James Patterson’s The Red Book gives a new meaning to an old saying for can’t-miss reads!
Here at ECG we take comedy very seriously. This commercial was created as the first in a proposed series of commercials, all featuring people who were unable to put down their favorite James Patterson novel (The Red Book) in spite of their real-life responsibilities.
For The Red Book commercial, we were tasked with finding a barber-shop that would allow us to shoot there for just a few hours on a Sunday morning. We were able to kill two birds with one stone by reaching out to an actor/barber we know who works at American Haircuts in Roswell, GA.
With our location and distracted-barber cast, we were once again lucky to find an actor willing to let us shave their head on-camera. “I needed a haircut anyways” he said nonchalantly after we filmed a closeup of his head getting shaved.
Trey Gregory, our director of photography shot this commercial with the RED Digital Cinema Monstro 8k camera and the Angenieux EZ-1 and EZ-2 Cinema Lenses. This helped him render the deep, dark wood in the shop and really highlight the barber shop’s classic look and feel.
Our director, Collin Ingram, knew that the final shot of the spot was the key to the whole thing coming together. So we captured multiple versions of this shot with multiple different deliveries to give us some leeway in post-production.
One of the more satisfying parts of creating this project was sitting in the editing suite with Cameron Shaw, and auditioning all the different ending shots, to determine which one hit the best. The end result, as you can see, hits just right.
With the creation of any comedy video, it’s important to work with a director who not only understands the inherent humor in the script, but who also understands the post-production process. A director who knows how to edit will be thinking of the edit while on-set. This can lead to some on-set decisions, like getting extra takes of the end shot that can make or break your video. It’s no laughing matter to get a comedic commercial just right.
If you are looking for an experienced team of video comedians, then you’ve come to the right place. Our creative team will help you get the laughs you want!
