Lessons

Lesson Info

Pre-Production

Now want to pre production so talk about putting it all together what's preproduction pre production is the most important part of the shoot preproduction is thinking about everything you need before the shoot everything's walking through the shoot in your head make sure you have all the variables have all the lights right stand the right sandbags for the stand make sure you have that coke on set for the models what it means for me make sure you have all the right gear so I go through everything in my head before a shoot I'll go through my assistance, I make sure that we've ordered everything that we haven't forgot to put a chord for the for the little things called again the pocket wizards make sure we have everything batteries that that is a charged all the small stuff we go through everything I'm a list for p production it's also having a coal sheet, a call sheet list everybody who's gonna be on the shoot with their email and contact number usually now is a cell number and so very i...

mportant to have that call sheet available because on the day of the shoot if somebody's running late like the model which isn't always the model well the hair makeup I can call the agency say okay, where is she? She's tim it's late well, they make mars where are they it also has directions anything about the job is on the call sheet the time we're starting so it gets the call sheet before the job waiting for my personal work I sent out a call sheet for every bike so I'm like oh I thought the time was nine thirty I thought was nine I was eight thirty the call sheet gives you clarity there so I know what time it starts who's way hair whose one makeup jaime looks were doing all the calls she does is give you a list of everybody with the start time so there's no confusion you might change I'd say oh it will start at ten and say oh no was right nine the call she spells it out it's extreme important to have it so I have an example I think about the call sheet that we give away two people is that online if not, we'll try to put one on line but I think it it is so cautions very important and is part of pre production going through everything to make sure you are set to make magic because on the day of the shoot I want to create I don't think about oh I've got to do this I forgot that I've got the cord I forgot ahead extension cable I think about everything and working as an assistant teaches you how to plan and how to do pre production before the job because on the job you can't oh man, I gotta go back and get this from the camera store if you're in jamaica shooting with some island shooting or in india shooting, you can't run to the camera store, you think about it before you get there it's planning ahead and being prepared for anything can happen and go wrong because things go wrong always and you can't plan for everything but you can think about it and try to and be prepared especially going on location and studio you have things around is closed easy get stuff on location not the place to run you've got to go out makes you have everything that you need to produce the shoot and make it happen let's take questions about reproduction, right? We have some money to go back to where they are for the second let's have one great sheet outline uh have a sheep outlined for pre production or for the call sheet? Well, for pre production like what you're gonna need is that made for shoot I make it pursuit, but I have tons of them going back twenty five years since I got back to an old one too see so if I get a job for I get shot at for wells fargo last year, if they hired me to shoot another ad tomorrow I'll go back to the call sheet for that job that job we were on location in three locations with tons of models all over the place and there's a big production job I would go to that to start first got on that list and then think about the job I have now and how that old list fits in today's job can you just explain for true uh some other folks what is a call sheet and what is that so what's a call sheet and what is the purpose ah call she is just a simple sheet that list every person on the job it would say it start like okay tomorrow's job is called creative live cover shoot he would say crave live cover shoot with the date november twelve two thousand eleven location if it's in a location or from the studio have location the phone number there with this everybody from photographer all way down photographer matthew jordan smith uh hair makeup stylists model one model to morrow three morrow one with the agency and the number they go through the entire list of all the talent uh all the crew the cell numbers and emails and then the client who's comes the job who's coming to the job from the client with all their information and then also who's in the place I might shoot a job for client where some he'll come to the shoot and others that the job might be in locations looking online as we shoot so my shoot a job in new york the clients in chicago so you have people who are offset and on set the call sheet is simply a sheet of paper that spells it all out with anybody involved on the job catering important part catering if they're running late call the caterer the producer you were talking about the island's going to the islands do you ship your stuff? Oh how do you get there that's a good question especially now because everything about travel has changed in our life these days so this question is do I ship gear sometimes but I don't like doing it at all some tart was I know a friend of mine ship stuff I don't like it I like travel gear and taking important gear on the plane with me and now it's harder so my assistance when they travel they can't bring big gear or big bags with their personal stuff because I have them carrying cameras and lenses I want cameras and lenses on the plane with me not checked what about lights, lights, lights we ship and I will if I had to I would uh ship lights I would ship lights because I love pro for lights but the hard to get outside of new york and l a so if I go somewhere else, I'm shipping lights or bring them with me and also when I was doing pre production and we have a big