State Farm's "Never" Commercial - What Happens Next

This State Farm commercial has been on the air for a few months.  Go ahead, spend thirty seconds and watch it.  But, watch it until the end.

In case the commercial is taken down I will describe the spot, breaking it up scene by scene.  You can skip this part if you have seen it.

- Guy is hanging with his bros and states (see what I did there) that he is "never getting married".
- We see the guy purchasing an engagement ring.
- Guy is with wife, sitting in a plane, in front of a rowdy kid and states, "we are never having kids"
- Wife is in delivery room.
- Guy and family are in their big city luxury apartment and states, "we are never moving to the suburbs".
- They are in the suburbs, as a minivan drives by, the guy states, "we are never getting one of those"
- Guy is washing his minivan.
- Guy is cleaning up crayon marks on the wall of their suburban house.  As his wife passes by, he states, "we are never having another kid".  She responds with, "I'm pregnant".
- Guy is cuddling with his wife and two kids and states, "I'm never letting go".
- "For all the nevers in life, State Farm is there."

So, this commercial has been bothering me for months, as longs as it has been on air.  Why, you ask.

This is a good advertisement with one flaw.  The good, obviously, is, like a good neighbour, State Farm is there if/when things change in your life and adjustments need to be made to your insurance policy.  At least that is what I think happens based on their ad campaigns.

But, I want to see the next scene.  "I will never *blank*", then said *blank* happens.  Well..."I'm never letting go".  Much like how Rose said she was not letting go in Titanic...only to immediately let go of Jack then watch him sink to the depths of the Atlantic...I expect the guy to let go.  Yes, like a divorce or something.  The wife gets custody of the girls, he looses the house and the minivan, and he is back hanging with his bros again.

I am sure State Farm will be there for the guy (and you) if this happens.  Sadly, this kind of thing does happen.

We can see a series of commercials with this.  Imagine the guy sitting at a bar with his buddies and saying "I am never getting married, again". Then, we see him and his best bro sing You've Lost That Loving Feeling to a girl at the bar.  It starts all over.  Genius!

Maybe we see him with a new wife with step-kids.  Maybe the guy needs to deal with his kids' step father....college for the kids.  I mean, we have something here.  I really hope this is the first of a series by State Farm.

We could go really dark on this, too.  The above is just a 'normal' situation.  What if after "I'm never letting go", it gets all Dateline on everyone. Let your imagination run wild.  The guy goes to strip clubs, driving while intoxicated, embezzles from company, murder, robbery, has illegitimate child, etc. Too dark?

Bob Gale with Time Machine Restoration Update

Hold the Camera Still

There is a growing trend in television and movie making.  Excessive camera movements.  This new way of framing a shot has made many shows and films physically unwatchable for me.  Known in some circles as "documentary style", the frame is never still.  It is constantly zooming in and out, panning left and right, tilting up and down, trucking left and right, dollying in and out, and constantly adjusting focus.

Sometimes, this is the result of the camera operator not holding the camera still, or the effect is achieved in the editing stage.  It could be a combination of both crappy techniques of movie making. Seriously, why would you want to shoot or manipulate your footage in a way that is distracting to the view and story you are telling? I find myself looking at the background and seeing how it relates to the frame.  Kinda like watching the horizon against a side rail of a cruise ship during rough waters. 

One of the more annoying moves is the 'swooping' of the camera to follow the action or dialogue.  Imagine a camera strapped to a tennis empire as he follows the ball, that is what it is like.  The Office is a prime example of this technique.  While I am sure that it is a great show, the camera movements are horrendous.  It feels like I am reading a book while riding a bike...on an unpaved road...downhill...in the dark...under water.

My theory is this dates back to The Blair Witch Project.  Though I have not seen it, I have been told the the 'filming' is done by the characters using handheld video cameras.  Oh, there is a term for that now..."found footage".  That was just the beginning.  What really gave this style 'legitimacy' was amateur videos, more specifically YouTube.  The introduction and strength of YouTube, has made the amateur videographer virtual stars overnight while their video go viral.

Slight tangent.  If it was truly 'found footage', there would be no cuts, repositioning, or over the shoulder shots when people are talking.  Go ahead, watch Paranormal Activity.   About a third into the movie, the couple talk to this expert about the activity...essentially an interview, like a talk show.  You will notice a few cuts and repositioning of the camera.  This should not happen in a found footage film, especially one that was suppose to be shot with one camera. 

There is also seems to be a need to zoom in really close when there is action.  You will notice this in fight scenes from recent movies.  What they are trying to do is bring the viewer into the action, part of the fight and struggle.  This works really well in Terminator 2:  Judgement Day.  James Cameron is a genius and knows how to shoot and frame a shot.  Where is does not work is pretty much every fight scene in the past ten years.  You cannot see what is happening, strapping a camera to one of the stuntman's chest is not a good way to film a fight scene.  I want to see the two actors, not what could easily be stuntmen, fight...I want to see faces and know that those two actors are kicking each other's ass.

