Pizza Commercial

[Damonstration]

I finally finished the commercial! Unfortunately the people I did it for did not want to tap into their creative juices. So it’s a pretty standard commercial. But I would really appreciate it if any of you would take a look at it and give me some constructive criticism. It’s my first professional job on my own, and I know it’s not perfect, and I want to know what would make it better. Also, thanks to all of you that gave suggestions and helped me out. I really appreciate it. Here is the URL for the commercial:

https://www.underearthstudios.com/cioffis.html

Thanks again!

[John Mastrogiacomo]

Hi,

You’re right – it is pretty average.

Start videotaping some of the national food commercials
(Pizza Hut, etc.) to see how they do things.

Try to duplicate some of the closeup shots they do.

Put some movement on the food shots (rotate the food, fly the camera
across the food, etc.)

Search the web for food styling sites (there are a lot of tricks there
for making food look good)

Go the the book store and buy some books on cooking. Some of these books
have great pictures that can give you great ideas on how to style your
food.

Get a professional narrator.

Good luck on your next spot!

[Damonstration]

Hey thanks a lot for your input! Food styling is a good idea I didn’t even think of. I wanted a professional narrator, but the restaurant did not have the funds for a narrator and I don’t even have a decent mic 🙁 But thanks again!

[Leo Ticheli]

For a first attempt, it’s not bad.

You did do a lot of things that could have been done much better, but rather than give specific advice, which I feel is probably obvious to you anyway, let me give you something I think is more important when approaching any project.

Create consistent with the resources you have!

Just an example:

No professional voice-over? Don’t use one; go for music and let the pictures tell the story! Use text where you must. I think your script is unnecessarily wordy anyway; sounds like it was dictated by a client who wanted to make every point they could think of!

Words need white space too! It’s very difficult to sell more than one idea in a spot. Don’t be afraid to ruthlessly cut copy!

You chose one of the most difficult situations to shoot; not just food, which is hard enough, but pizza, which is very specialized with those dramatic “cheese melt strings” shots.

I’m not advising you to lower your sights, but to simplify.

Congratulations on your efforts; I think you’re on the right track.

Good shooting!

Leo

[Damonstration]

Hey,

Cool man, thanks for the advice! You’re absolutely right about the client trying to make every point possible. I never really thought about simpler being better. In this case anyway. You’re right, the spot is very busy and a little quick. Thanks I’ll remember this for next time!