Inspiration

I love the 90s-era PSAs I grew up with, like the "Crash Test Dummies." I wanted to create a modern, satirical update in a vertical format, giving the dummies a voice to "unionize" and complain about their jobs. Yet also give a practical progressive message in ironic fashion.

What it does

This is a 23-second, 9x16 vertical video that spoofs 90s-era PSAs. It's a fast-paced, high-impact ad for a fake "dummy union."

How we built it

This was a 9x16 vertical-native production. I used AI to generate the high-impact crash footage and then cut it rapidly in Premiere Pro. The VO ("We break bones for this company!") was key to landing the joke.

Challenges we ran into

The original cut had a "YouTube outro" with subscribe buttons. The main challenge was realizing this was unprofessional for a competition. I trimmed it to make it a clean, 23-second ad.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The final cut is clean, fast, and funny. It's a perfect piece of social media satire.

What we learned Always edit for the platform.

A "YouTube" clip is different from a "festival submission." I learned to "kill my darlings" and cut the outro, which made the piece much stronger.

What's next for Crash Dummy

This is a complete, standalone spoof.## Inspiration

Built With

  • elevenlabs
  • freepik
  • kling
  • minimax
  • veo3
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