DIRECTOR/DP REID BANGERT RELATES

I’ve never bought a new car. Maybe it’s the practical side of me or the economical side, probably both. I’ve only dreamed of walking into a dealership and leaving cocooned in that new car smell. I bought a new-to-me car last winter with the intention of selling my old one ASAP. A month went by, then two months, then six … I was dragging my feet. What was holding me back? It wasn’t the memories and road trips made with that 2005 Jeep. It wasn’t that I didn’t know how to take pictures of the thing. Honestly, it was the thought of the strange personalities, the potential buyers, that come out of the woodwork when selling a car on Craigslist or Ebay. I’ve had my fair share of cars and equal share of selling experiences. I once sold a car to a guy who paid me in 20 dollar bills - 250 of them - without even taking it for a test drive. Another guy came down from Chicago to look at my 1991 Jag only to have him berate me for 30 minutes about how much of a rust bucket it was - it had no rust, but according to him rust was relative. Back to the Jeep, it finally sold to a woman buying it for her teenage son. She knocked me down in price more than I’d like, but at the end of the day it was the perfect car for her son and my suffering was over.

THE GOAL

How do you make a 1996 Ford Taurus feel like you’re sliding into the driver’s seat for the first time? You make a great commercial for it. One with tones and images that create new car feel. One which compensates for the lack of new car smell. Slick and smooth, turning once irrelevant features into exciting objects of desire.

Have you ever stopped to thinkabout how Luxurious herringbone

seat belt webbing actually is?

THE APPROACH OPTIONS

The next few pages contain three options for bringing the visuals to life. Depending on the direction the creatives pursue, the visuals will adjust to complement the NAPA campaign. Option one is true to life, options two and three are exaggerations of stylized new car commercials. We can bring the NAPA campaign to life in any of these environments.

OPTION 1: REAL LIFE, PRACTICAL LOCATIONS

Option 1 uses the best of real life practical locations. Be it the person who is selling a car from their split-level home, the corner gas station, or that overgrown patch of grass next to the diner. This approach provides a natural setting capable of producing dynamic imagery. What’s it like cruising around the neighborhood in this sweet old beaut? We’ll show you from every angle, even from above. Silky smooth camera moves will highlight features thought to be mundane.

Reflectiverear view mirror?

You bet.

OPTION 2: ONLY AT NIGHT

There is something alluring about the night which would create an absurdly sexy portrait of each used car. Think Matthew McConaughey for Lincoln meets Drive. First you hear the purr of a well-used 4-cylinder engine as the camera creeps closer to a figure masked by darkness. What is that beautiful beast lurking in the abandoned parking lot? Why it’s a banana yellow Pontiac Sunfire, and it’s for sale. Sure, you discover that it needs a little TLC to regain that once former glory.

With NAPA’s help you know you’ll look Great in this Sick ride.

OPTION 3: CONTROLLED STUDIO

Our last option is chock full of that fantastic new car zing. A gleaming studio space where nothing is left to the imagination, just the pizazz directly in front of you. It’s simplistic composition will focus all the attention on the copy, the car, and it’s amazing features. Post-production will have an important task of layering in the bells and whistles.

Hip jazzy-pop, dings , whirrs,Exasporating oohs and ahhs.

Reflective rearview mirror.

Single pull door handle: standard.

Easy select climate controls.

Luxurious herringbone pattern seat belts.

SMART FEATURES

THE LOOK

Camera & Lenses - For primary image capture we will use a 5K workflow utilizing a Red Epic cinema camera. This process allows us to “up-chain” the image resolution to deliver the maximum possible quality at 1080p and is our primary workflow. This, coupled with Zeiss Cinema prime lenses will allow us to garner an uncompromised image that can be easily manipulated during post-production.

Lighting - Working closely to communicate vision with our grip and electric departments is a critical component to our overall success. We want the lighting to be slick and soft while retaining a lightweight setup - allowing us the flexibility to move from location to location, car to car, and be efficient on the shoot days. Our main lighting themes will include drama and allure through the use of big key sources and minimal fill to supplement and control the sun or moon, or lack thereof.

Camera Movement - The most important aspect of achieving the new car commercial feel is camera movement. Through the use of a dolly system, camera drone, and robust camera stabilization equipment we’ll capture images that are both modern and cinematic. This calculated approach will let the creative shine and allow us to produce dynamic, crisp, and smooth images. We will use camera movement as a storytelling tool to create suspense, excitement, and flow - not just movement for the sake of movement.

STILLS

For still photography, we use a Pentax 645z medium format digital camera. This allows for a raw, high resolution workflow we can use to match the moving images we capture. The end result is consistency and integration between the stills and video imagery. Our photographer will piggy-back off of the motion team to maximize our time and accomplish work within the same environment.

Color - Proper color management can take moving images from normal to superior. We envision a 1970’s color palette with modern sharpness and highlights. Think Gregory Crewdson. Throughout the entire filmmaking and photographic process, our team is heavily involved in creating, maintaining, and communicating the look to preserve the original creative intent.

SOUND DESIGN

Sound design will be an important complementary component. Natural environmental sounds will compose a base layer while practical and foley sounds will build with the action of each scene. This will create a soundtrack rich in texture while within the context and relevance of each scene.

BUDGET

(See separate document)