30°C? Holiday? No! Time to Film a Commercial

Monday 14th June was a big day for The Film Yard as we crammed two commercial shoots into a single, very hot day.

One of the shoots was for GiftTagg, a startup aiming to elevate the experience of handwritten notes to the modern age.

After securing a flat with an extensive terrace for filming, we spent the week leading up to the shoot preparing everything. Scripts were written, actors hired and props ordered.

We worked closely with the owners of the startup to select all the particulars, focussing on how we could best emphasise the product.

GiftTagg is a service, not just a product. They provide a platform for customers to create bespoke video messages to the recipient of a gift, using a QR code and online hosting. Instead of being restricted to character limits or tiny scraps of card, GiftTagg enables you to get your heartfelt message to the people you want.

It was important for the client that we were able to show the personal and genuine nature of the service, and so we planned our shoot around creating atmosphere and displaying reactions to the service. This involved planning and scripting for whole scene filming, as well as close-ups of actors, and the service itself in action - requiring filming phone screens in sunny 30 degree heat!

Our second shoot was for exciting new start-up VINK Card, a UK and Norwegian company poised to revolutionise business cards. Did you know that 80% of all business cards printed each year (that's 8 billion cards!) are thrown away within a week? VINK wants to change that, with contactless cards that put your information straight onto your new contact's phone. Safe, secure, and reliable.

Here you can see one of our actors, Georgie McGuigan and DOP Jonas getting into the swing of things!

We had to work quickly in order to ensure the light during each part was similar. We also only had our actors for the day, so time was of the essence.

After loading up on pastries and coffee, we managed to get through all the commercials for GiftTagg and VINK before lunch. Success!

A huge thank you to everyone for working together to bring ideas into reality.