Coffee Time!

"Can you do a Vox Pop for a Corporate?"

Now a Vox pop is where you are asked questions in front of a camera and it all looks very real and off the cuff. In reality, you either have a script, given an idea of the questions or as in this case, the questions sent out the night before. I had previously performed a  couple of these the previous year AND for the same Director so I was very pleased to be asked again. This was to be about a certain coffee brand.

It was a freezing cold but beautifully sunny day in January and was to take place in Covent Garden. The actual address was a little, shall we say, on the fluid side so I headed for the actors church (St Paul's) in Covent Garden which is set in a  central position. It wasn't long before the other  two actors joined me. We stood in the foyer for a while listening to some chamber music being played inside.  The Verger came over and told us to use the premises (without  filming)  as our own. Eventually, it dawned on us that although we were here, the crew weren't - where was everybody? We went outside to the front of the church and soon spied the camera, mic and crew. We introduced ourselves to the crew and to the representative from the coffee brand. We were then asked if we had seen the latest advert. Oh dear...well, we had but none of us could remember much about it and actually, it could have been any coffee brand because none of us could put the brand name to it.

Of course, having a camera crew in the middle of Covent Garden attracts a lot of attention especially from the resident busker who was more than a little vocal about sharing his spot with us...  We moved on to just outside the transport museum instead. The first guy was up and running - what coffee did he like? Name a special moment that included coffee. What did he think of the advert etc etc. I was up next. Now, it's simply no good putting me in front of a camera and telling me to start talking. I can talk for England. It's getting me to stop that's the problem! I seemed to have to do a lot more than the previous guy but I chatted away whilst looking at the advert via an iphone and browsed through the paper despairing of other adverts that were very art directorish but mean nothing to the general public. I spoke about family, silly anecdotes, special coffee moments...well, they were all made up but surely that's the life of an actor!