Garmin "Jeb"

Click here to watch. 

Credits: 

Director/Producer: Jon Shaivitz

DP: Cameron Dozier

Writer - Dan Sorgen

Why this script/concept? How does it reflect your vision as a commercial director?

I really enjoyed the way this script read on paper. I especially liked how cinematic it felt, and how unexpected the punchline is at the end. When picking commercial material, I like to choose stuff that creates a world -- only to be shattered by a funny joke at the end. This script certainly met that criteria. 

What was the casting process like?

I used my go-to casting website lacasting.com and had my picks self-tape auditions. Casting Jeb worried me the most but of the several dozen submissions I got, there was this one guy who couldn't have looked any closer to what I envisioned. He got the part. I felt lucky to find him.

How did you search for/lock a location?

Since we were on a condensed/aggressive timeline - and had a good budget for location, we went straight to an experienced location manager who was able to point us to a movie farm that had exactly the right type of cabin in the woods we were looking for.

How did you select your DP, crew?

My DP is my best friend and business partner Cameron Dozier. We've been working together for quite a few years now and since moving to LA have met a handful of good people to use in our camera department as well. We filled out the rest of the crew PA's, grips, etc. with craigslist.

How did shooting go? Any challenges?

Time was our biggest challenge. Since this location was so expensive there wasn't any chance of being able to do re-shoots. 22 shots in one night. But luckily and due to very tight scheduling, we finished on time with no hang-ups. 

Tell us about editing and finishing.

Editing was a bit more challenging once I sat down to do it than I thought it would be after reading it. On paper it felt so straight forward. But when I realized how it was going to take the right combination of sound elements, music, ambience to fully bring alive the world we set out to create, I knew was going to be in for a challenge. It took about a week for the first rough cut and another week to polish it up. The music was the hardest part but eventually I struck gold with an online music library and found exactly the right mixture of sound.

In retrospect, is there anything you would have done differently?

Can't really think of anything. I'm happy with it!

Dollar Tree "Range"

Click here to watch. 

Credits: 

Director: Paul SG Boyd

DP: Jarrett Craig

Writer: Dan Sorgen

Why this script:

When I first signed up with the Spec Bank, I combed through all of the available scripts and found about 10 I thought I'd like to shoot. Then I let a bunch of people whose opinions I respect, (in particular my father, who formerly owned two advertising agencies, and was a freelance copy writer for many years [he's one of the lousy golfers in the BG]) have a read of the scripts I'd selected and make their choice. The two favourites were this spot, and the Virgin Mobile Construction spot.

There were several reasons I decided to make this spot, but the main one was that I love comedy with a reveal. Almost all of my comedic spots leave you guessing what the product might be until the very end, when it's all tied in. The Dollar Tree spot fit with that perfectly.

Casting process:

I actually put this shoot together very quickly, so the casting process was very non-traditional. The golfer in the spot is a brother of a friend, who had approached me months before saying he wanted to be an actor and that he'd done some theatre stuff. I liked his look for this spot, and he's one of the best golfers I know, so he seemed like a good fit.

The location:

This was pretty tricky. As I'd said before, I put this together in a very short amount of time. I was in Calgary, Alberta for a couple weeks, even though I now am living and directing mostly in Toronto. I called up all of my connections, and got the crew and gear together, but fell short on a location. Finally, I just started cold calling golf courses. Most were't thrilled at the prospect of us smashing dollar store items everywhere, but eventually a guy from The RCGA course in Calgary got in touch with me, and said that he'd let us shoot in exchange for some of the footage. We actually shot some extra stuff for them to use for whatever they please. It will have worked out pretty well for them, since we shot on Red and had a full lighting and grip package.

Crew:

Even though I'm now focusing on Directing, I'm an IATSE union member in Calgary and Toronto. It's worked out fairly well for me, because I've filled the gaps of my directing work with a good paying, sporadic job, and all of my work friends are professional film people. With a few phone calls, I'm usually able to put together a crew with an impressive set of resumes.

Jarret Craig, the DP, is the second unit DP on the TV series Heartland, and has shot several projects for me. He's great.

Challenges:

Our actor showed up an hour late, so that was a bad start for a guy that's new. Also, the course is right next to a gravel pit. We scouted on a weekend, so it was quiet then, but we shot on a weekday. The sound was an issue from start to finish.

