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advice, budget, Coca-Cola, Coke, concept, design, film, filmmaker, format, Ghostbusters, goals, graduate, inspire, Iron Man 3, Marvel, movie, movie maker, necessity, placement, process, product, SCAD, school, script, teach, Wayne's World, writer
You have all seen it, I’m sure. You’re watching a movie and you notice something obvious. There’s a logo staring you right in the face. You think, “Oh, well of course. They obviously have [insert product name] because of where they are.” But a few scenes later, you see the same logo. Or maybe a different one. And another few scenes later, you see it again. Why? Product placement. It is a strange and sometimes necessary part of filmmaking.
What is product placement exactly? It’s more than just putting a logo where everyone can see it. It’s a whole process in and of itself. Essentially, you need money. You send a letter or email or phone call to a company. You offer them screen time for their product in exchange for some funding. It’s simple when you say it like that. But there’s a whole lot of negotiation that goes into it and how you’re going to use the product and things like that.
What does product placement entail? Basically that the logo faces the screen at all times. Or more specifically, every time that product is on screen, the logo must face the audience. If you’ve seen GHOSTBUSTERS, you’ll know what I’m talking about. The picture above is from when Peter Venkman explores Dana Barret’s apartment after she experiences a supernatural event in her fridge. Venkman opens the door, and a can of Coke is seen on the shelf. And every time the camera shifts, the logo can still be seen. It’s pretty obvious.
Sometimes, it looks like a film doesn’t have product placement. Especially fantasy movies or such where the product doesn’t exist. That’s where it gets a little turned around. Sometimes the characters of the film (or certain scenes) are used to promote a product. The best example that comes to mind is IRON MAN 3, where they used lines from the movie and a clip to promote Subway. Yet there wasn’t really a place for Subway in the movie. Ergo, the commercials.
So what do you need to know about product placement? At this point, nothing. Well, that’s not true. More than likely, product placement has little place in your film. In our classes, we were always told to avoid logos. Mostly because we’d get sued if we used the logo or whatever without permission. So I would encourage you to do the same at this point. Try to avoid using the logos unless you have permission.
That’s really all that needs to be said. I’ll leave you with this clip from the classic WAYNE’S WORLD:
Yes, this is over the top, but it is supposed to be. And it demonstrates the effect of product placement very well. And gives a decent explanation. And, as a reminder, I’ll be taking next week off, so I’ll see you after Christmas! Have a happy holiday!