We are grateful for the opportunity to produce this fun and thoughtful ad campaign for Sevierville. We see it as the perfect union of our talents. As experts in storytelling, humor, and visual effects we are confident we can bring your vision to life.
Our experience creating the city of Sevierville campaign last year gave us great insight into the community and what makes it a special, perfect place for a vacation.
We curated the work shared in this presentation to show how our previous experiences relate to this project. It's important to us to show the real product in this creative, so our approach to production includes shooting everything on-location in Sevierville. We will use as much local crew as possible, stay in local hotels, and dine in the great restaurants in Sevierville.
Our philosophy is simple: Simplicity, efficiency. and service. We streamline our workflow and costs to deliver on time, on budget, and beyond expectations.
Humor in Advertising Principles
The concepts you’ve developed are a lot of fun and filled with potential. It’s difficult to keep viewers interested with straightforward, traditional tourism ads. The comedic moments in this spot will disarm and engage the viewers. We simply need to follow 3 key principles: Timing, Structure, and Clarity.
Timing:
When it comes to humor, comic timing is everything. Each gag needs room to breathe.
For example, when the woman is walking through the city, we need a few seconds to establish her situation and mood.
Next, viewers need time to absorb the gag. This will allow the audience to understand the unusual transformation. Switching to the next vignette too quickly will not allow the “punchline” to land.
Structure:
In order to hit the right timing for each scene, we want every gag to have the same presentation structure: Set-up, Switch, and Reaction.
The paperwork-to-pancakes office worker is a great example.
Clarity:
Regardless of the element of Sevierville showcased in each scene, the clearer it’s demonstrated in the scene, the better. We do this by having each gag be very simple. An office worker, paperwork, and pancakes. A woman. A city. Sevierville landscape. Fewer elements mean greater clarity. This makes each switch as easy to absorb as possible.
VISUAL EFFECTS Approach
Our approach to visual effects will be a mix of on-location shooting accented with compositing and key CG elements. We will build upon practical Sevierville locations, adding buildings to create a non-descript city environment as well as a particle system for the sidewalk to trail transition. This will enable us to have maximum control of the Smoky Mountain reflection on the glass of the architecture as well as the amount of dirt and dust that is revealed in the transition shot.
Other techniques will include repeated camera moves and perspectives to reinforce the daydream transformation of the cast from their everyday lives to their Smoky Mountain destination. Example: When we establish the pancake man at his desk we will see him in that same framing later at the diner. We will arrange the Pictionary women in the same layout and angle from the living room to the boutique shop. The mom that stands up and shouts "shopping in the Smokies!" is now in the same position, holding up a colorful dress that the others are reacting to.
Our VFX approach will not add to the footprint of the on-location production. The heavy lifting will happen in post-production.
