DURACELL LABS & MASTERMIND

ROMAN COPPOLA
THE DIRECTORS BUREAU
ROMAN COPPOLLA

INTRODUCTION

I love innovation. The setting of a laboratory immediately intrigues with a sense of

potential and discovery. As a creative person, there’s this part of me that is always
eager to push boundaries and explore what is possible. The Duracell Labs are
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actually much like a film set, where we work collaboratively with a team of experts,
pull various elements together, and use craft and performance to discover what is
possible. I can relate.

I look forward to building this Duracell Lab with you and uncovering just how it
powers each experiment, to bring rich, charming scenes to life.
INTORDUCTION
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DUR AC EL L L AB S I S A N E V E R - S UR PR I S I N G
S PAC E W H ER E E X PE R I M E N TAT I O N AND
INNOVATI ON AR E CO N STA N T LY AT WO R K .
ROMAN COPPOLLA

Our design (featuring metallic grey and copper tones), and

the way our camera keeps discovering new experiences as it
moves around the lab, serves as a practical metaphor for the
constant R&D at Duracell that keeps evolving their batteries’
capabilities. The story we’re crafting inside this lab will convey
a commitment to technological excellence through a playfully
humorous, and sometimes surprising, journey. PAGE 4
TONE
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ROMAN COPPOLLA

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There should be a sense of awe as we move about. Our

scientists are focused, engaged in their work. A buzz of activity,
constantly on the verge of new discoveries, then in an instant,
we pan to another, surprisingly different and immersive scene
that transports us elsewhere.

We will strive to make the various experiment pods or rooms

TONE

appear perfectly “real” and relatable in contrast to the more

mysterious and innovative Duracell Labs, a sleek and expansive
working space and where anything is possible.
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OUR LAB IS THE PHYSICAL EMBODIMENT OF DURACELL’S DEDICATION TO TECHNOLOGICAL PROGRESS.

I’m envisioning the lab to be a massive space, as we will discover in the final frame. Long and cylindrical, its shape evokes
the classic Duracell battery. Keeping in mind the brand’s black to copper ratio, the floors might be black, they stretch into
ROMAN COPPOLLA

the distance giving the feeling that this lab is vast. Copper accents decorate the space. Perhaps metallic copper paneling,
duplicated with VFX to stretch down the length of the lab. Or copper fixtures, carts and stylish housing around the
computers and other tech equipment. Finally, hints of silver and gray are subtly sprinkled throughout the details, props,
and wardrobe.

The lab should have a touch of mystery. It’s a place where things get done—although we’re never quite sure exactly what
they’re doing, it’s clear they’re eagerly pursuing the highest levels of their scientific activity. Ambient light from the other
experiments casts a glow around the scientists and their various tools. Carts with measuring devices, spectrometers and
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gauges, computers that we can only imagine what they might do enliven the space.
DURACELL LABS
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ROMAN COPPOLLA

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Evocative of ‘mission control’ or a war room, the Duracell Labs can be designed as a cluster of different sized experiment
rooms but with a ‘central hub’ as the nucleus of scientific action. This arrangement will give us the ability to move both
efficiently and also more dynamically from room to room. Going beyond a simple lateral dolly move, we can swish pan or
pull out to reveal rooms in front of or just beyond others. Using tilts and rack focus to direct attention easily around the lab.

And with a clever use of visual effects, we can suggest in our finale shot, a huge wide-angle that gives us a sense of the
variety of remarkable R&D being conducted. We’ll shoot smaller setups of scientists hard at work from overhead, all on a
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black floor, then composite several of these into one frame, discreetly extended by VFX, to give us the illusion of vastness.
Endless experiments and progress as far as the eye can see.
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Just as the Duracell Labs typify the highest level of sophistication PAGE 10

in their field, using modern cinematic techniques with LED

technology is a nice aesthetic fit for our overall production
design. It brings the sense of technology into the image we’re
crafting as well.

The LED walls will function as the digital background for each
experiment room. With incredible detail and definition, these
digital displays will allow us to bring more of the real-world
LED SCREENS

element into the scene, adding a sense of dimension and scale.

