Soft Spot Tattoos Shop Film
Around the time I was picking up my first camera, Jon entered tattoo school. From our perspective lanes, we watched each other learn things, break stuff, try new ways to do our work, and ultimately get better at what we were doing.
One of the most time-consuming aspects of running a business is onboarding. I learned Jon makes the infuriatingly brilliant decision of dedicating time to open his books for a bit, then closing them until the next round. The brilliance in this is that he only has to worry about booking for a small window, after which he can focus solely on his work. The clients who follow his work are along for the ride, willing to wait, and eager to book. The right people who want his tattoos get them. The people most likely to haggle and least dependable to show are not those enrolled to participate in an intentional booking window.
Our objective was to announce he was opening his books by making a cinematic short film that showed his new studio and highlighted his particular style and just how good he is at it.
Creatively, Jon and I sync well. I’ve been following his stuff for a few years, so I got a head start on his brand feel and messaging. His look and feel are friendly compared to what I’ve seen in the tattoo realm. One of the challenges we ran into while storyboarding this video was the current state of the internet shows the modern tattoo video as a death-core reel exclusively edited to appeal to people who’ve committed federal crimes during biker gang initiations.
We wanted something light, something funkier, something fun. Finally, a video for the people who get tattoos but also develop a healthy relationship with the law.
We spent some time in pre-production and put together a loose shot list. Still, much of the production was handheld, unscripted decisions of what I thought would look good in the editing bay. We wanted something resembling a plot to showcase a few different tattoos and include a couple of macro shots. Still, we didn’t have much beyond that. The client got some cool mushroom tattoos put on. While editing, I fell in love with how trippy they looked, so I went with some psychedelic themes that I think translated well into the video. Motion tracking color corrections and distortions this way was a new frontier for me, but I’m a fan now.
Artistically, Jon is one of the greatest out there. His customers know that his work shows that, and I am incredibly grateful to be connected to someone who keeps making impressive stuff.
As a professional, he is my new standard of what it means to do generous work. I have tattoos from Jon and had a wonderful, seamless time getting them, but I never could tell if it was so great because of the rapport we already had. So sitting in on this session, watching the meticulous attention to seemingly invisible details, and the absolute ease with which he guides his clients was an excellent learning experience for me as a professional.
Jon’s books are closed now, rumored to open in September, but check out the video if you have the time and if you like what he’s up to; if you’re enrolled in his work, find him @jonmap and @softspottattoos on Instagram.
Watch me, please.