Sometimes you're on a hot streak of fashion based projects and spend too long in expensive studios with delicious catering. All good things came to an end in April though when I had a spree of jobs that were based around challenging locations.
The first was for a popular sportswear brand shooting a collection of professional athletes at a Premier League football stadium. Upon their arrival we would have each talent for a total of 4 hours. This had to be split between motion and stills as well as 2 social units but annoyingly we were allowed no more than 15 people on the pitch at one time. I coordinated a plan to make it work then spent our 2 shoot days managing the film unit whilst simultaneously keeping an eye on every other team to make sure the system was working. The amount of content we produced was unbelievable and the client were particularly happy.
We were in a field for the next job where we suffered the worst weather I have ever experienced on a shoot with 50 MPH winds and sporadic rain. Time was tight and we were lining up a complex shot when suddenly lightning struck in the distance. I ran over to our grip and we gave each other the nod. The crane had to power down as it was now a very dangerous lightning rod. We decided to break for lunch and pick it up afterwards. Unfortunately while we were stuck on the hill waiting for transport we could see in the distance a horrible storm approaching. As it inched closer we discovered it was actually a hail storm that lasted for close to an hour. It was horrible!
It was a tough shoot but with a new plan we completed the film and produced a terrific western inspired scripted music video for a popular afro beat artist. What we shot was very beautiful and each set up was a dedicated part of the story. It was an ambitious project and in the end it went better than expected.
The third was easy - I’d been through the worst of it and come out alive. When I saw it was a 5 location scripted music video with an A list actor in Central London - it seemed manageable. As long as there wasn’t hurricane winds I knew we could make the film. It started slow and obviously presented it’s own challenges but once we were going we couldn’t stop. We shot so many incredible images in our quest to make a special video and it really worked.
Variety being the spice of life is the reason I love the short form world. Across several months I can be working on a series of projects that inspire me in their own unique way. I love the process of filming and enjoy how fun it can be. Whether it's in a studio or location it doesn't matter because I'll run it well and enjoy every second of it.