Planning Blog

     Greetings! My team and I have officially reached the planning stage in our commercial filmmaking process. To understand each component and its purpose, I have divided up our plan into five different categories below.

Props:

One of the first things we needed to figure out was what our props were going to be so that we could convey our message as clearly as possible, whilst also remaining in a cost-effective and manageable range. Therefore, we decided we would need to have the following props: off-brand iced tea and one or two cans of Arizona Iced Tea. In addition, because we are not completely concrete on what direction we want our commercial to go in, a vending machine and cheerleader pom-poms can be added to our list of potential props. The most important thing to note about our props is that they are easy to acquire and readily available at our disposal, which means that we can save both time and money in filming our project, making for a very efficient process overall. 

Costumes:

With many commercials regarding soft drinks, it is clear that there is a recurring theme where some form of transformation occurs, which I highlighted in my previous post. Therefore, we think it would be best to have our actors begin by wearing colors like red and yellow, and perhaps have them switch clothes to lighter, cooler shades like light blue and light purple. On that note, we could also have our actors begin by wearing shorts to associate their state prior to drinking the tea with unbearable heat, and then have them wear long pants, such as jeans, and maybe even an outer jacket to show the shift to a crisper, colder feeling. Additionally, I think that having our actors' clothes look more wrinkly in the beginning and then changing into ironed, neater clothing, could further highlight this change. In the case that our planned set location changes, we would like for our actors to wear close-toed shoes to ensure that injuries are minimized and that we will have no issues regarding mobility whilst traveling between sets. Ideally, our actors should keep their hair out of their face with either a ponytail, bun, or brains to ensure that their faces are not obscured in any way so that our audience can clearly see the subjects' faces as they express any sort of emotion. 

Filming Schedule:

The following dates will outline our tasks and the days on which we plan to complete them.

On Friday, September 24, 2021, my group will begin storyboarding for our thirty-second commercial and will be done by Tuesday, September 28, 2021.

On Thursday, September 30, 2021, my group will begin filming and recording the shots we need to create our commercial if we have not begun to do so already.

On Wednesday, October 6, 2021, my group will begin editing, tweaking, and sprucing up our commercial to ensure that we submit our best work, and be completed by Friday, October 8, 2021.

Location List:

As we are still contemplating the contents of our commercial, our primary location will either be the baseball field bleachers or the vending machines behind our media center's stairs. If we choose to go with our first potential location, our actors would need to complain about the heat and look for something to cool them down. We would then have someone off-screen stick their hand into the frame and offer them an off-brand iced tea drink, which our actors would try, but ultimately dislike. After saying something along the line's of them still being thirsty, the same off-screen actor would return to hand them Arizona Iced Teas, which would change both the actors' attitudes, as well as their clothing to give off a more upbeat and energized feeling. That, in turn, will emphasize the refreshing property of the Arizona Iced Tea. Now, if we choose to go with our latter prospective location, we would have also had to have our commercial begin in either our school's senior patio or the path leading from the track field. In that case, we would begin by having our actors show just how hot they were, wiping the sweat from their brows and fanning themselves in an attempt to beat the heat. We would also introduce another off-brand iced tea drink, which is quickly shunned away. Of course, our actors would then look for a replacement in the form of an Arizona Iced Tea from our school's vending machine, which would ultimately quench their thirst and result in a transformation of their clothing to match the kind of Arizona Iced Tea they had grabbed. That will then show that there is an Arizona Iced Tea for everyone.

Backup Plan:

Considering that our commercial relies heavily on enunciating the feelings of heat and humidity to make our audience thirsty and leave them craving an Arizona Iced Tea by the end, the weather plays a major role in the success of our commercial. Since the weather in South Florida is so unpredictable (not living up to its name of being the "Sunshine State" whatsoever) we need to account for sudden changes in weather. To do so, we would need to check the weather forecasts as often as possible and account for any possible setbacks in advance by filming during study hall or a period when we are all available. Otherwise, we may need to receive permission to remain on campus a little later after school once the weather has cleared up to film any necessary shots. If that is not possible, we can use the time we have on weekends to make up for any lost class time. Moreover, in the case that any of our teammates are absent, or are quarantining due to COVID-19 exposure, we can simply brief another member of our team, and provide them with all the information they need to take over the unfilled position as our temporary camerawoman or one of our actresses. 

Concluding Remarks:

Moving forwards, our skills and gathered knowledge of film techniques will all be put to test as they are finally put to use through the creation of our commercial. I'm feeling quite enthusiastic to begin, but that's enough for today. So, as Jim Carrey would say, "Take care now, bye-bye then" (Ace Ventura 1994).