Product Shot

For our product shot, Paradox Productions chose to work on Red Rock Deli’s Glazed Mix. This 15-second TV commercial was intended to consist of consecutive ingredient shots that would lead up to the final hero shot. In this hero shot, we would showcase our product, adorned and decorated with the food items that it consists of. Final Hero Shot

After considering various products such as a bottle of Belvedere Vodka, an Omega Watch and many others, we settled on the Glazed Mix by Red Rock Deli – a simple and delectable treat that anyone can enjoy. This meant that we could widen our target audience to people of all ages. We also chose this product so that we would have a chance to experiment with certain types of shots with simple food ingredients.

We drew some references from a video done by a group of film students from Temasek Polytechnic, Singapore for an assorted nuts street seller. They made use of very interesting and captivating movements despite having to deal with extremely simple food props.

Target Audience and Distribution

As the product we chose is versatile and can be enjoyed by a variety of people, we would say that our target audience ranges from ages 10 to 50. Arguably, the range could be even wider. However, because we have chosen Instagram as our main distribution platform, we had to consider which age group would be savvy in navigation through said application.

As our TVC only lasts for 15 seconds, we felt that Instagram would be the best social media platform for us to broadcast it on. The short attention span of the users on the app would fit well with how short and straightforward the commercial is. Additionally, short clips are much more successful in garnering likes and shares, potentially allowing the video to go viral with just the click of a button.

However, that being said, the fact that the TVC would only last for 15 seconds meant that we had to shoot interesting and captivating shots that would be memorable to the viewing audience. To heighten the chances of the video gaining a following, we also had to make sure we designed our Instagram feed to be current, concise and unique in its own way.

On our Instagram page, we made sure to share snippets of our production process as well as teasers to slowly ease our viewers into receiving our end-product. By keeping them in the loop at all stages, we are forming a relationship with our viewers that hopefully results in them remembering the content we flush out.

Copyright Issues As we would be publicising our content, we also had to ensure that none of the elements used in the TVC would have copyright issues. Other than the brand name of the product itself, which in this case we took as a pseudo-client, we sourced for royalty-free music that could be used and published free-of-charge. We obtained our final track, Cool Struttin’, from Purple Planet and according to their terms and conditions, they are happy to let us use their track as long as we credit them in the description when it goes up on social media.

Preconceived Notions Having worked on a few TVC sets before, I knew that we were going to have a relatively tough time when it came to production design and lighting. Being able to have a very clear vision in the beginning would have allowed us to be much more well-prepared with props, backgrounds, lighting and colour moods, framing and composition etc. I was also pretty doubtful that we could complete the shoot in 3 hours max. I believed that we would need much more especially when it came to lighting and composition. It was good we had a storyboard prepared. However, we did not have the right food props to match up to the shots we had planned and that would definitely prove to be troublesome later on. A KFC shoot that I worked on in Singapore, albeit in the production welfare department, taught me that a whole load of things go into carrying out a product shot. We worked about 19 hours for a 15-second ad. KFC Goldspice Ad (Nov, 2018)

Here are some screen grabs from the ad that I would like to describe in terms of production value and planning.

To achieve this shot, although only 1 bucket of chicken is shown in frame, we had a total of 30 boxes of 20 drumsticks each. As the production assistant, I had to collect this order from a KFC outlet on the day itself so that they'd be fresh for the shoot. There were many other buckets that barely made the shot but had to be prepared anyway These food props also had to be purchased and prepared on the day itself. Throughout the filming of this segment, the composition of the shot was constantly changed for variations requested by the director. Lighting was also amended by the Gaffer/Grip team as positions of the items were being shifted. Here, I was not on inside the studio or might have been on a food run. However, if I remember correctly, the room needed to be blacked out for exaggerated lighting on the main product - the KFC Goldspice Chicken Drumstick.

