The Creative Process
One day, after a powwow with the MegaPhone director of marketing, the suits tell the creative director that the client wants to air a thirty-second TV spot. Now, you can't just go off willy-nilly and dream up a TV spot. It has to be built on a strong foundation. So, the first thing the two camps at the agency do is get together and hammer out two important documents that will provide the basis for the advertising and the guidelines for its execution. They are a strategy statement, which lays...
Punch Lines
DOCTOR I've got good news and bad news. First the bad.You've got two months to live. PATIENT Gulp What's the good news DOCTOR I just saved a bundle on my car insurance with InsuraCo. Oh my. This old chestnut of a joke with the punch line cleaned up and turned into a product endorsement was actually used as the basis for a recent commercial in a loan company's campaign. It's here to illustrate that, no matter how lame the joke, it still needs to be treated with the reverence any comic piece...
Congratulations You Got the Part
Sweet You've booked a job. All of your hard work is about to be paid off with one of the coolest, most fascinating, difficult, nerve-wracking, fun experiences you could ever have. The best advice I can pass along from working actors is to get a good night's sleep. The day starts early and goes on forever. Every commercial shoot takes on a life of its own, so I'm not going to take up much space here attempting to describe all the nuances. Besides, this is a book about auditioning, and hopefully...