BOISE, Idaho — This story originally appeared in The Idaho Press
It’s a real thing.
In the pantheon of advertising and marketing, Coca-Cola is legendary. And for nearly a quarter of a century, the soda giant has turned to young filmmakers across the country to come up with ever new, creative and dynamic commercials. But it works two ways — the company doesn’t just look at what young filmmakers produce and then choose their favorite submission. They offer them tools and guidance throughout the process. The stated goal of the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films Program is “to help all participating filmmakers further their careers and provide a real-world professional opportunity to work with a global brand.”
The program has now whittled down from hundreds of entries in 53 schools to the top five finalists — and Bella and Gracie Hall, a sisters team from Boise State University, is one of them. Each team gets $18,000 to create and produce a 60-second spot commercial. During the production process they also get to work with top industry post-production technicians and equipment and get movie theater access.
This spring, a panel of industry professionals will choose the grand prize-winning film which will make its debut in AMC Theatres, Cinemark Theatres, Cineplex Cinemas, Landmark Cinemas and other Coca-Cola-pouring theaters nationwide.
Another award, the Cinemark Fan Favorite Award ($2,857), is up to the public to decide. Each of the finalist films will be hosted online for moviegoers, family and friends to vote for their favorite film. The film with the most votes will be awarded the Fan Favorite. Viewing and voting — you can vote once daily — is open to the public and began April 1 and runs through April 30. Vote on the website at cocacola.promo.eprize.com/fanfavorites or use the QR code, attached.
In addition, Jump is hosting the premiere of “Expand,” Gracie and Bella Hall’s Coca-Cola Refreshing Films commercial, at 6 p.m. in the Pioneer Room on First Thursday, free and open to the public.
Past winners of the program have gone on to make award-winning content for Funny or Die, Nickelodeon and MTV, and have earned top creative positions at advertising firms like Deutsch.
Boise Weekly reached out via email to the Boise State filmmaking finalists who produced their commercial, “Expand,” to ask them what it’s been like throughout the process, how it’s going and what they’ll do if they win. The following conversation has been edited for print; read the entire story online at boiseweekly.com.
Gracie and Bella, out of 600 submissions, it’s now down to the wire: you are one of the five finalists in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films program. Can you talk a bit about how this all came to be? When and how did you first hear about it — and why did you toss your hats into the ring?
Gracie: We first heard about the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films program through our school at Boise State. We were really inspired by the films we had seen in theaters from other schools who had participated in the program in past years and we were excited about the opportunity to share our work in the same way on that kind of scale. When we heard that the period for entries was open, we couldn’t wait to toss our hats in the ring. We were exhilarated by the challenge and the opportunity to put ourselves out. As student filmmakers, having the kind of opportunity that this program provides in terms of exposure and professional experience is beyond invaluable and one of the biggest reasons why we had to apply.
Bella: After we found out we were one of the 25 semi-finalist teams, we had one week to build out our application for finalist consideration. One week of Zoom calls with our CCRF (Coca-Cola Refreshing Films) advisor, multiple script revisions, updating storyboards, creating animatics, putting together a creative treatment, and pitching our crew. On the day before Thanksgiving, we found out we were one of the five finalist teams. Going into this project, we knew it was going to be a big production, but we quickly learned just how big. Pre-production was a busy few months of figuring out insurance, set building, Zoom calls, balancing the dynamics of a 50-plus-person crew, etc. During a non-stop winter break full of pre-production, I remember wondering how balancing school and the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films program would be.
A little about your backgrounds — are you both film students or otherwise have you been involved in storytelling? Did you make movies a la Steven Spielberg when you were kids?
Gracie: Yes, we are both film and television arts students in our last semester at Boise State, but we’ve been making movies together and with our family since we were both in junior high. We actually started out making book trailers on iPhones about our favorite books when we were kids because we wanted to encourage people to find great stories to read. It makes me proud to look back on those early videos and to see how our work has evolved to now.
Bella: Making book trailers and short films as kids went on to evolve into other longer format projects, 48-hour filmmaking challenges, and film festivals. I feel like we learn so much after each project and it makes me excited to continue telling stories through film.
Everyone loves the behind-the-scenes stories. Gracie, you wrote and produced the commercial you submitted, and Bella, you directed it. Were you both involved in that process — for instance, Gracie, did you also have input into directing suggestions and Bella, did Gracie toss story ideas around with you?
Gracie: The creative process for developing this spot was really fun and collaborative. It was also incredibly rigorous and challenging stepping into this professional realm as student filmmakers and getting a serious taste of what it’s like working for a global brand. This program tossed us into a professional environment where we got to experience the same things that a seasoned agency would be dealing with working for a global client. We went through numerous rounds of revision to get approval on our script and our production design, we assembled our cast of actors as well as our crew, we sourced release forms, we scheduled full cast and crew rehearsals, we secured COIs in order to certify a fully insured production, established our budget, and so much more. Learning how to navigate the countless moving parts of a production of this scale all while working with a massive brand was really challenging and a lot to juggle but also extremely rewarding and educational. We are able to come away from this experience having been exposed to the professional industry standards of working with a brand as well as understanding different workflow processes within a professional context. It was interesting learning how to balance the creative process with the expectations of a global brand and the support we had from our program mentors coaching us every step of the way was everything.
On the creative side of things, Bella is an incredible director and has a wonderful eye, so watching her bring something I’d written to life with her directorial flair was thrilling. This was also the first time the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films program had a team of sisters which was especially fun. There were moments on set when we would notice something on the monitor we liked or were excited about and we would look at each other and kind of have a moment of sister telepathy. We know each other so well and have really similar tastes so working with someone I both trust and admire who also happens to be my sister is something I am beyond grateful for.
