30sec commercial for car dealer at DVinfo.net

Obin Olson · April 22nd, 2005, 06:55 AM

Not finished but close...still needs a good VO for the end and LOGO work..shot all on dvx100 and lot's of post work..no 35mm adaptors

www.dv3productions.com/bob.wmv

oh..make sure you have good speakers/headphones ..we did all the "sounds" by hand not location audio cept the actors voice ;)

Luis Caffesse · April 22nd, 2005, 07:13 AM

Looks great Obin, good job.

Can you give us some details on the production?
What kind of crew did you have, lighting, etc?

Most importantly, aside from looking/sounding good, the concept worked for me...
did you write the spot as well?

Obin Olson · April 22nd, 2005, 07:43 AM

glad to hear the concept works - that is the most important thing!!

dvx100 no mattebox or filters
fresnel 650w lights on the back wall corners
1ks and 2k's on the talent and car with 4x4 silks and black to block reflections
home-made dolly and 20foot pro American dolly track
makeup artist w/wigs
hair artist/wardrobe
set help /PA's
ohh..we had a green and gray car at first, that did not work as they show as really DARK on the monitor so we pulled that for a red car that shows really well cept for DV compression!

tons of post on every shot color filters focus filters etc to bring the actor out and push the background down ..that is why I hate video..no DOF control while shooting

I did not write the script we have a writer, but I did come up with the idea over coffee with him ;)

I wanted light comedy while still telling the message for the client...I feel it works quite well and has a bit of an odd flavor..keeping it fresh and new as all the CRAP on the screen from the other dealerships goes by i think this will stand out ;)

Lots of off-the-cuff work from our actor as we setup the camera and just recorded what happened...with some direction of course!

the Doc is not in the script the way he did it and the scratching of the head with the drumstick by the rocker is not in the script...after looking at all the takes the weird ones worked much better then the flat stuff so that is the direction we went with.

Music...wow as I was editing the spot and i felt it was not working at all..could not find a GREAT edit...then my brother the gaffer/colorist for this one was playing some tracks at his workstation of stuff we had but never used for spots..that track came on and I was like THAT"S IT!! we GOTTA use that! dunno why it just worked so well IMHO...After starting to re-cut with that track things felt much much better.

the edit is all about timing. even down to single frames for me make or break a spot/project

Hope this helps! let me know if you have more questions

Bob Costa · April 22nd, 2005, 09:00 AM

Great job. It was funny, I would watch it twice (Actually I Did). Thanks for sharing

Ian Stark · April 22nd, 2005, 09:02 AM

I thought that looked great Obin. As you say, much better than the other garbage ads! I've seen car dealer ads on TV in your country which have WORSE sound than the clip I put up recently!

Great timing on the edit - really brought out the comedy. The talent looked a little too comfortable with that lollipop though ;-))

What did you edit on?

Bob Costa · April 22nd, 2005, 09:06 AM

Oh yeah, the DVX is known for its annoying DOF problem. Although I am shopping for a DVX now, I am hoping that issue does not make me crazier than I am. They seem to have tried to address this with new HVX200 (13x zoom).

Glenn Chan · April 22nd, 2005, 03:26 PM

Hey I like the concept. A few notes though:

A- The end kinda glosses over the dealership. Where is it? What is it called? The ad can be funny but it still needs to sell. I assume once you finish off the end you'll have some combination of:
-a shot of the dealership (hopefully people driving by will recognize the dealership)
-a map
-an address
-the dealership logo + name

B- The VO copy at the end:
In my opinion you should shorten "At Bob Barber Honda, we won numerous awards in customer service because we see things from your perspective" to "At Bob Barber Honda, we see things from your perspective". If your commercial sticks to just one selling point (we see things from your perspective) it won't overwhelm the audience, will be tighter, and will be easier to remember. The numerous awards comes out of left field (everything before it has nothing to do with awards, and is light-hearted humorous tone) and can take away from your selling point.

C- The mix sounds good on headphones, but it can be lost on TV. Most people watch TV with crappy speakers, many people only get mono sound, and watch TV with lots of background noise. The footsteps and door sound should probably be brought up. The music could be brought up a little (maybe... I'm just guessing) and the snap part of it brought down a little.

You should watch the levels to make sure they are proper... if tone on your master is at -12dBFS (which is right for mini-DV, and probably not right for pro formats), peaks shouldn't exceed -2dBFS (which they do). You can insert a compressor to help even out the audio. Jay Rose's book Audio Postproduction for Digital Video (or Great Sound for Digital Video) and his articles on dv.com (i.e. his one about compressors) have information on audio stuff.

D- The flesh tones have this color shifting on some of the shots (on the driver's seat shots, key light side). It could be:
-Windows Media compression, which really messes with your video's colors.
-Intentional. (Which I can't tell because of above)
-Overexposed footage in the camera. As values approach clipping, they get those color shifts. Using the zebras can avoid this, as can using a calibrated NTSC monitor. You can raise exposure in post if you want a bright picture.