job I don't just order what I need I order backup because if this pack goes down on location I have to have a backup or extra knowing that something's gonna go wrong on every job I have backup so I'm renting gears thank you for that so when I say order I'm using renting gear I don't want to own all these lights for every job doesn't really make sense financially toe own it all so in big cities you can rent gear you can rent lights my carries I will have my linda's I will have but I'll read it other gear and I have two packs and two heads at home in my studio but I need fifty heads for job I'll rent the other heads and other packs and other gear for the job that's expensive client kind of follow up to the packing and shipping customs how do you so when you travel outside the country you have what they call a carny and the producer does this is well loser gets the carne a wish list all the gear, all the equipment, every piece of equipment with the serial number they want to know if you leave the country that you want to bring it in and take it out not sell it in that stuff so a carne a list all your gear, the serial number and what it's worth for customs in the country, you're fine good question question from our reynolds do you handle the preproduction or is that the job of the producer? That is, the job of the producer on jobs is the job of the producer on your personal work it's you and you should know how to do it. So a big job it's me working with my producer and agent to produce the job, but that's what a great producer is for because a headache doing all the production josh neo wants to know do you use small speed lights? Hachi flashes on location? Oh, I don't use the smaller lights on location amusing pro photo I like the pro seven bees a lot on location I used the pro seven a's made by pro photo on location I use and trust pro photo because for the last twenty years they've been a go to source for me they can ship them they'd never break or they rarely break. I'm hard on equipment and it lasts so I trust profile gear going back again toe finding a good producer, looking at the work first and foremost, asking clients asking other friends or even looking online like lebouc dot com like we said earlier, going to lebouc dot com and looking at a source of all these great producers around the country looking online for producers because great producers or all the online they have a listing and finding that way looking through that work seeing who they shot for uh well for tarver's they've worked for and then had what you had that great producer sticking with them lebouc dot com is a great source to find producers and talent and scouts all that and more don't be shy about questions carlos before shooting with sonny where you using minolta or when I shoot it's funny because it's been an evolution for me I shoot cilly now the last four years I shot with sony before that she shot a cannon before that shove a nikon so it fresh shot for you she came at one twenty four g for that I shall have a pin tax so I'm doing this evolution so I'm always going for the best gear the best lights the best camera the best lenses so as I see it change because nothing stays the same what was once the great camera is not the great count tomorrow I'm always changing as things evolve and things are evolving fast continued with this shame with the new viewfinders the new cameras off sonny that it's more off er is not a you find there ladies have you said the I have there's a new camera out there I get my hands on dying in my hands on it yet and if you find is that led like uh if you find her and it takes adjusting and things I've done in my career I've seen things change so fast because a long time ago uh in the eighties it was the range was oh my god a camera or a focus I remember there was no aural focus which kind of dating me right now but first came out like oh my god, what a bogus now I turn it off it's off so I've seen it change and evolve and things are changing fast and we have to evolve with the change and use it to our advantage you will only get better and better better online point and shoot would like to know what you do to get ready before a shoot listen to music you meditate question what do I do do pair for a shoot it is a process for me uh music is a big part of my life and I use music even today before I came I was meditating um I've just isn't going to yoga and did yoga this morning I meditated and it helps me get mentally prepared for the day it helps me to start the day right it's me giving myself to myself before I give myself away thanks susan taylor it's all about that it helps may set the day and get it going and what time did you get up this morning? I got early this morning I'm utterly person anywhere like I like I like early morning because before the phone starts ringing and the emails are coming in I had that quiet time to start the day it means I give it five thirty it makes a big difference for me I love the morning it's peaceful I can't start my day I can work out in the morning and clear my head in the morning for eating starts when it starts this constant is the peaceful time I need that for clarity from my tie is important or lie that's great! I uh don't want to go back to these so that's a great question but um going back to some more um top of car getting the word I'm trying to use gator bait would like to know does matthew shoot tethered and allow the client to review alive? Do I shoot heather dh tethered is the way now when every job you are shooting tethered to ten it means that you are connected at the hip connected from the camera to computer and since we've been digital, the entire world is now shooting tethered in the commercial world unless you're location which harder to do but in studio were tethered the camera to a computer monitor and the clients and everybody else is gathered around the computer and what first switched over from shooting film shooting digital and it was a a change? It was kind of hard to adapt to that change because we were used to having polaroids shooting the model and have that something tangible. Hold one two and the photographer had that privacy to shoot the image and