There’s something oddly compelling about taking a format we all recognise and pushing it just far enough to feel new again.
Swamp Noir started as a simple idea: what happens if you take the language of luxury fragrance ads, the slow pacing, the intense close-ups, the moody voiceover, and apply it to something completely unexpected?
The answer, for me, was a crocodile in a trenchcoat.
From the beginning, I’m not interested in parody for the sake of it. The goal is to treat the piece seriously, to lean fully into the drama, the atmosphere, the sense of mystery, and let the absurdity sit just under the surface. The kind of idea that makes you look twice.
Visually, I wanted everything to feel soft but deliberate. Watercolour felt like the right medium to explore that, letting ink bleed, colours bloom, and light diffuse in a way that adds to the mood rather than distracting from it. It gives the world a slightly dreamlike quality, somewhere between cinematic and surreal. I’m still working on the development aspect and I am mindful to let it grow if needed.
The script became the anchor point. Short, minimal, and rhythmic. Every word carries weight, and the pacing does a lot of the storytelling. That restraint was important. It leaves space for the visuals and sound to do their job.
Sound design and voice were just as critical. That low, gritty, almost whispered delivery you’d expect from a high-end fragrance campaign helps sell the illusion. It grounds the piece, even when the subject itself is anything but grounded. I’ve leaned into Eleven labs to help me create a Jude Law like British version. I don’t use ai for anything else, at the most perhaps some marketing related bits for expediency.
What I’m enjoying most about working on this is the balance. Aiming to Keep things polished and visually elevated, while letting a strange idea quietly exist at the centre of it. Not pushing the joke too hard. Letting the audience meet it halfway.
It’s a small project, but one that’s been a lot of fun to shape.
Swamp Noir.
Dangerously Attractive.
Here is a snapshot of my Storyboard, explaining some content and motion. I’ve also included the voice over, because it’s fun. I've got 4 versions I plan on slpicing together.
Just a reminder copyright owned by Ciro Correia.
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