Earlier this year, I was asked by director Jay Hatcher, to assist him with the production of a national spot for AdventHealth. The commercial was to highlight a 12-year-old cancer survivor named DJ, as he attempted to run in the Star Wars 5K with his trainer Trevor. We worked with the advertising agency 22Squared out of Tampa to prepare for this event.
The agency’s creative team for the project, Sara Haun, Kevin Taylor, and Mindy Adams, worked closely with Jay Hatcher and I to pre-produce this spot that was to be captured in real time during the event. Initially, a story board was created to help convey the images that we were hoping to capture. Then a series of walk-throughs helped us to fine-tune the exact locations that would be beneficial to capture the visuals needed for this commercial. After that, the storyboards were finalized and I created a camera plan based on what we knew to be best spots around Epcot to capture DJ and Trevor.
As the day approached, we had everything in place to pull off an incredible story. Then, as luck would have it, on the day of the 5K, the weather decided to turn on us. Severe thunderstorms in the area forced the RunDisney team to postpone the start of the race. Our production team scrambled to come up with a new plan. We assembled everyone and I went through what would be the new placement for all of the cameras. In a matter of 30 minutes, we were able to get everyone in place and hope for the best.
Even though the rain gave us a scare, we were able to capture a majority of our original images and have a successful shoot. In the end, the spot came out even better than planned. Special thanks to an unbelievable team and a dedicated 13 year old!