ygap TV commercial

Towards the end of 2009, in a small alleyway coffee shop, I met with ygap co-founder, Elliot Costello. Sipping on great coffee and downing very tasty pumpkin soup, Elliot told me about the great work ygap has been doing and what the organisation is all about. I was convinced, and that doesn't come lightly -- I tend to be a bit of a skeptic when it comes to new charities, with a lot of talk and not enough practical solutions to issues.

ygap does fantastic work, not only raising awareness of lesser-known issues such as child trafficking in Ghana, but providing solutions to combating said issues. Visit ygap's LifeLink initiative.

About of the production process

The ygap TV commercial was produced with a very small budget, and required the assistance of several volunteers as actors and crew. sharkeatsbear can't take credit for the actual script of the commercial, that was written by members of ygap.

The whole commercial was shot on two Video Digital SLR cameras, specifically the Canon 7D. For the enthusiasts, we had a fixed 7D (operated by Lukas Strautins) and a roaming 7D (operated by myself). The fixed camera had a wider (10-22mm) lens outside with Cokin ND filters when outside and a 85mm Canon 1.8 inside. The roaming camera had a 50mm 1.4 Carl Zeiss with a Fader ND and a Zacuto Z-Finder.

Surprisingly, I used the Sennheiser MK400 mic's audio for almost the entire commercial. However, as sound recordist & boom operator on the day, Kye Lewis recorded great atmos sound and additional audio which was used in the commercial. Marcus Allemann did a brilliant job as grip, gaffer, production assistant... pretty much a complete all-rounder and a top bloke.

Tom Peterson was an absolute champion to work with. He came on board both starring as the evil van driver and was a huge help dealing with the dozen kids we had to work with. He even pretended to be a van driving-by to get the eye-line correct for the camera, what commitment. The music was composed especially by my brother, Andrew. Short-notice too, thanks bro!

Finally, this project would not have been possible without the tireless work of Louise Atkins, the LifeLink coordinator. Without her, this commercial would never have been made. Top stuff, Louise!

If you have any questions feel free to post a comment or email me. Thanks heaps for watching and hope you enjoy!

-- Tom Judd

Below is the extended cut for web.