The following discussion of the seven scripts is about sharing some alternative ideas and optional ways of approaching the scripts. 

My hope is that we can continue to explore and push for the best creative every step of the way – and decide between these ideas depending on the degree of humor (or humanity, message, or service) we want in each film. 

I consider these ideas to be a starting point for further discussion – and I am happy to collaborate further in order to improve each film to its best possible version.

"HOT TOWEL"

A penalty shot is among the most intense moments in sports – a game-changing opportunity that pits a great shooter against a great goalkeeper. 

Imagine cutting into the moment after the player has already set down the ball, and is focused and ready to kick, but extremely tense. The chanting crowd becomes a little quieter as the referee’s whistle blows, signaling the player to proceed. But before the player starts forward, we hear the soothing “bling” airline sound.

The player suddenly relaxes, and casually reaches down out of frame to the towel tray. The camera pans to reveal the flight attendant standing with the towel tray as the player enjoys his fresh hot towel.

We might consider adding some background action here, e.g., maybe showing the referee looking at his watch (or blowing his whistle again), or the goalkeeper in the background gesturing for a towel or raising his arms up as if he can’t believe this is happening.

If we wanted to be more magical, we could use a concept I call “Double Take.” Imagine our camera is panning across the scene to the player – wide enough to see there’s no one around him. When the “bling” sound comes two seconds into the scene, the camera pans back left, revealing the flight attendent standing with the tray of towels in a place that was empty just an instant earlier. It’s a bit of a magical option to bring on the Flight Attendant instantly as the “bling” sounds.

This video reference shows an example of a “Double Take” concept at around 0:15 in the spot – where the camera pans right with the woman, then pans back left, revealing new elements that weren’t there just a few seconds earlier.

Another possibility would be to “hide” the flight attendant behind the football player, and have the camera move around to reveal her as she takes one step toward him with the tray of towels. This video reference has a scene at 0:09 with a version of this idea – though our version would be quicker and more of a surprising reveal: 

These “magical” ideas are not necessary – they are just for us to continue development and exploration. Either way, I like the idea of starting this teaser film with the referee blowing his whistle and the player already lined up to kick, because it allows us to start in the most tense possible moment before moving to a peaceful moment of airline-inspired luxury for our player.

"THE SEAT"

When Turkish Airlines combines with Euro 2016, the players’ bench isn’t a place to avoid – it’s a place to be pampered, recline, and relax.

My approach to this teaser film is to open on the player as he steps off the field – still seemingly fresh enough to continue, but wanting to come out. I love the idea of him sheepishly smiling to the coach or even giving a small shrug, as if to say “what can I say, coach?”

I’d actually suggest that our camera be over the shoulder of the player, so that we are see the coach’s face the team area behind the coach – with assistant coaches and trainers standing, and the player’s sitting area on the left of frame. This way, we get to see the coach’s understanding (but reproachful) smile, but we don’t see the reclining airline seats quite yet.

When the player steps off the field, our airline “bling” tone sounds, and our camera follows the player as he walks to the bench. The instant the camera starts panning, we reveal that all of the players’ seats are comfortable, reclining airline seats. The player joins his fellow relaxed players.

The ending here could be as simple as the player just reclining and settling into his chair, but we could also involve other characters. For instance, we could have the player look up to the coach, inviting him to an empty reclining seat – which causes the coach to just look away, staring sternly out onto the field. Or a flight attendant could bring something over to our player, making him appear even more pampered. Even if we don’t like these specific ideas, I think it’s worth exploring more ideas for our end shot here, as there may be a chance to create another comedy beat, especially for any versions that go extend up to 10 seconds.

"TURKISH DELIGHT"

Chronologically, “Turkish Delight” takes place before any of the other scenes, because it features the players coming out of the tunnel.

Since we’re not on the field itself, or seeing the men play football, we should add as many cues as we can so that the viewers register we’re in the world of Euro 2016 football. Visually, we should definitely have our players holding a soccer ball, and see referees, training staff, sports reporters, and other people who are often seen entering the stadium with the teams during real games.

I would also add the audio cues of a stadium full of people cheering, the sounds of the players’ cleats echoing in the tunnel, and the ambient sound of people, photographers, trainers, and coaches outside the tunnel. As the first players step out of the tunnel and all of these sounds are at their loudest, suddenly, we hear the airline “bling” tone sound – and it all begins to change.

The stadium crowd sounds start to fade into the background, the crowd of people clears up, and the flight attendants holding trays of Turkish delights come into view – spotlit like beautiful angels. In less than a second, we go from the chaotic and intense pre-game tone to the relaxed and luxurious oasis of the Turkish delights. At that moment, everything kind of slows down and simplifies to just the players and flight attendants, highlighting this as a key part of the players’ pre-game rituals.

In any case, we should create this sequence in several cuts, so that we have editorial options. I think this is also a perfect opportunity to have our camera feel more heavily operated – as if the camera operator is a bit surprised to suddenly see a jumbo jet on the field – so he quickly pop-zooms out and re-frames. This camera movement could be similar to a camera operator following the ball down on the field – further reinforcing the authenticity of our football.

In terms of additional wild ideas, we could have the scene end with a very brief player/player or player/referee interaction. For instance, imagine a referee (or head coach) reaches in to grab a Turkish delight, and a player grabs it first – giving the referee a chance to react with a stern glare that suggests the player’s in trouble. Or the referee or coach could cut ahead in line or go back to grab a second Turkish delight with his other hand.

