Being An Art Director On A Photoshoot

In todays video, we talk about some standard need-to-knows before going on your first photoshoot as an Art Director. We explore the process and dive into some tips that will hopefully help you before you land on set.
Comment below with any feedback or questions you want answered on a future video.
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[@McLoony93]

Always a good watch - this overview is great! Very informative, especially for those who have never been on a shoot and/or are prepping for their first shoot. Would call out that it’s incredibly important to protect the client while on a shoot, which ultimately becomes a full team responsibility, vs. purely account service. Would encourage creative team to keep their cool when something (inevitably) catches on fire and take it straight to their producer and/or account service team so that a game plan can be formulated. We’ve had issues with permitting, scratches on vehicles, cast members having diva tantrums - Goal is always to leave the client feeling like the shoot was flawless, even if there were times when it was a heckin mess behind the scenes.

[@nickkidd7182]

Another killer. Theres so much knowledge flying out of your mouth every day and it pushes me to want to learn more. Keep at it.

[@OpenDoorCreative]

Nicholas Kidd thanks my dude.

[@regifall]

Very helpful! I wonder if it's quite the same when doing shoots for TV? If not, what are the key differences between the two? Or can the two jive in with one another (say there's a time constraint) as in you do the photoshoot first then proceed to film next?

[@OpenDoorCreative]

Jereek Espiritu there are many time when you do a photoshoot at a TVC shoot. I will eventually make a video on being on set for a commercial as there are more moving parts though the bones are relatively the same.

[@Ledatru]

Awesome video yet again! Personally I have never been on a shoot (outside of just being a tag-along observer) but it's ALWAYS super interesting to see how stuff like this gets prepped for. Can you share the assets you come up with (moodboards, shot lists, etc.) and maybe the final results? Might be cool to see how the vision evolves into reality.

[@OpenDoorCreative]

Dat Le most definitely man but that stuff cannot be posted until we’re in market. Can’t show it quite yet. Thanks!

[@Ledatru]

For sure. How does the photographer selection/location selection work? Does that mostly vary between agencies/clients/scheduling/etc.? Like have you ever tried to hire a badass photographer but he was unavailable or too expensive? Same goes for locations (like if you wanted to shoot in Greenland or something.) I feel like there's a lot of logistics that my mind can't really wrap around. Or maybe the agency's project manager tells you "Kevin, you're working with XYZ photographer and this is your schedule"?

[@OpenDoorCreative]

Dat Le also throw me a PM. You comment a lot and I would love to learn more about you

[@OpenDoorCreative]

Dat Le it differs from project to project. Budgets definitely can get in the way of your preferred location and your preferred photographer. But you can definitely reco some along with your content producer. There are certain times that a photographer will be booked or that you need special permits for certain locations. Timelines usually play a large part in that.

[@Ledatru]

Sent you a PM through the form on your site just now

[@sticky_bryce]

Love it! Great insight. Who is the point of contact for either videographers, photographers, or production agencies inside of an ad agency? Is it the media buyer? Art director? Production director? Etc.

[@OpenDoorCreative]

Great question Bryce. It differs at each agency but most large shops will have a content producer who is in charge of contacting and coordinating with the videographers and photographers.

[@changedwards21]

Totally agree with the art director not the enforcer and part of the team! Always works out so much better overall when directors and higher ups let people do their job.

[@OpenDoorCreative]

Absolutely.