Like many times before, the call came from a production company out of town. They were coming to Florida to shoot a commercial in a few weeks and wanted to rent our RED ONE camera package. As usual they needed RED support with a DIT (Digital Imaging Technician) and a 1st AC (Assistant Cameraman) but the details about the job were unusually slim. They said it was a two day shoot at a stage in Orlando but couldn’t reveal any more. They completed the checklist of requested gear in the package, sent the deposit, an insurance certificate and that was the last I heard from them until I got the call sheet the evening before the shoot.
It was Sunday. I was at home. I opened the email and read it, but ironically nothing stood out to me. I saw it was a large crew, shooting at Full Sail Studios in Orlando and the call time was 8am. I printed it out, put it on the kitchen counter and headed off to load the RED and gear for the trip. When I got back my wife said “You’re shooting a Super Bowl spot? That’s great.” I said “What are you talking about?” It turns out I had read all the details of the job except the big bold title on the front page Tebow Super Bowl Commercial. Suddenly it appeared that the job was going to be more interesting than expected.
To benefit Creative Clay, an arts program for adults with developmental disabilities, this local TV spot was created to advertise FolkFest, held every Fall in downtown St. Petersburg. Featuring photos and video from previous years, this was a simple, in-house editing job. Even though this spot was inexpensive to produce, the results are perfect in capturing the folk art theme of the event.
The client wanted to stress the portability of their oxygen generator so shot the actors in everyday locales all around the Tampa Bay area, including Lowry Park Zoo. One of the specialties of this device is that it’s FAA approved. To demonstrate this unique quality, we obtained clearance to shoot inside Tampa International Airport.
This Florida regional TV spot is all special effects. It was shot on the cyc in our infinity wall green screen studio.
Though it appears that both of the on camera talents are on stage together they are actually independent layers made possible by shooting the footage in our studio. It was then composited together seamlessly. The hardest part was getting the novice pizza thrower to catch the “pizza” in frame. (It’s really a rubber practice pizza used for training.)
CMR Studios has been signed by Macken Products Inc. for the product launch of the GrillTamer, a newly patented gas grill accessory that eliminates food burning flare-ups. The St. Petersburg based electronic media production company will create two direct response television commercials and website video content for the device that controls grill temperature, eliminates overheating, reduces propane use and allows for better cooking. The new GrillTamer line of products also being featured includes “Grand Championship” award-winning Master Blend seasonings.
Summer Camp
This is a totally unique spot featuring photo cubes and a virtual St. Petersburg, Florida, skyline. It was used to help promote a creative option for summer vacation.
Some people think that politics is a game. Advertising this referendum issue for St. Pete Beach, Florida, took that issue literally. The board game was made for the commercial and was a recreation of Gulf Boulevard with toy block buildings similar to the actual street. Drama was added to visuals by using lighting effects on the prop as well as in our studio backdrop. Depth was accomplished by using macro settings on the camera. The angles and moves were made possible by mounting the camera on our jib.
United
A single message from several Pinellas County Florida official voices made morphing a useful creative approach for this spot. All spokespersons were shot in our studio with particular attention paid to positioning to facilitate the best morphing. The high quality of the special effect was achieved using Shake compositing.
It was Sunday. I was at home. I opened the email and read it, but ironically nothing stood out to me. I saw it was a large crew, shooting at Full Sail Studios in Orlando and the call time was 8am. I printed it out, put it on the kitchen counter and headed off to load the RED and gear for the trip. When I got back my wife said “You’re shooting a Super Bowl spot? That’s great.” I said “What are you talking about?” It turns out I had read all the details of the job except the big bold title on the front page Tebow Super Bowl Commercial. Suddenly it appeared that the job was going to be more interesting than expected.
CMR Studios has been signed by Macken Products Inc. for the product launch of the 
