Meet the Client
We wanted to create a fun and interesting energy drink commercial for a brand that we thought the design looked great on the can and A SHOC is a caffeine energy drink that comes from plants. This commercial was shot for fun to challenge our video production team and to stretch their knowledge in the industry.
Our video production team at Digital Attic was challenged to make an entire video advertisement about a product within 8 hours while also removing the ability to do any advanced editing such as masking, video overlays, and composting. The video above documents the challenges they faced and how they were able to pull off this difficult and near impossible shoot.
Challenges
Some parts of this project were significantly more difficult than others. One of the biggest hurdles we had to tackle was having to be able to do this entire project in 8 hours. Normally, projects like this are given weeks to film and edit. So we had to heavily rely on our 48 years of combined video experience. In addition, limiting ourselves to film everything in-camera was a challenge. We were not allowed to use any compositing, digitally added elements and overlays, and no masking (cutting out parts of the image). The only thing we were allowed to add later was the logo on-screen.
Gear We Used
Our tools ranged from cameras to lighting, dry ice, clamps, and even fake ice. The camera we chose to use was the Canon R5c as it allows us to record in 4K resolution at 120 frames per second. This allowed us to have a wide range of flexibility in editing to punch in or rotate the image since we were limited in editing. We used two Aperture Nova p300 LED lights that allowed us to change to any color we wanted. This was great for lighting the background and in other cases, the product itself.
The Intro Shot
The first impression is extremely important in video. You need to grab the viewer’s attention in the first 3 seconds, especially if this video is going to be posted on social media. We thought a great way to introduce the product was with a reveal shot with the can on ice with cold fog hovering over the can. This had to be a beauty shot. So we focused the first hour and a half of our total eight hours on this first 3-second impression. We lit the ice with the main color of the can from inside an upside-down fish tank. This gave a great result.
The Result
After the work had been completed on the first shot, we were not even able to go over the result on set due to the large chunk of time we had already used up. We had to move on but the final 3-second cut looked spot on to what we imagined it would be.
The Lightning Shots
Because we could not do any compositing, masking, or overlays, we had to film everything practically in camera. This was both a challenge but also a huge help for our time limit. The difficulty was having enough light for the camera to see but not taking away the effects the TV in the background was creating with the bounced light from the mirror onto the front of the energy drink. Once this entire shot was set up, however, the rest of the process was fast which let us catch up on some lost time.
The Result
We loved how the result came out of the lightning from the TV in the background was reflected from the mirrors onto the front of the can, helping immerse the can even more into the environment and creating a more realistic result than if using visual effects in editing. Since we were allowed to make basic scale, position, and rotation edits, we adjusted these parameters accordingly in editing to help make the shots even more dynamic and eye-catching.
The Final Hero Shots
We knew that these last shots will be the last thing viewers will remember about a brand. So we had to make sure they stood out while still keeping it simple. To add an extra element, we used dry ice in front of the can to help present the “cold” look and sprayed the can with water droplets to help accentuate this feeling. It was just a case of dropping the dry ice on top of the product and then in post, reversing the shot so it acts more like a reveal at the end.
The Result
When we keyframed the position of the drink to move toward the left of the screen and then start the next shot in a similar spot to where the previous shot ended, we keyframed the position of the last shot to move to the left to help that transition feel more natural while revealing the logo at the same time. This helped everything flow nicely and leave the product with the logo on the screen at the end. Overall, this was a fantastic result and we had so much fun creating this energy drink advertisement.
Here at Digital Attic, this is what we live for. Help our clients create a relationship with new customers and help deepen existing friendships. We thrive on finding new strategies to market ideas and we’re all about using video to promote our client’s brand because it’s essential for growth and for getting heard by a larger audience.
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