I just wrapped a big 10 day campaign shoot, and the whole experience got me thinking more about how having a good crew and production is so important. In the end. Along with creating images that make a happy client, creating a production experience takes your "service," better yet your brand to another level.
A huge part of that is bringing a team of people that can provide that experience. Beyond professional capability, the attitude and personality of the individuals on your team can create or destruct the synergy of your team. On this last campaign, we had such a great fun time. Many laughs, and many inspiring conversations happened, on set on top of everyone busting their asses and doing their jobs to the best of their abilities. When you're working with the same crew for 10 days, this becomes extremely important. We all became a family, along with the clients because there was such a camaraderie between everyone. I write this in contrast to other previous productions where people just come in and do their jobs with a mediocre attitude. If everyone can get their jobs done with excellence and have fun, that sets up a great atmosphere. We became friends (with everyone being respectful of their role in the production), so it became a group of friends having fun and taking care of business. Needless to say, we had a fantastic time. So to my crew, thank you for bringing your A game, not only in professional service, but attitude and personality.
On another note, thanks to my digitech, Jeff Holt, we were able to create a great music shoot mix that created a great set vibe, and got everyone's heads bobbing, let alone the dance parties that broke out. The change in music made a night and day difference with the models energy. I believe that music plays a huge part in a photography set. (We rocked some awesome Michael Jackson mashups. You download them here for free: http://bit.ly/xf4Lj)
Thirdly, food. Being the foodie that I am, great catering is hugely important. I've had a number of jobs where the food sucked, and as starving as I was on set, I didn't even want to eat it. We were able to get my new favorite LA catering company, http://www.rockit-foods.com on board for all 10 days, and they provided 2 gourmet meals a day and didn't repeat a single meal over the course of the 10 days. Every day just topped the next. It was better than most of the restaurants in LA.
That said, finding the right team is tough especially when working out of NY and LA, and my LA crew rocks.
That must have been one expensive bill for 10 days of catering for 10+ people!
I am a big fan of your work BTW!
Posted by: Sonny | August 04, 2009 at 03:14 PM