If your parents had access to the most trusted babysitter app back in the day, they’d have been able to get out more, get it on more, and maybe they’d have made another sibling for you to play with. That’s the premise I came up with for this 30-second commercial that I co-wrote, directed & edited.
The Writing
It’s difficult to orchestrate a laugh. When it’s not an impromptu thing, a lot has to fall into place for the joke to work. In the confines of a 30-second commercial, you have to set the scene, deliver the punchline, relate it to the brand, and be snappy about it.
I came up with the concept for this piece, and fortunately, I had my friend Paul Boyer (a UCLA-trained screenwriter) by my side to assist through the writing process. We were dealing with innuendo & metaphor, so we knew it would be a challenge to make it clear & funny, upon the first view. We both took a number of cracks at the script to ensure the piece would be tight & coherent. Everything was thought out.
The Pre-Production
Paul & I also tag-teamed producer duties on this project. Budget was definitely the biggest hurdle. Without getting into details, we overcame budget restrictions, but it took time. There’s an old adage about creative work that says, between getting it done quickly, at low cost, and at high quality, you can only choose two out of those three. The adage holds true, so this project took time. If we had a larger budget, the process would have gone a lot faster & smoother.
No budget for a location scout, so we did it ourselves, spending hours driving & striking out, until we eventually found our lover’s point location, about a half hour from where we live. Fortunately, it was relatively easy & free to get filming permits for that spot.
No budget for a casting agent, so we did it ourselves, posting casting calls on multiple platforms, and corresponding with willing actors & actresses. Through a mutual friend, we eventually connected with Cedric & Christina, who delivered stellar performances and were awesome to work with!
Those were probably the two largest mountains to climb, but it only scratches the service when it came to the amount of pre-production we had to do. From sourcing a viable 1980s car, to hair & wardrobe, to gear & craft services, the list goes on.
I was stoked to push it creatively with this project. It was my first time in a while writing & directing dialogue, and this process was a reminder that I still got it! It was also gratifying to use metaphor & create meaning through striking imagery. It was an endeavor to ensure the disco light effect didn’t suck. There are things I would have done differently if given another chance, but at least the shot worked!
The Edit
As usual, the edit was a journey. Cutting the thing down to work in 30 seconds is a challenge in itself. Sometimes you have to drop the best take, in favor of the faster take. Luckily, those decisions weren’t too much of a sacrifice.
There were also some minor VFX to take care of in post, like cleaning up cracks in the windshield, removing mic packs in the sun visors, keeping the green wristwatch light on before cutting to the next shot, replacing the license plate with an older one, removing a sandbag in the background, and adding fog in the foreground.
These are mostly things that 9.8/10 people wouldn’t ever notice, but I wanted this thing to be clean, and I didn’t want to regret not taking care of them months or years down the road.
The Focus Group
This was also my first experience focus-grouping the work. Having put out a piece of comedy that fell flat (See ACED), we knew there’d be value in going through this exercise to see what about the piece is working, and what’s not. Is there anything confusing about it? Do people find it funny? Even if the responses & feedback can’t lead to actual improvements in the work, it could at least help shape how we talk about the work when we share it with the world.
Luckily, responses to this piece weren’t the same blank looks & awkward chuckles that ACED garnered. Out of the 50 people in the focus group, 84% of them got the story & genuinely found it funny the first time they viewed it. That number’s even higher (88%) when talking about the target audience; parents of young kids. Those trends were evident early on, and honestly, were pretty reassuring.
Final Thoughts
Super grateful to all who lent their time, talents & insight to this project! Paul & I felt super supported throughout. I can personally proclaim that this is one of the more gratifying projects I’ve worked on.