Editing:

I looked around for an Editor and Colourist, but couldn't find anyone free, so I took it on myself and handed the sound off to a freelancer. We shot in 4K on the Red One. I then edited in Premier and did most of the effects and colour in After Effects, since I learned that you can work directly with R3D files, with no conversion. This is true, but if I were to do it over again, I'd just basically colour correct the raw footage, then down-convert to a more manageable file size. Working in 4K is a time killer. It's totally unmanageable. 

Retrospect:

As I'm getting more work as a Director, I'm finding that time is always an issue. That said, I would have loved more time in the planning stages to round up an editor and tighten everything up; however, sometimes you have to sacrifice the things you want, in order to complete anything at all.

Match.com "Music"

Click here to watch.


Credits:

Director/Executive Producer - Michelle Vine
Writer - Jamie Levy
DP - Richard Vialet
Colorist - Eric McClain
VFX/Graphics - Daniel Bury
1st AC - Tanner Stauss
Gaffer - Dan Schmeltzer
Key Grip - Chad Pelsang
Art Director - Allison Fry
Sound Mixer/Sound Editor- Garrett Barnett
Hair/Make-up - Sabrina Sanchez
Production Coordinator - Jack Waite
Art PA - Tabitha Adams
Craft Service - Linda Lubuga
Site Rep - Vera Kaprielian

Why this script/concept? How does it reflect your vision as a
commercial director?

The reason I chose this script was that there was very much a feminine
empowerment as well as a normality that I believe all women went
through when it came to dating. Then also, I'm a big fan when it comes
to using thematic or memorable songs that you saw from films or tv in
the past and that as a director you get the chance to make and relive
those songs in a different format and have it shown to a newer and
even older generation.

What was the casting process like?

I was fortunate to have a good cast that knew what I was looking for.
They understood the concept of the script.

How did you search for/lock a location?

Like everyone else who can't afford a locations manager or locations
service company, craigslist. lol

How did you select your DP, crew?

Lately, I've been working with DPs from AFI. That school produces good
DPs. I found Richard, who is a AFI alumni, on AFI's site where the
alumni's keep in contact with the conservatory. But really what made
me choose him was based off of a feature film he did and he used the
Sony F3 which I was eyeing to use.

How did shooting go? Any challenges?

I think the shooting went smoothly especially that we were up against
rain and limited resources. The real challenges were pre-production
and the post-production.

Tell us about editing and finishing.

The editing I did myself on FCP. I always wished to give it to someone
who is an editor because you never know what they may surprise you
with, but when you go over budget there's rarely any money to hire
anyone that is passionate and experienced at the same time. But I was
lucky to hire an experience colorist from the industry that gave me a
great deal.

In retrospect, is there anything you would have done differently?

There are so many things that I could of done differently, and as a
director you're never going to get the same outcome that you visioned
before shooting it. But overall, I tend to keep those thoughts to
myself and just learn from it.

Plenty of Fish "Curtain"

Click here to watch.


Credits:

Director/producer: Jon Shaivitz

DP: Cameron Dozier

Writer: Dan Sorgen

Why this script/concept? How does it reflect your vision as a commercial director? 

At this stage in my career I am still trying to figure out exactly what kind of commercial director I want to be, and how best to reflect that in my reel. The two spots that I've done so far have been shot driven, rhythmic, and don't rely on dialogue too much if at all. I generally don't like the idea of dialogue doing all the heavy lifting - I much prefer visually driven comedy, especially something where I can use music to set the pacing and overall feel. This script had all of the above – a shot-driven piece where the music could build into a strong punchline at the end. It's kinetic. Exciting. Loud. And above all  it's really funny. 

What was the casting process like?

Though we ended up cutting the actors out of it, the casting process was an important part of preproduction. There is a great website – LAcasting.com where you can post your casting calls for free, review reels, headshots, resumes and get in touch with talent directly for your project. For a small spec production like this it's impractical to hold formal auditions, but a great way around that is to have actors put themselves on tape and email you video auditions. It's quick, convenient, and allows you to see exactly how your actors will perform – before getting on set. 

How did you search for/lock a location?

Craigslist. Because we didn't have a lot of money we couldn't pay for an expensive location, however, nobody needs to know that when you post your ad. We posted an ad for the kind of house we were looking for and told submitters to send their regular rates. If you post your fee and it's low, you won't get a lot of responses. We sorted through the submissions, found the perfect place and negotiated our way down into something doable. 

