The Brief / Julian Calverley / SiS / Lionhouse

LPA are pleased to bring you ....The Brief. An exciting new series taking a behind the scenes look at what goes into a photoshoot, from brief to final images.

First up a fantastic recent campaign for Science in Sport (SiS) by LPA Photographer Julian Calverley.

The Details

Photographer: Julian Calverley

Client: Science in Sport (Endurance Nutrition)

Agency: Lionhouse

Shoot Dates: May/June 2013

Usage: Print (Specialist magazines) Online, UK only, 2 years

Here’s how the shoot was created from brief to final campaign. 

The Brief

To shoot an advertising campaign to promote Science in Sport, featuring Olympian athletes Sir Chris Hoy and Helen Jenkins. It was created by fab Bath based agency Lionhouse.

LPA Photographer Julian Calverley was ideal for showcasing the potential of the endurance sport supplement, with his dramatic, enhanced imagery. Whilst the inclusion of Olympian athletes Chris Hoy and Helen Jenkins certainly gave the photoshoot some extra kudos. The plan was to shoot the athletes in a studio and comp in the backgrounds - a velodrome for Chris and a dramatic sky for Helen.

The campaign called for images with a strong presence, depth and movement, reflective of the strength and endurance needed to undertake extreme exercise. In this way they wanted their product to be associated with this intensity, and for consumers to put trust in the brand's promise, Endurance Nutrition. Without Compromise.

Julian’s images are captivating in aesthetic, whilst the focused way in which he portrays the athletes is aligned with the uncompromising nature of Science in Sport.

© Julian Calverley

The Estimate & The Production

When a brief has been decided, the first thing a client wants to know is how much the shoot will cost. So LPA prepared a comprehensive estimate including all fees and shoot expenses. 

Starting off with photography fees we work out how much of the photographers time will be needed and quote accordingly.

The actual shoot was to be 2 days in total, 1 in Bristol and 1 in Manchester.

• Photographers Shoot Fees- x 2 days. Shoot fees are based on end usage of the image, fees reflecting the amount of exposure the campaign will get and generally broken down into media, time, territory and audience. In this case this was a campaign for the consumer market targeting sports people, and the ads were to be seen in specialist press and online.

The shoot was to take place in a studio so no Recce Fees would be necessary. Also as our ‘models’ were no ordinary models, we didn’t need to do a traditional casting, and therefore photographers time to cast the models, Casting Fees would not be necessary either.

The only other fees we needed to include were for Julian’s time to travel to Manchester and Bristol - also known as Travel Fees plus Julian’s Post Production Fees.

• Post-production- Julian’s work generally involves post production to digitally enhance the images and give them the dramatic, bold look which he is renowned for. He also does the majority of his own production. These images were originally shot in a studio setting and then digitally placed on a background. The backgrounds were also shot by Julian.

Then we work out what the Preproduction and Production costs will be, that’s the associated items necessary, whether bought or hired, to provide the service. To work out the production costs  and also a production schedule the main thing we need to ask is who, what and where and then who’s organising each logistic (e. g do we need to cast models or will the subjects be provided). In this case the 'models' were organised by the client and they were being photographed in a studio – so actually quite a straightforward one! Here’s what else we needed to include in our budget estimate for this particular shoot.

• Photography expenses- including digital capture, equipment/ lighting hire.

• Studio hire – We hired 2 studios for this shoot - Helen Jenkins was shot at Central Bristol Studios, and Chris Hoy at Hire2 Studios in Manchester. There was also the cost for the location shoot in the Glasgow velodrome.

• Special Equipment - A turbo trainer and running flat bed were also required.

• Photographers Assistants – A 1^st assistant was required.

•  Producer – This is for the Production team at LPA to organise all the necessary shoot logistics: in this case booking and briefing the crew, sourcing and booking the studio, additional equipment plus travel and catering arrangements. We also liaise between photographer and the agency throughout the process, deal with any contracts and business terms, manage the budget, prepare call sheets and reconcile the expenses.

• Transport expenses- for Julian and his assistant. See Lisa's recent Ask an Agent post about what to charge for travel time - http://bit.ly/12PmWV2 .

• Hair and Make up –  A local hair and make up artist was sourced for both locations. Ami S at Big Mustard for the Bristol shoot and Martin McClean at Boss for Manchester. Often we would have a stylist when the shot involves people,  but on this occasion only Hair & Make up were required as Helen and Chris brought their own clothes!

• Subsistence – Never a good thing to have a hungry crew! We always factor in lunch and snacks.

• Miscellaneous  - There are always extra bits and pieces like couriers, mobile and production insurance which must be included in the cost.

So once LPA had the costs for the shoot signed off and we were informed of Helen and Chris's availability we got cracking on the organising. We booked the studios, the extra equipment, the stylists and the catering. Then we compiled all the information in call sheets, including contact details of crew and agency, who was to be present on shoot,  directions to studios, shoot schedule and call times, and sent these out to everyone involved.

The Shoot

As everything had been carefully planned, all went off without a hitch and a great day was had by all.

Julian thoroughly enjoyed the shoot  'Both Helen and Chris were a joy to work with, thoroughly professional and very happy to keep repeating various poses and work outs time and time again. They made our lives very easy.'

© Julian Calverley

Photoshoot Glossary

Sign Off- Confirmation in writing that client has agreed brief, costs and terms of estimate.

Pre-Production- Anything that needs to be organised before the shoot. e.g casting, location scouting.

Post-Production- varies from light colour correcting to more complex retouching e.g colour treatments, multipart comping.

Recce Fees- Fees for a photographer to visit a shortlisted location to select the best for the shoot. Sometimes a photographer  just visits an approved location to do a 'technical' recce, i.e to check the light, space and plan where he will shoot each shot.

Casting Fees- Fees for a photographer's input into the casting, ideally the photographer would shoot the actual casting so he can ensure which models he can work well with and who will perform well for the shoot, it's not just what they look like that is important.

Travel Fees- Fees for a photographers time to travel to and from a shoot.

1st Assistant- The photographer's right hand man on a shoot. They would usually be quite involved in the lighting and digital downloading. Bigger shoots require a 2nd assistant and sometimes even a 3rd and a 4th. Usually the higher the number the lowlier the tasks.

Call Sheet - Includes all the useful information everyone on the shoot needs to be in the right time at the right place and how to get there. Also includes information about who else is on the shoot and their roles, plus other details such as weather if relevant.

Call Times- When crew and models need to get to shoot locations.