Directors William Campbell and Will Johnson of Gentleman Scholar craft a new viral video for Ray-Ban’s Never Hide campaign. Edited by Steve Prestemon of Whitehouse Post, the piece follows a young Russian couple on an adventure into an abandoned house where they stumble upon a bug metamorphosing into a very unusual creature.

Campbell and Johnson sought to strike the perfect balance between believable and wonderful in the spot. In order to push the intrigue of the story, the directors introduced the idea of the couple speaking in a language that wouldn’t be easily recognizable. They found a couple who not only had on-screen chemistry but spoke Russian fluently. Prestemon had a friend translate the final product and strangely enough, it worked!

Next on the docket for the Gentleman Scholar creative team was the creation of the insect! They wanted to make sure that the bug had a dimension of wonderment while still staying fundamentally grounded in reality. As the creature molts and evolves, Campbell and Johnson were able to show a variety of different features of the stylish Ray-Ban Clubmaster sunglasses, as well as develop an interesting-looking creature.

In order to create that “lost footage you found in the attic” feel, Gentleman Scholar transferred the piece to VHS tape, then pulled the tape out of the VHS cassette, crumpled it, kicked it down the hall, and wound it back up. They may have even broken a VCR during these shenanigans.

As you may have guessed, the process was a blast for Campbell and Johnson. Says the team: “having the ability to play in a world that relies so heavily on digital execution, but also crosses over into the handheld, textural analog space is incredible. Creatively, you are able to exercise so many parts of your brain, that it really keeps you focused and on your toes.”