Shoot Production: Cityscapes for Sony

Draft FCB (now FCB) contacted us about a multi-city, multi-photographer project for Sony. The goal was to connect individual Sony stores to their local communities by hiring photographers to capture the “ins, outs, and everything in-between” of the cities and inside of the Sony stores, providing the photographers with their new A99 camera to do so.

The art buyer and I narrowed down the geographic possibilities to 12 cities, and with 700+ Wonderful Machine members around the world, I was confident that we’d be able to help them find the ideal photographer in each location. In addition to recommending appropriate photographers, Draft FCB took advantage of our production coordination services similar to a project I worked on with Momentum Worldwide and Budweiser.

Rather than setting up each photographer as a vendor and having identical creative calls with each of them (which can be a tedious process for an agency), Draft FCB relied on me to be the main point of contact for all the photographers. In addition to compiling a single cost estimate for the entire project (rather than the agency having to negotiate fees with each photographer), I was responsible for relaying all creative direction and logistics to the photographers while ensuring that the shoot days and file delivery went smoothly.

After reviewing the work of the photographers I recommended, I helped Draft FCB hire the following photographers to shoot specific cities:

Rebecca Stumpf: Denver and Las Vegas

Tai Power Seeff: Santa Clara and Palo Alto

Jay Goodrich: Seattle

Travis McCoy: Los Angeles, Glendale, Costa Mesa and San Diego

Josh Letchworth: Orlando, Aventura and Boca Raton

The photographers all photographed the cities in which they were based, and a few of them also traveled to photograph nearby cities. Each shoot day consisted of visiting a handful of pre-determined places of interest, while also making sure to stop by the local Sony store to capture a few exterior images.

While the scope of the project was a bit loose, the agency relied on the photographers to utilize their hometown knowledge and find additional locations to make the most of their day. One challenge the photographers faced involved releases. While model and property releases were provided by the agency, they hoped to capture images that didn’t need to be released in order to maximize the shooting time and minimize any prep/post time to obtain proper approval. This meant that the photographers had to create images that hinted at specific landmarks and areas while keeping in mind the need to avoid any recognizable faces and brand names of specific stores or restaurants.

After shooting, the photographers were then asked to do their best and pinpoint specific locations as they shot around town. Luckily, our photographers have a terrific memory, and with a little help from Google Maps, they were able to provide additional location information.

Over the course of a few weeks, all of the shoots were completed and we delivered a large library of images showcasing all 12 cities. I delivered one invoice from us (rather than a separate invoice from each of the 5 photographers), and we helped to coordinate payment to each of the photographers. The images will be used for in-store signage throughout local Sony stores in the upcoming months.

Here are a few more images for the shoots:

Here are a few of the final selects:

To hear more about how we can help you, please send us an email or give us a call at 1 610 260 0200.