Behind the scenes of a Honda spot

Not all EPKs or Behind the Scenes videos are done for films. They are also done by corporations to highlight a new ad campaign or to present an inside look at the making of a unique spot.

I found one blog article by Brad Schwarzenbach titled, “A Making-Of Video that Doesn’t Quite Make It” about the making of the behind the scenes of the Honda spot “Let it Shine” for the Insight Hybrid. Which brings to mind a quote from Samuel Smiles, a Scottish author who said “We learn wisdom from failure much more than from success.”

I found this article interesting because it described how even a well planned behind the scenes can miss the target audience. This is even more important when doing a film for a brand than for a film. Mr. Schwarzenbach states “It’s the right idea but a terrible execution. It doesn’t try to engage the Vimeo audience and focuses too much on marketing lingo.” This BTS should take a page out of the filmmakers’ handbook. The key to the story is to get the viewer involved. Show the drama, the humor, the unguarded look into the subject’s real personality. The blog goes on to state, “Outtakes! That’s what people want to see: people acting like people….Was there some friction on the set? Did things not work as planned? These are the questions an effective behind-the-scenes video answers.”

As opposed to most behind the scenes produced for film, when producing EPKs for corporate clients, there is always an attempt to market, to influence, to motivate the viewer to act. But there are different ways to present the material depending on the venue. The Honda video did convey a good message, but may have chosen the wrong channel from which to deliver it.

I started with one quote, so to end with another. “Do not learn from your mistakes, learn from the mistakes of others so that you do not make any.” Sean Karsten

I worked as the EPK producer, camera and editor on “The Christian Fury”, a short zombie film earlier this month. This was the 3rd film where the character of the Christian Fury appeared in a Buckley Brothers Production. Even though it was a low budget film, they shot with the RED digital cinema camera. After talking with the director, we decided to take a non-traditional interview style. Instead of sitting down with the cast and crew under controlled circumstances, I hooked up a shotgun mic on the JVC GY-HM100U and caught them between shots. I discovered that they were a more relaxed on camera. Here’s a clip from the behind the scenes doc with the director, Vincent Buckley and the 1st AD, Justin Lothrop.