Here we sit wondering when this thing will get going and where are the free Doritos?
The auditorium is about quarter full. And here we go…
Some announcements, Cincy Ad Club, April 2nd meeting about the Digital Confernence.
Next Cincy State ADCLUB meeting Monday, April 13th @ 4:30 in ATLC room 427.
Now, Joe and Dave Herbert. 2 of 5 brothers competing as they grew up. Made a short film in a bar, and were looking for a big (short) project.
Showing some video entries they made over the years to Heinz and Doritos.
First commercials they made were in the top 8 the first year they entered.
How they made the commercials. They wanted to learn something and the first year they shot 10 different commercials with 10 different crews on 10 different concepts/jokes. Shot two spots entered this year on film with a budget of $2k each (film and food). They suggest contacting the area film commission as a resource. Friends worked for free. Lighting was a challenge to them, but they got experts to help out as DP and with things like make-up. Take care of your crew… what comes around goes around.
Shooting the Heinz commercial in the basement during the blizzard last year. It was shot on a blue screen which was made with bright blue paint from Wal-Mart. 14 inches of snow and borrowed the neighbors kids for the shoot. Things that could have gone wrong did. And the budget was only $500.
They have creative brains, but not a lot of experience. Kind of made up with a lot of preparation. And that pays off. The two ideas for this year were thought of a couple of years ago. 30 seconds is not a lot of time. 11 to 15 cuts is about all that can fit. Did a lot of research of prior 8 years of winners. They wanted a quick laugh with two ‘hits’ designed for the ad meter. First half/hit had to set up the second half/hit. Cast and crew of 31 people for both commercials. Shot at the YMCA. Cost $2k. The snow globe hitting the vending machine was actually a duct tape wrapped botchy ball. The commercial hitting the boss in the crotch was a styrofoam ball wrapped with duct tape. A friend did post 3d animation.
Voting period was three weeks, and you could vote once a day. They ran a political campaign to get votes for three weeks with ebay, Facebook, etc. Marketed the heck out of it. Mailing list with daily reminders because one family member forgot to vote the last time. Invite your friends to be reminded to vote with behind the scenes facts and hints.
They really did not have a good feeling. They were really kind of pissed off because they thought they lost. They were kind of set up by Doritos. In the fourth quarter, they were in the corner talking to the big wigs and they didn’t know they had the number one spot. And then their phones started ringing about getting the play by play for the top spot from his wife. Joe’s wife had told them the last week they had no shot.
They just invented a trivia board game for idiots and smart people where you don’t need to know the answers to win. Online: www.triviathon.com
Gave the 31 crew about $100k split between all of them.
Went to LA with a script.
Q&A
After giving out $100k to crew and taxes, they’re using the million dollars to launch their careers.
Q: How do you go from 30 seconds to movies?
A: With a foot in the door through the commercial, they’re meeting the right people. But they’re looking ahead. They have a plan. 2 scripts in the can. They pursued this and were ready. Don’t want to be locked into doing just comedy, that’s part of the plan. Want to write and direct, both.
Q: How do you plan to get into other genres (besides comedies).
A: The comedy will be a stepping stone. Or a cross-over comedy/drama. Industry doesn’t want to take risks. Again with the plan. The fact that they wrote some script has helped a lot. They can walk into a lot of meetings because of the pre-planning / scripts.
Q: Was your post Super Bowl publicity self-generated?
A: No, Doritos PR took care of a lot of it starting out. It was kind of scary initially. People can find their homes and addresses.
Q: As brothers, how do you handle being creative.
A: Like always, they prepare. They take care of disagreements before the set. Or they try both ways. It’s always off set. Referenced the old Seinfeld axiom of ‘if two people are a team, each only has to be half a man.’ They can be in two places at the same time and cooperate.
Q: What was Jay Leno like.
A: Really cool. Came back to their dressing room before show. Jay gave them watches. Really good guy. Unusual for Hollywood.
Q: Homecoming
A: Mayor gave them key to the city, distinguished citizen award, parade. A lot of things people didn’t have to do. That makes it special when they didn’t have to do it.
Q: Margin of victory?
A: Don’t know, weren’t told.
Q: Is the Hollywood culture disruptive?
A: Not sure if they want to move the families. Two other brothers out their now. One is an animator for the Simpsons. Location shoots away from Los Angeles, as opposed to now things are shot all over. Travel to LA every now and then for meetings and shoot elsewhere. Preproduction can be done anywhere.
Q: Any more commercials / Doritos?
A: Kind of hinted at by Doritos. They’ve partnered with a producer in Indy and a rep in NY to bring work to them. Hope they’re too busy to do contests 
But Doritos is positive about them. Commercials are a great way to break into the industry.
Q: Do you get ownership?
A: Doritos has all the rights. Purchased for the $25. The actors get residuals, though.
Q: Have ad agencies approached you?
A: Agency in NY did about the board game. They’ve been approached, but they want to control more of the process. Agencies do it in house, so no incentive for the agency.
Q: Go back to school?
A: At this point, experience better than school. The library is cool. They discovered after graduation. Got into film making to get out of doing papers in English in school. People want to see their reel. Not necessarily their diplomas (Econ major). Training was never an issue. What are your plans
Note: Heinz contest did not depend on comedy. And it’s a piece for their reel. Recommend to enter as many as possible to build reel. The perception is they got lucky over night. But the old saying that it takes ten years to become an overnight success. Take the next step.
Q: Did Doritos give you any consumer research?
A: No, but they went out and did their own. Read the small print / rules.Understand the rules and scoured the Doritos web site. 40% originality, 30% creativity, etc. were part of the initial judging by Doritos, but America voted on the top commercials.
Q: Comparisons to others?
A: Yes, the Cohen brothers, but they’ve never been on another set. But they’re the first Herbert Brothers.
Q: Inspiration to write a thriller?
A: Wrote what they liked and interested in. Batted around ideas and come up with original ideas. Did think about budget, but not excessively. Started a sports inpirational story, interesting stories.
Thanks! And we’re done.
