THE MARTINI SHOT PRESENTS
DIRECTOR'S TREATMENT
BY NICK JONES
PUPPIES IN THE BUILDING
INTRO
It’s a FUNNY DAY AT THE BANK,
where our charming, over-enthusiastic OTP bank worker has a great idea to find caring new owners for a basket of super-cute puppies, just like OTP bank found new owners for cars last year…
What a great idea…! What a funny idea…! What an idea I cant forget…!
We draw people into the film with cute puppies,
then show them someGREAT LOOKING CARS
and clearly inform them aboutOTP’S COOL NEW CAR OFFER.
It’s a cleverly constructed film,
filled with neat comedy performance and a memorable way to draw customers and viewers to the OTP new cars offer.
You guys are clever!
Key words
Bright. Buzzy. Funny. Positive. Quirky.
Relatable and Totally Memorable.
And very, very cute…!
Overview:
This clever-cute-funny puppy giveaway idea pulls the viewers into the film with the IMMEDIATE VISUAL APPEAL OF THE PUPPIES, and with our over-enthusiastic bank worker looking to give away the puppies - we make a direct connection to the fantastic free Cars offer that OTP is making.
Importantly, the COMEDY TONE of the hero finding new owners and ‘giving away the puppies’ must be HANDLED CAREFULLY. He must be keen, enthusiastic and slightly foolish, but still believable and genuine. He must not come across as a dolt or slapstick, he’s just a very keen and nerdy employee, who wants to make his customers happy. We must believe that someone would actually try and give the puppies away for-real… It’s also visually very funny seeing a guy with a basket of puppies standing in a bank, so that will visaully hook in the viewer from the start.
But also, we show a bigger OTP ‘BRAND’ picture, - we establish OTP Bank as being a MODERN, FORWARD THINKING BANK attracting and rewarding valued customers with cool special offers, and also a bank that shares a similar sense of humour and an approachable tone to that of its customers. OTP is a friendly, trustworthy modern bank that justifies your trust.
This clever-cute-funny puppy giveaway idea pulls the viewers into the film with the IMMEDIATE VISUAL APPEAL OF THE PUPPIES, and with our over-enthusiastic bank worker looking to give away the puppies - we make a direct connection to the fantastic free Cars offer that OTP is making.
Importantly, the COMEDY TONE of the hero finding new owners and ‘giving away the puppies’ must be HANDLED CAREFULLY. He must be keen, enthusiastic and slightly foolish, but still believable and genuine. He must not come across as a dolt or slapstick, he’s just a very keen and nerdy employee, who wants to make his customers happy. We must believe that someone would actually try and give the puppies away for-real… It’s also visually very funny seeing a guy with a basket of puppies standing in a bank, so that will visaully hook in the viewer from the start.
But also, we show a bigger OTP ‘BRAND’ picture, - we establish OTP Bank as being a MODERN, FORWARD THINKING BANK attracting and rewarding valued customers with cool special offers, and also a bank that shares a similar sense of humour and an approachable tone to that of its customers. OTP is a friendly, trustworthy modern bank that justifies your trust.
A human experience – free puppies – free cars – an amazing offer!
At the centre, this film is grounded in the
REAL HUMAN EXPERIENCE
of a guys funny mistake and some cheeky puppies.
It’s playful and funny, full of life, an appealing story to watch.
IDEAS AND THOUGHTS I’ve had are about the flow of the film, the staging and the way we present the cars and the puppies;
· It’d be cool if we have a few customers dotted about the bank when we cut wider to see all the cars, so it feels like a genuine working bank…?
· Shall we have the cars move or even
DRIVE INTO POSITION when we cut wide and see them inside the bank…?
· I want to use the behaviour of the puppies as a way of motivating our transition to the cars
– so if one of the puppies jumps out of the basket, escapes and our hero chases after it, he takes us – the camera, to the car by following the running away puppy? It’s a nice way to get more puppy action into the film and cute/clever way to reveal the cars…?
· Lets go via a close up of the puppies on our new angle through to see the car in the background…? A nice way to reveal the cars via the puppies.
· Can we have our hero bank guy and his colleague walking and moving as they talk at the front of the film, so we have some sense of movement and a real-life tone to the film from the beginning…?
· Can we put the cars into the background of the bank interior so that they can be seen clearly, but with customers and bank employees going about their normal work right next to them…?
· It’d be cool if we have a few customers dotted about the bank when we cut wider to see all the cars, so it feels like a genuine working bank…?
· Shall we have the cars move or even
DRIVE INTO POSITION when we cut wide and see them inside the bank…?
· I want to use the behaviour of the puppies as a way of motivating our transition to the cars
– so if one of the puppies jumps out of the basket, escapes and our hero chases after it, he takes us – the camera, to the car by following the running away puppy? It’s a nice way to get more puppy action into the film and cute/clever way to reveal the cars…?
· Lets go via a close up of the puppies on our new angle through to see the car in the background…? A nice way to reveal the cars via the puppies.
