Central New Yorkers are being asked to nominate their favorite non-profits and small businesses to get their own cinematic quality TV commercial shot and produced. The initiative is also aimed at shining a spotlight on local jobs in the film industry. The CNY On Camera program will produce a mix of 5 professional commercials made possible through a $350,000 state grant. It’s another way to hire film industry talent for commercial shoots.
“We want to give local small businesses and non-profits an opportunity to work with our professional film crew that works on all the major movies around here,” said CNY Film professional President Elias Gwinn. “And we wanted to match them up so that our professional film crew could create really beautiful and powerful and impactful commercials for our local small businesses and non-profits.”
Public voting is underway to determine who gets one of the high-end commercials. Anyone who’s ever thought about writing and developing a commercial can also submit their ideas once the winners are announced.
“We've all seen commercials, some that we love, some that we thought were not very well done and we all sometimes think about, ‘oh, what would I do if I was going to produce a commercial?’,” said Gwinn. “Well, this is your opportunity to suggest the creative concept that will be the story that the commercial tells.”
Gwinn says creatives who come up with an approved story lines for the 30 second commercials could earn up to $1,000. The deadline for nominations to the CNY On Camera contest ends September 1, 2025.