How did you select your DP, crew?

My DP is my best friend and business partner Cameron Dozier. We've been working together since our time shooting industrials in Washington D.C. going on about four years ago now. The rest of our crew was very small and contained - we like to have a small footprint with only the essentials. And everyone on the crew was working for meals/copy. We had a makeup artist, a couple camera assistants/PA's and a boom op. The single biggest deciding factor on how big to make our crew was – how many mouths do we really want to feed? Every additional crew member is another meal – and that adds up if you go too big. 

How did shooting go? Any challenges?

Shooting went surprisingly well. The biggest challenge we had was getting the most out of only 3 lights. We have three 2k/1K fresnels and even though they provide a lot of light, we are restricted to simple three point lighting setups -- only really being able to light what we need to see without much room for accents. With a spot like this where your subject is the environment, that got a little tricky, but overall we kept it simple and it didn't seem to get in our way too much. In the future - we hope to have a few more lights to sprinkle in and break things up. 

Tell us about editing and finishing.

We shot this a few different ways. As written, with a narrator, with a protagonist reverse shot, without, etc. It took quite a few cuts to ultimately settle on what version worked the best, and in the end we decided on using a title and cutting the on camera narrator. The sound effects also took a few tries to get exactly what we wanted but overall post went smoothly. I basically knew what kind of music I wanted to use before I shot it so picking the music was easy. I had one of those flashes of inspiration where I knew exactly what song I was going to use. Hard to explain that one. We did a little bit of grading, crushing our blacks and making things look a bit more contrasty than the raw image. We edited in FCP 7 and After Effects CS4. 

In retrospect, is there anything you would have done differently?

More lights!  

Any other thoughts.

Specbank rocks. If you want good material for your reel there is just no other place to go. 

Thanks!

PGA "Directions"

Click to watch. 


Credits:

Director: Neil Payne

Writer: Andrew Lincoln

DP: Nate Tieman,

Sound: Kevin Bellante

Actors: Billy Milord, Dave Mihaljevich.

I'm from Kansas and sports are a huge part of my life. We play a lot of golf, so PGA "Directions" had my DNA all over it.

I'm really interested in directing sport spots in the future. I like to cast based on talent first, but I really like to give new actors an opportunity. Being an independent filmmaker, it’s important for me to help and encourage other artists.

I was lucky with the location. I've played golf at Costa Mesa Country Club course a few times. The manager was really great, told me to shoot what I wanted. No charge! Now, that's really cool.

I've been working with my DP, Nate Tieman, for three years now. He's a working DP in the industry and owns the Red Epic camera. So, that really cuts down my cost quite a bit.

The shoot went well. Anytime you're shooting outside, the sun can have a mind of its own. I like a quick turnaround on my spots. My DP edited the spot, so it gave us a chance to finish a lot sooner.

I'm happy with the spot. I try not to over think it and second-guess myself. Obviously, with a larger budget you can do a lot more things. But thinking about that takes away from the spot you just completed. Trying to become a working commercial director has its challenges. But I wouldn't have it any other way.

Safeway "Tofu"

Click to watch. 

Credits

Writer - Daniel Gray

Dir/DP/Editor/Mixer - Woody Woodhall

Producers - Woody Woodhall, Wendy Woodhall

Location Audio - Scott Purvis - Mixer & Jack Major - Boom operator.

Why this script/concept? How does it reflect your vision as a commercial director?

The thing that appealed to me in this script is the comedy dynamic of rough and tumble cowboys talking about tofu and then the tag being - The West was not Won by Tofu Eaters.  It made me laugh out loud so I wanted to run with it.  I like that sort of push/pull in my comedy and this script hit the nail perfectly for me.

What was the casting process like?

The casting was a smooth process.  I used a couple of the online casting agencies and from there picked actors who fit the idea I had in my head for each character.  I had a whole scenario of what was happening beyond what was indicated in the script.  Then from there I called a number of the actors in for an interview and a read.  The day before the shoot one of the cast members had a family emergency and was unable to come.  I went back to the original casting and found my first alternate pick and luckily he was still available on the shooting day.  Although either actor would have been wonderful, the actor who came in at the last minute, Rod James, was fantastic.

