video on location in Toronto.
It's kind of funny but every time I mention going someplace like Montreal at any time of the year, except the middle of Summer, people rush to tell me that it's freezing cold there and that I should buy lots of Arctic Expedition type clothing. People! Give me a little credit. I can read weather forecasts. I spent two weeks in St. Petersburg, Russia one very cold February (minus 25° anybody?). My toes, my fingers and even the tip of my nose survived with no frostbite. Insulated boots? Check. Inner gloves, outer gloves, huge mittens? I've got a box full. Hats? I probably have more winter hat inventory on hand than a typical REI store in the northern wastelands. Long underwear? Double check. Polartec, down, fleece, Gore-Tex, Smart Wool, and silk? Got em all. I've lived in cold environments and visited, during winter months, in many more. One of the things I like best about the cold weather is the increase in calories burned which means I can eat more fun stuff...
I was planning a trip to Montreal in mid-November. Just about to make hotel and airline reservations at the end of last week. But then I got a call from my dermatologist and got crappy news. The biopsy she did on a little spot on my left shoulder blade tested positive for squamous cell cancer. Something you want to get remediated ASAP. Like...on the 11th of November. If I could reach the spot on my back in order to clean and re-bandage it every day I'd probably leave town any way but... nope. Not that flexible. Also, and this is the most tragic part, I'm told I have to stay out of the pool for two weeks and no strenuous exercise until the stitches come out. Kill me now... But that means the soonest I can get out of town and into Winter weather is going to be early December. Hotel and air travel rates are even lower in January but we may already be at war with Canada by then so I don't what to put off traveling for too long....
More in a future post.
Movie making in Toronto.
I was in Toronto making videos for a German Medical appliance company six or seven years ago. I arrived during the first big blizzard of that winter. I re-learned how to drive a car with conventional tires, at night, on black ice. The secret, of course is to give up and not drive on black ice. But I am stubborn and there was a schedule to keep and work to be done. It wasn't super cold on the days we shot outside but it was still down in the single digits (Fahrenheit) and I noticed some peripheral members of the Canadian marketing team sitting in cars with the heaters running while we were out shooting in the deep freeze. Note to Toronto marketing people: Dress shoes aren't made for exterior, low temperature location work.... Nor are business suit pants...
Again, I survived.
But a large percentage of my working life was spent in Texas and while we can occasionally get super cold weather it's more like a two or three days per year thing. Many times at Christmas and New Years the dress code leans to short pants and short sleeve shirts. Survival tactics for a zany environment.
The late-learned secret in this environment is to limit UV exposure as much as you can. Long sleeve, tight weave shirts, long pants with similar breathable, UV resistant fabrics. Big hats with big brims. And the ever present need to sunscreen the hell out of any exposed flesh. On extreme UV days sunglasses are mandatory. Looking back I wish we'd spent more time in air conditioned studios and less time feeling bulletproof and adventurous by shooting in the great outdoors...
Rehearsal. The process that makes everything work.
Whether you are shooting in deep freeze cold or sweat drenching heat you'll probably want to work as efficiently as possible to limit your time in harsh conditions. During a blizzard or during a heat wave is no time to learn how to use a piece of gear for the first time. Pulling that instruction manual out of the camera bag while you get heat soaked is contraindicated. And learning about camera battery endurance while your breath freezes in front of you is also....not wise.
The best approach? Rehearsals for every step you anticipate during a harsh weather shoot. You should know your camera operations by heart before you step into the atmospheric oven. You should know exactly how you want to light something before icicles form on your light stands. And you should rehearse the poses and looks you'll want from your talent while inside warm location, sipping hot toddies in front of the fireplace--- before you head out the door.
Andy Roddick, Sir Elton John plus friends and relations.
At the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin.
I enjoy hanging out with some famous people. If you are good with people and have a non-creepy personality you may find that once you get into an celebrity rich environment and don't do something stupid, like pushing that screenplay you wrote at the director you are photographing, or talking too much, you'll be able to stick around for as long as you'd want. After working with Andy and Elton John for fifteen or twenty minutes I was able to pull up a chair and listen to them tell stories and joke around for an hour or so. I was also invited in for rehearsals for Elton John's private concert and then asked to stay on, at the back of the room for the actual concert. Being low key and low profile, and mostly silent, is a plus. Works with former presidents as well.
If you want fun photographs of actors it's better to spend a lot of time on set and work at becoming just another part of the cast. Make friends. Become a familiar presence. Don't be pushy. Don't invade space or privacy. Just emulate the other crew members. My favorite theater shoots are the ones at which I know and have worked with the cast members over and over again for years. Once you are part of their "cast" you have the freedom to work the way you want to --- as long as you don't step over the line.
the Wings of Desire. Or just light blockers.
The secret of throwing together a group shot of 50 to 100 people in twenty minutes or less is to do your scouting well in advance, know how you'll light a large group evenly, and then BE COMMANDING and LOUD. Get them in position. Get the group looking in the right direction. Get them on the same page. And don't expect them to stay in place and be cooperative for more than about ten good frames. This is not the time to stop and learn how to use that new light meter!
Fun to look back over stuff from a career. Every shoot seems burned into my memory. I can't wait to write the autobiography but I'm waiting for those NDAs to expire......
I'm looking forward to never managing a group photo of more than two people ever again...
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