Borst may be a homegrown filmmaker, but he's no neophyte -- he's been shooting video since he was seven, and has several quality commercials online. He'd also won a previous Chevrolet competition at the Tribeca film festival; knowing what the client wants does usually help in advertising. For the "Happy Grad" ad, Borst used friends for actors, camera help and locations.
"Happy Grad" -- filmed by Borst and company in four hours -- beat out 198 other video submissions and 400 scripts in the contest. To air, Chevy will spend at least $3.5 million for 30 seconds of air time.