Write a short summary of what happens in the film

Set in the 1980s, we watch a young man turn on a boombox and proceed to get ready for an important occasion. An 80s style pop ballad plays as we watch the young man get dressed in between shots of cooking duck. We cut to the exterior of a house where a young man holds up the boombox in a classic display of love. A young woman looks out the window and is slightly taken aback by the gesture, until she notices another young man next to him. The music hits a characteristically 80s power note as we notice he’s holding a big platter of Peking Duck ingredients. The young woman sees his gesture and immediately loves it. The young man with the duck sheds a single manly tear.

Cultural/Context information for the jury

The boombox over the head visual is a classic trope dating back to the 1989 romantic drama film ‘Say Anything’ starring John Cusack. It has become a recurring trope in all kinds of media ever since, typically used to comedically convey a grand gesture of love and emotion. Examples of the trope have shown up in The Simpsons (2000), Deadpool 2 (2018), A Night At The Roxbury (1998), Family Guy (2007, 2015), Easy A (2010), The Flash (2015), Orange Is The New Black (2016), Glee (2013), and many more. Today the trope is arguably more famous than the film it comes from.

Tell the jury about the creation of the original music track.

On a very limited budget, licensing a well-known track to evoke the 1980s setting as out of the question. We opted to evoke the uniquely 80s style emotion with a wholly original track. It was the first commercial music created by the artist Frederick Minano. We approached him for a track that had to sound unmistakably 80s, hitting cheesy and over-the-top notes the period is famous for. We also needed to hit key dramatic beats of the TVC, particularly the reveal of the second young man. We provided him with a handful of reference tracks ranging from Bonnie Tyler to REO Speedwagon. Inspiration for instrumentation came from the classic synthesiser backing, while lyrics sought to use tacky metaphors for love in ways that only the 80s could credibly do. Frederick hit the bullseye immediately, and the final TVC version is only very minorly adjusted from the first work-in-progress.