Heck, why not have shaky subtitles?  Oh, yeah...because it will distract from reading the dialogue.  Therefore, distract from telling the story.

Yes, I have played some first person shooter video games, and I enjoy them.  But, I am controlling the camera.  When I want to walk around the corner and look up and left, I do it.  Ever try watching someone else play a first person shooter?  Pretty hard to watch, eh?  Again, great game...but hard to watch someone else play it. 

Take side scrolling games.  Sometimes more fun to watch someone else play than to play it yourself.  Heck, you can even join in and play two players...because the frame is still and everyone in the room can enjoy the game...like a good movie.  In a first person shooter, the only way to have multi players is to split the screen...unwatchable.

A good director and/or editor can control the viewer's eye with the staging of the talent in the shot, framing of the shot, and cutting of the scenes.  There are times when shaky cam works.  Most of the time, it is just an annoying effect that does not add to the story.

My DMCev Video Going Viral

The video I shot during my ride in the Electirc DeLorean has been seen a few times by people around the world.  DMC somehow found it and posted a link on their Facebook page.  I never really did any promotion for it, except for showing some people at work.  Now, Autoblog found it and has used it in their article.

This is what they wrote:

The electric DeLorean DMC-12 is coming 2013, so says Humble, Texas' reborn DeLorean Motor Company. That was the shocking announcement made by DeLorean in mid-October at the DMC Texas Open House.

But what else occurred on that mid-October day? Well, apparently a handful of DeLorean enthusiasts got to test drive DMC's electric prototype. Now, we can't say for certain whether this clip shows DMC's own electric version of the DMC-12 or the work of some shadetree mechanic, but we can say with confidence that DMC's Cameron Wynne (son of Stephen Wynne, owner of DeLorean) is the one who is driving the electric vehicle around the track.


Dubbed the DMCEV-12, DeLorean claims this electric time machine hits 60 miles per hour in a quick 4.9 seconds and warps to a top speed of 125 mph, though we'll have to wait to hear more about total range. Reports suggest the limited production DMCEV-12 will retail for approximately $100,000.


Hit the jump to check out some shaky in-car video of the electric DeLorean lapping the 3/8-mile track at Houston Motorsports Park

Oh wait, there is more.  My video is also featured on engadget.

It's already clear that you're selling everything you own in an effort to purchase a 2013 DeLorean DMC-12 EV (and in turn, apply for a home tax deduction when you begin to live out of it), but what hasn't been clear is exactly how it'd perform on the wide open road. Truthfully, we still aren't entirely certain of that, but thanks to a raucous new video of a prototype on the track, we do know that it looks like the most (PG) fun you can have while sitting atop four wheels. We aren't going to hold you here any longer -- hop on past the break and mash play. 60mph in 4.9. 88mph in however long you want.

Also featured on emgCarTech.

Last week we brought you news of DeLorean Motor Company (DMC) working on an electric car. We now have a video showing the new in new Electric DeLorean prototype hitting up the track at Houston Motorsports Park.

In 2013, you will be able to purchase the Electric DeLorean for somewhere around $90-$100 grand. Funny thing is, we’ve always imagine the Back to the Future DeLorean always being a fully electric car.

Next thing on DeLorean’s list? Making the car fly and time travel.

From TechEBlog:

Finally, a video showing what it's like to drive the upcoming 2013 all-electric DeLorean has been released. It features "a mysterious box labeled 'Flux' on it and aside from the iPhone dock, 125 mile per hour speed and 260 horsepower, built-in GPS navigation system, DMC is remaining mum on the vehicle's specs." Video after the break. 

From Geeky Gadgets:

Some of readers will remember the new electric DeLorean that was announced recently, the car which was originally made famous by the Back To the Future movies will go on sale in 2013 powered by an electric engine.
Now we get to see our first video of the DeLorean EV in action, although the video is shot from the inside of the car, so we don’t get a good look at the outside, but we all know what that looks like.

The DeLorean EV is expected to reach speeds of up to 125MPH and will reportedly come with over 200 Bhp when it goes into production in 2013.

I figured if they use my video, I can use their words.  Here is my video, in case you do not want to read through that long post below.  Although, this is getting long as I am find more blogs out there using my video.

The Dead Flags

I have no idea who The Dead Flags are.  But, this video is pretty sweet

My "Highlight Reel" Goal - Part III

Well, not goal...but three goals and an assist. HAT TRICK and an assist! Yeah, four points...in a 6-4 loss. Girlvaughn told me I needed to score more goals.

