A Cinematic Skincare Product Film | Cinematography Final Project | 3rd Semester
PROJECT OVERVIEW
Beyond the Surface is a cinematic skincare product film created as the final project for my third-semester Cinematography course at university. Featuring Nykaa’s Barrier Builder Repairing, Soothing Cream, the film explores how lighting, composition, colour, and texture can shape the visual presentation of a skincare product.
The creative approach focuses on the relationship between the product’s physical design, its surface details, and the visual atmosphere surrounding it. Through carefully composed close-ups, controlled highlights, and deliberate framing, the film presents the cream as the centre of a considered visual experience.
CREATIVE CONCEPT
Reveal the product through light, texture, and detail.
The film uses the product’s green packaging as a central visual element, exploring its shape, surface, and contrast against the surrounding environment. Rather than relying on dialogue or extensive text, the visual narrative uses cinematography to establish mood, direct attention, and create a distinctive product presentation.
Cinematography & Visual Direction
The visual approach combines close-up framing, controlled focus, and deliberate composition to emphasise the product’s design and packaging. The contrast between the green jar, the surrounding background, and the light falling across its surface creates visual depth and directs the viewer’s attention toward the product.
Camera framing and movement are designed to keep the product visually dominant while revealing its details progressively.
Visual Keywords: Minimal · Textured · Contemporary · Product-focused
Lighting Design
Lighting plays a central role in shaping the product’s appearance. Directional light and controlled shadows create contrast across the jar, while carefully positioned highlights reveal its form and surface.
The lighting approach aims to maintain visual separation between the product and its surroundings without distracting from the packaging.
Colour & Mood
The product’s green packaging provides the primary colour reference for the film. Colour correction and grading were used to shape the overall image, maintain consistency, and establish a cohesive visual mood.
The relationship between green tones, skin tones, shadows, and the background contributes to the film’s visual identity.
My Role & Contribution
I independently handled the cinematography, lighting, colour correction, colour grading, and editing. I developed the visual treatment and executed the film’s image-making process, from capturing the product to shaping the final look in post-production.
Production Approach
The film was shot at home rather than in a professional photography studio. Working with limited resources, I adapted the available space and equipment to create a controlled product-shooting environment.
The project allowed me to explore how deliberate lighting, composition, exposure, and colour decisions can produce a polished product film without relying on a fully equipped commercial studio.
Project Details
- Project Type: Academic Final Project | 3rd Semester
- Course: Cinematography
- Format: Skincare Product Film
- Product: Nykaa Barrier Builder Repairing, Soothing Cream
- Brand: Nykaa
- Camera: Sony FX30
- Lens: Sigma 18–50mm F2.8 DC DN
- My Roles: Cinematography, Lighting, Colour Correction, Colour Grading, Editing
- Production Location: Home-based setup
Academic Achievement
This film was part of my final cinematography project, for which I received the highest grade in the class.
Selected Frames
