Watching the Making of a Commercial
Don't Underestimate Film Crews or Mothers Who Work at Dairy Queen
My mum works at Dairy Queen and around 8:30am on a Tuesday, she texted me during my video class saying something along the lines of "They're shooting a commercial at DQ. I asked if my daughter could come watch and they said sure. Do you want me to come get you?" and I replied with something like "HOLY CRAP YESSS!!!" Half an hour later I was perched between two tables watching the making of a Dairy Queen chicken strip commercial.
The first thing I noticed was just how many people there were on set. There were a lot! I played a game with myself (we had just learned about all the different positions on a film set in video class) and tried to match all the people with what jobs I thought they had. Once I had "placed" everyone in my mind, I started watching how each of them contributed to the production. But by far, the most interesting thing to watch was the interaction and communication between the director and the actress.
I was particularly amazed at just how many phrases the director had written out in advance and how many different ways he told the actress to say them: flat, normal, cheery, super cheery, etc. I loved how the director was making jokes to lighten up the mood and keep people from getting frustrated (though it seemed like most of them were having a pretty good time, despite being in a pretty serious time crunch). Everyone was doing their jobs, but they were doing them in a way that made me think they all really love what they're doing and it comforted me knowing not every director is like those stereotypical directors in movies portrayed as major jerks.
I learned a lot about the perfection of lighting, the communication and cooperation that is necessary between all the people involved in a shoot, and the importance of being extremely prepared so as to remain on schedule among other things.
I also learned that it's never good to assume things about people because the girl you thought was just an assistant may turn out to be a producer who just really likes to be actively involved in anything she is a part of. But it's okay, because when you thank everyone for letting you come watch, and you start with the "assistant" because she's not too busy at the moment, you might just earn a new contact in your ever-growing search for experience in the film/video industry.
Here's the link to the finished video, if you're curious:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152422159796669&set=vb.15508591668&type=3&theater
The first thing I noticed was just how many people there were on set. There were a lot! I played a game with myself (we had just learned about all the different positions on a film set in video class) and tried to match all the people with what jobs I thought they had. Once I had "placed" everyone in my mind, I started watching how each of them contributed to the production. But by far, the most interesting thing to watch was the interaction and communication between the director and the actress.
I was particularly amazed at just how many phrases the director had written out in advance and how many different ways he told the actress to say them: flat, normal, cheery, super cheery, etc. I loved how the director was making jokes to lighten up the mood and keep people from getting frustrated (though it seemed like most of them were having a pretty good time, despite being in a pretty serious time crunch). Everyone was doing their jobs, but they were doing them in a way that made me think they all really love what they're doing and it comforted me knowing not every director is like those stereotypical directors in movies portrayed as major jerks.
I learned a lot about the perfection of lighting, the communication and cooperation that is necessary between all the people involved in a shoot, and the importance of being extremely prepared so as to remain on schedule among other things.
I also learned that it's never good to assume things about people because the girl you thought was just an assistant may turn out to be a producer who just really likes to be actively involved in anything she is a part of. But it's okay, because when you thank everyone for letting you come watch, and you start with the "assistant" because she's not too busy at the moment, you might just earn a new contact in your ever-growing search for experience in the film/video industry.
Here's the link to the finished video, if you're curious:
https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10152422159796669&set=vb.15508591668&type=3&theater
Super interesting! Glad you had that chance. Love for you to share the experience with the class.
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