How did you search for/lock a location?

The script took place on a ranch and I have shot at this particular location before.  Although it is a full on horse ranch it is very local, just up the hill on Malibu.  It's a very malleable location with breathtaking views of the Pacific as well as the ranch property with horses, alpacas and other animals.  Brian Goldberg who owns the property, called Rancho Miramar, is a great guy and is very accommodating.  I can highly recommend it as a great place to shoot.

How did you select your DP, crew?

It was pretty easy since it was mostly me!  My wife and I co-produce and I have a small group of go-to pros that I use consistently on projects.  I made a few calls and we were ready to roll.

How did shooting go? Any challenges?

It was a great shoot.  The actors were inventive and easy to direct. The horses were friendly and hung out amongst the actors as we shot. The biggest challenge was the manure!  Needless to say there was a lot of it around so I suggested that everyone involved wear boots.  Daniel Gray, the author, also came to the shoot.  He made a couple of text changes during the shoot that made the spot even better.  It was great to have him there to consult.

Tell us about editing and finishing.

I edited and graded the spot myself.  I use FCP 7 and shot on a Canon DSLR.  After transcoding all the h.264 shots I then sync'd up the location audio with the takes.  From there I strung it all out and made notes on my preferred takes.  I assembled a rough edit and then fine tuned from there.  The grading and final picture took the longest.  I wanted to create a "look" for the piece so it took many iterations to make the one I wanted.  I am a professional sound designer and I have designed and mixed many spots over the years.  The soundtrack's biggest hurdle was the music track.  Although I could have ripped off a Sergio Leone/Ennio Morricone track I wouldn't do that.  I sourced it from a music library but had a tough time finding a cue that met my needs. Eventually I found the first cue that's in there and I was able to edit it to be closer to what I needed.  I added some additional recordings we made on the set of the animals and the environment and then I finalized the mix and married it to the final graded picture.

In retrospect, is there anything you would have done differently?

If it was a paying gig and had a decent budget I would have removed myself from some of the duties!  I would have certainly hired a DP at least.  It's tough to shoot and direct at the same time because you can miss little things the actors are doing in their performance that you can later riff on.  Fortunately even though I was obsessing on the focus and on the lighting wearing the DP hat, I was also focused on the performances wearing the director hat. Thomas Stroppel was doing a great head nod in one of the wide takes in reaction to another character's line.   Later I shot a single of his head nod as a pick up knowing that, wearing the editor cap, that I would be able to cut that in as a reaction shot.  Sometimes doing more than one thing in filmmaking helps and sometimes you can miss the little things when forced to wear too many hats.

Any other thoughts.

I have a lot of experience in several different aspects of filmmaking. The one where I need assistance is in the writing.  As a director I want only the best material and most of the time its not something I've written. Having a resource like Spec Bank is essential for me because I can go to a library of wonderful scripts and then collaborate on something that I know has, at least a chance, to shine because it started with a great script.

Match.com "Peanut Butter"

Click to watch.

Director: Tim Fassnacht
Writer: David Mackereth

Executive Producer/UPM: Minh Dao
7Thirty Three Productions

Cast:
Peanut Butter Guy: Michael Fallon
Jelly Girl: Jenna Johnson
Dog Walker: Anjuli Cain
Elevator Guy: Mika Saulitis
Office Worker 1: Chaz Treharne
Office Worker 2: Sam Felman
Office Worker 3: Steve White

Production Crew:
1st AD: Adrienne Garcia
Cinematographer: Juan M.R. Luna
Production Designer: Sharmilla Ray
Makeup: Nikki Lee Marrone
Sound: Evan Freeman
Wardrobe: Rich Venezian and Zach Migdal

1st AC: Christ Westlund
Gaffer: Zac Donner
Art Director: Eric Fisher
Caterer: Kellie Healey

Post Production:
Editor: Ben Cox
Post Production Sound: Joel Ouano
VFX: Rusty Ippolito, Make VFX
VFX: Chris Raleigh
Digital Intermediate Supervisor: Glen Phipps
Colorist: Jan Janotta 

Why this script/concept? How does it reflect your vision as a commercial director?

There was something about it that was just different to me. I'm drawn to this odd type of stuff. As much as I like this wacky single character stuff, I love a good narrative. This one delivered on both. To add tho the awesomeness- David Mackereth, the copywriter, turned out to be a blasty blast. We've stayed in touch since and worked on 2 projects together now. Can't wait to actually meet him in person!

