As a Long Island and NYC commercial videographer, I’m always looking for ways to push my creative work beyond traditional brand content. This Buldak spec commercial was an opportunity to create something that felt like a real advertisement while leaning heavily into comedy, character, and storytelling.

What happens when an actor is terrible at being an actor, a director slowly loses his mind, and you're trying to make a Buldak commercial?

That was the idea behind my latest spec project.

I wanted to create something that felt like a real branded commercial while still being entertaining enough to stand on its own. Instead of making a traditional food ad where the product is front and center from beginning to end, I decided to build the commercial around a sketch comedy scenario.

The result: an actor and director attempting to film a Buldak commercial and absolutely nothing going according to plan.

The Concept

The entire commercial takes place behind the scenes of a fictional Buldak commercial.

The premise is simple: an actor and director are trying to film a commercial for Buldak, but the actor just cannot seem to get it together.

We built the sketch around Buldak's "Hotter Than Your Ex" slogan, playing off the brand's emphasis on just how spicy the noodles are. From the very beginning, the actor manages to get the line wrong, repeatedly saying "Hotter Than Your Sex."

Eventually, she gets the line right, but that doesn't mean things get any better.

She spills the water. She spills the noodles. She continues making mistake after mistake while the director becomes increasingly frustrated with her.

The joke keeps escalating because every time it seems like she's finally going to get through the commercial, something else goes wrong.

And then we get to the final payoff.

While eating the Buldak, she confidently says, "That IS hotter than sex."

The director immediately loses it, racing back into frame to say to her:

"IT'S EX!"

The sketch is essentially a comedy of errors built around trying to make a very straightforward food commercial.

Making a Commercial About Making a Commercial

One of the fun parts of this project was the opportunity to play with the idea of a production within a production.

I could show the polished side of commercial filmmaking while simultaneously making fun of everything that can go wrong behind the camera.

As the director character gets increasingly frustrated, the audience gets to see both sides of the process: the version of the commercial they're trying to make and the chaotic reality happening behind it.

That gave me a lot to work with visually and comedically.

Producing the Shoot

Even though this was a spec project, I approached the production as if I had been hired by a real brand.

That meant developing the concept, writing the sketch with my amazing co-writer and actress Ashley Carrizo, planning the scenes, working through the performances, building a shot list, gathering the crew, and thinking about how the final piece would come together before we started shooting.

Comedy can look simple when you're watching the finished product, but getting the timing right takes planning.

Every pause, reaction, camera angle, and interruption needed to serve the joke.

I wanted the production itself to feel polished enough that you could believe this was a real commercial shoot, while the performances and situation slowly fell apart.

Shooting the Sketch

Visually, I wanted the piece to feel like a legitimate commercial production while still giving the comedy room to breathe.

A lot of the humor came from the dialogue between the two characters. The director's frustration builds through what he says, how he says it, and how he responds to every new mistake from the actor. Rather than relying entirely on big visual reactions, we let the dialogue and interruptions carry much of the comedy.

For the visual style, I took some inspiration from The Office and its use of quick punch zooms to emphasize awkward or unexpected moments. We used those zooms selectively throughout the sketch to heighten certain lines and reactions and give the audience an extra visual cue that something ridiculous had just happened.

We also played with the camera itself to make certain moments feel intentionally uncomfortable. In one shot, we positioned the camera at a noticeable angle, creating a slightly wonky, off-kilter frame. It was a subtle choice, but it helped reinforce the feeling that the shoot was becoming increasingly chaotic.

The director's reactions were often heard more than they were seen. Instead of constantly cutting to his face, we could hear his frustration while staying focused on the actor. We saved the bigger visual reactions for a few key moments, which made them more effective when they did appear.

The result was a combination of dialogue, performance, timing, punch zooms, and intentionally imperfect framing that helped create the awkward, escalating comedy we were going for.

Editing & Timing

The edit is where the comedy really came together.

A lot of the humor depended on timing. Knowing when to cut, when to hold on a reaction, and when to let an awkward moment sit just a little longer. The director's frustration gradually builds throughout the sketch, so the edit needed to follow that escalation without giving the joke away too early.

We also used sound, pauses, and the rhythm of the dialogue to help the scenes land. Sometimes the funniest moment was simply allowing the silence after one of the actor's mistakes to linger.

Then, at the very end, we shift completely.

The final shot is a clean, almost traditional product shot: Buldak sitting on the counter, steaming, with a steaming kettle beside it. For a moment, it feels like the commercial has finally arrived at its polished ending.

Then you hear the actor say, "Oh! It's noodles!"

That final line is what makes the whole thing work. After everything we've watched her do throughout the sketch, she somehow still doesn't realize she's been holding and talking about noodles the entire time.

It brings the joke full circle while also giving the product its moment without forcing a traditional sales pitch. The product is right there, looking exactly like the hero shot you'd expect from a food commercial — and then the actor completely ruins the seriousness of it.

That contrast between polished product imagery and completely ridiculous comedy was one of my favorite parts of the edit.

Why I Made a Spec Commercial

I created this project because I wanted to make the kind of work I want to be hired to create.

Spec work gives me the opportunity to take an idea from concept through production and post-production without waiting for someone else to hand me a brief.

It allowed me to experiment with commercial storytelling, comedy, directing, cinematography, production, and editing, while creating a piece that demonstrates how I approach branded content.

For me, the goal isn't just to make something that looks good.

It's to create something that has an idea behind it.

And sometimes, the best way to showcase a product isn't to put it directly in front of the audience and tell them why they should care.

Sometimes, you just need a frustrated director, a terrible actor, and a bowl of extremely spicy noodles.

The Team Behind the Shoot

This project wouldn't have come together without a group of people who were willing to donate their time and talent to help bring the idea to life.

For a spec project like this, everyone was there because they believed in the idea and were willing to jump in and make it happen. I'm incredibly grateful to everyone who showed up, put in the work, and helped turn what started as an idea into a finished commercial.

I brought together a small crew including a camera operator, production assistant, sound engineer, and two actors who helped bring the sketch to life.

From managing the production and capturing the footage to recording clean sound and, of course, delivering the performances that made the comedy work, every person played an important role.

Spec work is a lot more fun, and a lot more possible, when you have people willing to collaborate simply because they believe in the project.

A huge thank you to everyone who donated their time, energy, and talent to this shoot. I couldn't have made it without you.

A Note on This Project

This was an independently produced spec commercial and was not commissioned, sponsored, or paid for by Buldak. I do not claim ownership of Buldak's trademarks, branding, or intellectual property, which remain the property of their respective owners.

This project was created solely as a creative exercise and to showcase my commercial production and branded storytelling capabilities.

Want to see the finished video?

Click HERE to watch!

How I Created a Buldak Spec Commercial: Turning a Sketch Comedy Idea Into a Brand Campaign