Producing a Lifestyle Commercial
A Case Study On a Recent Pharmaceutical and Health Care advertising Spot
There's a real trend happening in commercial advertising. I won't delineate between TV Ads and Web Content because for video production companies and producers, both mediums require an immense amount of time, talent and creative energy. But regardless of medium, the movement is palpable and recognizable and looks like this:
An emotive music track, with perhaps an indie-folk or pulsating dance melody, sets the editing rhythym. The narrative story is told sparingly, through either a minimalist voiceover, simple text on screen, or perhaps only through music. And the visuals are gorgeously realistic. If the commercial is set outdoors, there are sun flares galore. Every shot uses an element of the sun's glorious backlight. The subjects are moving, moving always moving. If the ads involve indoor scenes, the lighting is single-source, doesn't "pop" off the screen, and in more and more cases, still uses sun flares created artificially by lights shining through windows. By bringing the outdoors into every shot, even those inside, the style created has been dubbed "Lifestyle."
If this were a movement in painting, I suppose you might want to label it "Neo-Realism", if real meant you're always living your life in sun flares. And one phrase might describe the feeling emoted by this style: Happy Lifestyle. Much like the direction filming for Cinema has taken for quite some time, shooting subjects in more naturalistic settings has become an effective new norm in producing TV commercials for advertising. This Case Study will discuss the reasons Lifestyle scenic advertising has become so prevelant.
^^^^^Modify above for new direction
Lifestyle Footage Tips:
- Location matters
- Time of Day and Weather
- Prop Stylist
- Wardrobe
- Acting Performances
“If this were a movement in painting, I suppose you might want to label it “Neo-Realism”, if real meant you’re always living your life in sun flares.”
Shot in beautiful 4K, 2:1 aspect ratio using Sony Cameras and Angeniuex & Cooke Lens systems.
Client - University of Notre Dame
Production Company: Explore Media
Director: Jeremy Pinckert
Cinematographer: Jamieson Mulholland
Assistant Director / Producer: Quinn Wilson
Gaffer: Mark Barry
Assistant Camera: Allen Lee
Wardrobe/Makeup: Bethza Semanario
Grips: Ben Gershman, Ryan Kolegas
Location Audio: Dana Mroczek
Composer: Devin Delaney
Editor: Michael Schmalzried
Sound Design: Stosh Tuszynski
Color Correction: Kelly Armstrong
