You can find a how-to video for almost anything you want to learn. But what if you mess up while you’re trying that new project? It’s basically impossible to find anything to help you fix your mistakes. In order to help The Home Depot engage with a younger demographic and show people how to fix the most common mistakes made when taking on a DIY project, Trade School created the How To Undo content series. In season two and three, the goal for the new episodic content was to deliver slightly longer episodes (3 to 6 minutes) showcasing more complex indoor and outdoor homeowner problems and more fixes than the first season.
Working with influencer talent Mike Montgomery from Modern Builds, we wrote, directed, and produced two 6-episode seasons that turned boring how-to’s into something people would tune in for. Production time was limited due to a firmly set budget and the uptick in COVID-19 cases early in the year, so all 12 episodes were shot in just 11 business days (capturing approx. 1 - 2 episodes per day). The teams began production extremely prepared with detailed shooting scripts ready to go; pre-approved sets, props and products; and late night R&D time spent testing the fixes. However, what we didn’t have total control over was how each fix would ultimately come together while on set. Time was of the essence and there were some instances where we had to pivot from what was planned to get everything shot on time. Thanks to a super hands-on production, creative and client team, everyone enthusiastically got their hands dirty; we captured everything we needed in addition to some fun, ‘nice-to-have’ takes for the edit whenever there was a spare 10 minutes (instead of watching paint dry!).
In working towards the goal for the new episodic content, the teams made sure to weave in more of a storyline while peppering in thoughtful quips, jokes and even some character work that all tied back to the fixes themselves. The creative and production teams even introduced new and compelling camera work to help make the content even more dynamic, finding a new way to talk to an audience that THD hadn’t spoken to before. The series has garnered more than 1M+ views to date.
