Jameson City Sessions Across Continents
Before getting into the Jameson City Sessions filmed in Seoul and Toronto, a bit of background helps. Contented started more than a decade ago in Seoul, when Neil, who’s Irish, and I, originally from Germany, began working together. We had overlapping skills and a shared way of working, so we decided to keep collaborating even after we no longer lived in the same country, or even on the same continent.
A Small World in Practice
From the start, the idea was simple. We would work individually most of the time and come together when a project made sense. Sometimes that worked well. At other times, distance became a hurdle. Even when we told clients we could absorb extra travel costs, geography still felt like a psychological barrier. Inevitably, some projects slipped away because of that.
When Distance Became an Advantage
Things shifted when I received an inquiry from an Irish production company looking to outsource a shoot in Seoul. Around the same time, I learned they were planning a Jameson Irish Whiskey promo across three cities: Seoul, Toronto, and Dublin. For once, our spread-out setup worked in our favor.
I suggested that Contented could handle both Seoul and Toronto, since Neil was living in Canada at the time. It later turned out that Neil already knew Ross Kileen, the founder of Event Junkies, who had reached out in the first place. Because the films needed a consistent tone and style, it made sense to run two shoots with teams that already knew how to work together.
Preparing the City Shoots
As Contented built local crews and prepared locations, Event Junkies sent two directors: Peter O’Brien to Toronto and Jarlath Finnegan to Seoul. Unfortunately, the Dublin shoot had to be cancelled at the last minute due to the sudden passing of a Jameson staff member. That loss put everything into perspective and reshaped the project.
The Jameson City Sessions Concept
The idea behind Jameson City Sessions was straightforward. Local influencers were invited on a curated night out in their city. The group moved through town in a VW camper van, played pool and bar games, stopped for a haircut, visited bars and restaurants, and tried Jameson-based cocktails. Each night ended with a live music performance.
Our Role on the Ground
We worked closely with local marketing teams in both cities to choose locations and experiences that felt authentic. In Seoul and Toronto, we used the same camera setup: a Sony FS7 as the A camera and a Sony A7S II on a gimbal as the B camera. Keeping the setup consistent helped maintain a shared visual language.
Long Nights, Tight Schedules
The local talent documented the night through their own social channels as it unfolded. Both Seoul and Toronto showed their strengths as nightlife cities. At the same time, traffic in both places kept us on a tight schedule. We didn’t have time to sample many of the cocktails ourselves, but the shoots ran smoothly from start to finish.
After the Shoots
Once filming wrapped, the Event Junkies directors returned to Dublin with solid material for the edit. Seeing the Seoul and Toronto films side by side felt like a reminder of why we set Contented up this way in the first place. Sometimes distance complicates things. Other times, it brings the right people together at exactly the right moment.
