How and why I made the commercials?

It's been a tough time for everyone, let's hope the pandemic will end very soon so that everything can go back to normal. I believe there are lots of people just like me, being "locked up" at home and wondering what to do due to the lockdown. But as a filmmaker, nothing should stop us from creating. We can still create without going anywhere, all we need to do is look around (wherever you are) and think until we get inspired.

At first, I was thinking about what was I supposed to shoot when I could only stay at home. While many people may suggest making Vlogs, I'm afraid it isn't really my thing. Then, I came up with the idea of making commercials on my own after watching some Youtube videos. I've never done this before, so why don't I take this opportunity (free time) and test my potential? Since I'm just a student with limited resources, there's no way to create very professional videos. However, I'm glad I figured out some tips that might make my videos look nice.

How I set up the scene:

The main props I used for setting the scene are a table lamp, two black cover folders (glossy), some drawing papers, tape, scissors, and boxes.

(I turned my room into a mini studio)

(I made a Revive commercial)

To make the background black, I put the folders together as shown above. As for the white background, I made the drawing paper curved without folding it to avoid thick shadows of the object. The only equipment I used for shooting is Canon 80D with EF-S 18-135mm IS USM Lens and a tripod. Most of my footages were shot at 60fps, and I was able to do slow-motion in post-production.

Shooting process (in brief):

Good lighting is essential for shooting, and that becomes the biggest flaw in my videos. Both the object and background are not bright enough as my lighting equipment is inadequate. The table lamp is the only light I have, so I used it as the top light and covered it up with a plastic bag (I couldn't think of anything else to do it) to diffuse the light.

To make the object glow, first, it has to be reflectable. Next, I turned off all the lights and illuminated the object only with my cell phone flashlight. I moved the light from different directions, back and forth until I was satisfied. Besides, I tried shooting from multiple angles to achieve various effects. It would also give me more choices when I started editing.

Editing process (in brief):

First, I'll back up and categorize the footages just in case they went missing and I would be dead. My second step is to find royalty-free music that fits the style of my video. And the next step comes to video editing, my favorite and most used software is Final Cut Pro.

During editing, besides using my clips, I'll also find some usable materials online to improve my video quality. For instance, the first scene in the drink commercial I made (water splashing effect) was a green screen video on Youtube. After adding a keyer effect on it, it works perfectly and makes my video way cooler.

Here is another important tip to share with you: Add Sound Effects! A video without decent sound effects cannot be called perfect. Normally, people will keep watching bad videos with good sound design but will stop watching good videos with terrible sound design.

(I made a Mentos commercial)

All in all, nothing should stop us from creating. If you are or want to be a creator, no more waiting. Just create something with your creativity NOW! We can either write scripts, make films, learn something online, or write a blog. If I can do it, everybody can.

Thank you for reading my blog, may you be safe and healthy during this critical period. If you haven't watched my videos yet, you're welcome to check them out on my Youtube/Vimeo channel! Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about me.

Peace!