With the help of these screens, our campsite wetland extends
into the distance with acres of treetops and our garage opens
onto the excitement of race day.
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We can explore how these screens move and part to transform,

in choreography with our camera, as it navigates around the
lab’s space and into new rooms.
ROMAN COPPOLLA

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LED SCREENS
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The experiment rooms are unbelievably true-to-life. They

represent an extensive deep dive into executing this
EXPERIMENT ROOMS

experiment properly, and as such, it’s key that each feels

alive with real-world texture and specificity. They’re richly
authentic, nuanced through details, and acutely based on the
characters who inhabit them.
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The camp scene will feel immediately atmospheric.
I’m imagining a lush, creek-side area with moss on the
trees. The sounds of frogs and crickets echoing around
the space. Moonlight cutting through the trees. We’ll
use fog and mist to evoke a dampness of a cold night,
and perhaps an artificial creek on one side of the frame
ROMAN COPPOLLA

to reflect the moon. All of this to lend the verisimilitude

so that the experimenters can feel that their subjects
are in the perfect conditions for their experiment.

The gamers room is split in two but each with a very

distinct design and feeling. We want these two rooms
within one space to be in high contrast with each
other. Our professional gamer can have a desk that is
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multi-leveled, towering over his system, in an almost
outrageous and playfully comedic way. Their side feels
entirely dedicated to gaming— what you imagine a
top-earning Twitch streamer to have. Its design is
humorous but will feel entirely real to this person. Real-
life gamers will see themselves reflected in the scene.
On the other side is a modest converted garage that
an amateur gamer has cobbled together. An old cozy
EXPERIMENT ROOMS

couch, miscellaneous posters on the wall, storage boxes

and other mismatch items crowded together. We can
use the LED screens to create realistic environments
which might be seen in the background of each space,
(the street just beyond the garage and the city outside
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a 10th story window, adding to the realism.)

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ROMAN COPPOLLA

Since the nursery reflects such an intimate moment,

its experiment room will feel smaller than the rest,
allowing us to get up close to the scene, and to also
play with scale and dimension in the lab space itself.
Simple and inviting, it’s a crib beside an overstuffed chair,
under a window with soft, filtered light coming though.

The Formula 1 car room will mimic a prep garage

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just moments from the starting line. Sparse with
only the essential tools, a stack of tires, wheel guns
on long power cords. Our frame of view will use the
LED backdrops to show the circuit’s race-day buzz
extending into the distance behind the mechanics as
they work, adding the dimension of really being at
the race.
EXPERIMENT ROOMS
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I’M SOMEONE WHO LOVES SOLVING PUZZLES

AND DISCOVERING NEW WAYS TO CRAFT
VISUAL STORYTELLING.
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I’M ALWAYS THINKING ABOUT HOW TRANSITIONS

AND PRACTICAL EFFECTS CAN ENHANCE OR
MOVE A STORY ALONG IN EXCITING WAYS.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
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The key to capturing the full essence of the lab and all of its rooms
is to craft an impressionistic storytelling where you’re not so much
seeing things literally, as feeling them in the frame, understanding
the scene intuitively. We have to move quickly, so this evocative
storytelling will help convey how the activity of the scientists are
what power the experiments.
ROMAN COPPOLLA

If we think of the experiment rooms as the ‘stage’, the scientists’

area functions more like a behind-the-scenes. The lab itself should
be backlit, always giving a sense of expanse in the space. My
intention is that we light the scientists with an almost accidental,
hard light that catches a light flare as they’re busy at work. Whereas
the rooms, which are very crafted, have specific lighting that’s
entirely true to the real-world equivalent environments. Together
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they form a nice contrast between the spaces.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
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DURACELL TRANSITIONS ROMAN COPPOLLA THE DIRECTORS BUREAU

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We have several experiments and lots of scientific activity

to unveil in a short amount of time. And so, our lab design
and camera choreography should work in perfect concert
TRANSITIONS

with each other. Creating efficient and dynamic use of the

space. The rooms are clustered so we can move between
them easily. Our transitions will be quick but surprising in
how they bring a new scene into the frame.
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ROMAN COPPOLLA

To match the sophisticated and dynamic nature of Duracell

batteries and their uses, our camera movements must be
brief and compressed—swish pans that quickly land us in
the next room. We push in past a scientist, and land in a
different space. We pull out and another lab worker comes
into frame going about their work. Our character blocking
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becomes an opportunity for a wipe transitions into a
totally new room.

