Life Vest Inside-Commercial Shoot

Over the past week I had the pleasure of working with a cast and crew of really great people on a commercial shoot. If you have ever needed a little bit of kindness added to your life then you will be glad to know Life Vest Inside is a movement of just that, kindness. Orly Wahba is an extraordinary woman who has been inspired to start this movement of kindness by implementing it into the education system here in NYC. She would tell you is not enough to just do an act of kindness here and there, but to bekindness.

The actual shot was a very ambitious one, due to the fact that there were no cuts and we had roughly 6 hours to get it. It was one continuous shot following the flow of kindness from character to character around a whole city block. Every one of the cast members, principles and extras alike had to have their timing perfect without being overly focused on the blocking. There were unforeseen technical difficulties that stole away 4 hours of light from the shoot so we all had to get it right with less room for mistakes than was planned. Shooting on a Red camera may get you a beautiful shot, but with every wonderful piece of equipment you are susceptible to equally wonderful problems. I still have a lot to learn about all that goes on behind the camera, however I do know that a RED camera can fry a piece of equipment and cause a delay that keeps me sweating in my suit 4 hours longer than I thought I would have to. :)

It was kind of amazing to see so many things go wrong, yet everyone kept a smile on their face and stay committed to the heart of the movement. Orly would stop by every single person involved and pour out encouragement that really helped to keep the moral high. I pray I get to work with more people like her, because it felt like family, not just "we are here to work," which is refreshing.

After a long day of being in my black suit in near 100 degree weather, hours of technical difficulties, and eating far too much pizza we ended up getting some really nice shots. Life Vest Inside has just begun and I hope it grows to be something more than just a nice thought, but a provoking movement.

I hope to grow in my ability to blog this stuff out in more interesting ways, so bear with me.