If you want to know how we produced over 60+ deliverables for client WA529 in just 2 shoot days, buckle in and read on.
Client WA529 and the Washington Student Achievement Council wanted to produce a library of powerful video content that highlighted the aspirations of parents and their children, and how saving for higher education is something everyone can do.
To make this happen, we followed our time tested process to meet both their strategic and creative requirements, starting with the creative phase.
Creative
Moment Films
Writer
Chris Donaldson
Storyboard
Julien Scherliss
Director
Julien Scherliss
DP
Chris Koser
Producer
Chris Donaldson
VFX
Liam Bateman
1: CREATIVE PHASE
George Bernard Shaw said it best: The hardest part about communication is the illusion it has occurred.
#truth
So for every project, we spend a lot of time just listening. This starts with a bunch of phone calls, then moves on to answering a questionnaire that helps define the ‘why’ behind the project. This may seem like a small thing, but this is where the magic begins to happen.
In the case of WA529, we started to understand that these spots had to be about more than saving money. They had to be about building a future for the ones we love.
From this, we developed the creative brief. We like to get quite granular with our briefs, exploring things like campaign success metrics, CTA’s, creative ideas, even music choices to help establish tone. This document becomes the cornerstone of everything moving forward.
This is also when we start to dig in on how we can maximize each shoot day to create as much content as possible. By taking a smart approach at the outset, we can create what is needed to build frequency and reach - and move the needle for a better campaign.
It’s only then, after we’ve really listened and exchanged ideas with you, that we start to script. For this project, we ultimately presented 5 concepts to a focus group commissioned by WA529. And ‘Grady Turns 1’ was born.
The challenge? Now we had to turn all these deliverables into reality…
WA529 Deliverables
Sample Script
Our tagline ‘Don’t borrow your children’s future, build it.’ is now the cornerstone of all of WA529’s marketing efforts.
Sample Schedule
Building a Pre-Vis to assure Proper Timing
2. PRE-PRODUCTION
“Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.” – Abraham Lincoln
There’s no substitute for proper planning. With every project, there’s a thousand and one things that need to be scheduled, cast, booked and built. But remember, you don’t project manage this one, we do.
For the WA529 project, there were definitely a few challenges - the first - working with a baby. As much as this is an unknown variable in life it’s ten times so in filmmaking, fortunately by reaching out to our talent network and with a little luck, we were able to find Paxtin McGann (cute as a button). Then the biggest stroke of luck was being able to cast his entire family in the spots (local Seattle actors Kelsi Umeko, Curt McGann, and grandparents) plus use their house - which made Paxtin feel much more at ease.
Meanwhile our cinematographer Chris Koser was putting together a shot list, our production designer Mel Cooper put together look-books and mood boards, and we assembled our crew.
3. PRODUCTION
Ahhh, working with babies. There was one scene we were shooting that we thought would be a snap, of our little hero Paxtin eating a birthday cake with his hands. Little did we know, Paxtin is a gourmand at heart, and he wanted nothing to do with ruining a perfectly good cake. So we had to be patient, do a small rethinking and rewrite of the scene, then roll the cameras.
That’s the truth about production: no matter how much planning you put into it, life intervenes. But if you know that at the outset, you can find the serendipity in those moments, often better than anything we could’ve written in the first place. Paxtin’s approach, and his grabbing of a sprinkle and offering it to his Mom, was one of those moments.
By building that time into the schedule and by following our pre-production plan, we were able to shoot exactly what we needed to make all our 60+ deliverables possible over 2 shoot days.
4. POST PRODUCTION
Because everything was scheduled and everyone knew the plan, we were able to work closely with the WA529 marketing team to get things done and reviewed on time. There’s a funny saying in the business, fix it in post. Which basically means letting the editor deal with it. The real answer is to fix it in prep. If everyone knows what is happening and when, you can build the runway for a successful flight.
Check for yourself how closely we were able to match the commercials with our initial vision.
Take a look and listen to some of the other deliverables, which includes shorter social pieces, radio and banner ads to drive people back to the campaign.
TV and Social examples:
Radio Samples:
Web Banners:
The result? Here’s what the client had to say:
WA529 is proud to have worked the talented team at moment.film to produce our newest (and best, we might say) creative campaign for TV, radio and digital.