With this approach, we redirect valuable seconds to

more moments highlighting the product working
rather than traveling between setups. It also hints at a
high volume of testing scenarios in action in the cast lab
space.
TRANSITIONS
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Casting is so important and it’s one of my favorite things to do. I like finding talented people with that little bit of magic,
something unique about them, a glow that comes to life on camera. I’m always interested in improvisation and working with
people with diverse experiences. Improv and actors with that comedic background are always wonderful to collaborate PAGE 24

with because they bring touches of detail and fresh ideas. This allows us to harness humorous beats naturally and subtly.
For this, I would also seek real gamers who can bring that bit of personal experience to the spot.
CASTING & PERFORMANCE
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Our scientists should be a very diverse group of people,

from all over the world who come together in this lab.
Through subtle cues in wardrobe and mannerisms, we
convey the idea of their different areas of expertise—
ROMAN COPPOLLA

showing diversity not only in physical appearance

but in their scientific focus. This team of experts is
much like a movie crew, where the DIT is in the minutia
of data but a grip handles the physical equipment.
This troupe of scientists are totally engaged in their
experiments and have a command of every aspect.

Both the scientists and the experiment test subjects

will feel like real people. Their actions and personalities PAGE 26

should always be human and genuine. The scientists

move about the space naturally and the actions of
the experiment rooms are authentic to the real-
life scenes they emulate. We never lose sight of the
people themselves who are powered by Duracell’s
advancements.
CASTING & PERFORMANCE

Once we’re set up and running, I like to have ample

time to improvise and try ideas, staying in confines of
the shot we’ve set up, to explore humorous beats and
various reactions. Then in our cutting room we have
plenty of options to play with.
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“ANTHEM” :30

A high-tech, gunmetal door with copper accents marked DURACELL LABS slides open with a SWOOSH.
ROMAN COPPOLLA

CAMERA PUSHES THROUGH as a crisscrossing hive of scientists goes about its work.

VO: AT DURACELL LABS, WE HAVEN’T BEEN

WORKING ON JUST ANOTHER BATTERY. BUT A
NEW TYPE OF BATTERY.

Various views of workstations:

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*Hands typing expertly on keyboards
*Fingers flipping switches
*A control center graphic indicates: Powerboost trials.

ECU: hands insert Duracell Optimum with Power Boost into a headlamp.

A copper-toned knob is turned, a VU meter rises and WE HEAR the sounds of bullfrogs and crickets.
TILT to a TV monitor where WE SEE:

A campsite in a wetland forest. A father and son (wearing glowing copper-trimmed headlamps)
enter emerging from the trees, carrying twigs and firewood.
SCRIPT
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(ON MONITOR) RACK FOCUS and tilt to REVEAL: The campsite is actually built right there in the lab.

Lush moonlit greens and a glowing copper-colored tent frame the scene as the pair put the final
touches on their campfire. We HEAR it crackle as the flame burns.
ROMAN COPPOLLA

PULL BACK to Over Shoulder of a Scientist: she nods approvingly and inputs some data on a smart
tablet. (As we pull back, we see the parallax shift—and realize the wooded trees and sky are,
in fact, images on an array of LED screens.)

VO: NEW DURACELL WITH POWER BOOST INGREDIENTS.

TO POWER MORE OF WHAT MATTERS... MORE TIME TOGETHER
WHILE IN THE GREAT OUTDOORS. PAGE 29

The work lights come on and the woods set transforms (Trees and tent easily wheeled out)—getting
ready for another experiment. (WHICH WILL BE A RACECAR)

PAN and PUSH in to:

SPLIT ROOM:
The left side: A high-end gamer’s den, trimmed with copper coloring. The right: a converted
garage/rec room with copper colors.
In each “room” is a player playing Xbox against each other.
SCRIPT

Player 1 looks like a professional gamer. Their room is all decked out (an array of screens, a
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slick multi-level desk towering over them, moody lighting, and a ridiculously large gaming chair.)
Player 2 is a more casual gamer, sitting on a funky copper-colored couch in a converted garage
with a pal.
ROMAN COPPOLLA

O.S. CLOSE UP on Player 1’s controller: the light GOES OUT—the unit it DEAD. TILT up to see
their disappointment as the gaming monitor indicates the game is lost and the controller is
disconnected.

Player 2 high fives her buddy. (Her controller still illuminated.)

VO: MORE LIFE IN A CONTROLLER, FOR PAGE 30

A FEW EXTRA LIVES, YOURSELF.

