Everything locked before the crew shows up, so the shoot day is execution, not decisions. This covers the “You’re Not Crazy” hero shoot that feeds every cut in the Video brief. Shoot the VSL script. Do not rewrite on set.
One day, two lighting setups, one hero talent (the Pet Mom) plus a Zerorez tech. Grouped by scene so we light once and shoot everything in that look before moving. Size, camera, and lens are noted so the DP can pull the list and go.
| Scene | Shot | Size | Description / action | Location | Camera / lens | Movement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. The hook | A1 | Wide | Pet Mom gestures at the dingy carpet, mid-rant | Living room | Z Cam / 35mm anamorphic | Sticks |
| A. The hook | A2 | Medium | Pet Mom to camera, “you’re not crazy” | Living room | S5iix / 58mm Helios | Handheld |
| A. The hook | A3 | Close-up | Her POV: the faint gray patch in the carpet | Living room | S5iix / 100mm macro | Handheld |
| B. The conspiracy | B1 | Medium | Pet Mom beside the red-string corkboard, pointing | Living room corner | Z Cam / 35mm anamorphic | Sticks |
| B. The conspiracy | B2 | Close-up | The corkboard: “PAID”, “GOT DIRTIER”, soap circled | Living room corner | S5iix / 100mm macro | Sticks |
| C. The proof | C1 | Macro | Clean water poured on a “cleaned” carpet, it foams | Garage bay (controlled) | S5iix / 100mm macro | Sticks |
| C. The proof | C2 | Macro | Foam pull-focus to the word “SOAP” | Garage bay (controlled) | S5iix / 100mm macro | Sticks |
| C. The proof | C3 | Close-up | Black-water recovery tank held up like evidence | Garage bay (seamless) | Z Cam / 35mm anamorphic | Sticks |
| C. The proof | C4 | Macro | Residue diagram beat (soap = sticky = dirt) | Tabletop (controlled) | S5iix / 100mm macro | Sticks |
| D. The payoff | D1 | Wide | Same room six weeks later, spotless (matches A1) | Living room | Z Cam / 35mm anamorphic | Sticks |
| D. The payoff | D2 | Medium | Dog asleep on the clean carpet | Living room | S5iix / 58mm Helios | Handheld, low |
| D. The payoff | D3 | Medium | Baby about to crawl on the clean carpet | Living room | S5iix / 58mm Helios | Handheld, low |
| E. The brand | E1 | Medium | Zerorez tech runs the wand on dark-grey carpet | Set (seamless) | Z Cam / 35mm anamorphic | Sticks |
| E. The brand | E2 | Close-up | End-card plate + “Zero soap. Zerorez.” | Seamless | S5iix / 100mm macro | Sticks |
Scenes A, B, and D shoot in the living room on one lighting setup. Scenes C and E shoot in the blacked-out garage bay (macro and seamless), so we relight only once.
Zerorez HQ is in American Fork, so we keep it local and on-brand: a real Happy Valley home, not a studio set that reads fake.
Primary (recommended): a residential home in Highland or Alpine. 10 to 15 minutes from HQ. Newer two-story family homes, neutral carpet, good window light, the exact world the Pet Mom lives in. Source it through a furnished home-rental (Peerspace / Giggster / a local agent) or a Zerorez employee’s home to keep the cost near zero. What I’m checking on the scout: south or west-facing front room for afternoon light, a carpeted area we can “age” and then clean for the before/after, parking for a small crew, a garage we can black out for the macro and tank shots, and a kitchen for hold/craft.
Controlled backup for the proof shots: the Zerorez warehouse bay (American Fork). The foam macro, the recovery tank, and the seamless end cards need darkness and a controlled floor. The warehouse already has the equipment, the water, and the mess tolerance. Shooting the proof block on-site is faster and cheaper than renting a stage, and it never leaves our control.
Weather / daylight backup: if the scout home falls through, a furnished short-term rental in Lehi or Saratoga Springs is the fallback, same look, same drive time.
Call 7:30 AM, wrap by 6:00 PM. One location, two lighting setups, lunch at the swing.
| Time | Block | Shots |
|---|---|---|
| 7:30 - 8:00 | Crew in, unload, coffee, safety + plan walk | - |
| 8:00 - 9:00 | Light the living room (window-motivated, soft) | - |
| 9:00 - 11:00 | Living-room block A: talent | 1, 2, 3, 8, 12 |
| 11:00 - 12:00 | Living-room block B: dog + baby (short windows, kids and animals first while fresh) | 10, 11 |
| 12:00 - 12:45 | Lunch (relight to the “six weeks later” matched look during) | - |
| 12:45 - 1:30 | The matched “still clean” wide | 9 |
| 1:30 - 2:30 | Move to garage bay, black out, set macro | - |
| 2:30 - 4:30 | Controlled block: foam macro + SOAP reveal + tank + diagram | 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| 4:30 - 5:30 | Seamless: end card + brand button | 13, 14 |
| 5:30 - 6:00 | Confirm coverage against this list, back up media, wrap | - |
Buffer: the schedule has roughly an hour of slack built in across the day, so one slow setup never pushes the shoot past wrap. Media is backed up twice before anyone leaves (that is the “Shoot + media backup” gate on the Preparedness Index).
What we’d actually spend to make the shoot, line by line. This is the buy list and the rentals only. It does not include crew labor or my time, just the things that need a card swipe. Most of the proof props (the recovery tank, Zr Water) are already Zerorez gear, so they cost nothing here.
| Line item | What / why | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Location (1 day) | Furnished Highland/Alpine home, or in-kind if an employee’s home | $300 |
| On-camera talent: Pet Mom | The face of the campaign, half-day | $400 |
| Baby + parent (talent) | New-baby shots, short window | $150 |
| Dog (talent / handler) | “Safe for pets” shots | $100 |
| Wardrobe | Pet Mom outfit + backups | $120 |
| Sacrificial carpet remnant | The “before” + the soap-foam demo piece | $80 |
| Red-string corkboard kit | Board, string, pins, printouts (the comedy beat) | $45 |
| Set dressing & props | Pillows, mug, kids’ toys, dog bed, plants | $120 |
| Foam-test + tank consumables | Zr Water, towels, tarps, drop cloths | $60 |
| Gear rental | Macro tube + extra light kit beyond owned gear | $350 |
| Grip & expendables | Gels, tape, batteries, media cards | $90 |
| Craft / catering | Feed a small crew, one day | $150 |
| Contingency (~10%) | The thing you always forget | $185 |
| Total props, rentals & expenses | (excludes crew labor) | $2,150 |
The expensive, reusable proof (the recovery tank, the Zr Water, the brand) is already in-house, so this one shoot fills the whole content library for about the cost of a single boosted post.