What was the casting process like?

We held a few casting sessions in Hollywood at a dumpy little theatre in a sketchy back room. Since the story was linear, and there was no dialogue, the casting sessions were largely improvisation. I'd pose a few different scenarios to try and flex the actors' ability to show love, but also to show loneliness. Desperation in disguise basically was what I was after. After many auditions, I wound up casting Mike who was a good friend of my first AD Adrienne. He had all the right stuff; the look I wanted, the sensibilities- he was a great choice. Mike and Adrienne wound up suggesting Jenna, who was a great match with Mike asthetically and she had the skills to match. Although her role was small, she's certainly worth her salt in terms of ability to act. The other smaller players were friends and friends of friends who came through in a pinch.

How did you search for/lock a location?

I knew I wanted a big open-airy feel to peanut butter guy's place. I was trying to push the hipster vibe on this one and it was great of my friend Heda to allow us to use her loft in DTLA. From there, all the pieces fell into place. We used my office for the cubicle and elevator scenes and after originally wanting to shoot on a bus for the commute scene decided to "settle" for gorilla style in the subway. 

How did you select your DP, crew?

Juan Luna has become my go-to guy. We both really love working together and his style is completely in sync with my visual preferences. He's a big minimal-lighting/natural-key type of guy which I love. Where there's truth in visuals there's truth in story and that was important to me. My producer, Minh Dao, is my go to guy and is always up for a challenge which this one certainly was. The rest of the crew was an amalgamation of people I've got in my GooglDex. The whole crew was kick-ass as usual.

How did shooting go? Any challenges?

Shooting went alright for the most part. We decided to try and shoot the whole thing in one day. This basically entailed 1 company move and then a skeleton crew for the gorilla subway shoot. The day had it's ups and downs. We were told that the apartment location we had secured would also let us use the hallways and the lobby to shoot the interaction with the girl and dog and also the elevator sequence. Unfortunately for us, that wasn't the truth. We wound up getting kicked out of the hallway twice, but managed to get the scene. 

The lobby was a big no-go. So, as you can imagine, this messed up both the shooting schedule as well as the actor's schedules. It shook me momentarily but I quickly decided to push off the elevator scene till later and to jump in the subway earlier than planned to grab the commute shots. The guy who was supposed to play the elevator dude had a tight schedule and bailed on us when he found out we wouldn't be shooting his scene at that location. We wound up round-tripping back to the office we started at the first part of the day just to catch that elevator bit right before the sun went down. My good friend Mika, who isn't actor, stepped up and played the role of "elevator guy". People tell me reaction to PB guy is their favorite part-- which is a great little nugget. Oddly enough, shooting a strange peanut butter-faced man in the subway with a gargantuan configured Red One was the most fun part. Juan, my DP, and I still joke about it. People were giving us all kinds of looks.

Tell us about editing and finishing.

My friend Ben Cox did the cut and really got the vibe down with the music track that I picked. I was super stoked on how fluidly all those shots I planned cut together. There were a few challenges that held up the project in post for a few months. It took some time to animate the computer screen and then composite those shots in. A friend of mine at RG/A in NYC helped with the compositing. He did a bang up job. 

In retrospect, is there anything you would have done differently?

Yes. I would have made sure that the locations I wanted were completely secured and not relied on friends and their word. Big no-no- especially when you're spending money on other things and have people on tight schedules. Additionally, I would have re-thought make-up and pushed for a test. Unfortunately for me, I made the decision to shoot jelly girl as strawberry jelly. It's impossible to tell, but she was red on the shooting day. We fixed it in post ;)

Any other thoughts.

Don't be afraid to do something that you personally think is rad. Theres a lot of people that have told me it kind of grosses them out. For me, being able to make people uncomfortable at first, then resolve with an 'ah-ha'  "that was cute" moment within 60 seconds made the risk worth while. Go with you're gut- someone will take notice eventually. Big words from a guy that hasn't made it yet, I know- but I'm keeping the faith.

Family Place "Blindfold"

Click to watch.