view at first, now being tethered your shooting and everybody sees the monitor before you see it. Sometimes it was hard for you to deal with and even still it's hard to deal with, but I try to control it a little bit by having it blocked off, so only the client can see it and that everybody wants it. I'm not really a fan of it, but it is how it is right now. I like having it were against the image first tweak it and then it's ready and show it now, as I'm testing the light sitting up client sees everything the test with the with the assistance and everything they see all that. Do you ever just shoot all natural light or the sun is sure whoever owned this your light? Absolutely all I'm doing with my lights is imitating the sun when the sun's perfect ash you son is a matter of fact, I did shoot it was my first time working with queen latifah, who I loved they know you're amazing, some shooting queen for the first time and the effect of music as well she had just come back from vacation she'd been away for like three weeks and it was cold and snowing in new york city and she came back she didn't want to come back to shed toe work and her first day back from vacation it was a shoot with me and her mind was on vacation so she walked in she want to be there were doing a cover for magazine she walks us our first shoot and I spent time making it a list of music just for the day so every shoot my interns help me create a list of music for that shoot and music often saved the day over and over over against me this list of music just for queen latifah for that shoot she walked in she wasn't having a good day start so she walks in that was give flowers when it was shoot so she walks in and when he inherit makeup is flowers she walks in she says the flowers a little note for me saying here's to a great dish like oh who's nothing john smith photographer okay all right. Okay so deny that he's playing this made just for her she hears the music and doing that two hours of hair and makeup she walks out from here make it says who's photographer my guys say oh he's right over there just like you also say is this your music and like you say this is banging man's is great everything changed from that point on the music the flowers won her over and set the tone for the day so on that shoot I have tons of lights and set ups I'm a study less three times the size of the studio and we're shooting we have always lights and set up so we have a stage and everything and then doing a break queen latifah walks toe to the window and looks out the window and I see him like oh my god that's beautiful and I go to shoot that shot had my crew set to shoot her there said dana, stay right there. Why you showing her over there? We have all this gear. All this says might because that's beautiful my kind of sex I had all these lights and we had all this gear we had always sets all this stuff, but the people pitcher was right there by the window. I had to push my quiet my client away for a second. So I had to get that shot and I shot that image that my client didn't like at the time and then they got the images that became the magazine cover that image by the window with the sun coming through it was so beautiful my client said, how did you see that because I'm tuned in to see the light that moment and sometimes the moment happens when you're off set because you have a shot here but something happens in life that's beautiful you've got a record that that became the cover and to this day I love that picture and that cover open the door to my relation with dana of course you were queen latifah and start what we have now that first shoot questions have a question from ronnie mills would like to know do use a buffer between you and the client why don't use a buffer between me and a client? Not really their times what I'll have producer my maybe one set, but I like that relationship twenty myself in the client uh for me, I'm working on building relationship in twenty five years I can tell you it's not just about talent it's about the relationship that you build as that one client goes from being a magazine editor to an art buyer at an advertising agency and the magazine's paying you maybe a thousand dollars for cover shoot everybody issues paying you eighty thousand dollars for a picture big difference, same person it's about the relationship and building that relationship it's all about relationships so I don't want a buffer between myself and that client I was closer to the client yes there times at times where the client is in your ear but I'm trying to build a relationship it's a delicate balance folks are loving the concept of the music for the clients and would more has asked how do you choose the right music? I I had some awesome music playing during one of my senior portrait shoots and the girl looked at me like I was crazy do you research your subjects taste in music first it's hard to find out what they like but I get on my big secrets with music and I want to play the current music but if you've done karaoke you've learned that there are a lot of songs that everybody goes crazy over old songs take you back use those oh my chute I take my clients on a musical journey were they regress? I'm playing new stuff yes but out of old stuff favorite songs karaoke songs we go on a journey and you watch people go like oh my god I love this song oh my god journey I guess goes I love that I had a shoot is a big advertising shoot I'm shooting a job for ah ole and I'm shooting a big celebrity for ole so I knew the celebrity I um I hung out with them before her husband I've got working out with them I knew them very very well so I had a shoot for ole with us slip me that I know very well my client knows that but this letter comes in and she's been doing a movie the night before and she was on set for the movie to four in the morning should be on my set at eight in the morning, so she came in and she was very tired I know it for a long time, and I've never seen her tired like this like, oh my god, not on my job, not my job. So we had this day with shootings, big ad campaign and and she's tired and my class like I thought she was your friend, why is she looking title like