We’ve all seen ads in our lives that have left us starry-eyed. It might be a commercial on beauty products, or health insurance, or automobiles, and they leave us pondering with one question, “How do they do that?”

Here’s how commercials are formed from scratch:

Almost all commercials commence with writing and storyboarding. During this process, the concept of the ad is visualized and voice-overs and visuals are decided upon. Almost everything related to the ad is decided at this phase, from the lighting to the product photography and even the background music.

After the concept gets its approvals from the concerned authorities, the photography team goes to the decided location to scout the prime areas of shooting. Once the areas are decided upon if the commercial requires actors, the casting part of the phase commences where actors are cast based on how well they represent the brand.

After the actors are cast and schedules for the shooting are decided, the essential part of the shoot begins – filming. The director decides on the type of shoot he plans on taking which would give the commercial optimal impact on the viewer.

What deserves a special mention is how the director and staff make the commercials that are visually appealing, especially food commercials. The team stops at nothing to make the commercials more visually aesthetic – be it replacing syrup with motor engine oil for longevity or replacing ice cream with mashed potatoes lest it melts or even coloring food with shoe polish to make it look appetizing.

Once the film is shot, the editing begins. This is the convergence of the score, the recorded voice-over, and the visuals. Editing allows for the commercial shot to be made more visually aesthetic.