Director: Joshua Traywick
Copywriter: Alex Harvey
Producer: Jon Michael Kondrath
Director of Photography: Jon Peter
Production Design: Pam Chien
Editor: Kevin Ray
Sound Designer/Mixer: TC Spriggs
1st AC: Erin Olesen
Gaffer: Emile Hanton
Make-Up: Mara Rouse
Set Dec: Rebecca Wentz
Father: Jim McKendrick
Mother: Heidi Dene
Son: James Hoag
Narration: Linden King
Storyboard: Zach King

Why this script/concept? How does it reflect your vision as a commercial director?

I was looking for a darker spot, but I also wanted something that was emotional.  Alex Harvey wrote a great script that was emotional but not overly sentimental.  I feel that PSA’s are tough, because they can feel like Hallmark movies or have too much shock value.  This script hit the balance just right.

Visually, I wanted a voyeuristic look.  We shot on old Russian anamorphic lenses to make everything feel slightly off.  Handheld camera.  I deliberately shot actors from askew angles... instead of the normal straight on close up.  Ideally, I would have shot 16mm and chosen a stock with a high level of grain, but the budget is what it is, so we had to shoot digital.  

What was the casting process like?

Even though the actors only appear on screen for a few seconds, I needed to make sure those seconds felt authentic.  I gave them a concise back story about who their characters were and what the relationships were like.  

When auditioning, I first I had them read it cold with me.  If I could, I had the male and female actors read together, and I would have the man read it angrier, in order to get a strong reaction out of the female.  

The toughest part was casting the child...  He had to have the right look but also be able to act.  I only felt like I saw one kid who could pull it off and luckily I got him.  Before the final take, I told him to imagine his dog died, which worked.... even though I feel somewhat guilty for manipulating a child.  

How did you select your DP, crew?

The DP, Jon Peter, is a friend of mine from film school at USC.  We always had the same sensibilities and I love working with him.  He always has great ideas and is great to work with.  Pam CHien, the PD, is also an excellent designer.  The producer is another friend from USC who operates a production company in santa monica.  I really feel lucky to have them all help out.  

How did shooting go? Any challenges?

It went pretty smooth.  Since I knew we would find a few shots that weren’t storyboarded, I left a little bit of extra time in the day.  I shot the child first because I knew that would be the toughest and he did get a bit tired.. but he did a great job.  

Tell us about editing and finishing.

I worked with a great editor, Kevin Ray.  He fit me in between editing a Danny Glover feature and he’s great to work with.  

In retrospect, is there anything you would have done differently?

I might have changed the VO in the beginning of the spot.  Other than that, I’m pretty happy with it. 

My site is www.vimeo.com/joshuaty

Children's Bureau "New Home"

Director: Matt Holwick

Writer: Dan Sorgen

DP: Dan Rink
Gaffer: Derek Bazan
Producer: Matt Holwick
Cam OP: Casey Todd
First AC: Amir Rakib
sound: Edman smith
Production design: Natasha Fravel/Mike Kelleher
Makeup: Cauline Pedro


Why this script/concept? How does it reflect your vision as a commercial director?

This script caught my eye because it is hard to have an audience feel a connection to a character in thirty seconds. This commercial is a challenge because it is one of many where I must pull out the raw emotions from a kid actor.

What was the casting process like?

I saw over 1000 headshots and did not pick any of the people. I called a person I knew, Martine, over at Barron Entertainment and he helped me out right away. I told him exactly what I was looking for in an actor and he was on it!

How did you search for/lock a location?

The location was at Brooks Institute, a film school in Ventura, CA. They have affordable studios and film equipment on site.

How did you select your DP, crew?

I decided to shoot on Super 35mm and Dan was the only DP I knew that worked with film the most. He was amazing and communicated with me throughout every shot and made suggestions on how it could be better. Most of the crew I had worked with in the past and I knew they would be solid workers.

How did shooting go? Any challenges?

Murphy’s Law seems to linger around set and there is always something that goes wrong. Our biggest problem was that we had to shoot the entire commercial in four hours due to child labor laws. The day before the commercial shoot I rehearsed all the scenes without the actor in order to make sure that any kinks that could arise would not affect the DP in any way. We were working with 1200 feet of film so we only had about 5 takes per shot to get it right. That’s about 12 minutes of film to shoot a 30 second spot.

Tell us about editing and finishing.

The most simple and small things kill me. I cannot sleep when it comes to putting the final touches together. The commercial could look great to most people, but if one little thing was off, like the graphics not being completed, I go crazy!

