JCPenney and the team at Doner have a special spot in The Barkers’ hearts. The duo worked on the retailer’s multiple-season TV spots for the entire year.  For the Barker’s it was a dream to spend that much time with a client and agency dialing in the energy and look of a campaign. They live for this stuff.

One highlight: JCP’s summer season spot. Shot in Texas, the challenge The Barkers faced was figuring out how to give the piece a summery outdoor feeling, even though it had to be shot on a stage indoors. To deliver, The Barkers invited their favorite installation artist Crystal Hodges, of All Kinds, to travel down and create bold limbo worlds for each of the sets.

“We love using paper art and backgrounds in our stills work, and we wanted to translate that for TV,” Chris explains. “So we built massive 30-foot flats, cut our elements and shapes out of the wood and filed all of the edges so they looked paper thin.”

The approach helped create an aesthetic both playful and energetic. The waves in the beach scenes, for example, were made in three separate layers on wheels that a grip moved back and forth for each take.

Directing the shoots, Kristen—who is a dancer—was in clear view of the talent at all times. “This gave the talent a mirror to follow for the shoot—I dip, you dip, we dip,” says Chris. As well, one of the Barkers’ favorite DP’s, Crille Forsberg, was on hand to lend a strong fashion perspective.

One thing The Barkers say they learned from working with this team: Really pay attention to the movement happening on screen. “Watching that closely helps when you are creating wipes and transitions for the titles, logos and any other messaging. That’s crucial because you have such a short amount of time in each spot to get the message across,” says Chris. “Now, it’s something we think about with every piece of work we create: “Where’s the copy going to go/appear, and how will it interact with what’s on screen?”