A Day In The Life - Filming a Commercial (Part 1).
It started with an email...
I was thinking of starting a 'Day in the Life' feature for a while, and its certainly not everyday I end up filming a commercial, so it seemed like a pretty fun place to start!
A few weeks ago I received an email from Mumsnet (nothing specially for me, I'm just on their Insight mailing list) stating that a well known brand was looking for Mums and babies to 'star' in their next TV advert, the only condition really was that you genuinely be a fan of the products, which I was, so as I had the spare time on my hands as a new Full-time Mummy (yes, the baby was sleeping) I spent just a few moments answering a questionnaire and sending off the required photos of my obviously gorgeous bambino. (At least I think I remember sending off photos, it all seems a bit of a blur now!)
I mean, obviously my little boy is the best looking baby boy in all of the world Why not, hey?! - this of course, is how every proud mama feels about her baby, and quite rightly so.
Truth be known, doing something like this is a little bit of a dream come true for me, growing up I always wanted to be an actress in film, television or on stage in musical theatre. It's been the one thing aside horse riding that has always held my interest. So being given an opportunity to 'have a go' really appealed to me, especially as it was giving me the opportunity to show off my greatest achievemnt in the form of Lochy!
The Casting
Next thing I know, a few days afterwards, I've received an email back to ask if I was available for a casting interview via Skype the next day. Crikey I thought, feeling quite pleased with myself (and indeed my beautiful boy) for being selected for that next stage, feeling it was quite likely that literally every mum who received that initial email had probably done just as I did, adopted the "Well why not?!" attitude and sent off their reply. We'd been short-listed, what a compliment to my baby, how flattering!
The day came and actually I found that I was quite nervous - there was even a fleeting moment where I thought about politely declining, but then I remembered that "Why not?!" attitude and that actually, it was really cool that I'd been shortlisted! (Needless to say, I'm really glad I took that chance - test yourself, be scared, do something new! You never know what might happen!)
That oh-so recognisable Skype ringtone sounded and I put on my best smile - heart pounding. There was a brief moment when it suddenly a) became very real and b) I became much more scared - this wasn't just a Skype call, there were several people involved; the director appeared in one screen and a whole group of other people in another screen! Luckily, I've always been OK in interview typed situations, I'm always true to myself and am a great believer in cracking a joke to relieve tension. Comments were made on how relaxed I seemed given that I was a first time mum of a baby just a few a weeks of age, and then they asked to meet Lochy. Fortuitously, he just happened to wake up moments before! You really can't plan anything where a newborn is concerned, so I remain grateful to him for his cooperation then! I picked him up from next to me where he was tucked up in his buggy (I was at my mum's house), pointed his big blues eyes in the direction of my Mac's camera and enjoyed the resounding "Awwww!" that followed.
It was an informal and friendly chat, so it was a really fun experience all-in-all, I was asked questions about me and Lochy and then questions about the products in general; my opinions and thoughts. I was completely honest and even wondered if a few of my answers might have 'shot me in the foot'! ("Have you tried the wipes?".... "erm, no...?!"
Getting the nod
It was a good two weeks before I heard back, and I'd come to the definite conclusion that we hadn't been selected, it was understandable, Lochy was really young so it was hit and miss as to whether you could get him to smile or catch his attention, not mention they must have been inundated with options!
Even when I received the email, as I opened it I was fully expecting to see a "Thanks but no thanks". To say I was surprised to see that, in fact, we'd been selected, is a complete understatement!
I literally grinned from ear to ear all evening!
Stay tuned to find out how we got on, what happened and what its like on a TV set (with babies!) in Part 2.