In retrospect, is there anything you would have done differently?

There are a couple of things that I would have done differently. First, on the first two shots, I would have gone hand held on the dolly. Second, I would have kept the organization’s logo a second longer at the end and third a thousand other things.

Any other thoughts.

I can’t wait to turn other writers' thoughts into something visually.

Barbecues Galore "Too Many Cooks"

Click here to watch the spot. 


Why This script/concept?

To me, it's all about story. I love story, and it feels like a lot of spots don't have much in that department, anymore. I also love a dry sense of humor. Daniel's script completely delivered, and he's a heck of a nice guy, too. This is the first spec script I ever "reserved" on SpecBank, and I remember meeting Daniel- I was so nervous! He set me at ease, and we got along great. Back to the script, I made only one small change, with Daniel's blessing: I changed the "final straw" character to our hero's wife in the story. Daniel's script had everything, and I knew when I read it that this would be a fun shoot. I was right.

What was the casting process like?

Casting was awesome! I'd just finished casting for my SAG short film "Unlaced", which is a very intense drama. This was a great project to cast right after that- it blew all the seriousness out the window. I'd always had a specific actor in mind for the lead, and got him- Matthew's been on TV in a show called Diagnosis X, and he's starred in a couple of indie features since then. He's an "All-American", "Everyman" kind of guy, and I built the cast around him. I knew from the start I wanted an actor exactly like Maurice, too- the guy whose eyes bug out as he finds out our hero isn't using foil. Maurice nailed it, from the start. I think I offered him the role on the spot, during casting. Our other two male actors were surprises to me, I wasn't exactly sure what we'd get, although I had a pretty set breakdown for them. Randy and John delivered our "grill geek" and "grill jock" roles perfectly. And of course, I can't forget Liz, our hero's wife. She, too, was awesome. The whole thing was an ensemble piece, and a ton of fun- that's another thing you rarely get with spots these days.

How did you search for a location?

I shot it in my backyard. My neighbors are industry people, so they didn't call the cops.

How did you select your DP, crew?

I DP'd. I almost always do, I'm very hands-on as a filmmaker. My crew was basically the same 2-3 people I'd been working with on "real world" gigs for a couple of years.

How did shooting go? Any challenges?

It went great! LA weather is crazy beautiful most of the time. I threw up a nice big butterfly to cut the sun a bit, used some lights and reflectors, and that was our lighting setup. It was a lot more about cutting and controlling light than adding. We did spend a fair amount of time on the production design- that was a big part of my producer's second hat she had to wear. Kathi's just an excellent producer. Full disclosure, she's also my wife, and we work together on projects all the time. As far as actually rolling, so much of this spot was about timing. With Kathi and me also being musicians, that came pretty naturally. 

In retrospect, is there anything you would have done differently?

Nope. I know that sounds a little cocky, but no, I wouldn't. The spot looks like a million bucks, and I made it for a couple of grand. I've been hired as a commercial director already thanks to this spot. Daniel wrote a great story, and I think everyone involved really hit it out of the park.

CA State Lottery Scratchers- "Scratchy Catman"

Click to watch.

Credits

Director: Tim Fassnacht

Writer: David Mackereth

Executive Producer/UPM: Minh Dao 

7Thirty Three Productions

Cast:

Scratchy Catman: Ben Goldberg

Roommate: Ben Morrison

Store Clerk: Iyad Hajjaj

Production Crew:

1st Assistant Director/Prod. Coordinator: Lisa Mastroianni

Cinematographer: Juan M.R. Luna

Costumer Designer: Brian Phillips

Production Designer: Samantha Cadwell

1st AC: Benny Bailey

Gaffer: Rick Evans III

Gaffer: Sam McConville

Dolly Grip: Raul Rivera

Sound: Neal Doxsee

Make-up: Daniel Hirsch

Caterer: Kellie Healey

PA: Chris Alexander

PA: Tiffany Burris

Post Production

Editor: Tim Fassnacht

Digital Intermediate Supervisor: Glen Phipps

Post Sound Mixer: Joel Ouano

Colorist: Jan Janotta

Why this script/concept? How does it reflect your vision as a commercial director?

