A Commercial for D’Addario
I led a three-person art department providing production design, set decoration, and props for an on-location campaign. Partnering with the in-house marketing team at D'Addario, the world’s largest manufacturer of guitar strings, we executed a three-day shoot that brought four distinct customer stories to life.
See how D’Addario used created assets:
Takeaways
Contrary to what you might assume, working on commercials, as opposed to films, can be a really positive experience. Because the projects are sponsored by a brand, money doesn’t feel quite as tight, and you are able to practice your craft with more room for error. In addition, on-set collaboration goes more smoothly because everyone isn’t so emotionally invested in the particulars of the story. This project underscored for me the importance of the designer as a visualizer. During pre-production, collecting ideas and putting them into a visual form for the whole team to reference proved to be invaluable on the day. Above all, I enjoyed the camaraderie; when a location canceled at the last minute, we were able to pivot and make it work without issue.
Story 01: “Local Indie Band”
Story 01 featured an up-and-coming band winning over the crowd at a neighborhood venue. Filmed at a nearby dive bar, the scene required us to procure a smoke machine and completely transform the stage using a custom lighting plan and black curtains. We also created a small bar topped with shelves from my kitchen cabinets.
Story 02: “Pedal Head”
Story 02 featured a musician swapping out pedals on his pedalboard. When our original location canceled at the last minute, we quickly pivoted and transformed a vacant office floor into a convincing living room set. We sourced and styled all of the set dressing, including the furniture, speakers, rugs, records, and plants.
When we arrived at the location, it turned out the planned apartment was being rented out for shoots illegally, and we were promptly kicked out of the building by security guards. Thank God I’m not a producer, because an expensive disaster like that would have ended me! Fortunately, we were able to pivot to an empty floor in the client’s building. It actually turned out much better visually than the fancy apartment we had originally rented giving the space a more grounded, authentic "loft" feel.
We commissioned the record storage/pedal display case from a local wood working studio with slight adjustments to an existing design they had.
Screenshots from the social video that was created.
Story 03: “Country Singer”
Story 03 followed a country musician who briefly loses his pick on stage. To establish the right atmosphere, we sourced and styled the practical lighting, a vintage microphone, and all the table dressing.
Story 04: “Social Media Star”
Story 04 featured a young musician streaming her first live performance. To build out the set, we transformed a local bedroom into a teenage girl's room, styling the space with purple bedding, a neon lamp, posters, and custom-made trinkets.
