It was Andy Warhol who clairvoyantly declared "In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes." The Internet has born witness to a meteoric rise of video-sharing websites, allowing absolutely anyone to gain tremendous attention for virtually anything.
One category of viral videos that has seen great success is that of infomercial parodies. In the wake of such over-the-top, strangely captivating advertisements as the Sham-Wow©, Orange-Glo©, and Snuggie© infomericals, the internet has been abuzz with mash-ups, remixes, and ground-up reconstructions of infomercials that mock everything from the concept of the product for sale to the outlandish nature of the claims in the commercial itself.
For every great parody on the Internet, there are a dozen lousy ones. If you find yourself inspired to produce your very own Mockomercial, there are a few things you will need to keep in mind to avoid the latter category:
#1) First of all, know your target. Are you mocking an existing product, an existing TV celebrity, an existing advertisement style, or something entirely unrelated that you think would translate well to this form? If your target is something that already exists, especially something that is already the subject of much mockery, keep in mind the second rule:
#2) Trust your audience. Avoid the strong urge to outright call something stupid, pointless, or overtly sexual. If your final product is successful, the viewers can figure out for themselves what is so ludicrous about the advertisement. The message will be most clearly communicated if you adhere religiously to the third and most important rule:
#3) Be professional. Good sound quality, well-lit and professionally juxtaposed footage, and the best actors you can obtain are oft-overlooked elements to a successful comedic product. Music and sound effects should be used sparingly, and volume should be carefully controlled. Stock footage should be apt and thoughtfully applied. Your video camera need not be of particularly high quality, so long as the video you take is executed masterfully.
No infomercial is complete without the obligatory this-is-why-you-need-this-product parade of stock footage depicting a man struggling to shovel snow, a woman burning herself on a mug, what have you.
Waste no time or money, and come straight to us for all your high-quality stock video footage needs!
By Rachel Paiste
No comments:
Post a Comment