Utopic’s comedy director, Al Wyatt, captured footage during a two-night shoot in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Both spots feature two Spartan Stores employees brainstorming about the best way to show their appreciation for their customers while improving their shopping experience. Although the initial ideas play like a comedy sketch, the employees ultimately deliver the spots’ intended message and introduce the Yes Rewards Program.
“The fact that Fairly Painless took advantage of Utopic’s full-service capabilities for this job was key to the success of the project,” said Wyatt. “Kat Pryor (Utopic editor) and I got together before we shot a single frame to ensure we had good coverage. We were fortunate to start with such smart, funny scripts, and work with tremendous comedy actors that delivered very genuine and funny performances. Working closely with Tim Hackney, the agency’s creative director and copywriter, we created the right tone for the spots quickly, which enabled us to make stop-on casting choices.”
Pryor edited the spots on Adobe Premiere. Her editing decisions were approved by the client without a change. “I had no shortage of options thanks to great writing, casting and coverage,” said Pryor.
Christopher Elliott, Utopic’s recently signed director of finishing, used Autodesk Smoke to color and finish both spots.
“Christopher did a great job finishing the spots and Brian Leitner added the perfect complement of sound effects to the mix,” added Pryor.
