[Hyde POV]
I brought my Sony FX3 camera – that I bought used, to school today. Since there was nothing to do in school anyway, I was practicing my filming skills.
I had learned a lot about camera and filmography in the online courses so I wanted to test it out.
"Hey Hyde." Eric called me from behind.
I filmed him as I turned to him. Donna smiled and waved at the camera as she saw the lens.
"What are you doing?" Eric asked.
"Just practicing." I replied as I zoomed into his face. A bright red hickey could be seen on his neck.
"So, is that where you and Donna go during lunch?" I teased him.
He covered the hickey immediately and became flustered. "What– No." He laughed nervously.
Donna got angry and said, "Hyde. Turn off the camera!"
The sharp click of heels echoed down the hallway and it grabbed my attention.
I turned the camera toward the sound. Tiffany, the drama club girl, walked towards me with another girl.
Ophelia, the girl with the delusion of being the next Marilyn Monroe.
Blonde. Soft curls framing her face like something out of an old movie. Heavy eye makeup. A dress that didn't belong in a high school hallway.
For some reason, I kept aiming my lens at her. She stopped as face was close to the frame. She smiled, touching her lips with her red-nail finger seductively.
"Oh." I accidentally blurted out. "You're quite good."
"I know." She batted her eyes at me. I stopped recording and talked with the girls.
"Are you still coming to watch the performance today?" Tiffany asked me, twirling her body slightly.
"I will. Are the seniors all finished with the SATs?" I asked Ophelia.
"Yes." She replied with a grin.
"Why are you smiling like that?" Donna interjected, looking confused.
Ophelia turned to her and said, "This is the first time he didn't adamantly reject me whenever I'm trying to talk to him."
Eric agreed with her and looked at me suspiciously, "That's true…"
I rolled my eyes and said, "Fine. Well, I'm actually being nice because I need a favor. I'm trying to shoot a commercial draft–"
"You want me to be in a commercial?!" Tiffany said abruptly, holding me by the shoulder.
I was taken aback and said, "Not really. I could… but I'm not the one to decide this. I need a storyboard video to show the–"
Ophelia interjected too, "We'll do it! However, whatever you want us to do, we will. do. it."
"No. Don't tell him that." Donna said, looking at me with disdain in my eyes, as if I was the one who said that.
I threw my hands up and said, "Why are you looking at me like that? I didn't say anything."
"Oh. There is something you can do." I turned to the girls and grinned.
Just a few minutes later, the rest of the class went to the gym. The drama club performance was counted as the gym hours I needed, and we didn't even have to change our clothes for this.
It started at 9 in the morning till 12 in the afternoon. They performed two shows at the same time. A lot of the students were sleeping on the chair, including the gym coach.
To be honest, the story was really boring. It was a classic Shakespeare story where they speak in olden slang. I was yawning as I watched it, but Tiffany and Ophelia were really good.
Donna nudged me while I was filming the performance with my camera.
"Hey, why are you doing this?" She asked. "Weren't you like, a hardcore theater hater?"
"Still am." I replied casually. "I need actors for my commercial concept drafts. I'm going to use them for that."
Donna rolled her eyes and turned and snuggled with Eric. Eric jolted out of his sleep and stood up immediately. He clapped and said, "BRAVO! BRA– VOO!"
"What the– It's still going!" Donna scolded Eric and pulled him down. "Sorry– Sorry everyone."
Ophelia and Tiffany stood still on stage, fuming slightly. I burst into laughter and focused the camera on the blushing Eric.
"No– No camera." He covered his face as he cringed with his entire body.
After the performance ended, Ophelia and Tiffany approached me. She was still wearing the floral victorian era gown, and Tiffany wore a maid's outfit– not the sexy one.
"So, what do you think–" Ophelia tried to speak, but I interjected and asked, "What are you girls doing for the next two days?"
Tiffany blushed and said, "Why? Did you fall for us?"
