Mama's Kitchen

A pitch deck for a passed pitch for an internal employee pitch program.

Transcript

1. a Short Circuit pitch by Ashley Lam
2. LOGLINE: The story of a small family is told through a series of local commercials for their restaurant, where they both start shiny and new, eventually become worn down, and then renewed.
3. SYNOPSIS: In St. Louis, I got to know Becky of “Becky’s Carpet and Tile” because of her local commercials where she dressed as Glinda the Good Witch, “flying” on a carpet over the Gateway Arch. Recently, I looked her up on YouTube and found new commercials where she and the business look completely different, and I found myself supposing what’s happened in the near decade since I last saw her. This sentimentality for the familiar past and the curiosity of the people behind the businesses is what inspired Mama’s Kitchen. Commercial #1 A slow pan of a small restaurant interior that sits empty for now lands on Mama of Mama’s Kitchen. She’s electrified with excitedly nervous energy as she shows us plates of delicious food we can look forward to ordering at the grand opening. Mama holds her baby Jamie, animating their arms as if they were talking to camera. Mama is delighted to show you her new restaurant and new family, so you should “Come see Mama at Mama’s Kitchen!” Commercial #2 Mama’s Kitchen is bustling with customers and edible love! Shots of diners smiling between mouthfuls give us a thumbs up. Jamie is 7 now, and Mama is teaching them math by having them count back change. A successful exchange earns Jamie a high-five as Mama gives us a beaming smile in the space she’s made for us and her family, because “you’re always home at Mama’s Kitchen!” 1/2
4. SYNOPSIS: Commercial #3 We’ve caught Mama when the restaurant is packed with servers dashing around to seat waiting customers and give them their to-go orders. Jamie is an easily-embarrassed teenager now, doing everything they can to get away from Mama and the camera as they work. Mama manages to wrangle Jamie into holding a to-go box while rolling their eyes and grimacing. Jamie storms out of shot and Mama struggles to smile when she reminds us that “you can always take a little bit of Mama with you.” Commercial #4 Mama’s Kitchen is quiet -- there are a few regulars, but it’s nowhere near as bustling as before. With the new HD camera, the restaurant and Mama are starting to look a bit worn down. Jamie appears in a photo next to the register, showing them at college. A greying Mama stands outside in a sweatshirt from the same college, letting us know that those students will receive a discount because they “can always come home to Mama’s Kitchen.” Fade to black. Commercial #5 Fire tears across a black screen as food flies through it in slow motion. A cinematic shot of a pair of unknown hands sharpen a knife. Mama’s Kitchen has been updated! The dining room has been refreshed to be ultra-slick and familiar looking food is now plated to be Instagrammable. Mama appears as a cartoon icon emblazoned napkins, to-go bags, and servers’ shirts. Outside, we see a brilliantly proud adult Jamie honoring their family’s legacy, assuring us that their food is “just like how Mama used to make.” 2/2
5. LOOK OF PICTURE: With every commercial, the art style and “fidelity” of look/camera would evolve to be what would be appropriate for the in-world era. The first commercial would start as the soft pastels and airbrush of the 80s and the last would be in present day where we see more graphic, lineless styles. Every new iteration should still be recognizable as the same characters and the same restaurant but like life, everyone and everything changes. Depending on complexity, this could also give us a chance to use Meander in terms of progressing from a 2D to CG look. 80s 90s 1/2
6. LOOK OF PICTURE: 2010s present 2000s 2/2