The first of four points was an assist in the first period. I got a shot on goal, luckily someone got the rebound. That goalie was huge, hard to get around.

First goal was a semi-breakaway down the left wing, first period. Faked the forehand, went around the goalie and lifted the backhand just under the cross bar. Second goal was on the power play in the second period. I was dancing around the net, near the goal line Saw the puck drop in front of me and shot it backhand at the goal. The puck deflected of goaltender's arm and tricked in.

Between all this the other team scored a few goals. I had a couple of good shots...on the goaltender, one hit him in the face. I think I had two other breakaways. On one, I tried the Forsberg move, but lost the puck.



Third goal came in the third period. A goal a period, not bad. We were already down 6-3, with a few minutes left. I was standing in the slot, puck came to me and without looking, I took the shot. Saw the puck just make it under the goalie's arm. In the end, we lost the game.

There you go. Statistically (is that a word?), the best game I have played. Hat trick, baby! It is all down hill from here.

I Love Tom Cruise...No Really, I Do.

LipDub For The Masses

LEGO Star Wars

Academy Award Winning Movie Trailer

My "Highlight Reel" Goal - Part II

I scored an awesome goal this morning. Unfortunately, there is no video evidence of this. You will just have to take my word for it as I try to describe it for the two people who sometimes read my goofy blog. Oh, and this is really for me, so I can remember how awesome I was.

Let me set up the situation, because the next five to ten mintues should have been nationally televised. I was on the bench and watched one of our guys (Eric) get an interference penalty as he bumped into opposing player along the boards. The other guy tried to rough up Eric, this lead to another one of our guys (Han) to push that same opposing player. Long paragraph short, we got two penalties against.

Actually, it gets better. Han got a ten minute for 'arguing with ref'. Actually, he was trying to figure why we got two penalties and the other team got nothing...as the other player pushed Eric's head down and tried to sit on him. That is what lead Han to defend Eric. Oh, Eric is like my size...the other guy about a foot taller. Han was eventually ejected from the game, the ref does not like him very much.

Okay, so I am out there to kill the 5-on-3 penalty kill. Gary took the face of and I was basically on defense with Guy. Yeah, me...playing defense...short-handed by two men. What were they thinking? Face off was to the left of our goalie, Phil. I think Gary lost the draw as the puck went to the point. I really do not know what happened, but I somehow ended up in the right point to take the defenseman.

He fumbles the puck, I steal the puck and flick it down the ice. I had a half step on everyone and rushed down the right wing. Now, I am a left-handed shot, so I protected the puck on the outside. Saw a stick reach in from my left and I did that "get that stick out of my way" thing with my left arm, as I cut across the crease. I pretty much do this move every game because it looks so damn cool, usually without any success.

So, I cut across the crease and the guy hauls me down as I get off the first shot. Ref signals for a penalty. The puck hits the goalie's pads, rebounds and hits my skate. By this time, I am mid fall. The puck pops up in the air after hitting my skate. Now, I am on my back, one foot next to the goalie, the other leg under the other player. I see the puck floating in the air and I bat it in the goal...in mid air. We are talking textbook hand-eye coordination, here, folks. Let me tell you, it was fucking awesome! A 5-on-3 short-handed goal!

The penalty that I drew was cancelled, because I scored. I celebrated with a fist pump and high fives from my teammates. Too bad it was roller, if it would have been ice, I would have celebrated like Theoren Fleury. This was only the first period and the goal put us up 2-1, so no real need to 'celebrate'. Good thing too, because eventually lost the game 5-2, they are the better team, top of the league. But, I scored a highlight reel goal, I only wish there was video to back up my total awesomeness. I really think I would have made it to TSN, and/or HNiC on CBC. Okay, it barely would have made it on YouTube.

UPDATE: The awesomeness was similar to this awesomeness.

Cool Commercial and How They Did It

Rene Bourque Goal

Simple Tips On How NOT To Annoy Me

Here are a few tips for those of you who are making "product review/presentation" videos.

- Use a neutral background. Use a different colour than that of the product you are presenting

- Wear a different colour shirt that colour of product.

- Stop moving the product being presented. In fact, stand/sit still during your presentation.

- Camera guy, refrain from zooming, panning, and/or tilting camera. Hold the camera still, invest in a tripod. Oh...FOCUS!!!

- Check audio levels and make sure music (if any) is not annoying and loud. Oh...SPEAK CLEARLY and refrain from using "um", "uh", "like", etc.

- Any graphic element should not shield the product from viewer.

- Take the time to light the product.

- Rehearse. Do not just use the first take. View the video before posting for all to see.

Okay, back to YouTube...

My 'Highlight Reel' Goal

Those Krazy Koreans

I Usually Do Not Drink Soda, But...

Great Speech

Star Wars - MacGyver Remix

Roger Millions - Cocksucker