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

[digitalpress]

EDIT 06/03/09: I finally got around to adding a page with the photos and videos taken "behind the scenes" during the two days Capital One/MTV's commercial was being prepped and filmed. I included scans of the storyboard-schedule which is also pretty interesting

http://www.digitpress.com/images/store/index_46.htm

###

So check it out.

About a week ago I get a call from home, it's Katie at the store. There's a "scout" who had been calling all morning standing in front of her, he needs to talk to me about a commercial he wants to film using the store as a location. Sounds interesting but I never expect much from these kinds of visits.

This scout was representing Capital One, and unless you've been hiding from your television over the past year, this would be another in their series of "What's In Your Wallet?" commercials. Now THAT is cool, and suddenly I'm listening. Ironically, one of their commercials was on my TV at the time - the sorta-cool one where they have various generic videogame characters using their card.

Just about an hour ago I got the final confirmation call. They're really gonna do it!

I have to close the store next Thursday and Friday for the filming. Thursday is a set-up day, Friday is the filming itself. There are approximately 70 people in their crew including the technicians and actors (and though they need 10 extras it's Screen Actor's Guild people only so you won't see me when it airs. Maybe that's a good thing, really). The store layout is going to get moved around A LOT but they always put things back to the way they were.

I'm pretty excited! I'll try to take pictures and/or video if I'm allowed to, and I'll have more info on Tuesday when they come in and do a technical analysis and contracts are signed.

[gamegirl79]

Wow. How awesome! Can't wait to see pics and video. :)

[Tupin]

I've never seen the commercial you're talking about, and I watch network TV all the time. D:

That's pretty cool, though, I can't wait for coverage on it.

[hellfire]

thats awsome!

[MrRoboto19XX]

That's awesome, I too look forward to seeing all of this!

[PapaStu]

I'd get a DP branded Capital One card.

Low Interest Rate? Check!

Access to all teh rarez gamez? Check!

Hot picture of a sauced Joe, John and Sean? Check!

[Tupin]

I'd get a DP branded Capital One card.

Low Interest Rate? Check!

Access to all teh rarez gamez? Check!

Hot picture of a sauced Joe, John and Sean? Check!
Register now for a chance to win 2k monies!

[Oobgarm]

That is pretty bitchin', I must say.

[Sniderman]

Most of the Capital One commericals have a star or two in 'em. Whoot!

[Chainclaw]

They probably won't let you leave the store webcam up when they film, but it would be fun if they did

[digitalpress]

They probably won't let you leave the store webcam up when they film, but it would be fun if they did

Actually they will, and I fully intend to use it. I can take pictures and video too.

[Mayhem]

Looking forward to the media :)

[SegaAges]

Hopefully they make a good joke of saying that when you step into the DP store, you have nothing left in your wallet, hehehe

(no Joe, that is a compliment, not an insult)

[digitalpress]

The "plot" sounds really elaborate and lots of fun.

I'm really looking forward to this. Thursday is the building and set-up. Friday is the actual filming. I'll do my best to document the day, it's something really worth sharing!

[sidnotcrazy]

Man, this is great! I hope the vikings are in this. Don't let them rampage your store Joe!

[FxMercenary]

this is indeed epic!

[Vectorman0]

The "plot" sounds really elaborate and lots of fun.

Customer walks up to the register, pays with a Capital One card. Suddenly the store is transformed into a rock stage, singer drops down from above, the clerks bust out guitars, there's a DJ, lots of noise and lights, etc. A second customer walks up and pays with some other card and is greeted by an accordion player.

I'm really looking forward to Friday. I'll do my best to document the day, it's something really worth sharing!

Is John Hardie going to be the singer that drops in from above through the skylights? I heard he has experience with that.

[TheGam3r]

DigitalPress will packed thanks to that commercial

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Dude.

That's freaking awesome.

Is the director looking for creative/casting input?

I think the band should be called "K.C. and the Munchkins" and Mike should play the lead singer.

