The Challenge - Come up w a Creative Commercial for a Company that sells Pivot Doors [getMRDR.com] under budget and on time.
In general, it's easy working with big budgets, when you have lots of resources and lots of help. But what about small companies that are just starting out and are unable to allocate significant resources for say a commercial??
Well, that is when you have to get really creative, think fast but still be able to deliver a product that is TV worthy.
For about $1,000 dollars [of course it's a huge stretch] it's still possible to get a commercial.
A client - getMDRN.com [they sell upscale pivot doors out of Las Vegas, NV] had reached out to us wondering if we would be able to help out and create a funky, modern, upbeat commercial for their business. We always love a good challenge and said well let's give it a shot.
There was no creative direction that was specified and we were free to think outside the box.
When you have a product that is static, you need to introduce a lot of angles, a lot of movement and a lot of perspectives to make the product and the client look good. That, coupled with great looking shots as well as a nice track and you might just have something.
On the day of the shoot, there were 3 locations to cover. We went in not exactly knowing what to expect and this was gonna be a very much on the go shoot. Idea was to get exterior as well as interior shots, keep the camera moving and tell the story that way.
Rule of thumb is: if you don't have specific direction or a vision then what you want to do is get more footage so that in the editing room you have more to chose from.
In bigger productions, usually you have a solid per-production schedule where you go over the ideas, you outline the story, you have your shots planned out, you scout the location, you hire extras, and have a solid game plan.
This was all happening as we were shooting. Good thing is we are also FAA Licensed Drone Pilots [with Part 107 flying DJI Mavic Air 2 that shoots in 4k/60FPS] and decided to get some drone shots while there was a bit of time since the area was cleared for flying a drone. This actually came in very handy in telling the story as the opening and closing shots were used in the final cut of the commercial.
After filming in all three locations, we had retired to the editing room. We edit in Adobe Premiere Pro as well at times use Adobe After Effects for things like rotoscoping or motion tracking.
Editing room is where the magic usually happens; when you have all the footage and you start putting together a story. Once you have a rough idea, you select a track [perhaps the most challenging aspect of the video making] and make sure that it has the right emotions and feel to it to tell the story. We sent the client a few tracks to chose from and finally settled on the one we used in the cut.
Once the first cut was completed it was submitted to the client for the review. The client made some minor adjustments but was in generally pleased with the final product.
And that is more less how the creation process goes. What questions do you have??? Let us know.
Perhaps the next story we are gonna tell is gonna be yours??? Get in touch with us at Art@c137prod.com or text us at 310 620 3934
Here's the final product. What you think?