PULL BACK and CAMERA PANS to the next, smaller room (NURSERY). A child is asleep under an
electric mobile.

The baby drools, in the BG his sleeping mom drools too, curled up in a big cozy chair.

VO: MORE BABY NAPS, SO YOU CAN HAVE A CAT NAP.

DOLLY PAST a SCIENTIST with a clipboard which wipes to reveal:

SCRIPT
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THE NEXT ‘ROOM’ (The original camp room/now transformed)

A crew is fast at work. Suddenly, the Williams Racing Car revs up and fishtails out towards the
wall of LEDs which shows images of a fast raceway.
ROMAN COPPOLLA

The LED screen quickly opens to let the car through (breaking the illusion) and our engineers
confidently give each other a nod as if to say ‘job well done.’

VO: MORE... WHATEVER HE IS DOING. WITH CONFIDENCE*

(LEGAL LANGUAGE)

The camera PULLS WIDE so we can see the MASSIVE lab rendered in shades of metallic dream and PAGE 31
copper—all the various rooms and a wide variety of experiments are underway.

VO: FOR MORE MOMENTS IN EVERY MOMENT YOU NEED THE MOST.

SUPER: Engineered for You.

Engineered for More.

SFX: Slamtone

LOGO/TAG: DURACELL with POWER BOOST ingredients

SCRIPT
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“HEADLAMP” :15

OPEN ON a high-tech gunmetal door with copper accents marked DURACELL LABS sliding open
with a SWOOSH.
ROMAN COPPOLLA

CAMERA PUSHES THROUGH a crisscrossing hive of scientists—

Cut close on a control center graphic indicating: Powerboost trials.

ECU: hands insert a Duracell Optimum with Power Boost into a headlamp.

A copper-toned knob is turned, a VU meter rises, and WE HEAR the sounds of bullfrogs and
crickets. TILT to a TV monitor where WE SEE: PAGE 32

A campsite in a wetland forest. A father now wearing the copper-trimmed headlamp, using
it to cast shadows on the ground where his son and daughter are sitting, wrapped in their
sleeping bags, watching wide-eyed. He’s mid-story.

VO: DURACELL WITH POWER BOOST INGREDIENTS

HELPS THIS HEADLAMP SHINE BRIGHTER FOR LONGER.

(ON MONITOR) RACK FOCUS and tilt to REVEAL: The campsite is actually built right there in
the lab. We PUSH IN on the scene as the dad animatedly tells a scary story, his kids are
SCRIPT

in rapt attention.
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VO: AND THE LONGER THIS HEADLAMP SHINES,

THE MORE STORIES YOU CAN TELL.
ROMAN COPPOLLA

We PAN over as the son’s eyes widen, he’s frozen, hanging on his Dad’s every word, pulling his
sleeping bag up to his nose.

VO: AND THE MORE STORIES YOU TELL,

THE BETTER YOUR STORYTELLING GETS.

We PAN again over to his sister’s sleeping bag and she leans in to listen harder too. She
stopped mid-bite and doesn’t even notice her s’more is dripping onto her hand.
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PULL BACK to Over the Shoulder of a Scientist: she nods approvingly and inputs some data on a
smart tablet. (As we pull back, we see the parallax shift—and realize the wooded trees and sky
are, in fact, images on an array of LED screens.)

SUPER: Engineered for More Stories.

Engineered for More

SFX: Slamtone

LOGO/TAG: DURACELL with POWER BOOST ingredients

SCRIPT
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“MOBILE” :15
ROMAN COPPOLLA

OPEN ON a high-tech gunmetal door with copper accents marked DURACELL LABS sliding open
with a SWOOSH.

CAMERA PUSHES THROUGH as a crisscrossing hive of scientists goes about its work.

CUT TO a control center graphic: Powerboost trials.

A copper-toned knob is turned and we tilt to a TV monitor where WE SEE: PAGE 34

A close-up on mom putting Duracell with Power Boost ingredients into a mobile. It begins
spinning and WE HEAR the sounds of a soft lullaby.

RACK FOCUS to see there’s a small nursery, with cheery walls and soft sunlight filtering
through curtains, actually in the lab.

We CUT into a close-up along the edge of the crib. ALT: We quickly PUSH into the nursery,
which is just beyond the computer console, stopping at the edge of the crib in the
foreground.
SCRIPT
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ROMAN COPPOLLA

A baby is asleep under the mobile, drooling.