;)

[otoko]

This will be awesome. Can't wait to actually see it!

--Zero

[Hitman Tyler]

OMG! Who ever thought the DP store would get this, I expect Gamestop. But like Holy Shit, CONGRATULATIONS! I cannot wait to see this on the BIG SCREEN.

[Porksta]

Are you getting fat stacks for this ad, or any type of publicity?

[digitalpress]

Are you getting fat stacks for this ad, or any type of publicity?

I don't know about publicity - I'll certainly do everything I can to sneak the DP brand name in there but not counting on it. They are paying me for the gig, though. Definitely worth my time.

[guitargary75]

That's awesome.

[DigitalSpace]

The "plot" sounds really elaborate and lots of fun.

Customer walks up to the register, pays with a Capital One card. Suddenly the store is transformed into a rock stage, singer drops down from above, the clerks bust out guitars, there's a DJ, lots of noise and lights, etc. A second customer walks up and pays with some other card and is greeted by an accordion player.

Sorry Armadillo, but I think your Capital One ad is about to be bested.

[jcalder8]

Wow that's great. I can't wait to see how the ad turns out.

[Bojay1997]

So check it out.

About a week ago I get a call from home, it's Katie at the store. There's a "scout" who had been calling all morning standing in front of her, he needs to talk to me about a commercial he wants to film using the store as a location. Sounds interesting but I never expect much from these kinds of visits.

This scout was representing Capital One, and unless you've been hiding from your television over the past year, this would be another in their series of "What's In Your Wallet?" commercials. Now THAT is cool, and suddenly I'm listening. Ironically, one of their commercials was on my TV at the time - the sorta-cool one where they have various generic videogame characters using their card.

Just about an hour ago I got the final confirmation call. They're really gonna do it!

I have to close the store next Thursday and Friday for the filming. Thursday is a set-up day, Friday is the filming itself. There are approximately 70 people in their crew including the technicians and actors (and though they need 10 extras it's Screen Actor's Guild people only so you won't see me when it airs. Maybe that's a good thing, really). The store layout is going to get moved around A LOT but they always put things back to the way they were.

I'm pretty excited! I'll try to take pictures and/or video if I'm allowed to, and I'll have more info on Tuesday when they come in and do a technical analysis and contracts are signed.

I know this sounds exciting and I don't want to be the guy who brings you down, but as someone who has been a producer on a fair number of national commercials and a lot of cable reality television over the past few years years, I can tell you that I would never in a million years ever let anyone shoot at my home or business. No matter what they tell you, having a 70 person cast and crew, along with the full contents of a couple of grip trucks and tons of lights in any actual working business space is a sure recipe for damage. I know the production manager and location scouts will probably convince you that they will take care of everything and that the crew will gently move everything back into place, but the reality is a lot different than that. Paint will be damaged, floor surfaces will be torn or scraped, edges on countertops will be chipped and if you have a lot of glass, it will be scratched and possibly cracked. Production gear is metal and heavy and it has lots of sharp edges. For example, I produced a five day shoot in Hawaii last Christmas and we rented an unfurnished 10 million dollar house and ended up doing about $50,000 in damage to the house over the five days and I had a very careful crew I had worked with for several years and we were using a relatively modest lighting and camera package. Having said all that, please make sure that they are paying you a reasonable rental fee on top of whatever lost business you will have for the two days and that they agree to immediately pay for any damage and then they can deal with their insurance company as opposed to forcing you to deal with them. I know I'm not gonna talk you out of doing this, but at least go into it from a business angle and don't get caught up in the glamour which you will soon find is pretty non-existent.

[Jorpho]

The only Capital One commercials I've seen here in Canada are a rather tiresome series featuring the Devil having to deal with hell freezing over.

[Bratwurst]

Unless the commercial actually mentioned your business name I just don't see the hassle being worth it.

[TonyTheTiger]

This is too awesome. It's too killer. It's too bodacious. It's too tubular. It's too...some other 80s catchphrase!

