and inserts
Location day, Mission apartment
Edit and CG shots
Review round one
Color, CG finish and mix
Review round two and delivery
17 masters by October 1.
Clients who launched with us
Lock the stage by June 25
The Bayview stage is on a soft hold until June 25, 2027. After that we lose August and the launch date with it. If you want Route B or C instead, say so and we will rebudget within two business days.
Prepared by
Theo Bancroft Director and founder, Fogline Pictures
2101 3rd Street, Dogpatch San Francisco, CA 94107 theo@foglinepictures.com
For approval by
Hollis Kearney VP Brand and Creative, Sorrel Kitchen Co.
We have held Thursday, June 17 for a walkthrough of the previs at your test kitchen.
Green-light Route A
By confirming, you approve Route A, the schedule and the costs above: USD 406,171, of which 381,821 is production and 24,350 is licensing, from July 6 to October 1, 2027. We will invoice 50 percent, USD 203,085.50, and hold the Bayview stage for August 16 to 19.