[DP Store] What's In Your Wallet? (Now with photos and video!)

[jcalder8]

This just keeps getting cooler. I can't wait to see this.

Maybe the commercial can make it onto the next Phosphor Dot Fossils DVD :D

[NoahsMyBro]

Did they move or dismantle the center island???? The current camera angle seems to look like it is being shot from where the counters used to be.

[TonyTheTiger]

I've been popping in to watch every once in a while and I have to say these guys are efficient as hell. Union tradesmen know how to get things done.

[Apollo]

Stores completely dark save for a screen or two in there, and I can see people moving. Whats going on?

[digitalpress]

Stores completely dark save for a screen or two in there, and I can see people moving. Whats going on?

LASER TEST!

It's going to be quite a spectacle tomorrow.

[digitalpress]

Did they move or dismantle the center island???? The current camera angle seems to look like it is being shot from where the counters used to be.

No, the cam has been ON the island all day. EVERYTHING ELSE from the front of the store is gone though, except the Game Boy display case and some of the shelves on the wall.

[TonyTheTiger]

I want to play Viking Conquest now.

[sisko]

LASER TEST!

It's going to be quite a spectacle tomorrow.

Will there be sharks as well?

[glorfindel]

i dont feel like a stalker at all watching this. seeing men walking around with no idea that im watching them

[digitalpress]

The "studio" is open again, 5:30 in the morning *YAWWN*

I'm not sure if I can keep the camera running today and I sure won't be able to get at it as much, but I'll leave it going for anyone who cares.

[Oobgarm]

Never having seen anything like this before, I'm fascinated by the set-up. Thanks for keeping it going!

[suckerpunch5]

when does the laser start up today? Or whatever cool filming is going to be done? So I can know when to tune in to DP TV.

[suckerpunch5]

hmmmmm . . . someone just put a burrito or something in front of the camera

[demen999]

I see nuttin, just image placeholder. Someone get off! haha

[Vectorman0]

Before the camera went out, I managed to grab a screen shot of some of the action.


http://vectorman.net/digitalpress/miscpics/hard-break-in-guitar-hero.jpg

[digitalpress]

That's all I see as well. Just a black scre... MY GOD! IT'S FULL OF STARS!!

I'm not allowed to broadcast today - part of the contract I signed. I can't release any photos either, until after the commercial airs. Which is too bad, really, I've got some great behind-the-scenes shots. I'll share these as soon as I'm allowed.

[aaron7]

Any idea when the commercial airs?

[digitalpress]

The commercial will air in March.

What a WILD and exciting couple of days. They're "putting the store back together" now so hopefully it has as happy an ending as the ride to get there has been. I'm exhausted and still have a full day of work plus a classmate get-together tonight but hopefully tomorrow I can relax and blog out a few tales of the past three days.

[CX2K]

I know I'm bushed after last night's performance. Thanks to the Shandlings for keeping it real!


Seriously, really cool to see this up close and personal. Can't wait to see the finished product on TV.

CX2K


Before the camera went out, I managed to grab a screen shot of some of the action.


http://vectorman.net/digitalpress/miscpics/hard-break-in-guitar-hero.jpg

[digitalpress]

It's a few days later with everything back to normal and a day off for me so I thought I'd share some of the experience. I took pictures but I cannot share those (or anything else that would give away the concept of the commercial) until after the commercial airs. At that point I'll do my best to get a copy of the commercial to post here as well for those who don't watch a lot of television!

First of all, a full day was taken to transform the store into a film set. The arcade machines, display cases and cartridge island at the front of the store were all either removed or placed at the back of the store. The monitor that faces out of the central island was covered up (they basically put it back to the way it was before I moved in, just slatwall there), and everything that was branded was taken away as well. At first I thought "will anyone even recognize this place?" but after seeing things from behind the camera you certainly will.

Watching special effects guys in action was particularly exciting. There were fireworks in my store! FIREWORKS! Also a "De-naturizer", fog effects, laser-projected graphics, and 8 50" plasma monitors mounted to the walls in green-screen. The central island was wired up with special lighting effects (that I was allowed to keep) as well. There were times when the store smelled like gunpowder or was filled with haze. And it was all good.

Friday was a long day of shooting. I had to open the place at 5am, shooting started pretty early in the day. During the "safety discussion" that the director has with everyone I nearly fell over one of the props. Good thing I've got that great balance :) Over the course of the day, I counted nearly 70 different people involved in the production, including technicians, camera, sound, lighting, effects, actors, clients, and agency people. It's amazing how many hands are involved in something that's only going to last 30 seconds on screen.

