HOW TO GET INTO COMMERCIAL DIRECTING | What you need to know

[@danielsheppardtv]

I’m a commercial director. Almost nobody is making $100,000 “per commercial”. If you’re talking BIG HUGE commercials like super bowl or perhaps other large audience spots, then maybe you get closer to that. But the VAST majority of commercial directors making broadcast spots are making money base on a day rate (amount of shoot days). Most directors range between 10-25k USD per shoot day. Still not a bad payday! Great advice on specializing. Fill up your reel with similar style work.

[@JoonBug847]

Brother man if you need a commercial guy I'm your man

[@brownrebelfilmworks]

I will love to shadow you. I've directed a Doritos commercial for the Crash the Superbowl Contest..it's on my channel..Check it out!

[@sobrokeboi]

Hey i know I'm asking this a way after your comment but how many projects does a commercial director take per year and how that number changes at points of thier career ?

[@danielsheppardtv]

@@sobrokeboi It's all over the board. Some are lucky to get 1 job per year, others are averaging 10-20+. It's really all about how in demand you are, how good your last project was, how easy you are to work with or, if you're extraordinarily talented, nothing else matters lol. At my peak I was shooting 20+ days in one year -- that was 2017. Things are likely a bit slower right now....

[@sobrokeboi]

@@danielsheppardtv Appreciate the insight, thanks.

[@drfaustus72]

Advertising works! How do I know? I'm the author of "THE 30-SECOND STORYTELLER" and the sales of the book did show a bump after your video came out! So there you go. Thanks, Will and keep up the good work.

[@WillvonTagen]

Wow! I am flattered to have gotten your attention. Thanks for writing such a great and useful book, I learned a ton from it! I am actually preparing a video soon on 'how to shoot a spec commercial,' and I'm sure I will reference you again in that one as well. Thanks and take care! - Will

[@shpamacct4358]

PLEASE release 30 sec storyteller on audible!! 🙏🏼

[@fanhenryforeva14]

10:31 - "The only time when you'll have full control" 5 years into Advertising and I cannot agree more!

[@markvisser7208]

I have to note that at 7:58 the screen shot he chose is the parody version of the commercial which is hilarious.

[@vocabilities]

Thanks, great video, very useful!

[@patrickbrio2896]

This was really valuable holy crap. Thanks so much man

[@WillvonTagen]

Absolutely! Thanks for watching :)

[@carlosc3d]

I really wanted to transition from videography to commercial directing this year. Your video is a welcome resource! I appreciate every detail you outlined. I can't wait to see more of your content.

[@WillvonTagen]

Thanks so much!

[@4rwmediaproductions152]

I've been shooting local commercials independently for a few years. This really helps. Thanks.

[@WillvonTagen]

Glad it was useful!

[@mouthwideopen8338]

bro u rock im just a wittle girl with a dream and this genuinely helps. hopeully i can create commercials with little silly clowns jumping up and down yelling BUY MY PRODUCT!!!! BUY MY PRODUCT!!!! NIGHTMARE NIGHTMARE NIGHTMARE!!!!! hope it works! from the non-troll side of me, thabk you. from the troll side, oooo heehee hoohooo hahaha im a german school boy with long stockings and trampoline hehehehehooohooohhahahah

[@smepable]

I ve read the Book some time ago and it was really valuable, really went into Detail how to approach agencies and pitching etc

[@WillvonTagen]

It's a great book :)

[@AnandaGarden]

Tremendous value. This is LOADED.

[@WillvonTagen]

Thanks for watching!

[@ryanbalaz645]

Hey Will, Amazing video! I'm starting up a career in this crazy industry and this video answered so many questions! Thanks man!

[@WillvonTagen]

Glad it was helpful! I just wrapped up a number of commercial shoots and am planning to do some more videos on the topic with all the BTS we shot. Is there anything specific you have questions about?

[@jabsskywalker]

This was very informative, nice work. I appreciate you explaining this because it's a job I kind of understood for a bit but wasn't always 100 percent.

[@WillvonTagen]

Thank you! I'm glad you found it useful! :)

[@RichardLalonde]

I built a reel and sent it out to many production companies, I had a few good responses but it never lead to any work which I got kinda bummed out about, so I kept PAing on feature films and a few commercials and TV shows.

[@WillvonTagen]

Yes, it is a tough nut to crack. But it sounds like you are still doing great, so keep pushing!

