Festive Feasts TVC Campaign

Pre-Production

We as a team sat down and storyboarded the campaign; we structured the narrative so the product could be on display throughout the family BBQ, while also having a ‘guest’ arrive with the perfect gift, a Beef & Brew Jerky Co. hamper. Once approved, we set out looking for a location that could ground the piece in a quintessential Australian setting that feels accessible to audiences and one to aspire to when planning their holiday gatherings.

Within our network, we were fortunate enough to secure the location that’s layout included a BBQ area, a pool, and a grass area all within close proximity to one another. This allowed our shoot to be contained in a way that allowed us to capture all necessary scenes in an efficient manner.

We then sat down for a production meeting as a team to discuss the equipment required to pull off this campaign. Eric, our videographer, wanted to use this shoot as an opportunity to try out the Blackmagic Pyxis as it has some incredible innovations that could raise the bar in terms of cinematic quality.

Knowing that we really wanted to convey a large family gathering, we now needed to approach casting the family at the centre of the piece. Our first point of call was our casting platform on the Spicy Tiger website - this is an essential way we collect talent over the course of many months and then can reach out to those suitable when they apply. We also ran social media ads that publicised the casting call. Once we had enough submissions, we then presented the best options to the client to select the core cast.

The most challenging aspect of this process was the scenarios written involving children - while children running around a family BBQ is a key element (especially around the holidays), naturally, children don’t have access to the same social media that adult actors do, so we needed to approach those within our contacts that would have kids who would be keen to come to set and have a play! Thankfully we secured these cast members shortly before the shoot date, and with that… we were ready to roll.

Production

On the day of the shoot, we were faced with a heatwave. Given the entirety of the shoot was scheduled to be filmed on location, outdoors, we were able to navigate the brutal heat with regular breaks for our cast and utilising the shade on location wherever possible. The other way we combatted this was by scheduling the hero food shots of the product (cooking the Brätwurst sausages and steaks on the BBQ) at the coolest part of the day, in the morning, so we then could focus on the air-dried meat and the cast’s performances for the remainder of the day.

While filming the hero food shots, our camera was locked off on a tripod in order to highlight the detail on the product to our best ability. But once we moved on to our actors, we felt that a more organic, fluid feel was needed to give the essence of the true energy that comes along with a family get together. Our camera department switched from a tripod to a gimbal, giving the movement and vibe that could allow audiences to flow moment to moment along with our core cast.

During our pre-production meeting, we decided that it was easier to establish Christmas and then remove the set dressing, than needing to dedicate time to re-dress the set. This meant that, as each setup was shot twice (both for Christmas and Generic), we structured our shooting schedule to be Christmas themed scenes first, then we would move on to the next setup, while simultaneously re-dressing the previous set up for the generic set design.

We started working with all our adult actors with this in mind, moving from setup to setup, and then doubling back. We were able to get into a good rhythm as a crew and our actors understood their action clearly having performed it once prior. So then once it came time to re-shoot for the generic spot, we could move through it smoothly having essentially perfected it the first time round.

Once the children arrived to set, we needed to move quickly. Obviously there are limitations on how long you can use kids on a set at a time, and being a school day, their availability was limited further. But from the moment they arrived, we could concentrate fully on their performances and scenarios to maximise their attention and energy. They worked beautifully with our other cast, proving to be a true family unit on screen together.

Post-Production

Because we had prepared really well in pre-production, our edit was smooth. We had the storyboard to follow, and it was simply about deciding which assembly best showcased the product, while ensuring that we are marrying the mood and tone of the campaign with the audience's desire to make The Jerky Co. a staple in their family traditions.

The most difficult part of the post-production process would have to be the Voice Over. We wanted the festive joy to translate, and for viewers to see themselves in the world. So after finalising the VO script once we had the footage assembled, we took a few sessions to perfect the tone and delivery, but ultimately that time allowed both the footage and voice over to compliment one another nicely.

After some minor notes from the client regarding the proportions of product to narrative in the final spot, we landed on a piece that truly achieved the client's brief, and our intentions when taking on the brief.