ON LOCATION: SHOOTING PRODUCT & KIDS - Part I of 2

THE CLIENT

One of my favorite clients in Phoenix is GAME - The Great American Merchandise and Event Company. You probably know them as the "rubber ducky" company. This shoot would complete principal photography on several new items in their

product line for catalog and packaging.

THE PRE-SHOOT - August 2, 2008

The Phoenix forecast was predicting temperatures to rise to over 110 degrees. Our crew arrived at 8am to begin work in the relatively cooler temperatures of the morning. Our plan was to be done with shooting the talent by 11am and then continue again from 2:30pm until sun down. This shoot involved children in most of the set-ups and the considerations involved in their comfort and health while working where critical to the success of the shoot. Happily our location had a large pool for the children to play and stay cool in.

A great deal of the production considerations and logistics attached to a commercial shoot like this address talent issues...As there would be as many as 10 children at the location at times, multiple "handlers" to supervise them were required, releases, waivers, food, liquids, umbrellas and "ground rules" for both the children, their parents and a host of other behind the scenes issues had to be addressed by our production team. S.O.P.

The location was a beautiful home in Paradise Valley that boasted an acre of grounds that would afford us plenty of room to shoot, stage equipment, talent and their families, craft service, parking....this was another case of avoiding a myriad of problems right off the bat by knowing what to look for in pre-production during the location scout. In fact, the location was almost too perfect....with the tennis court, trampoline, pool, large play set, rambling lawns and the tempting assortment of toys in many areas of the property belonging to the owners, one of our more serious concerns were the multiple opportunities for our kids to tempted away from supervision by all the opportunities for playing on the grounds. We decided to contain everyone in just one shaded area and allow only the pool to be used with 2 or 3 adults supervising the

m at all times.

THE FIRST SET-UP: BLOCKING & LIGHTING OPTIONS

As a general rule, I want to start blocking the first shot as soon as I arrive on set with the art director.

While our crew is staging and

setting lights we will throw in the product and whom ever is available to stand in and just start to zero in on the basic direction and camera angles we want to focus on and start fine tuning the final positions of the lighting.

When kids are involved, this is when I start pulling them as soon as the stylists are done with them and begin working with them individually to get a feel for who the naturals are and start building trust and a working dynamic...it has been my experience that when everyone is off in their "prep modes" at the very beginning of a shoot the kids are more relaxed because they sense things haven't really started yet. With the art director we start blocking out the first set-up and putting the kids through their paces, determining which of them the best candidates for the "hero" positions in the set-ups to come and which should play the supporting roles. This is where you find out if the ones you hope will be the best are the best...which often isn't the case. While blocking the 1st set-up (pictured above) we also got our first taste of the failure of a protype we were shooting. After about 30 seconds we realized the "Water Tunnel" wasn't pumping out near enough water and we ordered a couple of hoses to be hooked up to add water to the environment.

The shot was back lit by the sun and filled at 1:2 for the packaging requirements...clean with open shadows. On location, I like to use large silks to diffuse, scrim or fill. The natural feel of this type of fill can't be beat but one of the problems encountered with any panel filling is the "squint factor". If it is being used within the eye line of your subjects it can often be quite bright for them to look into... painfully so for some. The client wanted camera eye contact with at least one of the kids and you could see the grimacing almost immediately from them. Oh well, bring on the strobes.

Now our biggest concern was safety. Water, electricity and a dozen people in proximity who are very very grounded. Water would be spraying from three different sources, we had 2 dynalite packs of 500 watt seconds each pumping into two 4040 heads for fill. We had to be sure the packs and cables were off the ground, secured and covered. Nearly everyone would be barefoot in the wet and soon to be muddy grass so the conditions were quite excellent for an accident if we were not vigilant. In a case like this, one of the assistants is assigned the sole task of supervising & watching the packs, cables and heads at all times to be sure they are stable and the children are staying clear at all times. When not shooting the packs are fully discharged and unplugged.