And despite the cast of many, I found everyone to be a complete professional. Watching them work was inspiring - everyone with their own job, focused on getting their piece of the project completed. Most impressive of all were the set-up and restoration guys, who literally put every single thing they moved back in the same exact spot when they were done. By Saturday afternoon you would have never been able to tell things had been moved around, let alone picture the chaos of the previous 2 days.

Though it was only 10:30 in the morning, it had already felt like a long day on Friday. Plus, the store was blocked off in such a way that no light was coming in and it was "hazy" indoors so I decided to step out in to the cold to get a breath of fresh air. While rounding the corner one of my store neighbors pulled me into the nail salon. She was pissed that all of the parking spots were taken up and her customers were cancelling appointments because there was nowhere for them to park. Ultimately I did NOT get lynched by my neighbors, though they were clearly put out a bit.

One of the more daunting tasks, I thought, was "how are they gonna hide all of the licensing seen in the store?". Between the giant Sega banners and neon Nintendo signs and branding, branding, branding all over the place what I did NOT expect was that they would literally remove all of it and replace everything with "fake" game material. The art direction team created a dozen or so generic (and some quite humorous) games, complete with DVD cases, posters, standees, and signage. I can't share the details but I was allowed to keep most of that stuff so you'll get to see it soon.

I got a huge break due to the licensing issues, however. In addition to creating fake games, they had also created a fake store but for some reason it got shot down and I was asked if they could use the Digital Press name and logo instead. Yeah, like I was gonna say no to that! So they made up polo-shirts with the Digital Press name on them, had actors hold the accessory bags that we have our name and logo on , and even had the logo on some of the background signage. I'm not sure how well these things will show up in the final product, but I'll bet they're in the shots somewhere.

It was a great experience for me personally and a nice feather in the cap for the store itself (I'm thinking I can use "... as seen on television" as part of the overall advertising). The commercial will air "in March" - that's all of the detail I've got - and when it does you can be sure I'll fill in the final chapter with pictures and video I took during the two day adventure.

[jcalder8]

It sounds like it was an amazing experience and I can't wait to see the finished product.

[Porksta]

Wait, they moved the arcade cabinets? Does that mean all the high scores were reset!!!???

[TonyTheTiger]

snip

Nice. I'm glad to hear everything went smoothly. I can't wait to see this commercial. Sounds pretty cool that they let you keep some of the lighting but please tell me they let you keep Viking Conquest.


While rounding the corner one of my store neighbors pulled me into the nail salon. She was pissed that all of the parking spots were taken up and her customers were cancelling appointments because there was nowhere for them to park.

LOL Leave it to nail salon customers to cancel appointments because they have to park a block or two away.


Wait, they moved the arcade cabinets? Does that mean all the high scores were reset!!!???

I'm envisioning that episode of Seinfeld with the Frogger machine.

[Porksta]

Dude, so was I!

We need holes!

[Mayhem]

Looking forward to the video and photos... we've gotten most of the Capital One adverts over here on TV so I'm interested to see if this one makes it as well...

[Ed Oscuro]

Niiiice.

Score one for the good guys!

[slapdash]

One of the more daunting tasks, I thought, was "how are they gonna hide all of the licensing seen in the store?". Between the giant Sega banners and neon Nintendo signs and branding, branding, branding all over the place what I did NOT expect was that they would literally remove all of it and replace everything with "fake" game material.

Hmm, bummer they didn't think to get permission for some nice homebrew stuff.


The art direction team created a dozen or so generic (and some quite humorous) games, complete with DVD cases, posters, standees, and signage. I can't share the details but I was allowed to keep most of that stuff so you'll get to see it soon.

At a CGExpo auction, possibly? :-)

[Jorpho]

If those "generic" creations are worth hanging onto, methinks it is entirely inevitable that one of them will sooner or later inspire a homebrew creation. This I predict.

[c0ldb33r]

This is great, I can't wait to see the commercial and the behind-the-scenes extras. This thread will be akin to DVD extras for the commercial ;)

[RPG_Fanatic]

March is almost over any word when it's coming out?

[The 1 2 P]

March is almost over any word when it's coming out?

Good question. I think we are all excited to see this.

[MarioMania]

When's the commercial coming out

[guitargary75]

I can't wait to see it.

[digitalpress]

Since March has passed, I thought it would be OK to call the ad agency in charge of the commercial. It took two days but someone got back to me.

The commercial is set to air starting on April 6th on MTV. It will probably run quite frequently from that point on, but it's not likely to appear on other stations. That means ME, who used to love MTV but fell out of love when they forgot about the "M" in MTV, will be camped out that day watching.

I'm working on getting a copy of the commercial as well, so we can post it here or on YouTube or anywhere that it can be appreciated beyond the MTV crowd! If anyone manages to grab a digital version via TIVO please let me know.