Here, because they were working with a talent (Colonel Sanders), the HMU and wardrobe team were on standby the entire duration of the filming of this shot for last looks and touch ups before each roll. This was the closing graphic using the bucket shot that was shot on the same set. It took really long to get the perfect shot and plenty of safeties were taken. Honestly, I stopped keeping track once we started going overtime.

Despite pointing out how relentless the needs of this shoot was, it is very normal for a TVC, at least by Singapore's standards. The unpredictability of certain limitations on set or finding out on the spot that things do not work can come as a scare and appear to 'disrupt' the shoot but it's a lot about finding alternatives and solutions to feed the vision. Therefore, I feel that if the vision is settled, and strong, that is the very thing you can always fall back upon. For Paradox Production's product shot, I figured that we would have challenges with lighting and composition primarily. Doing the test shoot for our hero shot definitely helped us to take note of our blindspots in carrying out a product shoot. It was really interesting playing with different lighting set-ups to see what each result was. Test Hero Shot

In planning to light our product in the test shoot, we took reference from last trimester's Beechworth Honey lighting plan. We used multiple top-cover diffusers to spread our main light source over the product set-up.

First, we laid out a base and background for our product and supporting props. Next, we framed the shot and locked off the tripod. We then proceeded to light the product, trying out a few different set-ups before settling on using Beechworth Honey's method. Although we did not execute it properly and with the right equipment, we saw that this method gave us the best outcome and decided that this was something we wanted to improve on during the actual shoot. TVC References Other than the video sequence done by some of my friends, mentioned in the earlier part of this blog, we did a lot of research on Red Rock Deli's existing ads and marketing in order to adapt to a certain style that would make sense for the brand.

In these ads, especially the first and third, there was a lot of focus on designing slow motion shots with the key ingredients used in the product. Another thing that these ads made use of was high-fidelity sound design - ingredients roasting over fire, the drips of oil, the crunching of the crisps. Artistic Choices To complement the nature of the product which is that it is 'comfort food' that should feel familiar to the audience, we decided to give the Ad an overarching warm-coloured/earthy-toned mood. The product should feel like home to the viewers, welcoming them with open arms. This colour palette was decided not only based on the purpose of the product but the general colour scheme of its packaging and contents as well. This would be achieved through production design, lighting and colour grading. All three elements had to be be planned and executed to complement each other.

For production design, we made use of food props that were the raw ingredients of the product. Due to late planning however, we did not mange to obtain all of the ingredients accurately. We substituted fresh cranberries with raspberries and honey for maple syrup. This resulted in limitations and corners being cut in being able to present the product as best as possible. Other than the food items, we used a walnut-finished wooden plank as our surface and bamboo blinds as our background. Additionally, because we could not source a honey stick in time, we used a small wooden teaspoon. Admittedly, this hindered the production as yet another limitation. Technical Aspects - Camera

In choosing a lens for the hero shot of our product, we had to settle on one of the wider lenses - the Zeiss CP.3 35mm in particular. As the built of the final hero shot is to capture the entire production designed environment, with the product standing out, a wider lens would allow us to capture the landscape of the shot - both foreground and background - in focus. Of course, as we wanted the background to be slightly defocused, we moved it further away from where the camera was positioned. The foreground, however, could sit at a focal distance from the camera where the product and its design elements could be in focus. If we were to pick a narrower lens, for example an 85mm, we would face the issue of the product and its design elements being inconsistently in and out of focus. This is due to the much shallower depth of field of the lens. On the other hand, if we settled for a wider lens like a 14mm for instance, we would have to source a much bigger background because it would have to be moved even further from the camera to achieve a defocus effect on it. This is due to the much deeper depth of field of the lens. We did not have a larger background at hand. Additionally, the camera would have to be brought closer to the foreground, limiting the space we would have for lighting set-up. Ultimately, on the 35mm, it was pointed out that the product had expressed the most presence compared to on the other lenses and therefore, we decided to roll with it. Below is an example showing how the Dior bottle manages to stand out more in the 35mm shot as compared to the 50mm shot. 35mm 50mm