Bella: There did seem to be those sibling telepathy moments where we’d see something happening on the monitor and look at each other like, “that looked pretty snazzy.” Creating time for rehearsal was important to us, too, with having a big practical set move a part of the production. A lot of the set pieces have to move in sync so we had some fun “mind reading” moments during rehearsals with the cast and crew where everyone was moving together. Seeing the storyboards come to life and everyone working together to move the world of Expand was a cool way to bring the cast and crew together and become prepared as a team to embark on the adventure of a back-to-back night shoot.
You filmed your entry at Cinemark in Meridian. Can you talk a little about that experience? What was it like to see your ideas come to fruition right in front of your eyes? Were there moments that were: challenging, frustrating, funny? Details, please.
Gracie: Watching our ideas come to life on set was incredibly exciting and validating. Filming at the Cinemark in Meridian was really amazing and it was the perfect location for our film to be made. We worked really hard throughout the development process of honing the story, script, and storyboard early on, so watching that come to fruition with our talented and dedicated crew was really special. Everyone worked very hard to bring this spot to life and seeing everyone rally together on set in their different departments was inspiring. There was so much intense preparation leading up to filming that when we finally hit the ground running at the theater, we were ready to rock and roll.
Bella: Randall, the general manager at the Cinemark we filmed at, was such an amazing presence on set and really helpful with everything from clearing concessions to coordinating a movie for our background actors while there was downtime. I was honestly a lot less tired than I thought I would be during the night shoots, which was a welcome surprise. One thing that was humorously odd though was when we had a few more hours left to film and everyone’s morning alarms started going off. Then the sun started to rise and it started to hit everyone that we had been up all night.
Coca-Cola is pretty dedicated to this program to help young filmmakers such as yourselves. Can you describe what that process was like?
Gracie: The Coca-Cola Refreshing Films program has presented a really unique opportunity and learning experience for us as student filmmakers getting ready to move into the next chapter of our filmmaking career after graduation. It has presented its challenges and learning how to balance a project of this scale as a full-time college student was a process. It’s given me the belief in myself and helped me realize all I am capable of as a filmmaker getting ready to enter into this industry. The skills I will come away with as a result of this program and the professional experience it’s given me is very meaningful. It means a lot that a global brand like Coca-Cola runs programs like this because being an advocate for emerging filmmakers and helping them to further their careers matters.
Bella: This really has been a massive learning experience. To have the support of such an iconic global brand like Coca-Cola and the support from our program mentors, Ed and Katie, was really motivating. One of the many fun hands-on learning aspects of this process was the behind-the-scenes element with content capturing and creating media plans. Working with our behind-the-scenes (BTS) team on those plans and gathering content throughout pre-production, production, and post has been a lot of fun and a great way to reflect on everything that our cast and crew has put together.
You also got to work with Company 3 Color Studios during post-production and to work with top colorists in the industry. What exactly was that like and what kinds of things did you learn that may have surprised you?
Gracie: Working with top colorists at Company 3 was an absolutely incredible experience. The caliber and talent of their artists is off the charts and to watch our spot come to life in this part of the post-production process was really exciting and inspiring to witness.
Bella: Being in that theater and watching our amazing colorist, Jared, at Company 3 color Expand was so interesting to watch. To learn about that workflow and hear stories from the producers at CO3 about other projects and workflows was really inspiring. It made me excited to keep making movies and pursuing more projects of this scale.
If your commercial wins, it will be shown on the big screen during movie previews across the country. What are your thoughts on that possibility?
Gracie: It would be beyond amazing! The thought of having the result of months of hard work up on the big screen would feel indescribable. This program has been so instrumental in showing us what we’re capable of and the support and encouragement we’ve received as student filmmakers from this program has been life-changing. The fan favorite award is an opportunity to share our film with movie lovers across the country and we can’t wait to share our spot with everyone. The film will be viewable at coke.com/cinemark and movie fans will have the chance to vote on their favorite (daily) until April 30.
Bella: That really would be the cherry on top! Whether it ends up screening in theaters or not, the learning that has taken place over the course of these past months since October has been immeasurable. Seeing the support from our Boise community and the dedication of our cast and crew has been really heart-warming. I feel like we’ve all learned so much. This has been one of the most challenging, inspiring, and educational filmmaking experiences I’ve been a part of. I’m excited to implement what I’ve learned through this program in future projects and to keep having fun and telling more stories.
Looking into your own crystal balls, what do you hope for or what would your reaching-for-the-stars wishes be?
Gracie: Looking into our own crystal balls, our biggest hope and goal is to start our own production company. We are so excited to continue growing as artists after this project. This program has given us such an amazing opportunity and platform to practice these skills on such an incredible scale and we can’t wait to transfer what we’ve learned from this experience into what’s next as we continue pursuing careers as filmmakers.
Bella: Looking into a crystal ball moment, I see a lot of fun projects in the future. I really want to continue to make whimsical comedies. The biggest goal is to have fun and make people happy. The Coca-Cola Refreshing Films program has been an amazing learning opportunity that has inspired and given us the confidence to keep making fun projects.
Anything else you’d like to say?
We would like to say a massive thank you to our program mentors Katie Pryor, Ed Hellman, and Aviva Kleiner for all of their support and guidance throughout this entire process. It’s been challenging and beyond rewarding and we are grateful for the belief that they’ve had in us from the beginning.
This article originally appeared in the Idaho Press, read more on IdahoPress.com.
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