They may not appear on screen, but Drs. Zoe Courville and Elias Deeb played prominent behind-the-camera roles in a new national television commercial promoting Army Civilian careers.
The two research scientists from the U.S. Army Engineer and Research Development Center’s (ERDC) Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) served as the inspiration behind, and subject matter experts on, the production of “Ice Core Research,” a 30-second commercial that captures an Army Civilian physical scientist and his team as they drill ice core samples.
The commercial is currently running across national media, including television, print, digital billboards, streaming video, social platforms and audio channels. It is one of two commercials — the other features an Army Civilian satellite engineer — that the Department of the Army says were “inspired by the career experiences of real Army Civilians.”
‘Real-world feedback from real-world research scientists’
During the commercial’s pre-production phase, Courville and Deeb helped producers develop and refine the commercial’s concept. They also used their expertise in field expeditions to advise on technical details, such as the correct scientific equipment to equip actors with and selecting a location that emulated a realistic research environment.
And while on set during last March’s filming in Mammoth Lakes, California, they were tasked with making the commercial, as Courville put it, “feel more realistic.”
“Our role was to give notes, or make suggestions about the set, props, lines, wardrobe, etc., to make sure the piece was authentic,” said Courville. “We were told our job was to make it so someone familiar with our type of fieldwork wouldn't call them up and tell them they got it wrong.”
Those "notes" included informing producers that the expedition camp, in Courville's words, "looked a little too neat and tidy," and that there wasn’t enough action taking place.
“We explained that at these field sites there is always a lot of things going on and people are always in motion,” said Deeb. “The feedback was well received and resulted in several activities happening all at once in the commercial and the addition of the snow cat tractor operating in the background.”
And those trees that Courville and Deeb pointed out aren’t found in the Arctic locales they most often work in? They were removed in post-production.
This type of real-world feedback from real-world research scientists was invaluable, says Lt. Col. Julian Gilbert, Army Enterprise Marketing Office's marketing officer and production lead.
“Dr. Courville and Dr. Deeb played a pivotal role during filming days, ensuring an authentic portrayal of the career field,” said Gilbert. “Without their involvement we would not have been able to create a scene as realistic as one of their own expeditions. Overall, the experiences and knowledge shared by Dr. Courville and Dr. Deeb throughout the entire process helped shape the creative vision and bring the concept to life.”
‘Find Your Next Level’
According to a Department of the Army press release, today's workforce seeks meaningful careers, but few see Army Civilian careers as a source of those opportunities. The marketing campaign that the “Ice Core Research” commercial is part of, "Find Your Next Level," aims to bridge this gap by demonstrating how today’s professionals can apply real-world job skills to impactful projects and careers they can't find anywhere else.
“Awareness of Army Civilian career opportunities is low among the general public,” said Brig. Gen. Antoinette Gant, chief of the Army Enterprise Marketing Office. “In fact, people with no connection to the military have almost no knowledge that the Department of the Army employs civilians. The campaign aims to raise awareness about Army Civilian careers and opportunities for today’s workforce to fulfil their career aspirations with the Department of the Army.”
While the Army’s goal is to promote the more than 500 Army Civilian career paths, Deeb is optimistic that the work he and Courville did on “Ice Core Research” will bring awareness to cold regions research and inspire the next generation of scientists to pursue it.
"I hope that our contribution represents a glimpse into all of the amazing research that we do here at CRREL, ERDC and the U.S. Army Corps of engineers more broadly,” said Deeb. “It’s a pretty specific field activity, but hopefully, it will pique young budding scientists’ interests into cryosphere research as well as cold region science and engineering.”