Click to watch.
Credits
Director/DP/Producer - Tom Church
Writer - Danny Cameron
Composer - J Scott Rakozy
Grip - Dylan Trahan
Production Assistant - Tannis
How much did production cost?
The full cost of the production (not including paying myself) was around $3000 CAD. Areas I was able to save were on locations, talent and crew. Everyone got paid but because they were all friends of mine they were happy to help out for minimal pay and excited for the project. I’ve since worked with much of this same crew again on several other projects. The majority of the cost was in the custom soundtrack composition and the voice over artist. I’m glad I invested in those areas because I feel that those 2 pieces specifically tie the whole commercial together. Other than that, I owned the camera package and lights and grip gear we used. That was also my car, house and ladder so we didn’t have to rent anything.
Why this script/concept? How does it reflect your vision as a commercial director?
To be honest, I went through just about every script in the database trying to find a couple I could short list for my portfolio. There are alot of comedy focused scripts but I couldn’t find many that felt like something I would produce. At the same time a client had reached out asking me to submit a campaign proposal for an insurance company. I wasn’t overly interested in the project at first but then I stumbled onto this script and it stuck out because it felt complete. Almost like I had seen it before. It had a quality to it that made it feel like it would be at home on broadcast. There was also a strong emotional element woven in that I thought felt genuine and I thought the audience would appreciate. So technically not a spec project, I was lucky enough to get paid to produce this piece. As for how it reflects my vision as a commercial director, I’m not so sure. I was pretty inexperienced at the time and to produce the script seemed obtainable. It was pretty straightforward and wouldn't require a big crew or vfx. This was my first “real” commercial project of this caliber so I wanted something I could realistically accomplish on my own if needed yet still showcase a certain quality in the deliverable. Beyond that there wasn’t much vision to speak of. The script laid everything out really well.
What was the casting process like?
The casting process was similar to what I would expect for most lower budget productions. I put out a Facebook post to my friends and a few local swap and sell groups asking for actors. I included a short description of what the character would be doing and my anticipated demographics (ex/ mother, 30-45 years old) and asked the interested applicants to submit a short (1min) video of why they would be the right choice for the role. Within 24hrs I had around 10 submissions to review. A few friends reached out to me almost instantly which was nice but they were actually a really good fit for the roles so I locked them in. We actually shot 2 alternate scenes as well so that we could see how the final product felt with various demographics. Having more experience now I would still make a decision that best serves the brand first and save the expense of additional actors.
How did you search for/lock a location?
Honestly, I feel pretty silly here. I didn’t do much of a location scout at all. A buddy of mine who was going to be one of my grips for the day offered his Mom’s house as a potential location. I had been there before and thought it would work. We shot the first 2 scenes there, an indoor and an outdoor scene. For the final scene we really just needed a suburban home in a quiet neighborhood. I had originally lined up a location with a garage but the homeowner couldn’t get it cleaned in time for us and the light at the time of day we would be available to shoot was going to be much too harsh. So I ended up using my own house. I think it turned out fine but I did have a much more elaborate plan in mind originally.
How did you select your DP, crew?
Minus the retiree actor, everyone else involved were friends. I live in a pretty rural community (~20k people) so finding qualified crew has always been hard. My buddy Dylan and I have worked together for a few years on various projects and I knew I could trust him to set up a light and help review framing choices. His partner Tannis was a huge help on a short film we did where she was our Production Assistant so I hired her as well to fill the same role to make sure I didn’t miss anything.
How did shooting go? Any challenges?
The actual shoot was incredibly simple and only took about 4 hrs total. The only challenges were really just me getting out of my own way. Directing has always been the hardest part of the process for me as I gravitated towards the cinematography elements more so getting solid performances out of the talent was not my strong suit. Luckily everyone was really easy to work with and could take direction really well. This was also my first project using a RED camera so there was some anxiety around making sure everything was “ready for the camera”. I had tested everything out and knew how to operate everything but up to this point I was used to the look associated with DSLR cameras so I was a bit anxious to see how this would be different. Once I saw the image on the monitor I knew we were going to be fine. It just looked right, right away. Hard to describe exactly what it was but the character of the image was what I had envisioned. After that I relaxed and was able to really enjoy the process.
Tell us about editing and finishing.
This was the easiest edit I’ve ever had. Seriously. I had a rough cut together that night and sent it off the composer right away. Scott was great to work with and had a custom soundtrack and a full mix to me within a day or two. I used Voices.com to help me find a professional voiceover artist and that process was incredibly efficient as well. Within 24hrs I had 20+ applicants to choose from, most of which were really good. Highly recommend both Scott Rakozy and Voices.com! Next time I would also bring in a colourist to take the lead instead of doing that portion myself just so there could be some more cohesion throughout the edit.
In retrospect, is there anything you would have done differently?
Absolutely. First thing is I would take more time in preproduction to do a proper location scout. These locations are fine and serve the story well enough but I think there are better locations we could have found that would have taken this to the next level. I still have a relationship with the client so hopefully we can turn this script into more of an ongoing campaign and focus on a wider demographic of actors and locations
Any other thoughts.
Like I said, this project was the first time I was able to really step out into commercial production and for that I’m really grateful. I learned alot about the process and have since implemented those lessons in the work I do today. I don’t have any formal video production training (I started out shooting weddings for friends and watching YouTube) so this was a big step in me understanding what I was capable of. I don't think the final product would be as good as it is without Danny’s script and without it being here on Spec Bank. Overall, I’m just really grateful that services like this exist for up and coming filmmakers. It definitely made a difference in my journey.
