Shooting Scripts

The following are reverse engineered shooting scripts for two current Taco Bell TV spots.

Taco Bell

 “Mammercials”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veZtXsUMmIA&list=PL9VMRoKH1FlnZSKyaHWgqtNWbOQmcR_HI&index=4

	Video	Audio
1.	Close Up (CU) of a man’s toned chest and abdominals. The faceless character mists an aerosol cologne spray across his body. Duration: 1 Second	Starkly orchestrated industrial music plays throughout. Male voiceover, in a deep serious tone, states, “Spray this.”
2.	Long Shot (LS) of a pickup truck aggressively driving toward the camera on an off-the-beaten path road. Text overlay positioned in small print at the bottom third reads, “Professional driver on closed course. Do not attempt.” Duration: 1 Second	Male voiceover states, “Drive that.”
3.	Mid Shot (MS) of a dapper gentleman facing the camera directly in a setting reminiscent of a backstage blue room. He stares forward with assertive confidence. A woman angled at his side strokes his chest adorningly. She turns her head assuredly toward the camera before cutaway. Duration: 1 Second	Male voiceover states, “Wear this.”
4.	Over-the-shoulder shot (OTS) of a man shaving his beard in front of a mirror. Duration: 1 Second	Male voiceover states, “Shave that.”
5.	Establish MS and medium-speed zoom toward a suited man sitting on a couch in a nightclub / lounge. He stares forward with assertive confidence. Two women with crossed legs angled toward him grace his sides with one hand draped over each shoulder. They turn their heads assuredly toward the camera before cutaway. Duration: 1 Second	Male voiceover states, “Be a man.”
6.	MS of a silhouetted man in a darkened weight room lifting an Olympic bar. Duration: 1 Second	Male voiceover states, “Lift big.” Audio extends into proceeding shot.
7.	CU of the shirtless man from shot 6 holding the Olympic bar beneath his chin. Duration: 1 Second
8.	MS of the profile of a man chugging a bottle of water. Duration: 1 Second	Male voiceover states, “Chug this.” Audio extends into proceeding shot.
9.	CU of the man from shot 8 looking as if he had completed a vigorous run. Duration: 1 Second
10.	MS of a man wearing fashionable attire facing the camera directly. He stares with intent. Duration: 1 Second	Male voiceover states, “Stare sexy.”
11.	MS of a man wearing plaid with an axe propped on his shoulder. He faces the camera directly. Duration: 1 Second	Male voiceover states “Swing hard.” Audio extends into proceeding shot.
12.	CU of axe splitting wood. Duration: 1 Second
13.	MS of a man seated in a director’s chair facing the camera directly. A female makeup artist angled toward his body whispers into his ear. The man smirks before cutaway. Duration: 1 Second	Male voiceover states, “Smile sexy.”
14.	Low-angle shot of the shirtless man in the weight room from shot 7. He exhibits an expression of masculine intensity. It is presumed that he is lifting very heavy weights. Duration: .5 Second	Male voiceover states, “Be a man.”
15.	CU of the man’s toned chest and abs from shot 1.  The faceless character liberally mists two aerosol cologne sprays across his body. Duration: .5 Second	Male voiceover states, “Be a man.”
16.	MS of the pickup truck from shot 2. The truck drives aggressively away from camera. Duration: .5 Seconds	Male voiceover states, “Be a man.”
17.	Establish MS and medium-speed zoom toward suited man sitting on a couch in a nightclub / lounge from shot 5. He stares forward with assertive confidence. Two women with crossed legs angled toward him grace his sides with one hand draped over each shoulder. They look assuredly toward the camera throughout the shot. Duration: .5 Second	The woman on the left states, “Be a man.”
18.	Wide shot (WS) of three ordinary men dressed plainly. They stare blankly while they are sitting on a couch watching television. The man on the left and the man in the middle are holding Taco Bell’s Triple Steak Stacks. The man on the right is holding a soft drink. A Taco Bell bag is positioned at the side of the couch. The three men listen to a commercial. They look at each other in validation. All are unimpressed by the message presented. Duration: 3 Seconds	The music is manipulated to sound like it is emanating from the television. The male voiceover, also manipulated, states, “Be a man”. A different male voiceover is presented in a casual tone. He states, “If you need to be told how to be a man…”
19.	MS of the man on the left. He smiles with confidence and indulges in his Triple Steak Stack. Duration: 2 Seconds	“….then Taco Bell’s Triple Steak Stack isn’t for you.”
20.	CU and pan of Taco Bell’s Triple Steak Stack. Text overlay positioned in small print in the lower third reads, “Triple the steak as compared to 1.3oz portion Steak Meximelt. At participating locations for a limited time only.” Duration: 5 Seconds	Music returns to unmanipulated form. Casual male voiceover states, “Steak, steak and more steak with cheese on flatbread.”
21.	Establish MS and slowly zoom toward Taco Bell’s Triple Steak Stack. Text overlay in headline format positioned in the upper third reads, “Triple Steak Stack.” Text overlay positioned in small print in the lower third continues to read, “Triple the steak as compared to 1.3oz portion Steak Meximelt. At participating locations for a limited time only.” Duration: 3 Seconds	Casual male voiceover states, “Only at Taco Bell.”
22.	Black screen appears with Taco Bell logo positioned in the upper third. Bell is animated. Text overlay positioned in the middle third reads, “Order with the app.” App Store and Google Play logos are positioned in the lower third. Duration: 2 Seconds	Bell rings simultaneously with animation.

