Suspended in Time: Simon Bradley’s Cinematic Precision for RAINS

In the world of filmmaking, some projects stand out not only for their visual impact but also for the precision and artistry behind their execution.

Director and DoP Simon Bradley has recently delivered two visually striking works that exist in the same creative universe. Yet, they were achieved through radically different approaches.

Partnering with Creative Director Josh Bredehoeft and the team at RAINS, Simon translated the brand’s high-fashion, dark, atmospheric DNA into cinematic experiences. These push technical boundaries while staying rooted in pure, in-camera craftsmanship.

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Un post condiviso da Filmmakers World 🎥🎬 (@filmmakersworld)

🎬👉🍿🔥Director / DoP @simonbradleyx crafted 2 visually striking projects that live in the same world. But he got there with vastly different approaches.

Simon worked in close collaboration with creative director @joshbredehoeft. He also worked with the creative team at @rains to build upon the high fashion & dark atmospheric DNA of the brand.

Project 1: WATERPROOF

The whole project was built around a moment suspended in time. 80 people worked together to create this one moment of perfection. Talent, movement, atmospheric effects, and camera movement created the perfect symphony.

📝 Director notes: The main challenge of the project was definitely precision, speed, and lighting.

As we were shooting at 1000fps at a 90-degree shutter angle, we had to move the camera from point A to point B. It was necessary to attain a high enough speed to freeze the talent in time. This was while the camera was still visually moving.

We opted to use a camera car with a Phantom 4k mounted to it on a Ronin 2. The project was shot on location. We created a long pathway to give the car enough space to get up to speeds as high as 60 km/h to cruise across the scene.

The actual time it took for the camera car to capture the whole scene was just 1.5 seconds.

Next, we had to time the talent moving. I worked with movement director @k_______ku_ dividing the talent in 3 groups with different action calls. It took a few tries, but somehow we managed to get the shot in just 4 takes.

This was an absolute bliss of a project, and something that seems rare these days.
80 people on location with all the toys and gadgets.
No visual effects were added in post; this was truly all captured in camera.

Director / DOP: Simon Bradley
Art Direction by: @joshbredehoeft
Creative Producer: @annesofieschandorff
Producer: @sim.zar.lang.bim
Movement Director: Katie Collins @k_______ku_
1st AC: @atli.kristofer
Phantom Operator: @david.kristensson
Gaffer: @tue_bengtsson85
Key Grip: @keygrip.dk
FX Supervisor: @spectreeffects
Production by @thelabcph

Project 2: SUVA – THE LAB

Director notes: For this project, Josh and I wanted to create a subterranean factory. This factory is where all of Rain’s products are meticulously tested before being released to the world. The main challenge for us was how we could do this with a budget of just 50k euros.

Most of our time was spent in pre-production. We came up with the simplest but most effective ways to create the feeling of an endless factory with our talent cloned in the thousands.
We knew we wanted it to feel like a factory and we knew we wanted it to have a steel finish. This is because it’s one of the very core brand visualizers of @rains. I particularly had the image of donuts on an assembly line being glazed.

We researched ways of moving the model from point A to point B using a motion-controlled rig. However, the costs were too high. So, we opted to use a good old simple dolly track with manpower pulled by @keygrip_dk .

The camera was placed in 3 different positions for each shot. It captured the foreground, middleground, and far background. This allowed us to stitch it all together in post. Then it was just a lot of repetitive movements.

The star of the show is the high-pressure water shower all the clones had to go through. We built a rather simple high-pressure rig, inspired by the high-pressure shower in Blade Runner 2049. We added steam and extra plates of rain in the final render to get the final look.

Credits:

Director / DOP: @simonbradleyx
Art direction: @joshbredehoeft
Creative Producer: @annesofieschandorff
Production: @mattproduction
1st AC: Victor Vejstrup Sloth @victorsloth1
Gaffer: Kasper Morville @kaspermorville
Grip: Michael Tøt @keygrip.dk
FX: @spectreeffects
VFX: @valentinfilms @gustavberg_

With WATERPROOF and SUVA, Simon Bradley demonstrates how vision, collaboration, and technical mastery can converge to create a rare moment of cinematic perfection. This moment captures both the precision of craft and the raw energy of performance.

By relying entirely on in-camera techniques and the coordinated efforts of more than 80 professionals, the project becomes a testament. It shows what is possible when ambition meets execution.