Theatre Production Photography

Myself and a fellow photography student Oliver Sharpe, have been working in collaboration with 3rd year theatre students at the university. The theatre students were working on their final production for which they needed marketing, promotional, and 'head shot' photography. We saw it as an opportunity to hone our lighting skills and try out some new techniques with an exciting theatre group.

I found working with Ollie to be hugely successful. As a pair (when photographing a large group of people) one of us could take charge of the camera and work with the subjects - concentrating on getting the best shot, whilst the other could concern themselves with all other aspects of the job - checking lights, moving backgrounds, making tea and so on. At a certain point we would swap roles so as to keep the work load balanced and to prevent task fatigue. There is a lot to be gained from having a team-mate who is empathetic to your mode of working, it makes the job a whole lot easier.

I also found the experience of working with a group of theatre students to be beneficial. They take direction well and are comfortable and patient in front of the camera. The challenge was in getting them to appreciate that with photography their acting would now appear as static, rather than dynamic as with theatre. Or in another frame of mind - the challenge was on us to present a still image which did justice to their dynamic performance. People skills and patience were a must with this work, we did make a few mistakes - particularly with the first shoot where we asked everyone to arrive first thing and then they all had to wait whilst we fuddled about with lights - always give at least an hour for set-up before anyone arrives. Thankfully we had a positive and committed group to work with, which made the process enjoyable as well as informative.

Most of the better images went to the theatre team, but I have a few samples here:

Filming Assistant

My cousin Jonathan Lee works in the creative industry, as a video maker, artist, educator and other adventures along those lines. One such job he has acquired is working for the crown court producing judiciary 'training videos'. In other words a senior judge dreams up a variety of challenging situations (contradicting laws and such), writes a script, a group of barristers and other judges are hired to play it out, and then Jonathan films and edits the 'trial' into a neat training DVD. Quite a lot of work for one guy, so considering the limited time there is for shooting, he hired me in as an extra hand. I've not done a great deal of filming work before, or certainly not to this kind of professional standard, so at first it seemed rather daunting. However, I soon got to grips with the tasks whilst Jonathan could manage the overall project; he is a very reassuring leader in this way - allowing me to take on tasks within my capability thereby saving him time but still supervising the work at hand.

I picked up a few new technical skills from the specific tasks I had - controlling the 'boom' microphone, and as a secondary cameraman, but the most notable learning I gained, was observing the complexity of film work when there are actors, a set, lighting, a script, and a limited production time, all to be considered and controlled. This complexity is kept in check largely by people management. The director/producer must succeed at two distinct challenges: firstly to produce a coherent piece of video (getting the right shot, well lit, timed etc.) and secondly keeping everybody on set happy (this is especially challenging when there are senior judges and barristers in the room!) Jonathan, I noted, is distinctly accomplished in both these areas - with his easy social air keeping the set very relaxed, and his experience and practised knowledge keeping the production on track. I found I was able to help Jonathan with this (once my confidence had grown) by keeping an eye out for overlooked technical issues, and also contributing to the casual atmosphere of the set (making the odd joke, reassuring actors and so forth). Essentially, a lot comes down to understanding the work environment you are entering into, and how best to behave within it so that everything goes smoothly.

Some 'behind the scenes' stills:

Working with Light - Final Day

The Working with Light module has now come to an end. I can say that it has been an absolute pleasure for me working with the first year students and the staff, in helping to deliver and get the most out of this module. I must say a very grateful thank you to those students that came for the extra peer session days - for inputting their ideas and enthusiasm into making the days a success. As a student mentor, my role is reliant on that level of group interaction and positive response, which makes the whole experience worthwhile. I hope that I will continue this mentor relationship into my third year, and I hope that some of the first years will take on mentoring for the lower years as they progress through the course.

On Thursday, we had the interim critique session, with all the class and tutors reviewing the final pieces before the submission, there was some excellent work shown, a couple of people which stood out for me were Larissa Grace and her street portraits, and Dean O'brien's personal piece. In general I was very impressed with the originality and and range of exciting ideas, which people had made a solid attempt at exploring. As students this is a good approach to our work, one which involves risk rather than security, you have to push yourself and your work.

I hope the blog has been useful, it certainly has been interesting for me to track what we've done. All the posts for this module can be viewed under the working with light tag, if you should wish to recap anything from the sessions.

It may have been noticed that there's been a video camera dotted about in our last couple of sessions, this is because I am making a short video summing up and reflecting on my work as a student mentor. I'm currently in the editing stages and this piece will soon be posted online.

Thanks again to all, best of luck with your new projects, I look forward to them.
See you next year.