Taco Bell

“Flash”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2zJeQF_7yw

	Video	Audio
1.	Wide Shot (WS) of an elderly couple parked in a Taco Bell lot. The man is positioned behind the wheel and the woman in the passenger seat. It is nighttime. They both take a bite of food. Duration: 3 Seconds	Elevator style music plays through shot 3. The sound of traffic passing continues through shot 3.
2.	Objective angle mid shot (MS) taken from the right side of the exterior front windshield showcasing the man alone eating his food in a routine fashion. Duration: 3 Seconds
3.	WS of the man and woman continuing to eat in a routine fashion. The woman looks over to the man with a mischievous expression. Duration: 4 Seconds
4.	Close Up (CU) of the woman’s hand lowering her food to her lap. Duration: 1 Second	Hip Hop beat plays through ending. (Dillon Francis & DJ Snake – Get Low) Male voice raps “Get low when the whistle blow.”
5.	Objective angle MS taken from the exterior driver’s side window. The woman turns toward the man with a devilish expression. She grabs the bottom of her blouse. Unaware, the man continues eating. Duration: 1 Second
6.	Objective angle MS taken from the exterior passenger side window. The woman lifts her blouse to flash her breasts to the man. He reacts with shock. Duration: 2 Seconds
7.	WS of the man and woman. The man looks forward with pleasure. The woman smiles with assuredness. Duration: 2 Seconds
8.	Objective angle MS taken from the right side of the exterior front windshield showcasing the man alone. He turns his head left toward the unseen woman and gives an expression of disbelief. Duration: 2 Seconds
9.	Objective angle MS taken from the left side of the exterior front windshield showcasing the woman alone. She smiles in personal satisfaction. She is once again holding her food. Duration: 2 Seconds	Male voiceover states, “Life could use a little more unexpected.”
10.	MS of breaded chicken dropping onto a bed of tortilla chips. Duration: 1 Second	Male voiceover states, “Introducing the Chickstar from Taco Bell.”
11.	CU of chicken. Duration: 1 Second	Male voiceover states, “Crispy chicken…”
12.	Extreme CU and pan of chicken with tortilla chips sprinkled on top. Duration: 1 Second	“…breaded in tortilla chips…”
13.	MS of chicken tossed in air coated with streaks of barbecue sauce. Duration: 2 Seconds	“…wrapped up in mango barbecue sauce.”
14.	MS of a hand sliding a Chickstar across the table toward the camera. Another Chickstar is presented in the background. Graphic positioned in the upper third reads, “Taco Bell: New Chickstar” Text overlay in small font positioned in the lower third reads, “At participating locations. For a limited time.” Duration: 4 seconds	Male voiceover states “It’s a completely unexpected take on the chicken sandwich.”
15.	Graphic positioned in the upper third changes to Taco Bell logo. Duration: 1 second	Bell rings.

References:

Taco Bell. (2015a). Mammercials | 2015 Taco Bell triple steak stack commercial [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=veZtXsUMmIA&list=PL9VMRoKH1FlnZSKyaHWgqtNWbOQmcR_HI&index=4

Taco Bell. (2015b). Flash | 2015 Taco Bell Chickstar commercial [Video file]. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2zJeQF_7yw