The Shoot that Almost Didn't Happen, and the One that Did

Being able to pivot on the fly is ESSENTIAL.

One beautiful Florida day, I show up on set and meet several other talent for a shoot. We discussed the shot list for the day and who would be in what groups doing different scenes, when a couple mentioned they weren't able to meet the physical demands of the role. Somewhere between the booking and the shoot day, the details of what the job actually required didn't make it into the conversation.
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The production team handled it well and pivoted on the first day, found other scenes to capture and kept things moving. But the second day, the physical requirements left the talent unable to continue. There were enough people on set that day to absorb it, and honestly the production team may have even seen something it as a potential possibility. The talent ended up going home without finishing the job they were hired to do, and unfortunately that's not a position anyone wants to be in, the talent, nor the agency that booked them.

However, it could have been avoided.

Lesson Learned.

Become a Firefighter Recruit

I decided I don't ever want to have to be the talent that has to walk away, because I know what it costs a production when something like that happens. Time, money, energy, and that even some personal frustration that comes from a problem that could have been avoided with a little more upfront communication.

Sure, I've done several jobs that we'll call "less than safe". But I also know now, the best strategy is knowing what you're walking into before you walk into it, for both production and talent.

An Inside Look at How Production can Pivot BEFORE the shoot.

This behind-the-scenes look at another project explains how the scope can grow, how the three shoot days actually went, and what I'm doing differently going forward because of client feedback. It's the kind of read that gives you the real picture of what it looks like to work with me before we ever get on a call.