Dodge students compete as finalists in Coca-Cola commercial competition

Co-collaborators of “Movie Hopping” May-Lynn Le checks the monitor as cinematographer Emu Haynes operates the camera . Photos courtesy of Amir Maghami

Believe it or not, but the Coca-Cola seen in commercials isn’t straight from a bottle on the shelf; there are representatives on set checking for a certain color tone. With an observant eye, they monitor the levels of fiziness, ensuring the model drink upholds their standard of effervescence. Hours of work go into the product before it can be broadcasted to millions alongside the classic cursive “Coca-Cola” logo. 

Perfecting the look of a Coke drink was one of the many learning curves faced by co-collaborators May-Lynn Le, a junior screenwriting and film production double major, and Kaylen Ng, a junior creative producing major. As finalists in the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films Competition, they discovered what it takes to produce a commercial for a big name brand, whether it be working within a budget or sacrificing sleep to fill up buckets of popcorn at 4 a.m.

“You can plan out all your shots, you can make animatics and little animations that prove all your stuff is going to work, but when it comes time to actually doing it, there's no guarantee that any of that will actually come to fruition,” Ng told The Panther. “I think the biggest challenge for us was working on the fly and having to problem-solve.”

Le and Ng discovered the competition through The Slate, a weekly rundown of all notable events and opportunities within Dodge sent via email. In November 2021, the duo submitted six scripts, four of which made it to the top 25. After completing storyboards, shot lists and look books, they were chosen as a finalist a month later. 

The students were given an $18,000 budget with an additional $1,000 for marketing, and they completed their three days of filming in January 2022. They shot at locations in Landers, Long Beach and Tustin, where Le grew up. Unlike many professional commercial sets, Le and Ng were given the freedom to choose their own crew. 

“We were able to reach out to people that we respected or we've always wanted to work with,” Ng said. “We chose people that we thought had a very interesting vision to bring to the table.”

Le and Ng’s 50-second commercial is titled “Movie Hopping” and revolves around two friends late to a double date. In order to make it to the theater in time, they open portals through movie posters and hop through different genres. 

Co-collaborator Kaylen Ng holds up a slate for “Movie Hopping” on their first day of filming in Landers, California.

While passing through classic genres such as film noir, Western and '50s Americana, the pair of collaborators aimed to include a twist by including a cast composed entirely of people who are Black, Indigenous or people of color (BIPOC).

“Our main goal was to put (the BIPOC community) on camera and show a wide breadth of people that could be in the movies, because movie-going is a universal experience,” Ng said. “As people of color and Asian American women, we wanted to have that opportunity to write something that we wish we could see.”

Not only did Le and Ng ensure a BIPOC cast, but they said they strived to work with a mostly BIPOC crew behind the scenes.

“It's not just making sure that the people in front of the screen are representing (diverse perspectives), but that the people behind the screen have the good intentions to do that,” Le said. “We worked hard to make sure that the cast and crew was reflective of how we saw the world so that we are contributing to making the industry more reflective of the real world.”

If chosen as the winner of the Coca-Cola Refreshing Films competition, Le and Ng will have their commercial aired nationwide at AMC and Cinemark theaters alongside previews before every movie. They will also air a 10-second introductory clip. 

“If (the commercial) gets selected, that's great, but it would just feel like a cherry on top,” Le said. “What I wanted out of this was to actually make the commercial, and we got to make it. We have worked our butts off and our crew has worked their butts off too.”

Le and Ng were guided under the mentorship of film production professors Erin Li and Elisha Miranda-Ramirez, who were brought to Dodge College in 2020. Li, who has a background with brands such as Adidas, provided advice on how to express creativity while still working under the parameters and limitations of a brand. 

“Filmmaking isn't just working on your own and making your own film and having no one to answer to,” Li said. “Ninety-nine percent of the directing work is for-hire work. (Le and Ng) had to learn how to infuse their creative vision but also make all the stakeholders happy at the same time. It's a challenge, but I think they were able to navigate that really well.”

Le and Ng told The Panther they also quickly learned how easy it is to fly through $18,000 on the film set. 

“Coming from making movies for no money on my iPhone with whatever we could find, $18,000 sounded like the largest amount of money I could think of at the time,” Ng said. “But, you learn very quickly that that money goes away so fast and that everything you could think of ends up costing so much more.” 

Le and Ng were first introduced by friends who noticed they might match well based on their personalities and work-ethic. Although they’ve known each other for over a year now, this was the first project Le and Ng were able to collaborate on. 

Le said they share similar values such as punctuality and are both equally ambitious. While Le’s strength lies in directing, Ng’s background is in production, which allowed for a natural cohesion when taking on “Movie Hopping.”

“Genuinely, I could not have asked for a better partner in this, because we do have similar working styles,” Le said. “We complement each other really well. When it was crunch time, we were both very dedicated to getting our vision across.”

“Movie Hopping” is currently in post-production and will be submitted for competition on April 1. For updates on the film, visit the “Movie Hopping” official instagram page.