Nurofen case study
Gavin from Euro RSCG approached me with a challenging job - to shoot 3 Tomb Raider themed images of a model scaling giant letters.
The photography was to accompany a 30 second TVC for Australia and NZ. The location was a fairly out of the way area about 2 hours from Queenstown.
The suggestion was that I photograph the model on set between takes. I was happy to give this a try, but I was concerned about this approach for a number of reasons.
For one, it appeared from the recce that the location finder had done, that the surface was very unstable - I was worried about how safe it would be to get the model into 3 separate, contorted poses.
Secondly, it was unclear how much space and time I would be given.
Thirdly, I knew that the shooting area received no direct light, and so would require setting up lights - which isn't great if you're trying to snap off quick shots between takes.
Lastly, I was very aware of how quickly the weather can change in the South Island, and that I had a very small window to get the shots.
For these reasons and more I decided that a more controlled approach would be required than simply taking opportunistic shots between takes.
Gavin's original layout. The lettering needed to appear part of the rock wall, but different enough to be legible. The lighting is coming from behind the model (distant sun) but also needed to illuminate her face and the lettering - tricky.
Before setting off for NZ, I prepared the wireframe of the wall and letters in Modo. I've used replicators to create the unusual aggregate type finish of the surface.
I designed an adjustable climbing frame that the model could pose on. This made it easy for us to accurately and quickly modify hand and foot positions to match up with the 3D characters.
I used myself as the guinea pig for the climbing frame. This helped me fine tune the poses, and work out the lighting in advance.
Perhaps surprisingly, the single most difficult part of the project for me was the lighting. The light needed to do things that light never would, but still look (fairly) convincing.
In truth, I don't think that the lighting in the end result looks believable, but if it were true to life, the lettering and model's expression would of been more difficult to see.
True to form, the weather at the location went from warm and clear to dark and snowy on the eve of the shoot. I managed to get some texture shots of the stone, but conditions completely ruled out any shots on set.
Some last minute changes of plan saw us shooting the stills in a conference room. The climbing frame worked well, and our talent, Luna, did a fantastic job.
The end result.