Seriously, this is great. As for sneaking in the DP brand in the commercial...perhaps you should stick the name in places they aren't likely to either notice or be able to cover up. Like a sticker on the front windows, the walls, or something.


Having said all that, please make sure that they are paying you a reasonable rental fee on top of whatever lost business you will have for the two days and that they agree to immediately pay for any damage and then they can deal with their insurance company as opposed to forcing you to deal with them. I know I'm not gonna talk you out of doing this, but at least go into it from a business angle and don't get caught up in the glamour which you will soon find is pretty non-existent.

I actually firmly agree with this. I do think this is cool but keep your own interests in mind. Get it all in writing that they'll pay for any damage and make sure there's a specific time frame that payment should be made so they'll have to pay it regardless of what they're doing with their insurance company. They can fight with insurance all they want after they pay you. In fact, just get everything in writing. When they come in, with what, with whom, how long they stay, when they leave, etc. Don't let anybody feed you anything about "it's standard" or "don't worry about it." And though it might be a hassle, get photographs of the store as it is now with the date on the pictures. Take pictures of everything so that if you notice any damage after the filming you can take a picture of the "after" state and have a comparison shot. Although I'm sure the security cameras will do the brunt of that work.

[Videogamerdaryll]

That is awesome news!!

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

In addition to the DP brand, I vote that you should sneak an "It Calm The Beef Min!" in somewhere. Possibly if they want to change the titles of the arcade machine marquees?

I also agree that you should keep an eye on the physical condition of your store/have its best interests in mind during this production.

Knowing that you're the kind of guy that thinks of most things in advance, I'm sure you've already though about that, and I'm sure you'll be there to supervise as much of the goings on as they'll allow you to.

[digitalpress]

Knowing that you're the kind of guy that thinks of most things in advance, I'm sure you've already though about that, and I'm sure you'll be there to supervise as much of the goings on as they'll allow you to.

I'm glad there's someone here who actually *knows* me!

Trust me, I've been on the phone with everyone over the last week and "coverage on existing property" has been one of my top 3 issues. The other two are money as well.

I don't know what seems "glamorous" about this as I don't expect any publicity or personal notoriety. What I expect are two days of being involved in something I never thought I'd be involved in in this lifetime, followed by a lifetime of being able to say "that was MY store in that nationally televised commercial".

Life is about the stories you can share. It's why I left my crummy office job to do this in the first place. Thanks to all for the concern, though. I promise I'll come out of this just fine.

[c0ldb33r]

That's fantastic news! Congrats!

Why'd they pick your store? Who turned them on to you? Do you think the popularity of this site helped?

Very cool.

[Red Warrior]

Dang it! What a time for me to get rid of cable! :(
Oh well, maybe someone will youtube it... (hint hint)

Anyway, congrats on the opportunity to be part of something very unique! :)

[The 1 2 P]

This is really cool. I also think it will lead to the inevitable Geico commercial staring the gecko, a cave man and Joe. I can see it now:

Gecko: "I just found a gold NWC cart. What you get?"

Caveman: "I just found a complete Stadium Events. What about you Joe?"

Joe: "I found another copy of SMB/Duck Hunt. But I can afford it this time because I just saved a bunch of money on car insurance by switching to Geico."

Surely a commercial of the year contender.

[Phyeir]

That's awesome, those commercials are good. Are they doing one with the Vikings, pillaginng the store or wondering what this strange shiny disk is or something? Well, I guess we'll all see in good time.

[digitalpress]

That's awesome, those commercials are good. Are they doing one with the Vikings, pillaginng the store or wondering what this strange shiny disk is or something? Well, I guess we'll all see in good time.

Back up a few posts, I described the plot. It sounds better than the vikings commercials to me.

[Sosage]

That's cool man! I was afraid it would be vikings bashing your games... =P

[Volcanon]

can this be youtubed so i dont have to just hear about it?

[Jumpman Jr.]

That's actually sick, Joe. I can't wait to see it air!

