Treatment Highlights
At FINCH, I developed treatments for TV commercials.
A treatment is a visual and written description of everything the Director wants to capture, show and create for a commercial, before it’s shot.
Treatments are written in descriptive prose and read like a story… I don’t want to waste your time with a lengthy example, but since I spent nearly a year writing stacks of them, here are some snippets to give you the gist:
KRAFT SINGLES
Outdoor balcony hallways. Broad brim hats with drawstrings. Names on shapes on classroom doors. Wooden benches. Slightly rusted monkey bars. These simple vignettes are intrinsic to the most basic memory of primary school, and I want them to be present in our spot for Kraft. The school shouldn’t draw attention to itself in any flashy way. Instead, I want it to evoke a familiar feeling for school kids and their parents alike. Simplicity is key - we want the cast to feel modern, but the school setting to feel timeless and traditional. I’d like to dress the kids in nice cotton pinafores, and shirts and shorts, and to avoid bold plastic playgrounds and furniture. Let’s incorporate blues and reds into the school uniforms to tie in with Kraft branding in a subtle way.
This spot has the makings of something iconic because it’s a beautiful showcase of primary school in Australia, and a comical poke at how far food has strayed from the classics to be trendy. The beauty of childhood is that it doesn’t change much generation to generation. It’s cool to think that four family members from four generations could watch this ad together and enjoy it, and I want to make sure that’s possible. Even with the introduction of new tech and new food trends, the pillars of being a kid stay pretty much bang on, so the spot should touch everyone. From the sounds of laughter and teachers’ whistles on the playground, to the echoes of tennis balls bouncing on the handball court, to the crumpling sounds of sandwich foil and cheese slice packaging as lunches are compared, the world we build around Kraft will make current and past school kids feel at home, and at ease, like they’re eating a slice of Kraft cheese.
UBER & QANTAS
We open on our traveller sitting in a leather chair at a polished wooden desk full of paperwork.
Following a quick glance at his office wall clock, he pulls his phone out of his pocket, swipes to
order his Uber ride. From the POV of someone sitting across from him, we see lines of frustration
only a long work day could be responsible for give way to a look of excited anticipation on his
face. As he presses ‘order now’, the whole set appears to move as he slides right through the
office doorway and suddenly he’s…
… sitting in the plush back seat of his Uber, nodding and amused at something his driver has
said. Lights sweep over the car and across our passenger’s pleasant expression as he gazes out
the window, and we get the sense that time is passing. The camera points straight at them, so
we get the driver with his hands on the steering wheel, and catch a couple of glances into his
rearview mirror as he chats to his passenger. From the POV of the windshield, we see our traveller
and the driver both lean forward at the same time, then back at the same time, as if the car
has halted to a stop. Our hero thanks his Uber driver with a sincere look and wave goodbye,
then slides out of the car and suddenly he’s…
…sitting in a plane seat, flipping through a magazine, relaxing, as an air hostess places a drink
on the tray in front of him.
COMMBANK SPEND TRACKER
One morning I was at my regular cafe, ordering my regular double shot 3 ¼ flat white with ½ a sugar. And upon payment I decided, for a laugh, to pay with cash. This completely freaked out the Italian born barista who had already prepped the eftpos machine with an overpriced $4.50 numeral, including tax.
“Mama Mia,” he said.
This was the moment I’d realised that cash had kind of become obsolete. These days it’s all digital. It’s all in the cloud. It’s all ones and zeros. As scary as that is, It also comes with some amazing benefits, thanks to CommBank. Here is an app that guides you through the quagmire of life and gives you all the right information so that you can make the right decision. Which in my book is usually, ‘quit the gym and order more food.’ So yeah, thanks for nailing that insight too.
These delightful gems show just how easily we can keep track of the ins and outs, conveniently categorised to see if it’s being spent wisely. It’s basically a digital accountant that only wants one thing. You, telling it what to do.