Dr Pepper commercials are famous for their elaborate musical/dance numbers but this one–in the form of a spec spot from director Kerry Bellessa–has a certain finality to it. The spot opens on a young man in a post-apocalyptic, desert-like world, singing of how his parents are dead, a meteor torched his girlfriend and his dog lost its head.
Yet all is not lost as a reflection from below shines up on his face. Buried in the sand is the source of that reflection–an unopened can of Dr Pepper. Suddenly he and all those hapless folks around him are exuberant and they sing and dance in celebration of his having “the last Dr Pepper.”
He triumphantly takes a swig from the can as the Dr Pepper logo and slogan, “One Taste & You Get It,” are supered on screen to conclude the spot.
Bellessa not only directed the spec piece but conceived of it and wrote the lyrics to music composed by musician Aaron Watane who also handled the audio post mix. The DP was Bengt Jonsson.
Josh Oram, a freelance motion graphics artist, served as editor and visual effects artist.
Bellessa, an Art Center College of Design graduate several years ago, is seeking a commercial production house affiliation. This spot came about when he went to New Mexico last year to shoot a film he wrote. But three weeks before the scheduled start date, the rest of the funding didn’t come in. So he thought it might be fun to shoot a happy post-apocalyptic commercial, leading to this spec creation.
Netflix Series “The Leopard” Spots Classic Italian Novel, Remakes It As A Sumptuous Period Drama
"The Leopard," a new Netflix series, takes the classic Italian novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa and transforms it into a sumptuous period piece showing the struggles of the aristocracy in 19th-century Sicily, during tumultuous social upheavals as their way of life is crumbling around them.
Tom Shankland, who directs four of the eight episodes, had the courage to attempt his own version of what is one of the most popular films in Italian history. The 1963 movie "The Leopard," directed by Luchino Visconti, starring Burt Lancaster, Alain Delon and Claudia Cardinale, won the Palme d'Or in Cannes.
One Italian critic said that it would be the equivalent of a director in the United States taking "Gone with the Wind" and turning it into a series, but Shankland wasn't the least bit intimidated.
He said that he didn't think of anything other than his own passion for the project, which grew out of his love of the book. His father was a university professor of Italian literature in England, and as a child, he loved the book and traveling to Sicily with his family.
The book tells the story of Don Fabrizio Corbera, the Prince of Salina, a tall, handsome, wealthy aristocrat who owns palaces and land across Sicily.
His comfortable world is shaken with the invasion of Sicily in 1860 by Giuseppe Garibaldi, who was to overthrow the Bourbon king in Naples and bring about the Unification of Italy.
The prince's family leads an opulent life in their magnificent palaces with servants and peasants kowtowing to their every need. They spend their time at opulent banquets and lavish balls with their fellow aristocrats.
Shankland has made the series into a visual feast with tables heaped with food, elaborate gardens and sensuous costumes.... Read More