Dear Readers,
This weekend I tried my hand at directing with an impromptu commercial I wanted to enter in a contest. My script was last minute (and turned out to be completely useless because I couldn't make it fit my into timeframe) and my directing style consisted of, "ummm...just do what you do!". I did get a little better when it came to getting the shots I wanted, but I was so unprepared that I really didn't have any direction to give. And when I got home I had a story line that would not, no matter how hard I tried, fit the 15 second deadline that I had been give. So I had to edit the video into a entirely different plot, something that was not really difficult, but not fun because I had to cut out everyone's lines. The end result was a commercial that was nothing like it was supposed to be.
But the commercial is not that bad, something that was surprising to me at first because I thought for sure I wouldn't be able to make the footage work. However with clips that I hadn't really meant to get, extra footage that I would have gotten rid of later, I was able to pull together an okay commercial.
Basically, the mistakes I made while filming saved me from the mistake I made while writing. Because I had left-over film from moving the camera or waiting for someone to get in their places, I had enough film to make a 15 second commercial. It was a mistake, but it was a good mistake.
I wouldn't recommend doing this on a regular basis, but I think its important to remeber making a mistake doesn't always have to be bad.
Sincerely,
Elle
