Cheating with Cheesy Tortillas. Shooting Doritos CtSB.

2015 marked the end of Doritos Crash the Super Bowl.  From Middle Seat to Doritos Time Machine, the contest has churned out some pretty memorable commercials over the years.  Other spots like Breakroom Ostrich and Doritos Finger Cleaner didn’t see that 1 million dollar check, but definitely gave us a good laugh.

In 2014, I DP’d “Nice Bag” which was a top 30 semi-finalist. The element I love most in this spot is location.  We drove out to Long Island, travelled about a mile into the woods and found a perfect patch right off a walking path.  Lighting was minimal.  I brought a few LEDs, a reflector and fortunately received a great deal of help from the sun…it was rising right behind our actors.

In 2015, things got more complicated, for both our production AND the couple in our spot.

The similarity between our commercial and the contest’s winner was quite uncanny, not to mention the peculiar press it received.

Regardless of winning or losing, I find these contests are always a great way to flex your creative muscle and work through fundamental facet’s of the production process.

DIRECTION: We decipher the brands message, style and identity…then create a story that reflects those elements.

DEDICATION: We join together to acquire the resources needed…actors, location, crew, etc.  Then, we execute.

DEADLINE: We don’t always have a finish date when working on personal projects.  With this task, you can only play for so long…and it’s done!

Learn More

• Post Magazine | Nutmeg pools resources for Doritos contest

Carl Vasile is a creative video editor and voiceover artist located in Los Angeles.

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