VO: DURACELL WITH POWER BOOST INGREDIENTS

HELPS THIS MOBILE SPIN LONGER.

We gently TILT up to see mom, already asleep, curled up in an overstuffed chair, drooling too.

VO: AND THE MORE SHE SLEEPS, THE MORE

IT IS YOU WHO WILL SLEEP LIKE A BABY.
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SUPER: Engineered for more peace and quiet.

Engineered for More.

SFX: Slamtone

LOGO/TAG: DURACELL with POWER BOOST ingredients

SCRIPT
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DURACELL MASTERMIND ROMAN COPPOLLA THE DIRECTORS BUREAU

LITHIUM

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ROMAN COPPOLLA

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While “Mastermind” doesn’t take place in our lab, its product’s

MASTERMIND

purposeful design certainly does. This is a very real problem

that Duracell is addressing in a smart and compassionate way.
We want to convey this sense of safety and peace of mind
Duracell is offering without telling a macabre story.
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ROMAN COPPOLLA

Every parent knows the baby standoff. You’re bigger and

faster, but somehow they manage to evade your every move.
Mastermind is a heightened version of those slippery moments
when you just can’t seem to corral them.

Think the baby Jack-Jack in The Incredibles and you’ve got

the baby energy we’ll be going for.
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MASTERMIND
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DURACELL STORYTELLING ROMAN COPPOLLA THE DIRECTORS BUREAU

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Of course, :15 and :06 goes by in a flash. So the right approach

here is probably to design these almost like comic book
frames. In the space of a few shots, we jump in time, find
the very best comedic beats, and paint the scenario we’re in
with less. I would propose we really map out all of our shots
ROMAN COPPOLLA

in storyboards, so we know exactly how we economize the

narrative to tell the story in both lengths.

Our camera can combine her actions and his reactions into
single shots where it makes sense to condense time. And in
other moments, we hard cut between dad always just missing
her to his POV of her already in her next location. We can
choreograph the shots and also later edit in such a way that
allows for this comedic effect and efficiency. PAGE 42
STORYTELLING
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Working with children, especially babies, is always a bit unpredictable. We’ll need twins or triplets for our mischievous
baby to maximize the time we have to shoot and make sure we can execute the setups with them.

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Our baby should be, simply put, adorable. The kind of face and giggle that is hard to be mad at. Dad is in a suit and looks
entirely out of his element trying to figure out the baby gate. We play off the contrast of these two characters to show who
is really in charge of the situation.
STORYTELLING
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“MASTERMIND” :15
ROMAN COPPOLLA

Living Room - Day

A father is purposefully drilling a child gate to block a staircase. He senses something

and turns anxiously.

View on:
His 6-month-old child has just gotten out of the playpen!
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Low Angle Dolly shot: as the child moves with unbelievable speed towards the couch.

View from under the couch as the dad peers in trying to reach his child.

His POV:
The baby looks mischievously at Dad as she lies on her back playing with the Apple TV
remote with her hands and toes.

Right as he tries to grab her, she’s gone——he turns:

SCRIPT
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Already across the room, she peers out from behind a potted plant and holding a blinking dog
ROMAN COPPOLLA

toy. Her giggle gives her away.

Zoom in on the perplexed Dad (there’s a feeling of a Spaghetti Western standoff…)

Close on the kid holding dad‘s copper key fob. Zoom out to reveal she’s holding it over the family
dog’s water bowl, or fish tank.

VO: NO MATTER WHAT YOUR LITTLE MASTERMIND MIGHT GET INTO,

DURACELL’S CHILD SECURE PACKAGING AND BITTER COATING
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HELP TO KEEP HER SAFE FROM ACCIDENTAL SWALLOWING.

Cut to animation card.

SUPER: Engineered for more peace of mind.

Engineered for more.

SFX: Slamtone

LOGO/TAG: DURACELL with POWER BOOST ingredients

SCRIPT
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DURACELL CONCLUSION ROMAN COPPOLLA THE DIRECTORS BUREAU

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THE DIRECTORS BUREAU
ROMAN COPPOLLA

THANK YOU

Thank you for including me in your creative conversation. I look forward

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to designing this exciting, imaginary Duracell Lab with you and solving
the puzzle for how this world engineers itself.

-ROMAN
CONCLUSION
DURACELL