Shooting The Buster’s Waterless Dog Shampoo Commercial

Today at Paton we had the official commercial shoot for Buster’s Waterless Dog Shampoo! The process for creating a commercial can be an intensive experience; but after weeks of non-stop planning and creativity from a very talented team, our vision has come to life! The casting call and audition phase of the shoot has been completed and the perfect actors have been selected. Now it is time to move on to the next step: finding the right space to shoot the commercial. The first part of putting together the perfect shoot is location, location, location. The Paton team scouted out the perfect outdoor space for our talented actors (both human and four-legged)!  After conducting much research for the right location, the Paton team ultimately decided to shoot the commercial locally, at Quiet Waters Park in Deerfield Beach. The setting was everything we were looking for; a large outdoor space with beautiful scenery, clean landscaping, and most important of all– a dog-friendly atmosphere!

The second phase of prepping for the shoot is ensuring that the camera crew has all of the necessary tools they need to capture captivating and memorable images. Paton’s dynamic duo and creative experts, Michelle and Mateo, oversaw selecting the right tools to create the perfect shot! Shooting content in an outdoor space is much different from filming inside of a studio. This means that the tools needed for an outdoor shoot are going to be different. The film kit that was used today consisted of two cameras, the camera tripods, stabilizers (a hand-held camera stand), and a field monitor to capture a wide range of images that are difficult to catch with just a “regular camera”. The shoot officially began at 10:30 a.m. when Michelle and Mateo began a series of test shots with our favorite four-legged star, Nyla, and the talented actor, JJ. The test shots are imperative for the shoot; these initial shots determine what the best lighting and angles are, and also determine what camera lenses to use. After running several test shots with Nyla and JJ to perfect the lighting, it was time to begin the shoot.

Challenges of Filming:

The process of creating any form of visual content can be challenging; shooting a commercial is no exception. Not all individual projects are created alike; many commercials are filmed at our in-house studio while others are best suited for an out-of-studio location. Accordingly, our outdoor shoot had many speed-bumps along the way.

• Acquiring the correct permits to film and create content in an outdoor space can be difficult. If the right paperwork is not filed or is misplaced, the filming process is drastically slowed down and can be halted altogether. Today there was a discrepancy with our permit which prevented us from filming–but we persevered, and we were able to continue with our shoot.
• Here at Paton, we are all animal lovers!  While working with animal actors can be a fun and rewarding experience, it comes with its own set of challenges. While we frequently work with professionally trained animals, it is virtually impossible to control their actions and every move!
• Weather: Filming outdoors provides for an open, creative space that creates different energy than a traditional studio cannot provide. However, while the outdoors can be amazing, South Florida weather can be notoriously unpredictable; a surprise rain shower during the shoot had the potential to ruin the day. Luckily, after what turned out to be a light drizzle, the overcast weather actually provided the perfect lighting for the shoot! This was ideal because too much or too little sun can have a negative impact on the overall quality of the commercial.

For this specific project there were several challenges that arose over the span of the shoot, but working together as a team, we were able to overcome these and finish the shoot in one day! Half the battle in any filming process is curating the right talent and team, and the other half is a little bit of luck; we happened to have both, and the results were amazing. Be sure to keep an eye out for Buster’s Waterless Shampoo on a screen near you!