Old Crow Spec Commercial

Chris Tempel

Chris Tempel


I wanted to add product shoots to my services and needed an example, so I shot this. It was filmed in my kitchen with a black backdrop and two 4-bulb soft boxes. I think I should of had a little more light, but overall I'm pretty happy with how this turned out for my first time.
 
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A couple of observations.

As a rule, it's generally considered better to rotate text (in Western languages) from left to right as that's the way we read. For "creative" purposes, there might be times when it's useful to generate a certain feeling of discomfort, but I'd be wary of doing so in an unsolicited pitch unless the brand prides itself on being provocative. And, as has already been pointed out, the change in direction is a bit unsettling too (especially the long view of the gap between front and rear labels, showing the defects in the bottle ... )

The background: it's as important as the product, so what does "off-white, with a thin strip of neutral grey across the bottom" say about the brand? Does this fit with the brand's colour scheme? Looking at their website, it appears that traits of gold are a key part of their visualisation. Again, if this is a pitch for new business, you need to present something that really resonates with their product.

I would say you're heading in the right direction, but if you can't stretch to hiring an Andy to whistle in the background :wait: then you need to find and include more relevant details to show that you're in tune with the brand. I would definitely find a way to include some gold in there (could be as delicate as an inlay on the table, or a lighting effect); and I would think about having Andy's silhouette show on the background, even if only at the end ...
 
CelticRambler said:
A couple of observations.

As a rule, it's generally considered better to rotate text (in Western languages) from left to right as that's the way we read. For "creative" purposes, there might be times when it's useful to generate a certain feeling of discomfort, but I'd be wary of doing so in an unsolicited pitch unless the brand prides itself on being provocative. And, as has already been pointed out, the change in direction is a bit unsettling too (especially the long view of the gap between front and rear labels, showing the defects in the bottle ... )

The background: it's as important as the product, so what does "off-white, with a thin strip of neutral grey across the bottom" say about the brand? Does this fit with the brand's colour scheme? Looking at their website, it appears that traits of gold are a key part of their visualisation. Again, if this is a pitch for new business, you need to present something that really resonates with their product.

I would say you're heading in the right direction, but if you can't stretch to hiring an Andy to whistle in the background :wait: then you need to find and include more relevant details to show that you're in tune with the brand. I would definitely find a way to include some gold in there (could be as delicate as an inlay on the table, or a lighting effect); and I would think about having Andy's silhouette show on the background, even if only at the end ...
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Some really good points here. I'm new to product videos, so lots to learn.
I'm reconsidering shooting this for some of the reasons mentioned. When you walk into their lounge area, it's very "Montana". Rustic. I have another table that might better represent that. I'll have to think about the gold aspect too. Funny you mention the Andy figure, I was trying to get a high quality version that I could use, including upscaling a low - rez one I found, but it didn't feel clean. I'll keep messing with that. No sense in rushing this.
 
Don't work too hard on one brand when you haven't even pitched them anything yet. How about some verbal communication first, to see if they are even interested in a pitch?
 
indietalk said:
Don't work too hard on one brand when you haven't even pitched them anything yet. How about some verbal communication first, to see if they are even interested in a pitch?
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The value in working "too hard" on a fairly simple project such as this, in the kind of sandbox environment that this forum offers, is that it helps identify aspects of the wider concept that are more than the pure disciplines of, for example, focal points, depth of field, shutter speed, colour grading, etc.

As an exercise, the reward should be to produce a video that represents the brand and the product in all their nuance. Getting a marketing contract out of it would be a bonus, but there might be a dozen reasons on the company's side for why that can't happen. What @Chris Tempel needs most of all is for the company to come back with an "Oh wow - that is so great, so us!" and to share the video everywhere (and also give their wholehearted blessing for the piece to be used in a portfolio).

There's little value in producing spec videos for twenty different products or brands if you can't get one pretty close to perfect.
 
Chris Tempel said:
Funny you mention the Andy figure, I was trying to get a high quality version that I could use, including upscaling a low - rez one I found, but it didn't feel clean. I'll keep messing with that.
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Don't know if a facebook image will show up, if not follow this link to one of their own photos : more or less what I was thinking could be in the background. With decent image manipulation software, you should be able to get a clean blur from even a small, dirty png.

175659281_4486013421414139_217792894880122439_n.jpg


A quick scroll through their FB photos indicates that they have a large 2-D cut-out of Andy they use for promo purposes in various real-life situations (I think that's his shadow in the pic above), so I'd say it's an element that should definitely feature in the finished proposal.
 
Update
I went ahead and digitally removed the blemishes on the glass using Fusion. It looks good enough that if you're not looking for them, you won't find them. I also managed to create a high enough quality version of Andy that I added it to the title screen at the end.

Tossed it on my laptop and went down to the distillery today and asked if I could meet with someone from marketing and advertising. As I was waiting, my "anthem" came on their sound system. "Buy Dirt". It's a great country song that speaks volumes to what my wife and I are striving to accomplish. A few minutes later, the marketing guy came out, we sat down, and I gave him my pitch. Told him who I was, what I do, that I bought a bottle, made a spec ad with it and asked if he wanted to see it.

He watched it, loved it, asked what else I could do for them, suggested things I could do for them, and said he has a meeting with the owners next week and would put it on his agenda. They're just moving into a new facility, so they might be looking for something in a month when it's up and running.

Cool! At the end of the day, it's been a good learning experience. The majority of my business so far has always been word of mouth. I've never had to "pitch" myself or my services, so this has been good. We'll see what happens.
 
It sounds like you're on the right track. This is actually one of the best ways to get hired in content. I did something very similar once, and ended up getting jobs for 10 years from the one pitch. Good luck! The commercial looks great.
 
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