Sam Rice-Edwards Takes Us Behind the Scenes of the John Lewis Christmas Spot

Last week saw the release of John Lewis's annual Christmas commercial [above] and, by association, the start-gun being unofficially fired for the beginning of Christmas.

If you haven't already seen it (where've you been?) the spot, called The Boy and the Piano, gives a summary of Elton John's life in reverse. In the two-minute-twenty-second film John sits at a piano playing Your Song while reminiscing about key moments in his life, all the way back to one Christmas when he receives a piano from his mother and begins his journey to becoming the Rocket Man and one of music's most celebrated artists. 

Directed by Academy's Seb Edwards and created by adam&eveDDB, the spot was also edited by Assembly Rooms' Sam Rice-Edwards, brother of Seb, and below he tells us about the challenges of editing such a seminal spot and what it's like when it's a family affair. 

"You have to go for it. It's better to do something strong and polarise opinion than do something that everyone just thinks is ok."

The film has a simply but intricate premise and weaves the music and images together brilliantly; how tricky was that process? 

A film where you transition from one shot to the next to create one fluid journey is always challenging, but on this one you also had Elton syncing to the song, and each 'era' we travelled through was syncing to a different version of the song, and all the versions had to fit together to make 'one' song.

The picture had to be one fluid journey and the sound had to create one fluid song and these two elements had to sync together perfectly. There was potential to make a really bad mistake. Timing-wise, we had to be on our toes!

We obviously planned in detail but Seb also wanted to leave room for manoeuvre to avoid the film becoming mechanical so, in effect, we edited the film live on set in a kind of feedback loop between the shoot and the edit. This involved Seb, Shirley O’Connor [producer], Chayse Irvin [DP], Kamen Markov from MPC and myself. As we shot and edited each scene we had to be sure before we moved on because there was no turning back and the timings of the next scene would depend on the one we had just finished.

Saying all that, we couldn’t let the puzzle of making it all fit together take our attention away from the performances and the emotional journey of the film.

Above: Elton John stars in this year's John Lewis Christmas campaign.

At what point did you get involved in the project; did you have input before the film was delivered and, if so, what was that input? 

I was involved fairly early on because this job needed so much planning. We cut quite a few rounds of animatics and worked with Ant [Moore] from Factory on the song, we got a feel for what timings would create a sense of journey and we talked a lot about what was needed at various points in the film to create that emotional journey that Seb was after.

After the shoot and edit I kept involved, giving feedback on the post and tweaking the edit - in response to the post - right up to delivery of the finished film. As challenging as the shoot and edit were, the post was also a major undertaking and it was really interesting to see it progress.

"Apart from the occasional family feud it’s a deeply rewarding experience."

The film has a neat reverse chronology; were there ever thoughts to cut it differently? Did you play about with the timeline at all?

We spoke about it briefly but it was clear that one of the strengths of Ant and Mike’s concept was that the reverse chronology created a connection between the young Elton and present day Elton. The emotional peak is present day Elton playing the last piano note of the film while remembering the first time he touched a piano, so the reverse chronology felt central to the film from the off.

Above: One of the Elton look-a-likes from The Boy and the Piano.

What was the most challenging aspect of working on this from an editing point of view? 

Having to make big calls on set knowing there was no way back once that call was made. It was challenging but also exciting.

Your brother directed the ad; do you work together on projects on a regular basis and when did you know you would be working on this?

Yes, we work together fairly regularly. There have been a lot of adventures over the years! I got a call about this one sometime in May.

"It gets so much attention that you can get torn apart if you don’t deliver."

How is it working so closely with your brother?

Apart from the occasional family feud it’s a deeply rewarding experience. There is obviously a shorthand and a shared sensibility but we also both bring something different to the table and learn from one another on every project.

Above: Another scene, and another look-a-like, from the spot.

Did you or Seb feel any pressure working on what is the most anticipated advertising message of the year?

Definitely! It gets so much attention that you can get torn apart if you don’t deliver. At the same time you have to go for it. It's better to do something strong and polarise opinion than do something that everyone just thinks is ok. 

"There was potential to make a really bad mistake. Timing-wise, we had to be on our toes!"

Now that the spot is out, can Christmas start for you?

This year is quite a busy run, I think I’ll be crawling across the line on the 24th.

And what’s on your (John Lewis exclusive) list for Santa?

A second referendum and an end to mass extinction.

Above: 'Little' Elton receives his life-defining present.

Apart from festivities, what are you up to next?

I’m on another adam&eveDDB commercial! In the longer term there are a couple of feature projects which I’m excited about and I’m also enjoying focusing on the younger editors at The Assembly Rooms, and watching them develop.