Content area
Full text
LIGHTING GETS TRICKY WHEN THE CAR IS THE GUEST OF HONOR. AS TOLD TO JACK NEUBART
THE KIA HAD JUST PULLED UP TO THE PARTY MOMENTS BEFORE. DRIVER and passenger were already mingling, enjoying good conversation. As we enter the picture, more people are arriving. That, in some fashion, was the scenario the art director (AD) had painted for this shot, which would be featured in the dealership catalogue and national advertising, as well as on billboards and the 2004 Kia Spectra Web site.
A collaborative effort between two agencies, Saputo Design and David & Goliath Advertising, and myself, this shot was part of a two-week-long assignment, with Tom Saputo and Andrea Schindler spearheading the project. A key element was that the picture needed to have a sense of arriving, gathering momentum and a certain energy with the increasing number of participants in our scene, which encompassed nearly two dozen players. And each one of these people had to appear fashionably dressed, a task left to wardrobe stylist Laura Doss.
Location scout Greg Robinson found the ideal site, on the coast, in Long Beach, with a view overlooking the setting sun. We would be taking advantage of the glow light. I'd directed Greg to look for an architectural element that would frame the car but would be far enough away so as not to conflict with it, while still providing an area where people would naturally appear to be enjoying the conviviality of the moment. What he found for us was a museum courtyard. We shot on an evening when the museum was closed, designing the shot to block out some sculptures while creating the ambiance surrounding a home, rather than a place of business.
Yes, I have a gaffer. A job as big as this does not go off smoothly without the assistance of several key people from my studio, namely producer John Noonan, first assistant Michael Pedersen, set stylist Chagai Bolle and gaffer Jeff Tapley. I treat each assignment as if it were a TV commercial, applying the...