DVC18 Hewes Boat Commercial

[Clint Harmon]

A client of mine operates the largest boat retail shops in the area. He contacted me about this new boat he got and wanted something either for air or his website. I put this together with this contest in mind. I have submitted it here, to my client, and will submit it to Hewes Boats as well.

In light of this contest that involved us doing "real" video production work, I am off to do just that.

[Clint Harmon]

And one more thing, since I did not have credits:

written, produced, directed and filmed by
Clint Harmon

Music by
Digital Juice

[Bill Thesken]

Dang, it's too bad it's only 30 seconds long. I was just getting into the speed, and the water, and the sleek boat. The color seemed a little light on the water scenes, maybe cranking the contrast would bring out the blues. I liked the seconds ticking off in the beginning, and had to pause it to read the contact info. Great little commercial. Makes me want to check out that boat.

[Lorinda Norton]

This is a very polished, well done commercial, Clint. I want to agree with Bill that it's a little light, but you know your broadcast specs and your client's desires so I'm hesitant. If, however, you decided to deepen the colors a bit I would tweak the levels just slightly. In my editing program it can be done with levels or color curves--either way it brings out more color and reduces the highlights.

The only other point I would mention is the hard cut at :38. Earlier, as you plunge underwater the hard cut works with the plunge and the narration. Coming back out, especially after all the fade outs and ins, it seems a little jarring to me.

But I'm having to nitpick because it's just fine as is.

[Dick Mays]

I thought this compared very favorably to the local broadcast commercials i see on tv. Liked the rack focus on the guages. Liked the ending water wake going all white to the logo screen.
Is there some industry standard with the color bars and countdowm? Really gives it that "we know what we are doing" feel.

[Chris Barcellos]

Made me want to get a boat.... and thats what it is all about. Nice job Clint. So is that your boat, did you do this for spec, or is this an actual client ?

Edit: Oops, guess I should have reread your original post.... so let us know if it sells...

[Cole Seidl]

Very nice commercial. Looked closer to a national ad than a local one... which is great.

Not much I can say, as you were working to very specific specifications, and my guess is that you probably hit them all quite well.

If I had extra money to throw around, I'd buy this boat.

[Chris Swanberg]

The trouble of posting after others is that it sounds as if you are parroting their observations... so I'll just second them instead. This was a VERY polished piece, and a nice VO too, was that you?

The only things I might comment on was the 2nd underwater scene showing the draft seemed superflous and the water exit was as Lorinda noted a little jarring, and the time saved cutting that might have allowed a little "pull it all together" at the end. But those are very minor details and I think you have created what as Cole put it, looks like a National ad.

[Clint Harmon]

Originally Posted by Chris Swanberg

The trouble of posting after others is that it sounds as if you are parroting their observations... so I'll just second them instead. This was a VERY polished piece, and a nice VO too, was that you?

Really?! The VO actor annoys me to no end, hes always overly critical. Its a good thing the voice sounds different going out then actually listening to it.
In all seriousness, I have been told I have a good voice but when I listen to it I cannot believe them. I am not found of my own voice, just like everyone else I guess.

Originally Posted by Cole Seidl

Very nice commercial. Looked closer to a national ad than a local one... which is great.

Not much I can say, as you were working to very specific specifications, and my guess is that you probably hit them all quite well.

If I had extra money to throw around, I'd buy this boat.

Thank you for the comparison! Just being on par for a no budget shoot speaks volumes.

Originally Posted by Chris Barcellos

Made me want to get a boat.... and thats what it is all about. Nice job Clint. So is that your boat, did you do this for spec, or is this an actual client ?

Edit: Oops, guess I should have reread your original post.... so let us know if it sells...

You want the boat? Then I guess my job is done here. NEXT!

Originally Posted by Dick Mays

I thought this compared very favorably to the local broadcast commercials i see on tv. Liked the rack focus on the guages. Liked the ending water wake going all white to the logo screen.
Is there some industry standard with the color bars and countdowm? Really gives it that "we know what we are doing" feel.

Im glad you picked up on the reasoning behind the color bars and countdown. All details my friend. Did you notice how the water still subtly splashes over the logo? That was done with a fade to white, fading in of a digital juice swipe, and the composite shot itself. That only took me 2 hours but finishes off the commercial perfectly in my opinion.

Also, thanks for commenting on the rack focus. I just acquired my 7D and a lesson I have learned is not to OVER use a technique. I love the focusing and did that to nearly every part of the boat but decided it was best used in only one spot.