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Canine couture isn't exactly the newest of inventions – let's face it, even Mutley used to don the occasional hat and scarf – but the idea of a prominent US fashion brand devoting a new line to dapper doggies certainly is big news… even if it's an April Fools prank!

Pittsburgh based production house Animal Inc. collaborated with American Eagle Outfitters to produce a 'dogumentary' announcing AEO's new line for dogs, 'American Beagle.' Showcasing a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the clothing line, the documentary-style short acted as the linchpin of a cohesive campaign that included a website and photo shoot. The kicker – the campaign was an elaborate April Fools prank. The twist – the campaign was so popular, American Eagle decided to stick with it and make the dog clothing line real!

Helming the spot was director Michael Killen, hired for his strong reputation for working with animal actors, as well as his ability to pull believable performances from real people. Put together on a tight deadline of only 2-weeks for production and post, the spot's easy charm and comedic realism struck a chord with online viewers, whose sharing and 'likes' contributed to the brand's decision to do the line for real.

We were delighted by the idea of dressed-up pooches, so caught up with Killen for a rundown of the project's growth.


How did you get involved in the American Eagle Outfitters project?

We were approached by American Eagle based on our history of working with animals.

What was the creative process? How involved did you guys get in the shaping of the film?

Brian Franks, American Eagle's Vice President of Creative Marketing, showed us what they had done in the past and laid out where they wanted to take this year's April Fools joke. We took that back to Animal and wrote out the story and the possible lines for the employees to say. The writing team, led by Animal Director Samm Hodges, consisted of Phineas Hodges, Ross Kimball and plenty of interaction with Brian Franks. The "talent" in this piece was always intended to be real people, actual employees. This presented a writing challenge. We knew that a word for word script wasn't going to be the best approach. Concepts and specific lines were developed, but we knew we had to be ready for a ton of improvisation and to go with the flow of what people were comfortable with saying.

A 'mockumentary' (or 'mock-dogumentary') must be one of the hardest styles to nail, as the heightened reality of conventional narrative performance has to be stripped back. How do you coax that out of your actors? Does it take a particular director to get it right?

The interaction with the AE team had to be guided as skillfully as possible into the overall concept. My approach as a director in these situations is to create an incredibly comfortable atmosphere, a place where non-actors feel confident enough to take chances with their performance. The two lead designers who served as our talent were incredibly game for the idea. If they were ever stuck on how to speak about the new clothing line, we would flip back to them talking about the "real" clothes. They were fantastic performers. They set a believable tone for the whole piece.



Working with animals is said to be pretty tough. Which breed makes for the best canine thespian?

You would think that there is an easy answer to this. The better question is which are not? The trainer informed us that Dalmatians and Beagles can be tough. By the way, they were the only breads that were brought to set with a trainer. Every other dog in the piece was owned by an American Eagle employee or friend; with the exception of the incredible VINE superstar Barkley.

Does the name of your company give you a certain affinity for working with pets?

When we opened twelve years ago, we were best known for our work on the Taco Bell Chihuahua and the California Cheese talking cow campaigns. Our expertise in animal VFX has been one of our calling cards. We are now just as well known for winning last year's Sundance with our documentary, Blood Brother, and our award winning design work for brands like Spyder and Red Bull.

How did the shoot go? Were there any issues?

Over the five days of shooting, we had multiple cameras and multiple DPs. Our first cut down was 9 minutes long. Day one felt a bit overwhelming with all that needed to be done, but when I sat down on day two and interviewed Preston and Lauren, I knew we had something special. As far as issues go, we wanted there to be problems. We wanted it to feel like we were documenting something legitimate with actual challenges. So yes, with a smile, we had issues.



How were the doggy outfits designed? Did the art directors get a kick out of the project?

This was all handled by the talented staff at American Eagle. It's what they do. Between New York and Pittsburgh, they have an incredible group of gifted people that cut and sewed and put these outfits together in record time. It all had to be based on their actual spring line. When I showed the spot to our normal stylist, she was bummed that she didn't get to work on it.

How does the edit for this kind of shoot work? We know that with conventional documentaries hours of footage is shot for seconds on screen. Is it the same for this style, or does the scripting process reduce this?

We shot an unbelievable amount of footage, which had to be compiled and crafted in less than a week. In fact, one important scene, the one with Brittany Furlan and her dogs, was shot the day before we delivered. There was no choice but to have multiple editors on the task. Assistant editor, Christine Meyer fed footage to another editor, Carrie Keller, whose job was to make sense of it all and manage it down to something watchable. Her initial six-minute piece was then further cut down by the writers, Samm and Phineas Hodges. They were able to pull out the best stuff and make it three minutes long. The pre scripting was key to it all. Our company has experience in documentary as well as narrative performance, so we knew we had to be able to balance them both.



The film was made as an April Fools prank, yet popular support has meant that the lines are about to be released. Did you have any idea you were spawning such puppy couture?

The feeling on set was so enthusiastic about what we were doing that we did believe that something would come out of this. The "dog" culture is so strong that, as silly as this idea is, there are people that are dying for a product like this. I have to give Brian and American Eagle a ton of credit for dreaming up and executing something so fun and unique.

What's up next for you guys?

Steve Hoover and the Animal team are working on another documentary feature called 'Gennadiy', which just finished photography in the Ukraine. We are directing multiple spots for some fantastic agencies. I also have a web series that we're very excited about, written by Samm Hodges and directed by myself, that should be released later this year. AND yes, it stars a dog.