Douglas Habib · April 22nd, 2005, 04:29 PM

....jeez, that was 32 seconds???? Wow - nice work!!
ALL told, how long DID this project take???

Obin Olson · April 22nd, 2005, 04:53 PM

Glen..almost all your thoughts are going into the final spot..like I said it's NOT done!! that is a "rough cut"! for one thing we have a NICE animated logo we will make and the end tag is much shorter then that temp track

anyway thanks for the audio input and the pink color IS over exposure and as you and I know can't be fixed ;( but hey it was 3:30am when we shot that part! LOL I know it still should have been watched!

BTW Glen what type of work is yours?

Obin Olson · April 22nd, 2005, 05:04 PM

well after a 2nd look the "pink" you see Glen is frome makeup ! ;)

anyway new VO tag and talent..not sure if we are going to use this talent but I like it sofar...

www.dv3productions.com/bob2.wmv

2 edit days one LONG night of shooting

Ian Slessor · April 22nd, 2005, 07:41 PM

Hey Obin,

Thank God it wasn't a spot featuring some demented fellow in a cowboy hat riding an elephant with GIANT SAVINGS (add echo)

That was a smooth, professional spot. Funny too.

Well done.

sincerely,

ian

Glenn Chan · April 22nd, 2005, 09:40 PM

Quote:

but hey it was 3:30am when we shot that part!

3:30AM?! That shoot must've been surreal.

Quote:

BTW Glenn what type of work is yours?

Now that I think of it I haven't actually done all that much stuff. I go to Ryerson University for Radio and Television Arts (if that means anything) and you can see one of the projects I did for school at
http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=43209

You can also see a music video I edited at
http://www.glennchan.info/

Daniel Patton · April 23rd, 2005, 08:42 PM

Second edit was much better... and the first was not bad.

My girlfriend laughs at me everytime a car commercial comes on because I bitch about how horrid they are, but THAT one was worth the air time (as much as any car commercial can be). In other words, I liked it, good job.

Obin Olson · April 23rd, 2005, 10:39 PM

Thanks! Daniel! BTW I was born in Knoxville...small world...do you work in Television ?

Jon Miova · April 24th, 2005, 09:44 PM

It looks very professionnal :-)

April 22nd, 2005, 06:55 AM	#1
Obin Olson Trustee Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wilmington NC Posts: 1,414	30sec commercial for car dealer FEEDBACK? Not finished but close...still needs a good VO for the end and LOGO work..shot all on dvx100 and lot's of post work..no 35mm adaptors www.dv3productions.com/bob.wmv oh..make sure you have good speakers/headphones ..we did all the "sounds" by hand not location audio cept the actors voice ;)

April 22nd, 2005, 07:13 AM	#2
Luis Caffesse Major Player Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 704	Looks great Obin, good job. Can you give us some details on the production? What kind of crew did you have, lighting, etc? Most importantly, aside from looking/sounding good, the concept worked for me... did you write the spot as well? __________________ Luis Caffesse Pitch Productions Austin, Texas

April 22nd, 2005, 09:02 AM	#5
Ian Stark Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Hampshire, UK Posts: 2,237	I thought that looked great Obin. As you say, much better than the other garbage ads! I've seen car dealer ads on TV in your country which have WORSE sound than the clip I put up recently! Great timing on the edit - really brought out the comedy. The talent looked a little too comfortable with that lollipop though ;-)) What did you edit on? __________________ www.vit-media.com www.classicmachinefilms.co.uk

April 22nd, 2005, 04:29 PM	#8
Douglas Habib Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: LV, NV Posts: 50	....jeez, that was 32 seconds???? Wow - nice work!! ALL told, how long DID this project take??? __________________ Molon Labe! AOC (Ancient Order of Curmudgeons)

April 22nd, 2005, 07:41 PM	#11
Ian Slessor Major Player Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: South-Central Ontario, Canada Posts: 216	Very nice and professional... Hey Obin, Thank God it wasn't a spot featuring some demented fellow in a cowboy hat riding an elephant with GIANT SAVINGS (add echo) That was a smooth, professional spot. Funny too. Well done. sincerely, ian