[boatofcar]

In addition to the DP brand, I vote that you should sneak an "It Calm The Beef Min!" in somewhere. Possibly if they want to change the titles of the arcade machine marquees?

That is an awesome idea!


:popcorn::popcorn: :popcorn:

[Bandicat]

How did all of this come about?

[Superman]

It's good that you are looking at it mainly from the experience standpoint, Joe. The point of Capital One commercials aren't to drum up business for a particular business; it is to drum up business for Capital One.

I'm pretty sure I have never seen a commercial and gotten the urge to visit the place where that commercial was filmed. Even, when Funcoland did their commercial were the parents took the kids into the store and left and the store turned into a big concert/party, it only reminded me to visit Funcoland. It didn't make me want to seek out that particular store (the one in the commercial.)

For those of in the know, however, it gives us a topic of conversation and another reason to want to visit the store.

Congratulations, Joe! :cheers: And good luck with the event.

[Hitman Tyler]

Possibly today is a little planning.. :looks @ webcam:.

[Vectorman0]

The potential star of the commerical was found scoping out the store for his grand entrance.

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

[digitalpress]

Possibly today is a little planning.. :looks @ webcam:.

Yeah! Between 9:30 and noon'ish, there were 15-20 of the "planners" for the commercial in the store scoping things out, asking a lot of questions, giving a lot of answers. First off, to whoever was concerned about the damage they might leave behind, there is a nice fat deposit check being left with me. They can fuck up the carpets all they want.

A few things I learned today:

- I'm definitely not getting in the commercial, even as some distant customer. It's a union thing, and only SAG members will appear.

- I'm going to be taking lots of photos and video and that is allowed, but I'm not allowed to post the images here or YouTube or anywhere, really until AFTER the commercial airs. I kinda figured it was going to go that way.

- It looks like I WILL be able to squeeze the Digital Press brand name into the commercial somewhere, whether it be our t-shirts on some extras or the logo appearing near the register or whereever else it seems to "fit". Thank GOD I had the Digital Press name and logo registered/trademarked when I opened the store. It cost some money and there have been times I wish I didn't bother (like whenever I have to renew it) but I think that move is finally going to pay off. No, I don't expect anyone to see the fleeting DP logo and say "whoa I gotta shop at that store!", but I do expect everyone who knows us to say "hey! I know those guys!", and that's good enough for me. Kinda nice for the store's "resume", if that makes any sense.

- It's a small world, classic gamers. The guy who introduced himself as "the laser guy" (one of the special effects experts) worked for CBS Electronics back in the early 80's and was one of the programmers who ported CBS' Sesame Street games from place to place. Naturally I went into "CGE mode" and he thinks he's got some things from back in the day that he can share with me on Thursday. Pretty cool, huh?

It was really exciting having that group measuring up the store this morning. Some of the guys were playing the arcade games. Best of all are the compliments about the store's "look and feel", which is something I've worked very hard at building and maintaining.

I've got a charmed life lately. I'll share whatever I can here as things unfold.

[Cornelius]

Awesome! Just plain awesome. Congrats, man!

[mnbren05]

That is possibly one of the coolest things I have ever heard. Congrats, enjoy this as it really is a once in a lifetime type deal.

[aaron7]

This is epic. Can't wait to see the commercial!

BTW, once aired, someone upload it to YouTube so I can see it... don't watch much TV lol

[Dastardly Dylan]

Maybe it's me, or is the webcam off? 0.o

[digitalpress]

Maybe it's me, or is the webcam off? 0.o

It's not just you, the IP address of the central computer changed. I've made the adjustments to the router and webcam, everything should be running smoothly again!

[kainemaxwell]

Working now it seems. I see moving lights.

[digitalpress]

Naturally the power in Clifton went out last night so the webcam and router were all discombobulated again until about a half hour ago.

Watch the destruction of the store!

http://www.digitpress.com/webcam.htm

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

I hope you've got the heat shut off since they're leaving the bloody door wide open all morning! ^^; Ha!

