TV in a junior book has to be really, really, really, really good. Otherwise the reaction will be, "Why'd you do that?"
Production quality is always going to be low. The picture's always going to be terrible – no matter what kind of camera you're able to get your hands on. There's just no comparing a $100,000 production (that’s a small one) with something you and a couple of friends did. So the idea has to rock.
I've seen a few TV spots in junior books. Only one has left an impression. It was all in the delivery. It just made me laugh. But it was accompanied by a B+ book, so we didn't hire him. Don't start working on a reel until you have an A book. (Not an A- book. The difference is huge.)
I can see TV becoming more and more common, just as a matter of competition. Some portfolio schools have the time and money to let their students dabble in it. But I think most agencies won't start looking for TV from juniors for many more years. Maybe in a decade it will become standard. And even then, if it’s going to be worth anything, it’s going to be about the idea.
Thursday, November 1, 2007
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I second all of that. We hire a professional director, professional actors, director of photography, editor, sound engineer, colorist, etc. Creative directors are used to seeing spots with that level of finish. You and your friends can not achieve that. The best student TV spots I've seen have been animated. And those were just okay.
ReplyDeleteIt's like the question of whether you should include an ad you did at an internship, just because it was produced. If the level of work isn't up to par with everything else in your book, leave it out.
What about a storyboard in your book?
ReplyDeleteTV is about emotion. It's about performance. Yes, you need to have a concept, but there's much more to it. Even when you explain a tv spot to someone, you act it out, gesture, add emphasis. You bring it to life. Storyboards are lifeless.
ReplyDeleteThink about looking through the annuals. How often do you read through the TV spots? And when you do, and you see a script and storyboard for a spot you haven't seen before (and thus can't picture in your mind as you read through it), it usually comes across as pretty lifeless.
Sorry, but that's how your storyboard's going to come across in your book. It's just the nature of it. I'm not saying no, I'm just saying probably not. In my years of looking at student books, I can't remember one storyboard that's made me think "Wow. Nice."
Bukes,
ReplyDeleteLike everything, it depends on the idea.
I've seen one or two storyboards in student books, but nothing that's ever impressed me.
I suppose it it were a part of a larger campaign, if the print, online, outdoor, etc. were all very smart and well-presented, a storyboard would kind of say, "This idea has legs. And if I had money to produce it, this would have been a great addition to the campaign."
Would you then say, that no matter if one has web or tv or viral, that one should always have strong print support or else the concept will most likely come across as flat?
ReplyDeletestackingchairs,
ReplyDeleteA strong print book is the price of admission. Viral, web, guerilla, all that stuff is important. But unless you have a rocking print book, a creative director's not going to consider you.
That's not to say all web/TV/viral/whatever else in your book has to be accompanied by print. But with every assignment you get (as a student or professional) if you don't at least explore how it might look as a poster or a small space newspaper ad, you're missing an opportunity.