The Zeiss CP.3 lens that we used with the ARRI Amira offered a t2.1 to t22 range of t-stops. We kept the t-stop between t4 to t5.6 to maintain everything on the foreground plane in focus but allow for the right amount of background depth, which was also determined by how far the background was placed from the camera. For our in-camera settings, we shot in UHD 4K (3840x2160) to allow for reframing in post without a drop in resolution as well as to achieve a high quality product shot. The colour space we settled on was Apple ProRes 422 which shoots a wide enough range of colour information on the Amira. This was so we could push the colours in our grading process. Also for colour grading purposes, we shot in LogC low contrast and went on to light our shots with a Rec 709 (LCC) monitor output. We would later use this specific LUT in grading. We kept our ISO to the Amira's native 800ISO and used 1-stop ND filter to balance out brightness of the 1.8kW HMI light. Adding on, because of the dominant HMI light, our white balance should have been set for daylight settings at 5600K. We made a mistake, however, for the first few shots as we left it at 3200K which we would normally use if tungsten lights were the dominant lights. This caused a blue tint on some of our footage that we later had to counter in grading.

The ZEISS CP.3 35 mm has a minimum focal distance of 30cm and minimum working distance of 18cm therefore it was suitable to use for the hero shot but not for the other more detailed shots that required us to get much closer to the subject in frame.

camera set-up outcome

We made use of the Laowa Venus Optics 24mm f/14 Probe Lens with the ARRI PL mount. Said lens has a minimum focal distance of 4.7cm and a minimum working distance of 2cm which means the object can be a minimum of 2cm away from the lens and still be in focus. This allowed us to get extremely close to our other ingredient shots.

camera set-up outcome

As the probe lens was a wide 24mm one, we had to avoid having too much of the background in shot as it might have resulted in obvious distortion. Also, as it was a macro lens, it was extremely sensitive to movement. We had to be extremely careful with our dolly-in and panning shots. Despite our caution, there was still observable shake in our shots that we had to stabilise later on in post-production. Additionally, because the probe lens had a fixed t-stop of f/14, it meant that the aperture was really small and our shots would require much stronger lighting. We were also advised to avoid shooting in higher fps for a slow motion effect because that would require even stronger light sources than we had on hand.

Technical Aspects - Lighting Test Hero Shot Lighting Setup

In lighting our Test Hero Shot, we made use of the tungsten ARRI 650 as our key light source. We rigged a lastolite diffuser above our whole product setup to soften the ARRI light as well as to achieve an even lighting over the product and props. A dedo LED on the dimmest and coolest level was used as a backlight to separate the background from our product and props. We used a tungsten 150w dedolight as a fill light to light our smaller props in the front. We used a diffuser on this light to avoid hard shadows being cast. Lastolite Diffuser rigged up

This is the turnout of the Test Hero Shot, with minimal colour grading.

Final Hero Shot Lighting Setup

In lighting our Final Hero Shot, we maintained the general framework of how we worked in the test shoot but Nick Paton guided us to give much more attention to detail. The 1.8kW HMI was our key light source. A china silk was rigged above the product setup to diffuse and evenly spread the HMI light. A tungsten ARRI 750 was used on camera-right as a fill light and it was further directed onto just the product setup with the use of a cutter to prevent it from spilling towards the camera as well as with a reflector to bounce it towards the product setup. A tungsten 150w dedolight was used to light the product setup from the back and it was directed towards a pool of almonds that were sitting on the left of the product. Those particular props were not lit well with the lights on camera-right and needed a little bit more attention. To further focus the light and give highlights to certain props in the setup, 3 polyboards, roughly A4-sized were rigged around the product setup on camera-left. An Aputure 300 was used to light the background. A cutter was used to isolate it from the product setup.

