Amazing international photofilm assignment. But are you ready?

I’ve just got off the phone from a Director of Communications for a large reaseach organisation that want to commision duckrabbit to lead a week long workshop in Bangladesh and then follow it up by making photofilms in Bangladesh, Indonesia and protentially Laos.  It’s a months work, well paid, working on fascinating stories in some of the most interesting places on earth.

The client wants to invest in great films and great photography but has no interest in the name of the photographer, or what agency they do or do not belong to. Why?  Because they’re smart and understand that their audience will get turned on by a compelling story, not the name of someone they have never heard of.

The two photographers I usually work with, David White and Yasuyoshi Chiba are unavailable.  So theoretically how would you, as a photographer/photofilm producer get a great gig like this?

First off I wouldn’t work with someone on this kind of job who I hadn’t either trained before, worked with before, or been given a very strong recommendation by someone I trust. Why? Because in the field the most important thing is that you work as a tight team.

TEAMWORK

Its not something they teach very well at journalism school but its fundamental to getting anything that requires more than one person, done well. And these days that’s most things.

The good news is that being a good teamplayer is a skill you can learn. You just have to want to.

We need people centred persons not prima donna’s. Its only after spending a couple of hot, hard-working days together that you can work this out.

You need to be chilled. That’s very important  to me because although highly strung people can create great work they tend to end up stressing out everyone around them. Calmness is one of the key signs of professional capability.

What else would I be looking for?

These are the main the things.

1. Anyone who calls themselves a photographer should be able to take a great picture, but I need to know that you can take 150 decent ones in a single day. Long term projects rarely show me that.  I’ll always pick a photographer who has spent a few years working in the press where you only survive if you know how to nail a photo in a very short space of time.
2. You need to be able to use a video camera properly and you need to know how to edit the video and produce a photofilm. I’ll only take you seriously if you have produced at least 3 decent photofilms yourself. Why?  Lots of people can make one really good photofilm, but often they don’t repeat the success.
3. You need to have a good grasp of how to tell a story
4. For the training you need to be able to get the best out of people. They need to like you, find you open, enthusiastic and humble.
5. You need to be good in a supporting role
6. You need to be able to edit audio
7. You need a good sense of humor