In November of 2013, I moved to Los Angeles CA from the state of Connecticut. I leaned on my previous experience in Hospitality to gain employment in California to make the move possible. I landed at a Hampton Inn and Suites in Burbank, CA. It was pretty much a part time job, but enough to sustain me. While working at that job, I met Marcus Wada. He and his father had a small film production studio and Marcus' work at the hotel was helpful additional income. We spoke during our shifts and I let him know of my previous work in Photography. At the time, he and his father were working on a film. It was a short sci-fi film entitled "RUST."

Being kind and generous, Marcus thought that I would enjoy being on/around a film set and he invited me to stop by their sound stage in Van Nuys. The day I visited, a few sets were being constructed and you could see the film coming together. Marcus would ask me that day if I was interested in capturing some behind the scenes (BTS) images as they filmed. Wow. Sure! I didn't see that coming. The film was shot over a span of two months and had a cast and crew of about 30-40 people. It was a great experience to be on a set for a few days. [Those images can be seen here: RUST - Behind the Scenes)

While on set, I would meet most of the cast and crew. I like to work like a fly on the wall, unseen, but capturing much, but naturally we would all chat with each other at the beginning or the end of the day or between takes and set-ups. I would eventually get to know Ben Del Guercio and Alex Davis on set. They served on RUST as Camera Operator and Director of Photography, respectively. Before the film came to a close, I would get their contact information, friend them on Facebook, and learned that they operate their own video and production studio, Pentatonic Productions LLC.

RUST wrapped in September of 2014, and I was happy to be on a set for the first time and to make a few contacts in LA. I went back to work at the hotel, and I also kept exploring LA, and kept shooting for fun or working a few gigs and adding to my portfolio. I did not eagerly stress creating something immediately out of my new contacts. I just went with the flow. In late May of 2015, I received a message from Ben asking if I was available to capture some behind the scenes images for quick project that Pentatonic was working on.

It turned out to be a small commercial shoot for Golfstream. What is Golfstream? Well...it's an interactive golfing experience that allows you to practice and play a round of golf indoors. The added bonus is that there is a hangout and entertainment vibe to it so you can watch sports on TV, and order food or drinks while hanging with your friends and playing golf mini-games. [You can learn more about Golfstream at www.playgolfstream.com]

Ben, Alex and the Pentatonic crew were commissioned to create an ad for Golfstream when it was in its very early stages. The location of the shoot was at Golfstream's location in downtown Los Angeles. Over two days the crew shot the ad and I was happy to capture images while they worked. The final ad was on the net for a while, but I'm writing this retroactively and can't seem to find a link to it, so stay with me as I try to describe how the ad looked/worked.

I've broken this page up into three sections, basically the three main ideas behind the shoot. Let's start with...

Initial setup - window scene and pov

The concept behind the ad was to create a first person point of view (POV). The ad was shot in a way that you were in the head of, behind the eyes of a guy that was going to meet up with his friends at Golfstream to hang out, watch the game, and play some interactive golf games. You were seeing what he would be seeing.

The ad began with you sitting at a desk at work and receiving a text message from a friend to come and hang out.

After the texts, you would look outside of your office window to see that it was a rainy day, hence the need and desire to head over to Golfstream. On set there was not a window, so the crew used CG later to replicate a window on the wall looking out into a downtown cityscape. The tick marks on the wall signified where the window would appear in post production. These guys know their stuff...

Oh my, what has taken me so long to describe the coolest part of this shoot?

In order to achieve the effect of point of view, Ben and Alex designed something pretty genius. It was a homemade camera rig that was fashioned out of a motorcycle helmet. It had a secure place for a camera, weight and motion stabilizers and a playback viewer built in, so just put it on your head and...

I believe there was a formal name for their invention, but I'll have to go back and ask them what it was. Either way, it was a really awesome piece of equipment and it really brought a fun energy to the set anytime Ben put it on.

On the right, in red is Alex Davis, Director of Photography:

Checking for focus...

So again this was the first scene that was shot, Ben is acting as/filming the point of view of a guy working at his office, then receiving a text message...

There's a good image of the built in playback viewer. He can see what he's filming as he's doing it...

Next stop was the translucent bubble...

The space Ben and their producer (left) are standing in is the actual Golfstream space, only the entire space had been modified with translucent fabric to illuminate the space with softer light for filming:

Putting for birdie....Nailed it...

bouncer scene

The second important set up for the shoot was the "bouncer shot." The next step in the journey of the fictitious man going to Golfstream was to arrive in his Uber. The shot would begin with him in the car, him checking texts messages on his way to Golfstream, exiting the car and then greeting a doorman or bouncer on his way into Golfstream.

The crew set up lighting and Ben worked out a few details, thinking about interior light and shadow, as the scene would eventually take place at night.

Every detail counts, even if it means a producer cleaning the car windows for the shot...

Night time...

This following image is of a crew member on set and I really ended up liking it. I always respect Alex's talent as a Director of Photography. His lighting set up was really great for this scene. I enjoyed capturing this one; it had a fun range of color:

I feel like this following one really told the story of what he was going for in terms of light and color:

There were plenty more lighting tests and preparations to make sure the rig was going to perform well in low light...

Playing the role of bouncer was a good guy named, Steve. He was ready for the shoot, for sure:

"How you doin, man?

I'm good. Just got an awesome motorcycle helmet camera rig on my head. Let's shoot this scene.

Cool."

actors

The last set up for the shoot would take the crew back to the translucent lounge space. Actors were brought in for a scene which would depict the actual user experience at Golfstream. Again, it was meant to be casual, fun, and entertaining. The scene would show "the guy" meeting up with his group of friends to watch a football game and along the way practice some golf skills.

While Ben and Alex were setting up the camera, it's needless to say that the actors were ready and excited for the shoot...

I'm trying to get better at remembering names of both people and places. That said, the image below was of Ashley and Dom, who acted in the ad as a part of the fun group:

(Dang. Didn't get their names at all. Shame. But they were very fun too!)

Ben, directing like a champ...

The group was supposed to act like they were watching a football game. The group on the right (the guy on the far far right is named Justin, I know that!) was rooting for one team while the group on the left was rooting for the other. The shot was supposed to be them reacting to a big play that resulted in a touchdown. You'll know whose team scored in just a second...

...and ACTION...

They were going for "post-touchdown excitement." I think they got it...

Even though you can already see her in a few shots above, to emphasize Golfstream serving food and beverages, a waitress/bartender role was cast (I'm 45% sure her name was Alison):

The next and final portion of the day would be a set up for well...the golfing!

The group would take their turns enjoying a putting game. In particular, Ashley was front and center for a shot where she would putt and sink the putt, leading to her celebration. She took a few practice shots before the others joined:

No shortage of outtakes from this group...

Alright, now they count. Action...

Of course a couple of more takes. And she really was sinking those putts...

I think I'll end on that shot. I really loved the pure joy on Ashley's face. It summed up the atmosphere for the day; a lot of fun and camaraderie between cast and crew. It was a pleasure to work with Ben and Alex again on these two days. They are true professionals and know their craft very well.

Alright, one last one of that helmet rig. It was just too cool.