30 sec spot for auto mechanic
 

http://www.cassadvertising.com/video...ne04%20wdl.wmv
This was shot with a Sony DSR-PD170, edited on Final Cut Pro 2.
The only lights we used was a Lowel Tota-Light with umbrella for the shots of the engine compartments. The bulk of the spot was shot in the shops paint booth hand-held.

It's a funny little spot that I thought you guys might be intersted in checking out.

It was okay, but since you obviously wanted a bit of film look (since it is
letterboxed instead of 4:3) I would add some color correction to take the
harshness of the video look. It looks a bit over exposed as well (at least
on my system).

The file is a little brighter than the actual commercial due to the person who converted it. I don't know what you mean by harshness, unless you are referring to the lack of color, in which I intentionally desaturated the video so the color wouldn't leap out as much.

I liked the concept and the look of the ER scenes.

One criticism I suppose is that the ending goes by too fast to copy down the phone number (assuming people would be compelled to copy down a phone # and have pen and paper ready; it may be unrealistic to expect people to remember of copy down the phone # though, because I know I would never do either; if the phone # has a memory hook to it, like 1800 ER4 CARS then people may be expected to remember the number). If you just want people to remember the name so they can look it up in the Yellow Pages, then the commercial's good.

B- Where are the 2 locations? There's no point in telling me there are two if I don't know where they are.

Minor comments:
The last title ("in Ashland") might be cropped off by a TV's overscan area. I would hook up a TV to your editing system to check. (There are other good reasons to have a TV hooked up to your editing system.)

Lav visible in shot. I don't think that many people will notice it, and it's not a big deal if they do. But for this commercial, it would be slightly nicer if the lav wasn't visible.

I think the look is fine the way it is. The ER scene shots are well lit. There's some color discontinuity when it cuts to the shots of the body shop, which looks white balanced a little too orange.
Perhaps you could color correct the auto shop interior and exterior shots to make those places look better. It looks fairly good already and the shots go by quickly so it's not a big deal in my opinion.

Thanks for the tips, Glenn.

As far as the Ashland being cropped by the TV, it's not. I only edit to TV output to make sure I know what I'm getting as the end result. You're right about the autobody shots being too orange. I was having a problem around that time with white balancing, but have since resolved it. You should see one of my other commercials from around that period. Everyone in it looks like a peach.

I completely understand about the end. That commercal was a serious challenge because the animatic storyboard I came up with for it actually ran longer than 30 sec. I ended up having to gut the ER stuff just to fit in what I was able to at the end. I was under the initial assumption before we began production that the end was going to be very quick and not show as much of the actual shop, but things have a way of changing once the production begins, if you know what I mean.

I was just happy the client was able to pull of the doctor role. Usually those shoots don't go as well.

Thanks for checking it out and for your advice. I'm definitely interested in learning more about the art of video and reading your posts about what I could do to help make my production better is greatly appreciated.

I liked the color shift. It told me the operating room skit was done and we were back to reality... I loved your tight shots and camera work.

I agree that the meat of the ad should have been more prominent. You could start putting text on the screen as soon as you start showing mechanics instead of doctors. Get that phone number and the two locations out there. He should probably tell you where the two locations are in audio. Everything else is cool, but just fluff.

The only part that bugged me was the nurse moving around in frame at (16 seconds), minor thing. The rest I think was pretty well done. Even using the clients as the actors, I agree that usualy is horrid, they did okay.

Great job! The contact info is the only thing...definately needs to be on longer so people can know the address(es) or phone. Otherwise, great job!

Thanks for the compliments and the advice. Christopher and Daniel.

The client was in the commercial as the doctor. The male and female nurse was played by the director of our advertising department and our HR person at the company. Unfortunately I don't get to choose who's going to be in the spot. Lot's of politics.

On a side note, the voice of the male nurse is me.

For a laugh, I should post my animatic storyboard, complete with voice talent (HA HA) and music.

Sure, why not?

I like the concept of the ER a lot.
I think that the bright lights are OK since the car is in the ER and it's about to bite the dust.
One thing that caught my eye were the Totas reflecting off the doctor's eye glasses on one of the close ups.
The letterbox look appears a bit fake.
But all in all, I liked the commercal and felt it was pretty captivating.

What exactly do you mean by this? It's a little unclear to me anyway.

Originally Posted by Bernard Diaz
The letterbox look appears a bit fake.

What exactly do you mean by this? It's a little unclear to me anyway.

There was something about the letterbox when I wrote that comment but I wasn't quite sure what it was.
But, I guess on my LCD screen, the letterbox looks gray and not black.
I guess some people use gray letterboxes instead of black.
I could be my monitor though.

No, mine is gray as well.

I thought when you “letterbox” you apply a matting compared to a true 16x9 accurate pixel / display properties. So the letterboxing is not fake, but his 19x9 could be considered so. Anyone feel free to correct me if I understand this wrong.

Pretty good spot.

The lav on the doctor bugged me and I thought his acting was pretyt bad, but if he's the owner then I guess you can get away with that a bit.

But loved the concept and the shots looked good!