some planets? Music and I have my producer there and we've worked on the music for weeks to get it just right for the shoot, and we're trying to get the shoot going on and I'm playing my music and it's not working she's still looking tired and she is tired, but you can't look tired in the image, something out all my tricks nothing's working my producer says this is play this one song like no sick to my list. I spent a week making this list, so play the music it's not working, my producer comes back to me please miss playing one song no stick to the list, so I'm still shooting having a hard time she's back again, she's persistent she's a matthew please like practice on play the song she put a song on there's, a song from one of her old movies where she was before oscar she heard it and she came to life and save the day that could even think when she mentioned somebody, they didn't even register with me well, she played the song was like, oh my god, that's it music saves the day over and over and over again she came to life when that song came on, I got the shot because I think, god, I love this you were winner! Amazing! We love you that's the magic of music on set now tomorrow and something we won't have musical was filming this it's hard to do it on camera we have cameras around taping for the audience, but when you're shooting at home in your studio's music saves the day it takes them back to somewhere else. Music has helped me over and over and over again we're actually oprah I have ten, fifteen minutes sometimes at the most music will give me another fifteen minutes with her we gotta pull her off set clear, have a great time so I know what my over music I know our music now, so I know exactly what she likes and I played that music it's like one big party we're having a great time like opening that go she's like hold on doing her thing is it's a great thing? Music saves the day over and over and over again music has saved the day and enhance the experience because for me in a bar in the room is that experience the assistance, the interns, the producer, the hair and makeup they're all living the music to a bis and there are experienced based off the shoot and the music and the food all the other stuff it's very important. I set the mood on the shoot as photographer, you are the director anything in that environment where they're shooting on a beach in bora bora or in studio here you are in charge of that environment, what people feel when they walked into your environment. So ask yourself, what can you do to influence the environment? Next question, speaking of the relationships, shasta had a question about touching clients, do you physically touch them o of their hair like that? What is your that's? A very good question I'm a big guy, so I'm very constant about not touching the kleins just in the models that's why I have hair and make it for you to go through and touch the hair, the makeup so I have that relationship with people who have shot a long time like tyler now touch her is what talking but jerry is the hair and makeup and stars who are touching and pulling intel game doing all that stuff the team next question next question from uh day geo seenu, lulu exactly sure sorry if I got that right color versus black and white what pushes you in either direction and does the client's influence that? Oh wow, you know, coming from a film days I was special affinity for black and white I love it and it's special writing my first book, I was uh I had this vision for how I want the cover to be and I want this color cover and I'm in this meeting always editors and I'm fighting for my vision of my book I want to be color, it must be color and they're all pushing for a black and white book or actually is a c p a toned cover book so then won the editor says matthew, the reason why I want this cp tone book because color takes you in two right now at the time two thousand one takes into two thousand one and you're locked into it by the color of the black and white becomes timeless in ten years the color picture on your front of your book it will look old with acetone cover, it'll be timeless black and white takes that cully equation out and makes it time this that's a good question thank you for that online thank you for that question bring mohr bring more bring more we have one in stereo it's kind of long lines of pre production but it's more on the business side of things so you say you have an agent huh uh does your agents usually call you with the job or do you like how does that whole process work basically or does the actual client advertising agency whatever call you for the job and then can you just explain briefly the steps leading up to the shoot like on the business end almost and then after the shoot how you deliver the pictures how they see it what they're getting what they usually get from you just like that without the camera in your head yeah I love that so how the process works is it a client calling me directly or the coin my agent happens both ways kind of called me and they called the agent we play good cop bad cop my head my client is calling me because we have a relationship but my agents handling all the business negotiating the rates in usage and all of that my agents doing that so if my client calls me says so we have this job you want you do are you villain like I think I am lee called my agent my agent has my schedule and nose if I'm available or not so that call my agent it's okay? We're shooting this job for bob law can you call this client and work out the rest and then it happens from there well sometimes they will call my agent directly and do everything but my agent handles all the business so I could be all art and they could be all commerce that's why it works now going back to your other part your question the process of shooting once I get the job shoot the job it's negotiated about, you know rates for the entire crew hair makeup everybody and we had the job done how I don't finish the job and gets my client with film we had time for filming, processing and going through anything and giving it there today that doesn't happen today as we shoot the client gets a hard drive with the images