"Not really." I shook my head. Eric snickered while Donna rolled her eyes again.
"Be polite! Act more like a gentleman!" Donna scolded me.
"Never was a gentleman, not going to fake it now." I argued with her.
Ophelia interjected before we could spiral further away from the main topic. "What do you need us for?"
"I'm shooting concept videos for some commercials. I need actors. I'll pay you 200 bucks per concept."
Tiffany and Ophelia widened their eyes in shock.
"Really– Doesn't that mean, I'm going to be a professional actress?" Ophelia's voice shook a little.
"No." I said flatly before adding, "Well. If the company wants you, then you can be the actors for the commercials. If they want to change people, it's up to them."
Tiffany stood close to me and asked anxiously, "But if you're the one who decides it, you'll pick us, right?"
Taken aback, I pushed her away slightly and said, "If you act really well, then I will just cast you for the role. I'm–"
"Lazy." Donna interjected, finishing my words.
Eric laughed and said, "That's true."
I didn't argue with them and heard the girls' decision.
"We'll do it." Ophelia said with a subtle glint in her eyes.
"Great, I also need to hire an older guy, a kid, and a middle aged woman. So if you know anyone, just send them my way."
The concept art was pretty simple. I could use storyboards for this, just drew the concept, but I wanted Bruce to be able to see and judge the commercial properly.
I admire the guy but he's quite old school. Videos were better than just storyboards.
Although Bruce wanted only three concept art, I had thought of 6 of it last night. Then, I run everything through ChatGPT to smoothen it out.
…
Two days passed by in a flash. It's now Friday.
I headed out to my marketing office, which I rented just yesterday to meet with Bruce and the rep from Radioshack.
The place has a conference table, and I had set up a smart tv in there, boxed up with wood to seem like a retro tv.
Max, the receptionist from the print shop approached me as I walked into the office.
"They are inside." She dusted my shoulders and fixed my tie a bit. "Good luck."
"Thank you. Now, go back to work." I replied flatly.
I wore a full suit and carried a briefcase with me. As I entered through the conference door, Bruce and the Radioshack guy were already inside.
"Nice to meet you. I'm Steven Hyde."
"Clark Matthew." The Radioshack guy introduced himself. He's young, around 30 years old, has a clean shave and wore a neat suit.
Bruce grinned and said, "Steven. I can't wait to hear your ideas."
"Just get the check ready." I joked. "Before we start, I do need you to sign these forms."
I handed the forms to Clark and Bruce.
"What's this?" Clark asked, flipping through the pages.
"Standard submission agreement," I replied, taking a seat. "Says you don't use, reproduce, or develop anything similar to my concepts unless you pay for it."
Clark raised an eyebrow. "You think we're gonna steal your ideas?"
"I think you're businessmen," I said flatly. "This just keeps things clean. If you like something, you buy it. If you don't, you walk away."
Clark skimmed a page and nodded slightly. "Non-disclosure, non-use… compensation clause…"
He looked up at me, a little more impressed now. "You've done this before?"
"Enough times," I said. "Sign, and I'll show you something worth your time."
"Sure." He signed the papers and smiled fakely. "Let's see your concepts."
I popped the VCR for the first commercial. Since it was a smart TV, the duo could watch the commercial with sharp images.
"The first concept is targeted for teenagers." I explained. "Music culture is dominating the country. Radioshack needs to tap into that."
–COMMERCIAL #1 — "IMPRESS HER" (30 seconds)–
Fast cut of the school. The teen boy nervously leaned on a locker and looked at a group of girls.
He rubbed his hands, then forced confidence. "Hey, … uh, you wanna come over and listen to the new album?"
Tiffany paused and stared at him with intrigue. Hyde closed up to their faces, showing her excitement and his nervousness.
Before she can answer, her friend– Ophelia, scoffs loudly. "Your place? Your speakers barely even work."
Tiffany hesitated. The boy forced a smile, but it clearly stings.