· Can we have our hero bank guy and his colleague walking and moving as they talk at the front of the film, so we have some sense of movement and a real-life tone to the film from the beginning…?
· Can we put the cars into the background of the bank interior so that they can be seen clearly, but with customers and bank employees going about their normal work right next to them…?
APPROACH
My approach to this film will
‘GET-UNDER-THE-SKIN’ of the viewer,
appealing directly to their sense of humour,
as they follow the comedy performance of our hero bank worker and also to their love of cute puppies! To me, this film is all about charm, warmth and personality, making the viewer feel involved in the story of the bank workers funny mistake, which perfectly leads them into the seeing the fabulous cars, in an eye-catching and quirky way inside the bank…!
‘GET-UNDER-THE-SKIN’ of the viewer,
appealing directly to their sense of humour,
as they follow the comedy performance of our hero bank worker and also to their love of cute puppies! To me, this film is all about charm, warmth and personality, making the viewer feel involved in the story of the bank workers funny mistake, which perfectly leads them into the seeing the fabulous cars, in an eye-catching and quirky way inside the bank…!
Basically, the film flows in FOUR parts
1. We set up a situation by seeing cute puppies that hook the viewer in with their cuteness.
2. We explain the situation of how the enthusiastic bank worker has made a foolish mistake,
by thinking of finding caring owners for the puppies – just like the cars last year…
by thinking of finding caring owners for the puppies – just like the cars last year…
3. We transition seamlessly to some cool looking cars INSIDE an OTP bank.
4. We show a stylish pack-shot of the cars alongside all the offer information.
Let’s amplify the material through
GREAT CASTING choices:
I’ll get us some great actors to give naturalistic comedy performances that are unique, captivating and edgy. Strong magnetic people who have screen presence in abundance, who will hold your attention and be charming and full of life. Our lead hero is an enthusiastic, slightly foolish, natural and charming guy who everybody likes. Friendly and approachable, he always makes funny mistakes…
Let’s create a tone of NATURAL-COMEDY-REALISM through the PERFORMANCES.The acting should be enthusiastic but loose, believable and genuine. I want to feel like our hero is a real person, in a real bank, having a genuine idea to find new owners for the puppies. This slightly foolish conceit has to be delivered through carefully played natural enthusiasm. The acting is not silly or slapstick, but just the right amount of exuberance. We should feel like we are dropping into – then out of – this real world in the OTP bank, and real situation of a guy looking for new homes for puppies… No ‘set-up’, no fabrication, no falsity. We allow the scene and the dialogue to flow naturally, allowing for improvisation and happy accidents that breathe life into the film keeping is feeling fresh, funny and believable.
Developing the CHARACTERS in the film through improvisation and workshopping with the actors so they feel like genuine a believable people, not just ‘actors acting’. I always aim to rehearse the scripts and dialogue with the lead hero and his co-worker to generate believable yet slightly quirky ‘odd-ball’ personalities for the hero, so he can carry the belief that he has made such an odd thought to bring a basket of puppies into work…
GREAT CASTING choices:
I’ll get us some great actors to give naturalistic comedy performances that are unique, captivating and edgy. Strong magnetic people who have screen presence in abundance, who will hold your attention and be charming and full of life. Our lead hero is an enthusiastic, slightly foolish, natural and charming guy who everybody likes. Friendly and approachable, he always makes funny mistakes…
Let’s create a tone of NATURAL-COMEDY-REALISM through the PERFORMANCES.The acting should be enthusiastic but loose, believable and genuine. I want to feel like our hero is a real person, in a real bank, having a genuine idea to find new owners for the puppies. This slightly foolish conceit has to be delivered through carefully played natural enthusiasm. The acting is not silly or slapstick, but just the right amount of exuberance. We should feel like we are dropping into – then out of – this real world in the OTP bank, and real situation of a guy looking for new homes for puppies… No ‘set-up’, no fabrication, no falsity. We allow the scene and the dialogue to flow naturally, allowing for improvisation and happy accidents that breathe life into the film keeping is feeling fresh, funny and believable.
Developing the CHARACTERS in the film through improvisation and workshopping with the actors so they feel like genuine a believable people, not just ‘actors acting’. I always aim to rehearse the scripts and dialogue with the lead hero and his co-worker to generate believable yet slightly quirky ‘odd-ball’ personalities for the hero, so he can carry the belief that he has made such an odd thought to bring a basket of puppies into work…
Elevate the SCRIPTS AND DIALOGUE to be sure we clearly deliver the message of the cool car offers in both the structure and idea of the film. I always put the scripts ‘on their feet’ in the rehearsal room, running lines, changing endings, improving timings, working with the material to amplify the comedy, pinpoint the gags and strengthen dialogue and emphasize the product points and offer information.
