Paula Wilson
Pharma
INTRO
The things women have to put up with these days. You finally find something that works for your skin and then what? You’re tied to a burning stake for the audacity to feel and look good? Typical Monday.
As a female filmmaker, I am no stranger to adversity, and pushback, and well, the experience of having to stand my ground, so the core of this spot really resonates with me. Have I also been tied to a stake because I have absolutely beautiful, radiant skin? Of course! That’s feminism 101.
This is a commercial spot, and while it is selling something medical, it doesn’t have to feel clinical. Treatments that can improve the quality of peoples’ lives shouldn’t be presented as a fearful procedure, but rather something approachable that can change your whole life. Looking at AviClear’s results with humor allows the new technology to become so much more accessible to people whose lives it can cause a substantial and positive change in. A new relationship with your skin in three quick, 30-minute sessions? Witchcraft indeed. Teenage me would absolutely be clamoring for a spot on that stake.
Food & Beverage
MUSIC AND SOUND DESIGN
The suggestion of BBNO$’ Edamame is a great way to understand the tone of this spot. In presentation, this spot can come across as ultra-cool and uber-serious–looking like it’s in Oscar competition–but then a cue like this ensures it’s still super fun and approachable. As the stakes build–who’s going to come in next? Will it be enough? --the music will build too–until we cut it for the breathless moment that the bartender decides that our friends have passed the test, and up until it comes back in full force for them having a sweet toast and throwing back the last drops–a well-deserved reward.
Sound is so important to stakes and momentum in a script, and keeping the music in a meld with the sounds of scraping, anticipatory boots that approach the bar, the distant ring of the bell, or the light sounds of the sign flipping, are how to keep tensions high, elevating the spot further as the audience—like the hopeful imbibers—hold their breath to see what will happen. The sound design should almost work as part of the score - ducking and weaving with the needle drop to become one big orchestral experience.
Comedy
STORY WALK-THROUGH AND PUNCH UP
In the gas station parking lot, a bird flies over and poos. It lands perfectly between our hero and his car, missing both. Our guy nods smugly, what a perfect day.
GAS PUMP VO: And would you look at that! The universe is rewarding you! Not today, nature. You vengeful goddess. You can’t get my guy!
GAS PUMP VO ALT: You’re firing at 100 today my guy, go bet on a horse! Or just buy it, you got the cash!
The guy smiles and head nods like there’s a song with a sexy beat playing in his head, and he’s feeling good about himself. He winks at the pump. (ALT: he bashfully waves “Stop it!” at the pump) We hear the click as the pump finishes and he hangs it up. We pull out to see joggers have slowed down to watch him blow on the nozzle like a cooling gun.
GAS PUMP VO: Take the win with Top Tier gas for less at ARCO.
ALT BUTTON: Inside the car the guy is feeling himself like Mariah Carey. Maybe he mounts a fresh pair of dice on his rearview mirror as wind...from...where? blows through his locks. Through his back window a jogger gets pooped on by the seagull.
SUPER: ARCO. TOP TIER GAS FOR LESS.
ALT GAS PUMP VO BUTTON: I think that gull is sick!
ALT BUTTON: A passing man gets pooped on by a seagull in BG as the hero car pulls out of the ARCO lot.
ALT BUTTON: A jogger gets chased by a seagull as the hero car pulls out of the ARCO
Fashion
LOOK AND FEEL
We want our aesthetic to be beautiful–stunning, really, like catching dust particles floating in a late afternoon sunbeam peeking in through a sheer window dressing—but in a less one-dimensional way than a lot of Christmas adverts. We want our world to be captivating but offer a slightly more character-driven approach than its competitors or previous commercials. This means adding texture and a tangible feel to every department—aka making it seem like anything and everything in the world can be interacted with in a real way—objects and humans alike!
Nothing should be so shellacked that you can’t see the real people and stories coming through. And while we will be approaching this story in a more intimate way, it will still obviously retain a slight heightening and toning of reality that audiences have come to expect from elevated campaigns. It will also have huge energetic and cinematic moments when a boundary is set by a character—taking us into momentary bursts of stylized impact. This is an aesthetic and area I feel comfortable in finding with all elements in our production because of my time building out stylized worlds in my music video and commercial work, and simultaneously building out nuanced performances in my narrative work.
Comedy
CAMERA LANGUAGE
My style involves a naturalistic approach that is still tethered to a more conventional cinematic world—the latter allows for a very immediate drop into comedy scenes. Adding in dolly to our coverage gives it that immediate cinematic feel, where a lot of the humor comes from snapping back from reaction shots in singles to comedic wides.
Cross-shooting singles creates a colossal reaction shot library. This, with shooting our wides mainly on dolly, builds out our movement language, and create a dynamic scene with a lot of efficiency.
Sneaking in a couple camera specials adds to our dynamic coverage—like psychologically motivated framing for specific moments. For example—a cinematic high angle for our Dan, comedically implies a momentary power shift (at least in his mind), when he’s calling Eugene out on mail fraud. These kinds of choices allow for heightened but simple visual humor and do wonders to create a spot that’s cinematic and snappy, despite relatively simple and time-efficient set ups for the majority of the coverage.
Sports/
Doc-Style
WORKING WITH NON-ACTORS
With infectious energy and gleeful exhaustion, our cast exude readiness, determination, and self-confidence.
Having worked with people from all walks of life, from athletes to music artists, to models, to people with no modelling experience (ranging from your shy uncle to people without housing), I believe I’m very well equipped to direct the cast and bring out the best out of them.
My directing style is rooted in authenticity, capturing the essence of individuals by letting their true personality shine. I begin by embracing their natural aura and working collaboratively to amplify liveliness in expression and body language—their ease comes across in the final project. Mindful of each person's energy, I cultivate an environment of respect and appreciation, ensuring a genuine and comfortable experience throughout the creative process.
About Paula
Paula is a stand-up comedian, script supervisor, and commercial treatment and punch-up writer with roots in the Canadian Prairies. Starting in script supervision, she has years of pre-production and on-set experience that informs the specificity of her writing and connection with directors. She credits her muses Parker Posey, Maya Erskine, and Sideshow Bob with making her weird in a good way.