As a director, there are a couple of adages that tend to have more than an ounce of truth. One “Never work on water” (remember Kevin Costner’s near career suicide with “Waterworld”?) and “Never work with babies”. That second one we put to the test…and lived to tell the tale.
We survived, but it involved very bad singing and bruised fruit.
The project: Direct a spot for United Way of Central Indiana on their initiative to make sure kids get quality day care service. We got the call from our friends at WFYI, and United Way agency, Hirons, would drive the campaign creative. Their spot script, written by the talented Tom Aschauer, was all about a kid. A lovely, unpredictable 10 month old, BABY. I know Tom laughed with evil glee as he typed it.
You see, kids that young can’t be coached. Can’t be cajoled. Can’t be tricked. They know Mommy, Daddy and food are good. Production crews with black cameras, bright lights and in need of shave, probably bad. So, they get uncomfortable. The kids cry. The director frowns and mutters, “Never work with babies”.
As soon as we put our baby in the crib for the master shot we needed, She realized she wan’t in Kansas anymore and the waterworks began. She was a sweetie, and we felt badly for her, but we were getting no shots. We tried getting her Mom to come in an soothe her, but as soon as she was back in the crib, so came the tears. Finally, a woman from the ad agency started singing happy birthday. The baby stopped and looked. Happy Birthday is a short song. When it ended…crying. More of us sang the song a second time. The baby was rapt. Babies are cute when they are rapt. We were getting shots! So we sang, and sang….AND SANG. Everyone on set–crew, agency, parents, and yes, director– was singing. And while it was horribly off key, it was working. Cue the video.