[Tupin]

Sounds pretty cool, but I'm not going to subject to myself to modern-day MTV just to see a commercial.

Thank goodness for Youtube.

[The 1 2 P]

Sounds pretty cool, but I'm not going to subject to myself to modern-day MTV just to see a commercial.

Thank goodness for Youtube.

Seconded. Mtv sucks balls these days. I do really want to see the commercial though since I haven't had a chance to visit the store in over a year.

[digitalpress]

Switching back and forth between MTV and MTV2 for the last two hours. No sign of the commercial yet, but are there actually people who watch "The Hills" or "Viva Le Bam" for ENJOYMENT? This is brutal.

I just KNOW that it isn't gonna turn up until tonight and by that time I'll be a vegetable. I also know that if I do something else it will show up seconds later, and I want to be the first to see it!

I may be getting a copy from the ad agency. One guy said they can't send out a video because of an arrangement with the Screen Actor's Guild. The other guy asked if I wanted a copy sent to the store *shrug*

[c0ldb33r]

...but are there actually people who watch "The Hills" or "Viva Le Bam" for ENJOYMENT? This is brutal.
That's pretty funny. I've seen the hills advertised on other stations and it looks horrendous! LOL

Hopefully it won't be long between when it's on MTV and when someone sticks it on youtube.

[RJ]

Couldnt you just tape/dvr/tivo & then watch it back in FF? It'd take less time than sitting there, for sure...

[digitalpress]

Couldnt you just tape/dvr/tivo & then watch it back in FF? It'd take less time than sitting there, for sure...

That would be smart thing to do, but then I wouldn't be watching it "LIVE" the first time it's shown, which I'm hoping to make part of the overall experience.

I'm gonna have a fit if it doesn't show up at all today though. No way I'm doing this another day!

[TonyTheTiger]

Isn't it sad when the commercials are the best part of a particular TV network? Watch it go on at 11:59pm.

[kainemaxwell]

I'm gonna have a fit if it doesn't show up at all today though. No way I'm doing this another day!
yeah, forcing yourself to watch MTV for one day is bad enough, any longer is torture.

[jb143]

I can't believe I've missed this thread before now. I just assumed it was a poll to see what credit cards people use. Market research or something. LOL

Anyways, belated congratulations on the whole experience and I can't wait to see the commercial.

[The 1 2 P]

I'm gonna have a fit if it doesn't show up at all today though. No way I'm doing this another day!

No pain no gainLOL

[klausien]

Any news?

[digitalpress]

Any news?

I didn't see it at all yesterday. I refuse to watch MTV and "wait" beyond that. When it airs I'm sure we'll find out.

[c0ldb33r]

There's nothing on youtube yet. I searched "capital one" for videos uploaded this week. There are four videos and none of them are it.

[tholly]

Someone please post a link when this is on the net.....

[guitargary75]

Someone please post a link when this is on the net.....

I 2nd that.

[guitargary75]

Anybody seen it yet?

[tholly]

I don't watch too much tv, but I haven't yet. Anyone post it to the net yet?

[The 1 2 P]

It's still not on youtube yet.

[digitalpress]

It started airing on MTV sometime this evening. I don't know how to get the video from Tivo to my PC, but I'll work on it. I'm guessing someone else has done this before and will figure it out sooner than I will.

The commercial is great though! And CLEARLY taken from the DP store, even if you've only seen it in pictures.

[jcalder8]

It started airing on MTV sometime this evening. I don't know how to get the video from Tivo to my PC, but I'll work on it. I'm guessing someone else has done this before and will figure it out sooner than I will.

The commercial is great though! And CLEARLY taken from the DP store, even if you've only seen it in pictures.
Awesome! I'm glad to hear that it looks good and I can't wait to see it.

[optic_85]

Sounds awesome. I can't wait!

Also, it's kind of cool of Capitol One to use an independently owned games store instead of some massive chain. Kudos to them.

[Neb]

Just grabbed the commercial off MTV. The audio is a bit overdriven the entire time because I‘m not good enough to know how to use my capture card... but I guess that makes it authentic, since the rock gods at Capital One clearly like it LOUD!

http://seikobom.com/dpCapOne.wmv

[kainemaxwell]

I'm gonna convert this to avi and youtube it until we get a better version up.

[TonyTheTiger]

Awesome commercial. I'm glad to see Viking Conquest made it in. You can definitely tell it's the same store but I can't really read the clerk's shirt to see if it says Digital Press, though. I hope we can get a higher res version.

