I have been directing narrative short films for a few years now, lately I have been thinking of changing my focus more towards working in the advertising/commercial industry.
At the moment I have directed 6 commercials, and each time I have seen great improvement in my work. I have learned a lot doing these commercials and have a few tips I can share but
I would really like to hear from you and others that might be able to help me and all reading this thread to be more proficient.
#1 “Time Is Money”
As with any kind of production the more time you spend on a project the more money you spend also. Many of my projects have been done in a certain time frame set by the client. One of the best ways I have found to keep the cost down and speed up the process is by knowing and perfecting your crew.
The Dance
Know your team! You will want to have worked on projects together before with your crew.
A good friend of mine and I worked as camera operators together on a Reality TV Show, because we had worked together before we were able to do the “dance” as he called it. It was easy for us to move together, without stepping on the others feet or in other words staying out of the others shot.
Usually my crew consists of:
Producer
Director
Writer
Cinematographer
Audio guy (boom operator/mixer/composer)
Grip
Gaffer
Most of the time my crew will be wearing many hats and fulfill multiple rolls.
Make sure each person knows their roll inside out and can perform quickly and effectively.
Having a small crew that have danced together before and know the in’s and out’s of their job is probably the best way I have found to speed up time and save/earn you the green.
What other thoughts do you have?
Also here is an example of my two latest commercials I did for a local competition at my school.
My crew consisted of my audio guy, my cinematographer and myself.
Each commercial was shot in an hour each and edited in about three days.
At the moment I have directed 6 commercials, and each time I have seen great improvement in my work. I have learned a lot doing these commercials and have a few tips I can share but
I would really like to hear from you and others that might be able to help me and all reading this thread to be more proficient.
#1 “Time Is Money”
As with any kind of production the more time you spend on a project the more money you spend also. Many of my projects have been done in a certain time frame set by the client. One of the best ways I have found to keep the cost down and speed up the process is by knowing and perfecting your crew.
The Dance
Know your team! You will want to have worked on projects together before with your crew.
A good friend of mine and I worked as camera operators together on a Reality TV Show, because we had worked together before we were able to do the “dance” as he called it. It was easy for us to move together, without stepping on the others feet or in other words staying out of the others shot.
Usually my crew consists of:
Producer
Director
Writer
Cinematographer
Audio guy (boom operator/mixer/composer)
Grip
Gaffer
Most of the time my crew will be wearing many hats and fulfill multiple rolls.
Make sure each person knows their roll inside out and can perform quickly and effectively.
Having a small crew that have danced together before and know the in’s and out’s of their job is probably the best way I have found to speed up time and save/earn you the green.
What other thoughts do you have?
Also here is an example of my two latest commercials I did for a local competition at my school.
My crew consisted of my audio guy, my cinematographer and myself.
Each commercial was shot in an hour each and edited in about three days.