Barrett Phillips and his brother Wes won the Doritos “Crash the Super Bowl” competition in 2006. Internet users were to submit a 30 second video promoting Doritos. The winner was chosen by internet votes and judges.
Their commercial was shown live on national television among the other various super bowl commercials. Ever since making this video, the Phillips video company 5 Point Productions, has neve more busy with a constant stream of clients in need of their video services.
So I asked Barrett how he became involved in filming. as well as what life has been like after winning the Doritos competition.
Business Questions:
When did you take an interest in web design and
filming?
Around the the time I could understand what either of them were,
approximately – very early on.
What do you like most about filming?
I love being challenged with something I’ve never done before and
figuring out how to do it; which happens at almost every shoot we
take part in.
What do you like least about filming?
I’d have to say tapes… With all the technological advances this
world has gone through, the fact tapes even exist (particularly the
fact that they’re still better than many other video capture options)
is absurd.
Do you like how things are going in the filming industry?
Most certainly; I think the ability to make a film is becoming
cheaper and easier to do so we’re having to rely less and less on
Hollywood to manufacture so much of the nonsense that it does. It’s
allowing those with a great idea to actually go out and make
something of it, and that’s exactly what the movie industry needs.
What do you think about user created content such as
blogs, indy films, podcasting etc?
I believe they are great ways for people to get themselves heard
should they want to be. No longer does someone have to impress a
bossman to get a job, they have to impress the public – and that’s
the way it should be.
How did you and co-founder Wes start up 5-Point
productions?
We looked around and realized that there simply aren’t many good
commercials on television, particularly local ads. We knew we could
do better if we gave it effort and we both have absolutely no
interest in working for anyone else or sitting in a classroom, so it
was a natural step for us.
What are some of things your company has worked on in
the past?
We’ve done quite a few miscellaneous projects but a few of the more
notable ones would be ads for Transworld Radio, Mix 101.5, Rex
Hospital (for the Carolina Hurricanes) and Doritos
What are some things your company is working on now?
We are currently in a transitional phase – our ultimate goal is the
creation of a feature film and we are working towards that raising
money where we can, which at the moment happens to be (the planning
phase of) creating and selling video related products; products that
we feel fill a gap in the marketplace and that are cheap to buy for
those indy filmmakers who aren’t filthy rich (which is nearly all of
them).
Is there any changes you feel you should make 5 Point
Productions?
The office could use a bit of vacuuming…
You won the Doritotos Live the Flavor Contest-which is
very sweet. Do you plan on entering any other videos
to any contests soon?
The Doritos contest did exactly what we were hoping it could do for
us – make us known – and we haven’t seen another one since that would
bring anywhere near that amount of publicity our way. The prize
money on this project was a pittance in the grand scheme of things
compared to the fact that we had an ad solely created by us on the
Superbowl. We were very fortunate, and we couldn’t dream of asking
for the same thing twice.
What is your favorite camera to work with?
Canon HV20 - if you think this is a joke, don’t be fooled – this
camera produces an image ten times better than our so-called
“Professional” equipment. And if you don’t mind me getting a bit
technical – there is an HDMI port off the back which bypasses any
encoding that would be put onto a tape, so if captured properly you
can get full progressive HD 1920×1080 video at 24 frames per second
with no quality loss, so basically you can get what looks like film
to the average eye from a camera the size of a brick.
When your not working with your company what do you do
in your free time?
Hanging out and talking movies with friends, that’s my ideal free time.
Any great experiences you want to share about your
company?
The day after our Doritos ad aired on the Superbowl, the Today show
did a brainwave comparison of it vs. an ad for Emerald Nuts, and
showed that people’s brains were heavily stimulated watching ours,
yet the Emerald Nuts ad garnered next to no response whatsoever.
This alone made us feel quite proud, but then we were told that the
company that produced the Emerald Nuts ad was actually Doritos’
current ad agency which happened to be hosting the Crash the
Superbowl contest… We were told not to tell anyone this, but there
you are.
You have told me your dad got you started into film
making. Does he ever get involved in your projects?
I wouldn’t say he ever gets involved in the process but he does like
to offer opinions. He has very good business sense so when it comes
to that sort of thing, we listen.
Nick Dimondi starred in your “Live the Flavor” Doritos
commercial. Do you think you will ever use him again?
http://www.90millionfans.com/
What is your schedule like?
The beauty of this job is the fact I don’t have one – I enjoy my
sleep…
> Personal Questions:
What kind of music do you listen to?
European downtempo/lounge – Zero-7 and the like
Do you play video games?
Most certainly – I just got Rock Band which though wildly nerdy is
insanely fun.
>
> Are you involved with sports?
Nothing organized but I enjoy snowboarding, tennis, golf, football,
ultimate frisbee, disc golf, biking, skateboarding…
What is your favorite type of car and why?
Fenomenon Stratos – A modern remake of a classic (and radical) rally
car – in essence it’s a 500bhp supercar that’s one of the best pieces
of design I’ve ever seen, AND it goes off-road.
Any last thoughts?
Here’s one: Global warming is a myth.
Thanks for answering these questions bro!
No, thank you!
Visit Mr.Phillip’s website: www.5pointproductions.com