Tighten and check the TIMINGS, working with the scripts to be sure we hit the OTP Bank offer information with the right degree of emphasis in the comedy timings and CORRECT BALANCE OF SEEING THE CARS AND THE OFFER INFORMATION. Let’s be sure the 15”, the 10” and the 6” films feel as good and clear as the 30” film, we see the cars clearly and hear the offer details succinctly.
Tighten and check the TIMINGS, working with the scripts to be sure we hit the OTP Bank offer information with the right degree of emphasis in the comedy timings and CORRECT BALANCE OF SEEING THE CARS AND THE OFFER INFORMATION. Let’s be sure the 15”, the 10” and the 6” films feel as good and clear as the 30” film, we see the cars clearly and hear the offer details succinctly.
Make a visually fresh, glossy and bright style of film through the bank
LOCATION AND ART DIRECTION.
I want to avoid the film feeling too unreal, but the look must be bright, fresh and polished - in the style of your last film. We should build a set of the OTP bank within a studio or find a location that we can create an OTP bank within it. The bank space must be big enough to have office workers, desks and customers within it, plus enough space around that for one genuine car, and four or five cars in the background in CGI. OTP branding colours will be clear and in as many natural places as possible.
I want to create a sense of a ‘captured moment in-time’ through the CAMERA, LIGHGTING AND VISUAL TONE so that this slightly crazy idea plays out feeling for-real and not like a false situation. We want the viewer to believe that this funny guy and his crazy search for new puppy owners, could actually be happening for-real in and OTP bank somewhere in Ukraine… So this film should feel ‘captured’ rather than staged. We are in reality, but it’s mildly amplified. The OTP bank set is rich in light so there’s an optimistic, positive and upbeat feel throughout. Nothing is dark or moody.
We have some CREATIVE FUN with the CAMERWORK so that it feels lively and fresh. Lets use some unique angles, close ups on the puppies, big reaction shots of the cast etc. I want the film to feel dynamic and cinematic. Let’s keep the camera on a dolly or slider, slowly smoothly tracking giving us a cinematic big-screen feel throughout.
Lets enhance the characters through their WARDROBE, so each cast member will be dressed and styled to match their personality. The clothing will be styled to look ‘un-styled’ - a natural extension of the casts personality. Realistic, broken down,– clean and fresh but authentic looking, - not like we just got it from the shop
Let’s get some SUPER CUTE PUPPIES! I want to find some small pale furry energetic BUNDLES OF CUDDLY FUN, that everyone will just melt and want one… I want funny, mischievous, run around and play fight, stumble fall and chase little cuties that we all love…
Remember, these guys are going to be very hard to control, they are going to go running around all over the place and not want to stay in the basket for very long! I think we will have a lot of charming fun with them and the cute – crazy antics… TRY THIS: https://coub.com/view/1v1erp
GREAT LOOKING CARS are at the heart of this film. It’s a very funny situation where we cut wide and see the guy with the puppies standing next to a great big CAR INSIDE THE BANK. Lets be sure we make the most of this moment, and then of course we go even wider and we see another four cars actually in the bank.
I’ll be sure to light the cars to their best advantage and be sure the details and colours are sleek and rich. Lets make sure we have enough space in the set to see the cars clearly, and also to see four or five of them all in the set.
SEAMLESS AND SURPRISING CAR TRANSITIONS that show the hero in the bank and with the cars right next to him are at the heart of this film. If it’s funny and odd because there’s a guy with puppies in a basket inside a bank, and it’s funnier that’s there’s big and shiny, great looking cars inside a bank. That’s a very cool idea and a great image.
I love the idea that we make a simple cut wide, to a new angle and there’s the car – right next to our hero. Then we shift the angle once again, and there’s four more cars in the bank behind and around him… It’s almost like magic, but actually very simple cut wide or change of angle.
I’ll be sure to light the cars to their best advantage and be sure the details and colours are sleek and rich. Lets make sure we have enough space in the set to see the cars clearly, and also to see four or five of them all in the set.
SEAMLESS AND SURPRISING CAR TRANSITIONS that show the hero in the bank and with the cars right next to him are at the heart of this film. If it’s funny and odd because there’s a guy with puppies in a basket inside a bank, and it’s funnier that’s there’s big and shiny, great looking cars inside a bank. That’s a very cool idea and a great image.
I love the idea that we make a simple cut wide, to a new angle and there’s the car – right next to our hero. Then we shift the angle once again, and there’s four more cars in the bank behind and around him… It’s almost like magic, but actually very simple cut wide or change of angle.
PACKSHOT
ending will be the cars appearing on the clean white cyc background, as before, showing the range on offer. Alongside this will be offer details and branding.
OUTRO
In this film, we deliver a message of OTP being a cool, modern bank that surprises its customers with great offers, also a bank that has a human side – that justifies the customers trust.
We like the puppies, we like the slightly foolish guy with the puppies, we like the OTP Bank with the puppies and we LOVE the free car offers!
I love this funny, quirky, stylish project!
Thanks
(call me anytime)
(call me anytime)
BY NICK JONES
13.08.2025