There is a desperate need for more organisation in the advertising industry. It all starts with both us and the brand we are working with being aligned on the creative and production process so that both teams can set realistic deadlines that respect each others’ time and resources. This is something that is within our control, as opposed to the actual experience on set which is truly a control freak’s nightmare (a key reason why production is not for me).

No matter how organised you are when planning a shoot, you can bet your life savings that something will go wrong. The production team has had to deal with last-minute updates about sets not being ready, crew members missing in action, on-the-spot demands from clients, set-building blunders and more. It’s definitely not an easy job, and I have a lot of respect for the team that brings our creative products to life. 

Our new additions to the creative team spent a day at the shoot to see what it was like. Here’s what our Creative Associate, Kokila Srivastava, had to say about her experience:

Initially the plan was to attend a meeting we had that day, then go to the warehouse where the prep for the shoot was going on, spend some time there and come back. I hadn’t expected that we (my two teammates and I) will end spending sixteen hours at the shoot. As soon as we entered, our CEO, who is also the director of the film that was being shot, took us through all the sets (yes, the production crew prepared twelve sets for this one content piece). This was the first time I was witnessing something happening at such a big scale. The energy of the crew was overwhelming. It seemed as if almost everyone was in a hurry.

We got some small jobs to do which, I would say, was hardly a contribution. The shoot started at seven in the evening. We were very excited and gathered around the viewing monitor to see how it’s actually done. It takes multiple attempts to get the perfect shot. Yes, it is pretty much like the fun BTS videos we see on the internet, but there is another side to it that is never shown. No matter how prepared you are for a shoot, you can’t stop certain things from going wrong. In fact, you should save up some of your energy for the “surprises”. We had only completed shooting the first sequence (out of sixteen), and my hunt for a chair had already begun. I obviously didn’t want to complain since the energy of the crew hadn’t dropped by even a bit. Considering it was my first time at a shoot, I wasn’t given much work. So, I was trying to observe as much as I could. My legs weren’t being kind to me at all, probably because I wasn’t being kind to them. So when I couldn’t find a spare chair, I just sat on the floor while both our directors (our CEO and Creative Head) stood strong, literally and figuratively. A shoot means long hours of standing and running and speaking loudly. All of this and no sleep! My first experience, I would say, was a mix of “Oh my God! All of this is so cool, I’ve got the best job” and “I can’t! I can’t! I can’t! What wrong did I do to deserve this?”

I would definitely do it again though.

The film is not released yet, but I will let you know when it is live. To me, the most apparent change from when we conceptualised the idea to the final product was a 70% increase in the amount of text in the film, which was inserted by Xiaomi. I’m very curious to know how audiences respond to the film, so when it is released, be sure to leave a comment below it!

See you next week!