We awoke very early and piled all the equipment and whatnot into the back of this big flatbed truck that followed us around for the next 4 days. While the gear was rolling along behind us, we rode on the back of these great little dune buggys. We had two (a yellow and a white one) and it was common knowledge by the end of the trip that the white one was the better of the two. Not only did it have TWO butt pads, but a kick ass stereo that played mostly Brazilian techno (and Yellow Submarine by the Beatles on the last day....an odd change up) at ear splitting volumes. Soaring down the beach in the newly christened party buggy at about 50 MPH, a techno version of Pink Floyd's "Money" playing, it feels as though you're on the way to battle. Home made shrimp boats lie silently all along the beach, their sails barely able to catch the wind, and vultures circle low in the sky over a fish carcass a half mile ahead.
Upon arrival at our shoot location, I am aghast at the desolation of the acid eaten canyon that will be our studio for the next two days. Its quite beautiful but before I know it, its overrun with equipment cases, vehicles, pale northerners, and 9 Brazilian PAs.
We shoot to card the whole day, making my job much easer, the workflow much more relaxed, and the vibe of the shoot much lazier. The model dresses in designer evening gowns, dark skin makeup with tight pulled-back hair and dances to the quiet beat of the camera shutter. The wind blows, the sun burns, and the earth cooks. We're just south of the equator, and if it wasn't for the wind we would all be swimming in a pool of our own sweat. I somehow still manage to sweat a decent amount (though no one else does) adding to my theory that, given an opportunity, I could sweat in Antartica while wearing nothing but a t-shirt.
Over the next two days, we complete 13 shots, which the photographer edits down, makes retouching notes, and I FTP to the retouchers within 6 hours of us finishing shooting. Technology never ceases to amaze me. At night we swim in the bath water that is the Atlantic ocean, drink caprihinis, and eat lobster with a Brazilian influence. The town is very small, and there are only a few European tourists wandering about. The restaurant on the second night is open air with lots of local art work and colorful decorations. We gorge ourselves on fish, rice, beans, salads, fruits, breads, lobsters, shrimp and chicken, as everything is served family style. Once we return to the hotel, I finish reading American Psycho which I can't really say I'd recommend reading. It was a little much more me.
At the end of the second day, we had completed the first story of this shoot, and the general feeling of the trip thus far was very fun, creative, and adventurous. As I fell asleep I thought of the promise made by the art director that the locations for the next two days would be amazing.
No comments:
Post a Comment