He exhaled, then he looked determined. He made his way to the Radioshack store.
The bell rang as he walked in. The store looked warm and inviting. The shelves were full of electronics shown in the footage.
"Hi. I need the best speakers… to impress a girl."
The RadioShack clerk didn't laugh. Instead, he nodded knowingly. "Say no more."
A quick montage of the guy building a speaker and testing it out. He came back to the store and asked the clerks again.
"I need more power."
"I got you."
The clerk showed him the amplifier.
"I need MORE!" The boy said again and again.
And the clerk kept ringing up the purchases.
Last scene, in the living room. The boy sits on the couch, fully nervous. The girl knocked on the door.
Tiffany walked in and smiled. "You got new speakers? That's cool?"
"You want to listen to it together?" The boy said with excitement.
The girl and the boy sat on the couch, speakers behind them.
Suddenly, the speaker boomed loudly, and the bass caused their hairs to flutter wildly.
Narrator: "Trying to impress a girl?"
A short beat showed the guy and the girl again, their hands inching close together even though their hairs were still fluttering.
Narrator: "Build something that works."
The onscreen text showed the logo, 'RadioShack'.
–#1st commercial ends–
"So, what do you think?" I asked Bruce and Clark.
Both of them froze slightly. Then, Bruce had a huge grin on his face.
Clark looked at me with disbelief and said, "So you focus on the story and brand? This is highly unorthodox."
"It is." I replied casually.
"Why?" He asked.
"Currently, everyone is doing the same thing. They put the product front and center. This one can stick to the customer's brain, relate to them, and attract their attention enough for them to stick till the end." I explained.
Bruce asked a different question, "The speakers can really do that? Make your hair go wild?"
"They can if you focus on bass." I replied with a smirk. "That's not a special effect."
"Damn. Nice. I'll buy this one." Bruce grinned.
"Wait." Clark stopped Bruce and said, "Let me call the headquarters first. Before that, can I watch the other concept art first?"
"Sure." I smiled and said, "This one targets the older customers."
It was a commercial about radio, but it focused on a baseball game the radio was covering.
A father and a son listened to the baseball game while working on their car. And it showed a montage of how the son grew up and left the house.
After an emotional beat, the son came back, with a grandson. All three of them worked on the car together while listening to the radio.
The end footage showed the radio and the narrator said, "RadioShack. Some things are meant to be passed on."
"This can be released during Father's day." I told Clark and Bruce.
"You're aligning the brand with the country's tradition?" Clark was impressed.
"Embedding. And yes, a lot of people have a special memory with the radio. We just need to bring that out and make them think of Radioshack when they use it."
The third one was a CD radio catfish twist. It's a comedy commercial again. I used my actual experiences in this.
Flirt on CB, went to meet, instead of hot girls, it's old ladies.
As the guy cursed and went away, the true hot ladies came out of the bar and got disappointed that they got stood up.
This time, I let Ophelia say the line to the camera herself. "Ready for connection? Radioshack."
It was really memorable. Clark and Bruce love that one the most.
I showed a commercial about a boy using a calculator from Radioshack to win the science fair.
Then, a group of mothers wanted to find the perfect gift for their children. Since Radioshack sells digital console games now, albeit a primitive one.
Lastly, a commercial about getting back to school in the fall. That was pretty boring, since it targeted the parents.
I turned off the tv and turned to Clark.
"So, what do you think?" I asked.
"I'll be back in half an hour." He left and borrowed the phone on the front desk to call the headquarters.
Bruce smiled and said, "I want to buy all of them."
"That's great. You want me to direct too?" I asked jokingly.
"Isn't that what we agreed on?" He laughed.
However, when Clark came back, he brought good news and bad news with him.
"The headquarters wants to buy everything for national run ads. But, they wanted just the concept arts."
"So they want other directors to shoot it huh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't be offended. We're just trying to minimize the risk." Clark said with a poker face. "We're prepared to pay a premium for those concepts."