[@RichardLalonde]

@@WillvonTagen Thanks I’m doing great and will keep pushing! I’ve since wrote a couple of short films and a web series, just looking to scrap together the finances to make these

[@WillvonTagen]

@@RichardLalonde Sounds great!

[@tuckerkanderson]

Amazing video Will! Some great insights. Would love to see a version of this for DPs.

[@WillvonTagen]

I'll see if I can get something together, I've been away from KZbin for a while but plan to start up again soon.

[@anhdvids]

Thank you for this content! I was wondering if you could make a video covering what are some of the "red flags" that pop up for a spec commercial that you would notice. Sorry if that's been covered already - I'm quite new to your channel. Thanks either way!

[@WillvonTagen]

Thanks for the comment! I actually just finished shooting 2 spec commercials and plan to make a video all about doing one! It may be a few weeks though, because I am pretty loaded with work--but It is on its way :)

[@anhdvids]

@@WillvonTagen Understandable but oh boy, am I excited for when that video drops!

[@hussainalkhoridh3406]

Very good video, really represent me as someone new getting into commercials

[@WillvonTagen]

So glad it was helpful! :)

[@pancanspoon]

Great video! Subscribed. Looking forward to more content like this.

[@TheEliasNoel]

Brother, great content. Thank you for this.

[@WillvonTagen]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@shopski]

This was a great video! Thanks! I appreciated a lot of the insights and also discussing real budgets and figures is really helpful. Maybe we can break down the costs of a full feature. That would be a great topic.

[@jmng9689]

Great video. Very informative. Hoping for a follow up

[@WillvonTagen]

Thank you! I'm actually prepping now to do a few spec commercials with my company so I will likely do a video or two about it while it's happening :)

[@jmng9689]

@@WillvonTagen Looking forward to see it.

[@milanjani]

Good advice. Ty. Only issue with commercials is - someone has to learn VFX work. And learning VFX is a huge big learning curve. Initially, if one is starting out, he would mostly be one man team and has to do lot of things himself. Any suggestions for VFX, pls guide.

[@AndresHernandezFilms]

The rolling rock story is wild

[@ChrysteeneS]

Good info!

[@WillvonTagen]

Thanks for watching!

[@FSMEGA]

You Rock‼️‼️‼️LEARNED A WHOLE LOT‼️🙏🏽THANKS🙏🏽

[@WillvonTagen]

Thank you!

[@ericdargan]

This was a great video! Really well broken down.

[@WillvonTagen]

Thank you!

[@TroysFilms]

Great advice. Is this how you ended up building your career?

[@WillvonTagen]

Thanks! And yes, for the most part. It is definitely how I keep myself sustained while working on my other projects and has worked out well so far!--but there is still a lot of ground I hope to cover :)

[@TroysFilms]

@@WillvonTagen That is excellent and I'm happy to hear you found a path that sustains your dream! I'm on my own journey but I'm still young enough to still choose what I want in this industry. I'm 22 and I've made 2 short films (with 20 micro shorts under my belt from past years). I'm trying to find my path on having sustainable work as a director. It sounds like commercials are the way to go since I've been leaning away from music videos -- they don't really reap the same benefits and especially the payouts compared to commercials.

[@dannydirect]

Hugely insightful. Thank you!

[@bricesylvain6814]

Thank you so much for this video Very helpful !

[@WillvonTagen]

You are welcome :)

[@MariusViken]

The commercial directors that's makes $100.000,- pr. commercial are in the top 1% and have a either have unique talent or they worked their ass off for 20 years+ before they got to that salary. Probably thought about quitting a few times too.

[@WillvonTagen]

Agreed :)

[@seansmith1405]

Great video! I just have one question, is there an overlap between the niche categories? You showed an Old Spice ad under the "special effects" category, but I would have assumed those would go under the comedy category. Also, what if you make a funny dog commercial? Am I overthinking it?

[@BertrandNathanaelJean]

This is good stuff thanks

[@WillvonTagen]

Glad you enjoyed it :)

[@adilburakaydn2446]

we are still waiting for the reel video

[@WillvonTagen]

The good news is I actually filmed it last night--so hopefully I can get it up within the week ;)

[@adilburakaydn2446]

@@WillvonTagen Its great to hear btw this video helped me a lot. I just signed with a production house. Thank you very much, looking forward to hear more from you. You have a new fan :)

[@almughanni]

Very informative. Thank you!