April 22nd, 2005, 07:43 AM	#3
Obin Olson Trustee Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wilmington NC Posts: 1,414	glad to hear the concept works - that is the most important thing!! dvx100 no mattebox or filters fresnel 650w lights on the back wall corners 1ks and 2k's on the talent and car with 4x4 silks and black to block reflections home-made dolly and 20foot pro American dolly track makeup artist w/wigs hair artist/wardrobe set help /PA's ohh..we had a green and gray car at first, that did not work as they show as really DARK on the monitor so we pulled that for a red car that shows really well cept for DV compression! tons of post on every shot color filters focus filters etc to bring the actor out and push the background down ..that is why I hate video..no DOF control while shooting I did not write the script we have a writer, but I did come up with the idea over coffee with him ;) I wanted light comedy while still telling the message for the client...I feel it works quite well and has a bit of an odd flavor..keeping it fresh and new as all the CRAP on the screen from the other dealerships goes by i think this will stand out ;) Lots of off-the-cuff work from our actor as we setup the camera and just recorded what happened...with some direction of course! the Doc is not in the script the way he did it and the scratching of the head with the drumstick by the rocker is not in the script...after looking at all the takes the weird ones worked much better then the flat stuff so that is the direction we went with. Music...wow as I was editing the spot and i felt it was not working at all..could not find a GREAT edit...then my brother the gaffer/colorist for this one was playing some tracks at his workstation of stuff we had but never used for spots..that track came on and I was like THAT"S IT!! we GOTTA use that! dunno why it just worked so well IMHO...After starting to re-cut with that track things felt much much better. the edit is all about timing. even down to single frames for me make or break a spot/project Hope this helps! let me know if you have more questions

April 22nd, 2005, 09:00 AM	#4
Bob Costa Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Venice, FL Posts: 850	Great job. It was funny, I would watch it twice (Actually I Did). Thanks for sharing

April 22nd, 2005, 09:06 AM	#6
Bob Costa Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Venice, FL Posts: 850	Oh yeah, the DVX is known for its annoying DOF problem. Although I am shopping for a DVX now, I am hoping that issue does not make me crazier than I am. They seem to have tried to address this with new HVX200 (13x zoom).

April 22nd, 2005, 03:26 PM	#7
Glenn Chan Inner Circle Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 4,750	Hey I like the concept. A few notes though: A- The end kinda glosses over the dealership. Where is it? What is it called? The ad can be funny but it still needs to sell. I assume once you finish off the end you'll have some combination of: -a shot of the dealership (hopefully people driving by will recognize the dealership) -a map -an address -the dealership logo + name B- The VO copy at the end: In my opinion you should shorten "At Bob Barber Honda, we won numerous awards in customer service because we see things from your perspective" to "At Bob Barber Honda, we see things from your perspective". If your commercial sticks to just one selling point (we see things from your perspective) it won't overwhelm the audience, will be tighter, and will be easier to remember. The numerous awards comes out of left field (everything before it has nothing to do with awards, and is light-hearted humorous tone) and can take away from your selling point. C- The mix sounds good on headphones, but it can be lost on TV. Most people watch TV with crappy speakers, many people only get mono sound, and watch TV with lots of background noise. The footsteps and door sound should probably be brought up. The music could be brought up a little (maybe... I'm just guessing) and the snap part of it brought down a little. You should watch the levels to make sure they are proper... if tone on your master is at -12dBFS (which is right for mini-DV, and probably not right for pro formats), peaks shouldn't exceed -2dBFS (which they do). You can insert a compressor to help even out the audio. Jay Rose's book Audio Postproduction for Digital Video (or Great Sound for Digital Video) and his articles on dv.com (i.e. his one about compressors) have information on audio stuff. D- The flesh tones have this color shifting on some of the shots (on the driver's seat shots, key light side). It could be: -Windows Media compression, which really messes with your video's colors. -Intentional. (Which I can't tell because of above) -Overexposed footage in the camera. As values approach clipping, they get those color shifts. Using the zebras can avoid this, as can using a calibrated NTSC monitor. You can raise exposure in post if you want a bright picture.

April 22nd, 2005, 04:53 PM	#9
Obin Olson Trustee Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wilmington NC Posts: 1,414	Glen..almost all your thoughts are going into the final spot..like I said it's NOT done!! that is a "rough cut"! for one thing we have a NICE animated logo we will make and the end tag is much shorter then that temp track anyway thanks for the audio input and the pink color IS over exposure and as you and I know can't be fixed ;( but hey it was 3:30am when we shot that part! LOL I know it still should have been watched! BTW Glen what type of work is yours?

April 22nd, 2005, 05:04 PM	#10
Obin Olson Trustee Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wilmington NC Posts: 1,414	well after a 2nd look the "pink" you see Glen is frome makeup ! ;) anyway new VO tag and talent..not sure if we are going to use this talent but I like it sofar... www.dv3productions.com/bob2.wmv 2 edit days one LONG night of shooting

April 23rd, 2005, 08:42 PM	#13
Daniel Patton Major Player Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Knoxville TN Posts: 589	Second edit was much better... and the first was not bad. My girlfriend laughs at me everytime a car commercial comes on because I bitch about how horrid they are, but THAT one was worth the air time (as much as any car commercial can be). In other words, I liked it, good job. __________________ Our eyes allow us to see the world - The lens allows others to see the world through our eyes. RED ONE #977

April 23rd, 2005, 10:39 PM	#14
Obin Olson Trustee Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Wilmington NC Posts: 1,414	Thanks! Daniel! BTW I was born in Knoxville...small world...do you work in Television ?

April 24th, 2005, 09:44 PM	#15
Jon Miova Regular Crew Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 47	Great It looks very professionnal :-)