I turned to Bruce and said, "I made this because you want the regional ads. If this is co-opted by the nationals–"
"Let them. That just means I'm saving some money." Bruce replied, looking slightly irked too. "We agreed, forty thousand just for the concept art, right?"
Clark flinched a bit as he heard Bruce's words. Forty meant that Bruce was raising my value from a local company to a high concept marketing studio.
My deal with Bruce was thirty, with me directing the ads too. Now, he got mad, so he was messing with the Radioshack guys.
"Sure. I'll give you a discount at forty." I played along.
Clark sighed and said, "Okay. We'll write up a contract."
Radioshack was a huge mega corporation. I didn't feel bad at all about raising the prices for them.
Them buying the concept arts meant that they were raising my credibility. It was their loss anyway.
My commercial quality would be even higher than the prestigious ads agency they were going to go with.
The connection was quite nice. Clark said he'd come again to check out new concept arts for the seasonal ads.
'Dr Jekyll marketing agency is on the rise.' I thought inwardly as I gave Clark and Bruce some cigars and good booze to celebrate the sales.
…
I went back home after finishing up the concept sales. Bruce did ask me to do one commercial for the regional Radioshack, so I was thinking of that.
It would be aired in small tv stations, not the big three. Therefore it would be best if I do something that shows the regional cultures.
Also, my commercial would be ready earlier than the Radioshack ones. I have the editing software and digital cameras.
If the corporation wanted to hire a big agency, they might need to be put on a waitlist, find a director, actor, and also find a company to handle post production.
They might be able to do it in a month. I could finish mine in a day. Well, that's an exaggeration. But I could do it really fast.
"Hyde!" Eric smiled widely as he saw me. Fez had just gotten out of the hospital, and Kelso was still crying after he lost Jackie.
"Hold on." I raised a finger at them, forcing them to freeze. I sat at my spot and dialed the phone.
First thing I did was to call Tiffany since she was waiting for the updates.
"Hey. So, I've sold the concepts."
Tiffany squealed and said, "Oh my god! So what did they say? Do they want me— I mean, us to do the commercial?"
"They are going another way. They don't even want me to be the director."
"That's stupid! You did that documentary! I cried watching that!" Tiffany got angry.
Ophelia snatched the phone from Tiffany and said urgently, "So. Are you going to do anything?"
"I have a commercial for a regional one. I might have to get the Radioshack guy to check again, but he can't take it this time. Since I'm going to be quite specific about it."
Ophelia went silent and asked, "Is there a female role in that?"
"No idea. Still thinking about the concept. If I have one, I'll be sure to call you."
I heard a burst of mirth coming from the other line. "Great. I have graduated, so I need a job."
"There's one week left." I joked.
"After the commercial, what do you think about making a full feature? You have the documentary experience. You have the commercial experience now. Won't you try it out? Do a film?"
I snorted and said, "I might. Maybe I'll do it… if I have a good script."
"Then you better find one." She said firmly before playing it off as a joke.
As I put down the phone, all three of my friends were looking at me with shock.
Kelso looked jealous. Fez was quite amazed. And Eric looked at me with disbelief.
"Serious Hyde? You're dating that… you know, that freak?" Eric asked.
I shrugged and said, "I'm not dating anyone."
Ophelia had a reputation for being the weird kid in school. Despite her good looks, people quickly got turned off by her obsessiveness with Marilyn Monroe and fame.
"Hey, where's Donna?" I asked Eric to change the subject.
"With Jackie." He replied. Then, Kelso bawled again.
"Okay Kelso. Don't cry. We will hang out with you tomorrow and we'll figure out what to do." Eric said and stood up from the couch. He checked his watch, "I need to go pick up Donna now. So, I'll see you guys later."
"Are you going to do it?" Fez asked.
Eric laughed and said, "We'll see!"
{Read up to Chapter 146 on my Patreon.
Patreon.com/Relifewithkarmicgacha }