Shooting Stills and Film on Location
Planning a location shoot requires time and patience! This can never be truer when the scope of the brief involves stills and film.
My associates and I have now shot multiple times on location together and although the details will vary, the general foundations of planning and process are very similar.
This case study of working with Bowers and Wilkins and their 800 D4 speaker range is a great example of how PS Creative Studio pulls together and elevates the creative asset output beyond expectation. This project took months to become live, longer than usual. And here’s why…
Keeping Things Real
The logistics behind this shoot were complex, and we had to get granular at an early stage to ensure we would end up shooting in a location that could take the weight of this product shoot. I am talking figuratively and literally here!
The process was to agree the brief with B&W, then set about the task of finding the right location that matched the client’s requirements. Once we had the location we could then start on working out shot lists styling and production. This location shoot quickly became a big challenge.
The Location Brief
We wanted to find a modern, timeless space that had a touch of the futuristic about it. Sounds ok right? Lots of these around I am sure…Of course, in the world at large there will be incredible locations. A realistic budget had to be adhered to, so going crazy and ‘all out’ was not possible. CG generated architecture references filled our mood boards with wonderful possibilities. We discussed CG as a serious option and talked to CG artists about what they could do to work with us and help solve particular creative challenges. However, the largest factor by far that ruled out any CG environments, even as an element, was the big emphasis in the deliverables of supplying film. The location we needed had to be real, and it had to support us shooting both stills and film on location…At the same time. Oh yes, did I mention that bit! So with CG out the window we carried on the location search.
Finding our Dream Home and making it Ours
Our production team searched every UK library and pulled on all their contacts to create options that we could discuss with the client. Finally, through a specialist location finder the right property was found. Sometimes we must keep going back to the grindstone, relooking in case we have missed something, dig through our contacts and network and play a patient game. It took quite a few weeks, however, the location finder had delivered to us us something quite unique and most probably a one-off opportunity. It looked like the perfect situation. It was a brand new build in the middle of nowhere and had yet to be furnished – Oh what an amazing needle in a haystack!
The associates did an initial recce to feel it out and ensure it was everything it looked to be, then we returned with the client, stylist and Gaffer to complete the technical recce that started the planning for real.
Styling the Space
The entire space was styled by our production team. The creative director and stylist painstakingly designed every room, agreed every shot with the client. All the props, everything in the house had to be brought in. We created quite literally our own sun and moon through our gaffer’s hard work. It was a big production, it felt quite epic, but was worth it.
Complete Control
This is the best-case scenario, when on a shoot and being in control over what we could do and when we wanted to do it. We wanted to communicate time in our creative. This property had given us full flexibility to do this. Shooting could happen when the light was most desirable. Using this gift, we got to execute a very early time lapse to open the film with, we could shoot at night to get a dark mood into our final shots, and in-between we could use different light to enhance the morning and evening emotion. A one stage I was quite literally waiting, poised to shoot when the suns first rays peeked into a room. Perfect!
Shooting and Filming Together
The video and stills were shot at the same time. Both units have a great history, we are friends, so we can navigate the intricate flow and organisation without misunderstanding. We were guided in our work by the locked down shot list and agreed storyboard, every image was art directed on set.
The big win which I may have mentioned before, but would like to re-emphasise, is that shooting stills and film together, with the same lighting, with the same set and doing this at the same time means we can get the best consistent looking stills and moving image possible. This is the optimum position for a Brand campaign to be in, as everything sits together perfectly on the page and all imagery reinforces the same message about the product. Cohesive looking marketing is achieved.
Traps to look out for when working together side by side are things like being very mindful of the schedule. Keeping the crew up to speed and aware of cut-off points and when a shot needs to be finished in order for the next set up to be prepped. but it does work out. Shooting stills and film on location, at the same time, is possible.
Getting a great Result
In our experience, the benefits of working this way outweigh the challenges. Shooting stills and film for a client allows us to gain full operational control across all assets. The approach has secondary bonuses like economies of scale and reduces the length of shoot, the time a client needs to be OOO. So many upsides😁
If you like great looking audio tech products, have a look at Bowers and Wilkins.
Let’s chat about how we can make that happen for your next location product launch opportunity…