[digitalpress]

I hope you've got the heat shut off since they're leaving the bloody door wide open all morning! ^^; Ha!

Yup! We're actually kinda lucky. It's a brisk but nice 'end of the winter' kind of day, 45'ish.

It's pretty weird watching the place get stripped, but a side benefit is that some very old dust bunnies are getting exposed and exterminated.

I'll do my best with the webcam "direction" but it's probably just a matter of time before they throw me off of my little throne. It's a great seat to take in all the action.

[guitargary75]

Are they going to block off the street?

[k8track]

I love watching the webcam! But I have a question! I can't help but notice that as people are moving around the room, they are not walking normally, but seem to be popping around in teleport fashion! How is this possible? I am fascinated! Perhaps there are pockets of ionized chroniton particles localized in the area which facilitate this phenomenon? Or maybe it's some sort of electromagnetic abnormality! Do they even realize it is happening to them? Does it hurt or make you upset to your stomach?

[digitalpress]

Are they going to block off the street?

No, but they have all of the parking in front of the block and half of the parking lot in the back. If you drive by it's pretty obvious something big is going on.

[Mason P.]

I am watching you stand by the front door drinking something. How long do you think you will have to keep this going before the realize whats going on?

[Cornelius]

Do you get to keep the track lighting? :monkey:

[digitalpress]

I am watching you stand by the front door drinking something. How long do you think you will have to keep this going before the realize whats going on?

What do you mean, the random customers strolling in all confused? Probably all day. Tomorrow there will be MUCH more going on here and really no way to even get in from the sound of it.


Do you get to keep the track lighting? :monkey:

The track lighting is mine. They're building some ceiling supports around them.

[GrandAmChandler]

I cringed when they started taking the pinball machine off the wall.... Yikes.

[digitalpress]

I'm too horrified to comment right now :o

You were definitely right about the webcam speed. The more people that use it, the slower it is for everyone. Normally with one or two connections you'd get 6fps. Right now there are about 25 people logged into it at just under 1fps each. Still better than before but not as cool as "streaming".

[PapaStu]

You might want to move the Halo floor mat! I don't know how well it'll take to some of the euiptment and stuff being rolled over it.

[Apollo]

Oh wow, I really want to stop by the store after work today, just to see firsthand how different everything is. Any word on when the commercial is supposed to air?

[tofu]

That gal just took off her jacket, I'm getting excited.

What? It's not that kinda webcam?:D

[Apollo]

Woah, cameras on the move!

[Oobgarm]

Viking Conquest sounds like an awesome game. LOL

[GrandAmChandler]

Viking Conquest sounds like an awesome game. LOL

I dunno, "ELFIN REALM" might give it a run for its money!

[Scrimble]

Joe, please let me know when you start taking preorders for Elfin Realm.

[digitalpress]

Joe, please let me know when you start taking preorders for Elfin Realm.

Those fake games are actually pretty funny. I'll be sure to keep a few "souvenirs". You'll get a laugh out of them up close. One of the games is called "Rodeo Champ". I'm still chuckling on that one.

[Sniderman]

Can sum1 please point me to where I can download the ROMs to these gamez:

Viking Conquest
Elfin Realm
Rodeo Champ

I herd these games are good but I want to try them B4 I buy. Or if you want to put them on a CD for me, I will pay you shipping bak. kthnx

[digitalpress]

The cam is all 'wonky' with the zoom O_O

I usually have that feature turned off but thought it would be cool with so much moving around. Not really, so it's back to "normal".

[dsullo]

Congrats Joe. It's truely a once in a lifetime opportunity. I had a TV Show filmed at my house about a year ago. Same deal - 2 day shoot. It was 2 very very long days.

We really enjoyed the experience and the production company took care of everything. Nothing was damaged. I stilll have the show on my DVR. It goes down as one of the top 5 experiences of my life. I can't wait to see your commercial.

Enjoy it!