Jonathan Chapman and Laurie Rubin are two of the best examples of how the role of the professional photographer continues to evolve. They are both now firmly planted as photographers/directors, but after viewing their panel discussion at the recent Visual Connections event in Chicago, it’s clear that they are really multi-disciplined creative professionals with an array of interrelated skills. For both, “good creative” drives the project, and both would agree that each medium impacts the other in terms of the creative decisions they make. But the process by which they solve creative challenges that inevitably arise from a complex shoot involving stills and motion are different and unique to their own skill set and experience.
Laurie begins a project whenever possible with what she calls a pre-shoot. She tech scouts and shoots a location. She rehearses the movement from one scene to the next. She is able to influence the direction of the project by sharing the imagery with the agency that then often uses the material to build storyboards to present to the client for approval. This approach gives everyone on the project a good overview of how the production will unfold. By the time the shoot day arrives, most of the creative decisions have been made, so then it’s all about flawless execution.
Jonathan takes a somewhat different approach. He works with the client to be sure that he gets the shots that have been preapproved by the client, but builds in 15 minutes of every hour for what he calls “unscripted shooting.” He has a trusted staff of other photographers and DPs who shoot in tandem with him and know his aesthetic. Jonathan told the crowd that a sort of competition arises to see who can get the better shot or footage. He also tells us that more often than not the client opts to purchase a portion of the those captured unscripted moments in addition to what has already been budgeted by the client.
Still image/live action production provides clients the opportunity to create well-branded content for use across multi-platform campaigns. For the photographer/director who has the creative chops and the technical skill, the opportunity to assist clients in telling their stories is providing some great opportunities. Check out Laurie’s and Jonathan’s promo reels, as well as the full discussion that took place at the Workbook-sponsored Visual Connections Chicago below.
Panel- Print and motion Vid H264 from Laurie Rubin on Vimeo.
JCP Directors Reel from Jonathan Chapman / JCP on Vimeo.
Visual Connections Chicago 2016 The Production from The Workbook on Vimeo.