[Matt-El]

Better yet, someone make a gif of that fat asian guy at 3 secondsLOL

[kainemaxwell]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Vtk5zMcSk4
Be sure to rate and comment. :P

Clerk looks like he's dressed for Ghostbusters. ^_^

[digitalpress]

Better yet, someone make a gif of that fat asian guy at 3 secondsLOL

Done.

[ryborg]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Vtk5zMcSk4


Awesome! I'm glad this turned out so well.

[digitalpress]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Vtk5zMcSk4
Be sure to rate and comment. :P

Clerk looks like he's dressed for Ghostbusters. ^_^

Good job. I'm a little wary about putting this in the DP YouTube area since I signed a non-disclosure agreement... I think I have to wait a bit before I can show this stuff off. I've got some great behind-the-scenes pictures to share, as well as a blog entry or two. OH... can you edit and replace "commerical" with "commercial" in the title of the YouTube page?

[kainemaxwell]

no prob. When someone finds a better quality version, I'll replace it with the better version.

[jcalder8]

LOL that was amazing Joe.

It's funny to watch because I've never been to the store, heck I've never been within 5 states of the store but I feel connected to it. I'll have to come visit just so I can say I was there!

[MrRoboto19XX]

Nice! I especially liked the lines of white neon on the front counter. I feel like that should be a permanent addition to signal purchases of epic proportion.

[Mayhem]

Aha hah... much goodness ;)

[Hitman Tyler]

OMG Joe, that ws hilarious.

[optic_85]

*LoL* That was very....Odd. Congrats on the commercial!

[digitalpress]

Nice! I especially liked the lines of white neon on the front counter. I feel like that should be a permanent addition to signal purchases of epic proportion.

They left the lower part of the island rigged up with the neons, but it took extra wires running from the bottom half of the island to the top to do the top - plus the neons would run right across the TV screen I have up there (they covered that for the commercial). So I had them remove the top half.

The effects on the bottom are great though. It's controlled with two vehicle remotes! One remote controls the odd rows, the other the even rows. There are three levels of strobe for each set or I can fade/dim each set individually. Great for tournament winners! Or just for inducing epilepsy in problem customers.

[jb143]

Congrats on the exposure and experience. I'm not too sure I "got" the commercial though. I guess I'm just not hip enough. And where were the vikings? I though they were mentioned earlier.

[aaron7]

Is there any idictation that this is the DP store at all? Or did I miss it?

[digitalpress]

Congrats on the exposure and experience. I'm not too sure I "got" the commercial though. I guess I'm just not hip enough. And where were the vikings? I though they were mentioned earlier.

I know what you mean, I think they lost something in the edit. The storyboard is pretty good and it seemed a lot funnier when we were watching it all done live:

Guy walks up to the register and hands his MTV Capital One card to the clerk. As the clerk swipes it, the lights go out, rock music starts blaring, neons flicker around the register area, fireworks go off, lasers and fog all around, two store employees roll up with giant speakers behind them playing guitar and their guitars shoot fireworks, the clerk dons some pimped-out headphones and is "scratching" to the music with the card in the swiper.

The customer takes his card back, everything goes back to normal. The guy behind him, an older guy who walks up to the register still dancing (though there's no music) hands the clerk his "loser" card.

And all he gets is a little guy in a dutch cap, who plays a little accordian jingle.

I guess it was hard to cram all of that into 30 seconds, and maybe that's why it took so long to get "out there".

Vikings were never mentioned. In fact, I signed a non-disclosure agreement prohibiting me to share anything about the plot until the thing aired.


Is there any idictation that this is the DP store at all? Or did I miss it?

If you're asking if there was any advertising for the store, the answer is no - nor was that ever part of the deal. If you look closely at the logos on any of the store employee's grey shirts, you might spot the Digital Press name (though we were only able to do this by freezing the image on our HD Tivo - it's really blurry on the YouTube rip). And of course if you've ever been to the store or even seen pictures of it, it is unmistakably the same place.

I'm really proud of this! When advertising I can now say "as seen on television" :)

[jb143]

Vikings were never mentioned. In fact, I signed a non-disclosure agreement prohibiting me to share anything about the plot until the thing aired.




Awesome commercial. I'm glad to see Viking Conquest made it in.

I guess this is what I was thinking of that made me think there'd be vikings. I didn't catch any viking reference.

The long version does seem like it would make more sense and sounds funnier. Maybe they'll air that part later. I know commercials will do stuff like that some times.

[digitalpress]

I guess this is what I was thinking of that made me think there'd be vikings. I didn't catch any viking reference.

"Viking Conquest" was one of the fake games they created box art, standees and posters for. I kept some of that stuff at the store, Mike seems to have some fascination with that particular one :)