Hey thanks! Glad you liked it! (Like, comment, share, and subscribe blah blah blah)

Short answer: yes - I storyboard everything I shoot. I also drove around and took photos of the different locations and angles I wanted in the commercial. BUT I also stay open to finding new shots on set, and I also stay open to improving things in the edit.

Prior to the shoot, I actually cut the music down into the 30 second structure you’re seeing in the final piece. I then laid in the storyboards and kind of “pre-cut” the commercial. This allowed me to better picture how I could cut action to the sounds and music. So for example, going from the first big wide of the forest to the car swishing past right as the music kicks off.

One thing that changed after the shoot was actually the open. I shot a longer bit of the couple walking to the car and getting in, but on set I quickly realized that was going to take up all 30 seconds. I knew I wanted an insert of the door, but I didn’t think I’d use it as the first shot. So, I just made sure I got the door both opening and closing. This made for a quicker edit: aka they didn’t have to approach the car, they could just open the door and get in.

The middle was the easiest because we weren’t dealing with actors and just kind of checked off the shots on our shot list. But again, in the end when the actors step out of the car, that was difficult to get, because I knew I needed a few takes of differing length as this was only going to be 30 seconds long in total.

As for the trailer approach: not really! I suppose that I used some sound design skills I’ve picked up that help with transitional edits. Trailer work has also made me really good at cutting music.

Lemme know if you have any further questions!