David sent me this script after we had such a rad experience doing "Peanut Butter" together. At first glance, I loved how open-ended the idea was. It was concise, imaginative, but open to a lot of interpretation. David and I, having worked together before, were almost instantly on the same page about what exactly this hybrid cat/man would look like. He really let me run with how I wanted him to be played and what kind of things this guy would be doing. Then we got into deeper levels of understanding with imaginative backstory and what made this guy tick which presented lots of opportunity for discovery once we got on set. Pre-pro on this one was a lot of fun. In terms of how it reflects my vision, I tend to be drawn to these "odd-reality" type scenarios, especially ones surrounding a singular character. I think the fact that this concept sunk up with what I'm drawn too, coupled with working with a familiar voice in David, made for the right scenario to pull this thing off.

What was the casting process like?

Casting was easy-breezy. My buddy Ben Goldberg (Catman) and I had been talking about working together for about a year before I set the pre-production wheels in motion. I told him about the script, we did some rehearsal and research together (mostly cat videos on youtube) and we were both on the same page right away. I think he rocked it. Ben Morrison, who plays the roomate, was a friend of a friend who I randomly saw do a set at Hollywood Improv just weeks before the shoot. I knew it the moment he opened his mouth and the next day we spoke on the phone and he agreed to be a part of it. Iyad Hajjaj, who plays the store clerk was fantastic. We found him on LA Casting, auditioned him and he clearly had a knack for comedic improv. He was a blast to work with; they all were.

How did you search for/lock a location?

My producer, Minh Dao, got a number from me and just went gangbusters around Burbank to find us a liquor store. He found this little spot off of Buena Vista, made the price right, and we nabbed it. It took about a week. The apartment was Minh's home. It was really great of him to let us shoot there and most importantly, let my production designer "destroy" it to get that look we wanted.

How did you select your DP, crew?

I've been working with this rockstar Spanish cinematographer, Juan M.R. Luna, since he gaffed a music video I directed a couple years back. He's got an awesome personality and european sensibilities which I love having on set. We feed off each other and most of the time minimal words are exchanged between us about a given setup; we speak the same visual language. He's one of my favorite people to work with in this crazy town. Minh Dao, my producer and oldest friend in Los Angeles, is one of the best there is. He's got a "get it done no matter what" attitude and he's always got my back which is invaluable as a director. We found Brian Phillips, the costumer, on craigslist and his drawings were spot-on with my vision of the character. We met a few times and each visit the suit became more and more impressive and he was super responsive to some of my suggestions along the way. It was a great experience and I'd recommend him to anyone. The rest of the crew was a mashing of people I have and haven't worked with in the past but they were all kick-ass and it was a great vibe on set.

How did shooting go? Any challenges?

Shooting was super fun. The liquor store took about 2 hours total, setup to hard out, which was great. We really went to town on the second day shooting for about 6 hours inside the apartment location. I shot way more footage than I could ever use in a 30, which is why I did a 60 as well! It was great to have a lengthy list of different ideas for what Catman might do. Once Sam, our production designer, had the whole place set, we just had at it getting as much as we could. Some of it worked, some didn't, but being prepared and having lots of options in terms of ideas and props was key. The biggest challenge? Keeping crew from laughing mid-take. That's the best kind of problem there is in my mind.

Tell us about editing and finishing.

I had this spot, as well as another that I wrote, going concurrently in post production. The other one was very VFX intensive and more of a linear story so I had an editor on that one and I decided to edit Catman myself. I cut about eight different 30 second versions before deciding on the one you see here. Lucky for me, my Clark Kent (day job) is in post production so I'm pretty familiar with editing and workflow over all. We shot Alexa and I cut on Media Composer 6, did all the GFX in CS5, conformed at 10-Bit DNX220 and bangaranged right into an Avid Symphony for color correction with my buddy and colorist Jan Janotta. It was a buttery-smooth experience.

In retrospect, is there anything you would have done differently?

I would have drank less 5 hour energy; probably like 2.5 hours worth and slept a bit more between shooting days.

Any other thoughts.

We shot this spot and another completely different spot over a 2 day crazy marathon. If you're spending the money for all that gear, insurance, food, and crew why not? Just make sure you're extra prepared as a director and you've got some really organize people on your squad- there's no room for a mega-mess when you're cross-pollenating 2 shoots. Check out my website www.WhoTheHellisTim.com for the other spot we shot for Cheetos called "The Ginger".