"AMENITY KIT"

In this teaser, a goal celebration leaves a player disheveled – until a flight attendent steps in with a full amenities kit to help him get back to looking his best.

I love the idea of an acrobatic goal celebration, and hope to find an amazing stunt performer with the right look to pull this off.

At the same time, I’d like to explore ways to create a stronger link between the goal celebration and the player combing his hair. Perhaps we can add several teammates who come in and mess up the goal scorer’s hair – which often happens in real games – so that there’s an even more direct connection to the player needing the comb from the amenity kit.

The action should still unfold very quickly, as if the team has just tied up the game and wants to get the ball back to midfield in the hopes of scoring again. So we open after the goal’s already just been scored, and the player is finishing his celebration. He sticks his landing and two or three teammates mess up his hair even more, then quickly clear away. The player’s not mad or anything – he’s thrilled he scored.

The “bling” tone sounds, and our camera move suddenly reveals that there’s a flight attendent already standing next to the goal-scoring player with the amenities kit open. It’s as if he planned his backflips to land right next to her, so he’d be ready to fix himself up afterwards.

Depending on how long our opening moment is – and if we need another moment for a 10-second version – we can add another brief action here. Perhaps it’s a reaction shot from the referee (or another player) walking by and stopping to look in the amenity kit, as if he is jealous. Or maybe the player finishes combing his hair, and reaches into the amenity kit for another item, as if he’s going to finish all of his grooming right there on the field.

"THE SCREEN"

When you’re a little kid, it’s sometimes hard to get a good view of things. Here, an unlucky child gets a seat behind one of the biggest guys in the stadium. 

Like the other teaser films, establishing the environment here is heavily dependent on sound design that establishes a stadium-sized crowd celebrating a goal. We set this audio against the visual of a boy trying to see around a large man. Frustrated that he missed the goal, the boy sits down, deflated.

Then the “bling” tone sounds, and the camera pulls back from the boy to reveal that he’s not in a normal stadium seat – he’s in a reclining airline seat with an entertainment screen in the seat in front of him. The boy lights up with joy as the flight attendant gestures to the screen, where we see the replay of the goal.

One creative goal I’d like to accomplish here is to find a way to get a wider shot of the stadium without revealing that the boy is sitting in an airline seat. It’s important that this feels like a normal, authentic stadium at the outset, so that the reveal of the airline seat feels surprising and fun. One shot I think might make this possible is a close-up profile shot of the boy, looking down the entire row of spectators standing and cheering the goal.

Also, I’d like to emphasize the wall of people blocking the boy’s view. Maybe it’s not just the large man – maybe the row also has a woman with big hair and a fan with a huge hat. And we get a shot from the kid’s point-of-view that makes the large man appear even taller – a skyscraper that leaves the boy in shadow.

As with the other teaser films, I’d like us to continue to develop additional ideas and reactions for the ending, so that we can create editorial options and find more moments of comedy. Perhaps while the rest of the crowd is settling down, the boy and his father watch the replay together and join the celebration. Or maybe the boy begins to recline his chair, and another flight attendant puts a pillow behind his head – giving him the best seat in the stadium.

"THE LINE-UP"

At the start of a football match, the players line up on the field for introductions – much as members of the flight crew often greet passengers.

Having a jumbo jet in the middle of a stadium is a great visual. I think it’ll be even bigger and better if it’s a surprising reveal – and I think we can do it with a simple, quick camera move.

One idea that I had was to start off with our camera moving along a line-up of football players to open – just to establish the illusion that we’re at an authentic football match first. Then, when our “bling” tone sounds, we suddenly start seeing some seemingly out-of-place faces in the line-up – a pilot, a flight attendant, a chef, etc.

As the camera moves across our flight crew, it also begins to raise up, revealing the jumbo jet parked on the field behind them.

Also, a good thing about the idea of starting with the players is that we can shoot it both ways (with and without players) very easily. Again, this gives us editorial options, and helps make a big, surprising reveal that is consistent with the other teaser films.

In any case, we should create this sequence in several cuts, so that we have editorial options. I think this is also a perfect opportunity to have our camera feel more heavily operated – as if the camera operator is a bit surprised to suddenly see a jumbo jet on the field – so he quickly pop-zooms out and re-frames. This camera movement could be similar to a camera operator following the ball down on the field – further reinforcing the authenticity of our football.

"THE FLIGHT CREW"

Players always love to show appreciate for their fans after the game – especially when their fans have traveled a long way to the game.

This teaser film is currently leaning heavily toward the airline experience, and I wonder if we can develop ideas that help establish a stronger football presence in the first scene.

Specifically, perhaps we can open on some football players thanking their cheering supporters in a full stadium – and then as those players move aside, we reveal the “stars” of the air travel experience thanking their fans in a similar way.

As with “The Line-Up,” I feel it is very possible for us to shoot this both with and without added football players. I just want to explore ways that we can add more authentic football in our opening – and a bigger story twist – to this sequence.

If we do happen to add players, there is another benefit. At the end of some very big games (often internationals, but maybe it can work), players exchange jerseys. Here, we could have our airline chef or pilot offer his hat to a player, who hands over his jersey. The idea of exchanging jerseys is recognizable to many football fans – and we wouldn’t even have to see the exchange happen to get the idea.

Either way, our airline crew should thank their supporters with gestures that are comparable to a football team winning a huge game: clapping above their heads, big smiles, laughter, arms around each other, maybe even a chef or pilot’s hat being enthusiastically tossed up into the stands.