Setting up HMI Setting up China Silk China Silk rigged

View from Monitor Polyboards on Camera-left Finalised Setup

This is the turnout of the Final Hero Shot, with colour grading.

All technicalities aside, the reason we settled on the lighting described above for out final hero shot was to support the image of Red Rock Deli's Glazed Mix. The aim was to create a warm and welcoming environment around the product to reel in viewers to buy the product for its comforting qualities. By choosing the right props, albeit our failure to get more desirable ones, lighting them with a warm and earthy mood and by finally colour grading the shots to put more focus on the product and present it in the best light possible, that is how we arrived at out final hero shot. Ways to Improve Throughout this process, we received feedback in pre-production, production and post-production. Looking back, there are many things we could have improved on but having made these mistakes means that we can learn from them and improve on future productions. Something we could have done better is strengthening our vision in the very beginning. Once you have a strong vision, it allows for the planning to be smoother and make more sense because it all leads back to the vision. Next, through our pre-production planning, we failed to get strong and accurate enough food props to represent the ingredients and by extension, the product. We substituted cranberries with raspberries and honey with maple syrup. This caused a mismatch with the product and cut back on the authenticity of the TV commercial. Due to last-minute moves, we also used a wooden teaspoon instead of a honey stick. We could have majorly improved the turnout had we taken these factors in consideration. Something else we could have improved on is the production design of the product setup. Although, in my opinion, the hero shot looks visually appealing, I think it could have been better arranged to make the product seem "fuller". Now, looking back at the final hero shot, the composition appears a little sparse and perhaps if we had gotten better props, we could have avoided that outcome. In post-production, we could have make more artistic decisions and churned out many more versions to present to our pseudo-client. The TV commercial seems very linear and cohesive but I think there is potential to make it more challenging and enticing to the viewers. This leads back to the initial vision that was planned. Had it been stronger, the succeeding steps would have been more paved to lead us to a finer end-product. Generally, if the team came together much earlier in the process and had managed our time better, the blind spots mentioned could have possibly been avoidable. That being said, I appreciate and respect our process as well as the mistakes we made as it is now a wake-up call for us in future projects. Client-based Productions Working with a pseudo-client for this project allowed us to see how much a TV commercial production differs from other projects such as short films and documentaries. The expectations for this project were very much in favour of the client's preference on how the product was presented. The reputation of the brand is everything in TV commercials. In short films and documentaries, however, at least for student production-types, the priority is the story and its message to the audience. Something else that was different in this process was managing relations and communication with the client. Having to always fall back on making the client happy and empowering them through the process may seem taxing and tiring but at the end of the day, that is what keeps the momentum and motivation for the project. Being able to communicate your ideas to the client by dropping subtle hints, be it in discussions or in the edit itself, is a good skill and it's been very interesting exercising it through this project.

The very thing that can really help you get through a client-based project is being able to understand the brand you are presenting through the TV commercial. Everything leads back to the brand and its vision. If you are able to have a clear and concise comprehension of that, the rest of the process makes so much more sense and instead of battling the client, you are both on the same page, set out to make the best TV commercial for the product as seen possible. Deadlines are something that is extremely important whether you are doing a TV commercial, short film, documentary or any other film project that has a timeline. Perhaps it may appear that deadlines are more strict with a client. However, I think that the same discipline should apply for any other production. Meeting Client's Expectations

Throughout this project, I think that we had relatively good back-and-forth communication with our client. Any doubts that we had were brought up and any changes that the client desired were always acknowledged and improved upon to the best of our abilities. The only thing that caused a dent in meeting the client's expectations, which was mentioned a few times in this blog, was the failure to do our due diligence in the planning and pre-production of this project.

This is truly something worth learning from and making sure not to make the same mistakes in the future no matter what sort of production we are involved in. Respecting the craft and the process should not only come up when dealing with a client. It should be present in any film production to get the best and most meaningful result possible. Here is our fully edited and coloured product shot:

- Vin