and I get a hard on the images there's also another person one sitting now there's now a digital tick dino text job is just to do everything on the computer head of the fouls tournament to raw fouls put them into tiff fouls put him into j peg fouls have all that for the client they want a plate it on as we shoot two finds website they could do that right away on the spot sometimes plants a bis always in a dateline they need it right now sometimes as you shoot the editors of picking out the shot to go right to press is happening that fast so it's changed quite a bit. I have a back up for me so I have a hard drive from myself and harder for the client because I want to make sure you take my fouls and back them up twice says three copies for my inn because clients lose stuff all the time that I see how but they lose stuff so you must have backups follow up with that just a little bit so when you said about the agent in the pricing uh their client will call them and you are advertising it whoever's calling them for the job, huh? They say they want to use you they call you and then they tell you what kind of an idea of what they want and then you give them a price of what all the equipment that you have to order and everything my do all that their particular a estimate if it's advertising they wanted to put an assessment together because for advertising they always pick. They say they look through one hundred tarver's books or websites these days they pick their three favorites and then those three favorite photographers were all putting estimates for the job and then the client would pick the one they want based off the estimate so you give the your agent the estimate? Yes. Okay, so at that point, what first comes in? I get a big job, it's my agent and then we bring in their producer to help estimate and figure out what we need for that job will be a one day shoot three day shoot what's gonna take to do the job and then last one. Sorry, follow up with this. So at the end you said everybody gets a hard driving goes their own way at that point they're picking their images right there so there's no post production or areas, but the classrooms taken care of it or they're coming back to you do postproduction but after that, I'm point and look at the images and pick them and then yeah on advertising once you deliver the images fouls a lot of the time it's the client doing adult postproduction unless you've negotiated to do your own post production. Okay, but a lot of times in the client's hands at that point, you just take out all those and that's it. Yes, I want it back about your question also, though, because in advertising there's something that's very important that people take for granted in advertising when they're picking those three photographers and they're getting your estimate in there's always a phone call with a client will call each photographer and have a conversation about how you want to do the job how you see doing the job wish your vision which interpretation of the ad concept because all three photographers get that advertising concept and then it's up to you to say how you feel when that call comes you should be totally dedicated to the call not multitasking texting and doing other things at the same time you can feel when you're distracted for that call you need to be all in and tuned in how you're going to do it make sure you could lose the job or get the job based off of that phone call is extremely important I can't say it enough that phone call is extremely important and all you hit is a layout you got a look at it and figure out how you want to shoot it and describe how you shoot it and convinced the client and very often you get the job off that phone call or lose the job from that phone call so on that as you're describing your vision do you already have mock story boards going up for what you feel that vision is or how far in the process done with advertising they'll send you a mark layout you shooting a layout for an ad so they send you all that so at that point it's you giving your input off their concept and the problems with it because they're giving you a flat piece of paper with a concept done by storyboard artists or art director and you gotta look at it and say okay, well, the light would never work this week is ei doesn't work that way shows go this way you look at it and take it apart photographically and figure out how to do it and what can be done it can't be done or how you do it well accomplished the impossible there's always some puzzle with advertising I figure out how to do it they were like three hands I saw earlier I have a question question one dad oh, was it way back? Okay, I remember do when you're negotiating or when your agent is negotiating do you also have the rights to those images to use them in your portfolio or our portfolio? Yes. Okay, because you're how you get work, right? Absolutely absolutely right. You know, I show your own work no matter what you sell it for, um there is some cases private. Well, you can't show it. I've been hired by clients who, jaime just them personally. Okay, it's just for the embassy have I've had that for a swell. Okay, those are rare occasions that's very high end clients. You know, carlos no, no, I had the same exact question of her. Yes, yes, or you'll go on live questions there have been so many great questions, and I think people in the chat room are learning so much from you, thank you. So I think way we're just wondering who you learn from. I learned from my mentors I learned from as a photo assistant, someone for guys who have reestablished. I learned all this from them asking questions. My interns. They asked me questions today that you guys asking, they ask me these same questions and I helped him along the way, and was there an intern or assistant that door's wide open for life? So as my assistant become photographers, I need the first big add our first big editorial. They call me matthew, I had this job. How should you know, do this like, ok, do this, do this change that you take this off and that make sure you're on the call and pay attention it was given to me. I pass it on and now passing on to you guys that's the price.