[@WillvonTagen]

Thanks for watching!

[@staisongeorge]

Thank you 🙏🏼

[@WillvonTagen]

You’re welcome 😊

[@mattykutz]

I’m really liking the videos! Would you say the spec ads should be for real products/companies, or for generic/fictional ones?

[@WillvonTagen]

I would say feel free to use real brands (and I would actually encourage it). Fictional products could risk making the spot look cheap or cheesy (plus you have the added cost of art direction needing to manufacture the product. Remember, you aren't trying to fool any one--the reel is more designed to show your abilities and style--less so to brag about brands you have worked with at this point (though in the future that will be an asset for you once you have worked with a bigger brand) 😀

[@Garytyronejohnson]

Awesome!

[@handre8969]

Weird question, when it comes to booking gigs do you get booked and then have to go do it? or do you have some freedom on which commercials you direct?

[@WillvonTagen]

Obviously you can turn anything down... but there aren't a lot of things I would turn down unless the pay just didn't hold up.

[@MARMOLSKATEMEDIA]

Hi man! Nice video

[@WillvonTagen]

thanks man! :)

[@PolarisCastillo]

This is all amazing and is filling me with inspiration! Thanks so much. However, how would one go about simply emailing production companies about looking for work/sending them your reel? From what I've researched it's tough to find a Submissions page let alone an email to reach out to. Any suggestion on this? Thanks!!

[@kzsotto7375]

May i know what camera you are using here ?

[@WillvonTagen]

I shoot my videos with the BMPCC 4K 👍🏻

[@soothingsounds7859]

Do you know which Niches are in demand? Any chart that shows it.

[@elliotcrosen]

NGL...at first I thought he was on spice

[@gradedfilmsuk]

There was us thinking we were making commercials with 3k...

[@WillvonTagen]

You can stretch those dollars for sure! But what you do has value and I hope you can find clients who understand that :) Good luck!

[@wakkowarner8810]

Do a lot of commercial directors fake it and pretend they know how to do a shot to keep a job?

[@WillvonTagen]

Probably. The role of the director is much more about managing and client relations. Many commercial directors lean heavily on their DoPs.

[@ericcoen8894]

I remember in another video, you claim even if you send your script to some agents and then they steal your ideas, you have nothing to do with it. Right?

[@WillvonTagen]

In general, no one would steal a script, no. And honestly it is more advantageous for an Agent to turn you into a client or for a Producer to hire you. They still make money, have the glory of discovering new talent, and also get "first dibs" on the profits of your future output. If you are good enough to steal from then you are good enough to hire (and make even more money from).

[@misterkai83]

Pie's in the sky

[@Tee-e3q2e]

Is there not many female directors? i noticed that you just kept using men as an example is all.

[@imiy]

heck, i do not want to make a living shooting one colored bottles :(

[@WillvonTagen]

Could be good money tho ;)

[@vdag94]

This was terrific advice -- although would have appreciated more gender-neutral descriptions. As a female aspiring commercial director, it throws me off a little when I keep hearing the word "guy", knowing females already make up a small percentage of commercial directors for reasons unknown. Nonetheless, thank you!

[@WillvonTagen]

I can appreciate what you are saying, but please know I tend to use words like "dude" guy" "man" and even "babe" very neutrally. So when I am in free speak--like in these videos--I just let words flow how I naturally do. So please don't feel excluded--this video is for everyone. On a side not: Keep up the charge! It's a tough egg to crack for sure but I think sticking with it is half the battle and I admire anyone who is out there chasing it with me :) Have you decided on a niche yet?

[@mattyfromhell]

Stupidest thing I’ve ever heard… it’s very normal for all genders to be addressed as “guys”, it doesn’t literally mean men. Also, you’re limiting yourself with that mindset. You’re either a good director or you aren’t, being a female has nothing to do with it.

[@ewokrider2001]

spec real video PLEAAAASEE

[@ewokrider2001]

LIKE ASAP

[@WillvonTagen]

Just posted :)

[@pitoblogg]

Will. I am 27. Always loved cinematic story telling, have a rich imagination, and can see myself directing commercials. Do you think that being 27 is too late to start? Am I over the hill? Or is it completely possible?

[@marckelcie]

No its never to late

[@WillvonTagen]

It's never too late for anything. Col. Sanders was 68 when he sold his first piece of Kentucky Fried Chicken. Good luck!