This was a fun job to shoot: Our friends at TV production company Reproduction were filming commercials for Jersey Telecom at Stonehills Studios in Gateshead and asked us to get involved with shooting the stills which would work in harmony with the TV advertisements that they were shooting. Over the years we have photographed many similar projects where we shoot a series of stills to match what is being filmed, so that ultimately the client has both moving and still images to use in a campaign that can be viewed over a variety of media.
The brief for this particular job involved shooting from directly overhead onto a green screen with models doing a variety of "acting" manoeuvres. To get the shots we had to construct a gantry to clamp the camera to and be able to fire the shutter remotely while still being able to see what was being captured. We used a variety soft boxes and direct light from our Broncolor studio flash systems to replicate summer sun direction and to fill in any unwanted shadows. Stonehills boasts two studios, so the models could be photographed in one studio and then go straight into filming in the second studio without having to change wardrobe, hair or make-up. The final images were to be cut-out and pasted onto backgrounds in a fun animated style that can be seen in the photos here. Over 2500 photographs were taken on this shoot which involved 8 models, hundreds of props, art directors, set stylists, costume stylists, make-up artists, film crew, runners etc etc. The finished images were used in social media, print, web and even on shop facias.
Surf's up party people, roll-on summer!
