Arnold Palmer | Arizona Ice Tea - ID# 97

Highland Park
Commercial
Entry Description

A frustrated golfer’s game turns around after an ice-cold Arizona Iced Tea brings a much-needed moment of calm. Watch how one sip can make all the difference.

Copyright Info

Recent Teacher Comments

  • 4/24 11:11 am - I really like the vibe of this one. I love the sunset shots. Really funny concept! I agree with the other teacher about the product name at the end. Maybe cut a few seconds off the last hot to add to the graphic.
  • 3/3 9:18 pm - Impressive variety of camera work! Way to put the product in focus at the end, but whatever logo or graphic came on at the very end of the commercial was too quick, where I did not get a chance to read it.
Judge 1

Positives: Cinematography is incredible, stunning! The inserts are great: Golf ball, score card, glove. The coloring is beautiful. My favorite colors are 0:20 with the green grass and orange liquid close up. Great performances from the actors. A good director always gets the best performances. 0:30 this negative space shot was straight out of Apocalypse Now (1979). Your cinematography is beautiful. It is so obvious to me that you have an artistic eye for film, tv, commercials, visual art, etc.

Improvements: I can tell you are passionate about this. It's so clear and obvious to me from watching this commercial... That is why I'm going to be a little extra nitpicky with you. I can tell you really care so I will put extra time into your "elements that can be improved." If I thought you didn't care, then I wouldn't take as much time with my criticisms. 0:14 I wanted to see where the ball landed. Though maybe it's just my opinion and not necessarily an objective need. We can tell the golfer hit a bad shot because his reaction but I still wanted a quick shot of the ball in the woods / water / sand. 0:20 I can't tell what the product is. I know it's a drink, but I didn't see the logo. In commercials, we never hide the product. Either show it fully or don't show it at all. The Arizona Ice Tea marketing team is obsessed with their product, and they want the logo to be very clear if it's ever on camera. 0:23 Similar note^. The product is in the shot but it is sharing focus with other things. This is a really cool shot but products do not like to share focus. The passenger is throwing his club but it takes away from the product being in the shot. I've acted in 100+ commercials... The product is always the star of the commercial! Watch 5 random commercials on YouTube of known drinks or food products. Whenever the product is shown, time seems to stand still for 1-2 seconds. 0:25 Sound - There is a wind noise. Either cut that out of the audio clip or maybe you don't even need audio at all during this shot and we can just hear the music. 0:38 I'm not sure I understand the framing of this shot. We see the top 40% of the actors, and then we see a huge tree and a lot of sky. The shot is almost telling me to look at the tree but I'm not sure why. I'm not saying this is the "wrong" framing I just don't know why it was framed like this. 0:39 I would light the product here more bright and vivid. The product should never blend in with the rest of the world. It should be elevated on a visual pedestal. Your shot of the product here is very natural (and it is beautiful). But in commercial world, we don't need natural, we just want to sell as much ice tea as possible. Think of the product as a huge diva that always demands bright and vivid lighting. Story and narrative - Your story is about 90% complete. I just wanted a little more of a bow on the package. Here is what I think you are trying to sell... Frustrated golfer is a loser and so uncool and not happy, but the cool caddie has Arizona Ice Tea so he is cool and young and chill and great at golf. Therefore, if you BUY Arizona Ice Tea, you will be young, cool, chill, and great at golf. I think I just needed a little more at the end. Technically you show the golfer drink the ice tea and finally relax (I think) but I think that should be more clear to the viewer. I wanted a close up of the golfer to have that deep breathe and "ahhhhh" relaxed moment of joy after drinking the tea. Or maybe the golfer never drinks the tea and we just see mr cool caddie drink... but I'd still want a close up of the caddie sipping the tea and then smiling or laughing or just being chill. Many commercials have a very clear BEFORE and AFTER. I think you had this but your "after" moment was in a zoomed out shadow shot. So I never really got the satisfaction of seeing the golfer finally drink the tea and relax. Commercials are made to sell products. Products are sold through emotions and feelings. Emotions and feelings are shown through human actors. All this to say, I think I wanted a little more close ups from your actors to focus on the emotion and feelings of why ice tea is going to make my life better. CONCLUSION: This was incredible. Your eye for cinematography is amazing. I'm a professional actor that's worked on 100+ commercials and 300 theatrical projects... Believe me when I say that you have a very special visual talent that can't really be taught. I have a feeling you also make films outside of school. If you don't, I encourage you to film and experiment with the camera. Find some actors in the theater program and ask if they want to film a scene. Or maybe you just film random things like nature, highways, etc. I think young people should be open minded about their interests. I'm not saying you HAVE to pursue a career in film, tv, commercials, etc... But I certainly think you could have a career in that if you wanted to. And you owe it to yourself to at least explore your options! Great work!

Judge 2

Positives: The story was fun, I think that told the products story well and introduced us to the consumer. Overall the shots were well thought out and the tone of the piece matches the product well. I also think the edit clearly communicates the story.

Improvements: I think the opportunity to feature the tea/beverage itself was a little muddled in all of the golf. Everything was tied to the flavor but the flavor does not exist without the brand. An LED light in the golf cart would have helped light the actors and improved the lighting score.

Judge 3

Positives: WOW WOW WOW WOW WOW! Amazing spot - Great work. 1) The cinematography is really really great. 2) The editing is also paced really well! Great variety of shots.

Improvements: 1) I'm really wanting a wrap up line!! Something to tie the story together...is it "You may not golf like Arnold Palmer...but you can drink Arnold Palmer"... bad example but you get the idea! 2) I was asked to find two areas of improvement....but I'm really struggling to find one - so I'll just reiterate how great this is!

Judge 4

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Judge 5

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