Children aged three to five were chosen, one by one and carefully tested for their verbal skills and personal charm. The casting took two days and an interesting mix of performers was engaged. One curly haired three year old decided she didn’t like this “casting” thing and she wasn’t going to say a word to anyone no matter what. She didn’t, but the
director asked that she be included because in a cut of ten kids, a curly haired nod from an angel might spark a moment.
The director lay on his stomach in a pile of pillows. The camera, placed on rails behind him tracked left and right and was aimed just over his head so when the children responded to him they appeared to be speaking to the camera. A second camera on rails was ready and loaded for the moments when the first camera would run out of film. They shot for 2 days, a new child every fifteen minutes. Kodak stock spiked on day 2.
The agency and the client had agreed on what they wanted the children to say. The children came to the shoot without knowledge of what they were going to be asked, in order to be free of mother-rehearsed lines. The director asked the children to tell him with their own words what having a cold felt like and after they did their best with that he gave them the words the agency wanted to hear. The little lady who would not speak in casting heard the camera roll and immediately told the story of her life and a few too many and too private family stories. The editor cut three 15-second spots and one 30-second spot on Miss Curly all by herself.
When the editor made his choice of the moments that expressed the children’s feelings best, it was discovered that there was not a single scripted word included in the cut. The kids stole the show with new and unique ways to explain what a cold felt like.
The client marketers and the agency creatives didn’t get what they asked for but were courageous and recognized the communication value in the children’s inventive explanations.
The director was continually charmed by the children. He asked a little girl how old she was, she looked puzzled for a moment then raised her arm and popped first one finger, then another, then a third finger and explained that she was “Pwactithing to be fowah”. A slightly older performer looked distressed when asked what he was going to be when he grew up. With a look of disdain he answered “an adult”.
The director was complimented on the choice of children and asked how he made his choices. He explained that first he didn’t make the choices alone. The agency always had professional opinions and were right as many times as he. He explained that his own personal system was to check to see if the adult attending the child was clean. After that he checked the willingness of the child to make steady eye contact. How closely would the child approach the director when asked to do so? How large was the child’s territorial imperative? How did the parent treat the child? Once the director did not think the boy the agency wanted could do the job. The director pouted a little but did as he was asked. Bell Telephone’s agency in this instance was very right, the young man was able and consistent.
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Sometimes on the time-limited shoot day the exact expectations of a client or agency can not be realized because reality rears its ugly head and something has to be adjusted to use the time well. Most agencies have people who are experienced professionals who can accept a rational change. All directors have seen some who can not.
On a Trans Canada Telephone shoot, a child was prompted to cry by a supposedly accidental spill of ice cream onto her pretty dress. The resulting cry was so heart-breaking everyone immediately agreed to cheer her up and find another solution.
Three little girls were required to skip. The shorts of one child kept slipping – it made a much better shot when she jumped, jumped, yanked, jumped, jumped and yanked.
The cowboys and the group of wild horses were going to do a stampede. They waited while a cloud entered the valley on a shoot where sunshine was required. The cloud proceeded to the middle of the valley and came to a stop. It proceeded to gradually diminish in size until only a tiny piece covered the sun. The time for the shot had passed and no one thought to invent an alternative.
The men who were employed by Ford to do the preparation of cars for photography were their own bosses. The camera was placed, the crew was ready and the sun was setting. The car preparers chose to prep both sides of the car on a shot that showed only one side. In spite of the screaming director, they approved the car for shooting shortly after the sun had set.
A too frequent blunder on a commercial shoot is when someone asks the director to try the thing that just popped into their mind. Few understand they immediately lose the shot the director had planned because of his need to adhere to a strict time schedule.
The storyboard showed the lovers ambling through a light forest. The production company found the forest and completed the shoot. On their way back to St. Johns, they passed a huge grassy area. The cars screeched to a stop, everyone tumbled out and because of the previously undiscovered beauty of the location, they shot the entire commercial again. Back in Montreal, the client didn’t even notice and approved the spot without question.
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Bill Irish is a 40 year veteran of Canada’s Communication Industry.
