A romantic view from a rooftop as the sun goes down, a bag of Doritos and the girl of your dreams. What could go wrong?

The commercial, “What Could Go Wrong,” by Elon University’s Alex Pepper, ’11, is one of 10 finalists competing in the 2015 Doritos Crash the Super Bowl Contest. Pepper beat almost 5,000 submissions for the coveted finalist spot, where he is up for the grand prize of $1 million and a one-year contractor job working at Universal Pictures in Hollywood.

The commercial features Mark St. Cyr, ’10, who encourages his friend — played by Pepper — to go on a date with his beautiful next-door neighbor. The two begin dancing on the roof, but Pepper’s character slips on a bag of Doritos and accidentally throws his neighbor off the roof.

Pepper also enlisted the help of Kristen Sandler, ’13, and Sarah Linn Reedy, ’10, to bring his idea to life.

“Alex conceptualized the whole thing,” Sandler said. “He is truly a brilliant guy. He has a real eye for getting across information in a shot while still making it look beautiful.”

St. Cyr said that coming together with friends was one of the main reasons he was excited to join the team, but “creating something really great was a side benefit.”

Although the shooting played out in a rush, Pepper was able to rally supportive, creative and talented friends to execute his vision in the most successful way possible.

“I had to pull it all together in about two weeks, which included finding dancers, someone to run the camera and then edit it all together in a program I’ve only been using for six months,” Pepper said. “Our budget was only $80.”

Though there was little room for error because of the tight budget and short amount of time available, Sandler said her role as videographer benefited tremendously from her experiences at Elon. She graduated with a BFA in dance performance and choreography but discovered different fields that allowed her to contribute to the commercial even more.

“While at Elon, I got involved in the musical theater department, music technology and communications through a myriad of different projects,” Sandler said. “These experiences, along with the personal connections I have made, played a large role in creating this commercial.”

St. Cyr, who studied acting at Elon, added that his background in performing arts helped him prepare for his role in the commercial.

“The performing arts community at Elon is a very supportive and creative environment that instills [in] you a lot of confidence in your abilities,” St. Cyr said. “That freedom to create, play and listen while collaborating with fellow alumni on the commercial made it a simply fun afternoon creating with friends.”

Pepper, who earned a BFA degree in dance and music theater, explained that Elon gave him the skills for photography and videography, key components in the creation of the commercial.

“I learned how to use cameras for my senior dance thesis, which was a dance-for-camera piece,” Pepper said. “I got help from communications major Stephanie Olsen [’11], where I learned how to use Final Cut Pro and work in the editing labs. All of my dance, acting and comedic classes helped shape my timing and execution for the video.”

“What Could Go Wrong?” has already landed the team seats at the Super Bowl, but the grand prize of $1 million looms overhead.

“If we won, I would be ecstatic and probably use the money to invest in owning an apartment in New York, so the obscene money that I spend on rent actually goes toward something,” Sandler said.

St. Cyr said he would feel more than grateful if the commercial won the grand prize, though he already feels grateful to have so much support.

“If our commercial won, I would take a vacation with my girlfriend, Kat Nardizzi [’12], and save and invest half of my portion so I can continue to be free to create and not worry about money for a while,” St. Cyr said.

Additionally, both St. Cyr and Pepper noted they would love to use the money to give back to the communities that helped shape them as performers and create opportunities for other artists. Whether his commercial wins the competition or not, Pepper is grateful for what he has so far.

“Watching the Super Bowl from a private suite at the 30-yard line with Elizabeth Banks is already really cool,” Pepper said.

As long as he doesn’t drop anyone off the edge of the suite.

Visit https://crashthesuperbowl.doritos.com/finalists#/6520 to vote for Alex Pepper’s submission.