PRODUCTION ISSUES

Our shooting schedule for the day was ambitious...6 separate set-ups in 8 hours. There was really no time or budget to run over. Given the heat, working in the direct sun, the kids and the issues involved with shooting fragile and finicky proto-types (more on this in Part II) there were more than enough variables to cause a unexpected run into overtime. The other unavailable luxury was waiting around while sets were being lit. Basically all the set-ups would have to be pre-lit in leap-frog fashion so I could go from one set to another with no more than 10-15 minutes in between. By the time Im finish with one set-up my 1st Assistant has the set-up ready for me and the art director to approve. After 10 minutes of fine tuning + 5 minutes of talent prep, a final approval from the art director and we are shooting again.

This kind of high volume production environment can be stressful but if the machine runs smoothly and the shots meet the preproduction expectations in terms of light and energy, the client witnesses the kind of bang for their production buck that keeps 'em coming back for more.

I cannot underscore how important having a good 1st Assistant is in accomplishing something like this. For me, this is the most important person on the set....the key to me being able to creatively focus. The 1st knows the gear as well or better than I do, knows lighting too (all of my 1sts are usually excellent photographers themselves). I want to be able to tell him/her where the lights go, what the ratios are, what f-stop/shutter speed range I want to work in and leave the rest them. This is the person that covers my back, I don't have to ask if the lenses or the cameras have been cleaned or the cables have been taped down or the boom arms properly weighted and triple checked. Without real trust in my 1st, I cannot spend the time I have to with the art director, client and the talent. At its best, this relationship becomes highly collaborative...I tell 'em what I want the shot to look like, show them the comps from pre-production, tell them how I think it should be executed and turn 'em loose. More often than not their own input and experience takes everything to a even higher level. More often than not there are also several interns on set...the 1st is also responsible for supervising and directing their efforts.

What's true is, this dynamic is applicable to every person working the set...the client, art director, photographer, producer, coordinators, stylists, assistants... when it is all in sync...when everyone is finding balance between commitment to their own individual tasks but is also in service to everyone else...when there is harmony in the collaboration you end up exceeding client expectations synergistically...it becomes unavoidable. No matter how you crunch the numbers, 2 + 2 will always ends up equaling 5.

SHOOTING KIDS: THE GREAT UNKNOWN

Casting had been completed by the GAME's marketing department. Not all of the children cast for the shoot were professional, some had been selected from the families and friends of company employees. While this kind of casting decision isn't uncommon, it is hardly rare either. It does present significant shooting concerns as children who are unfamiliar with working on a commercial photography set are unknown quantities when they arrive. Regardless of how perfect they look for the job, when push comes to shove this is work and children who are unfamiliar with the expectations don't always rise to meet those expectation and in fact, can be intimidated by the pressure to perform particularly if their parents are in close proximity. It can be unpredictable. Responsibility for getting the best out of the talent is always the photographer's. My experience working with children and other models who are not pros is often very helpful in winning a job in a competitive bid situation...it isn't brain surgery but it does require sensitivity, patience, a commitment to listening and having a natural intuition about the best way of interacting with each person. It is also important to know when to let go and pull in the next child waiting in the wings.

One interesting aside about the presence of parents on set....it isn't always a helpful thing. Parents being parents often step in with direction, correction, love, encouragement, frustration, etc. when their children are up to bat...sort of like parents in the bleachers during a little league game. At the same time, a parent's mere presence on set can make their child self conscious. If I am sensing that young talent Im working is holding back, this is usually the first possibility I check out. My wife Jane who is the studio's production coordinator is always incredibly helpful at times like these too. She has seen me eject parents on more than one occasion...it is a last resort kinda thing but it is not unusual for a gentle request to a parent to leave for a while. In these cases, the parents are usually more on tilt than their child so leaving is often as greater a relief to them as it is to their kid.

COMING UP NEXT - Part II

Shooting Children, Styling Considerations & Keeping the Light Flexible.

WATCH VIDEO COVERAGE
OF THIS PHOTO SHOOT!

Jobing.com asked me to participate in a video profile series they produced called "Pursue the Passion". Brett Farmiloe's interview with me and behind the scenes "B" roll coverage took place during this shoot. You can watch this interview and some of the shooting action here:
Pursue the Passion: On Location with Chris Barr.