So how can you accomplish that when your “talent” has no acting training?  Here’s some simple advice that I received from one of my college professors:  ”Acting is about Action”.    Give your “actors” a physical task.  Something that they know how to do.  This action takes them out of the realm of pretending to do something and places them into a real situation in which they have to perform a do-able task.

I’ve used this simple technique numerous times and I’ve always been pleased with the results.  So the next time that you’re tasked with making a non-actor look good on camera, give them an action.

This kidorable spot is an example of the above technique in action.  In this example, I was able to get a nice performance from preschool age children.  (Be patient - it takes a couple of seconds to load on your browser.)

Look… you don’t have enough time or enough of their attention span to say too much. Yes- I know that your business is wonderful and it can do all kinds of amazing things for all kinds of people, but you don’t have to say it all in your first spot.

Dig a little… ask yourself these 5 simple questions:
1. Who do I want to attract?, 2. What is it that I do?, 3. Why should someone use my service versus the guy down the street?, 4. What area of my business do I want to strengthen?, and 5. What’s the strongest part of my business?

Answering those questions honestly will help you to determine your theme or position which you can then use to develop your idea.

Start with the “What if?” premise in relation to your idea. (What if my grandma’s toilet exploded- who would fix it?). Just remember that your business, service, or product has to be the hero otherwise the message is lost.

Their website is a little goofy, so you’ll have to actually use their home tab button to see the video (even though I’m linking you to their home page). The video should appear on the upper right-hand side of their home page… they could also have a data restriction limiting the amount of times the video can be played.

Franklin Christmas from Kurt Baringer on Vimeo.

This is an older commercial that I wrote and produced. It’s a good example of a micro-budget spot where clever writing takes the starring role. It’s a little “cheezy”, but the client was happy and it did it’s job. (Maybe my next career should be at the Hallmark Greeting Card Company).

Plan everything.  Your shots, the colors on the set, what the actors are wearing, try to be as specific as possible.  It all starts on paper.  Take the time to come up with a story board and a shot list.  Think about the pacing and how many shots you need.  Don’t worry about what you don’t have.  Make the best out of what you do.  If you don’t have fancy lights- incorporate that into the plan.  Make substandard lighting thematically relevant.  If you only have access to a 1980’s VHS Camcorder- that becomes part of the story.