Opportunities like this don’t arise very often. Vega were shooting their latest video for the track “White Flag” at Cardington Studios and asked me to join them for some behind-the-scenes photographs. This studio is a huge location in the Bedfordshire countryside and has been used to film key scenes in the Bond movie “Spectre”, Warner Bros’ Batman series and (big gulp)… the forthcoming Star Wars movie Rogue One.
The call-sheet for the day showed that a horse and handler would be needed, a model/actress, the band and a fire marshal… Sometimes you have to work so hard to get a decent image or images from a particular setup and others, like this, just fall in your lap.
First up was the horse and shots with Olivia Harriet Smith. Some incredible horsemanship in the circumstances – bright lights, smoke and fire didn’t scare the horse at all and made for some distinctive shots.
I had to mind where I stood, for more reasons than one...
Olivia with the band. Hope she was paid well...
Enter the band for some sweeping wide shots. I took these pictures from near the rafters of the hangar studio, the journey up was via numerous sets of old wooden stairs which creaked and moved when I stood on them. I’m not usually scared of heights but I do admit to having sweaty palms for a minute or two. Gotta suffer for your art, right? The band looked like ants from up here and, in the cold January twilight, I could see the moisture hanging in the air inside the building.
Did I mention how cold it was?
After numerous warnings to stand well back and hide our eyes the fire sequence was next. After some technical issues with the ring of fire the band moved on to close-ups and solos through the flames. The heat was amazing and definitely welcome for Dan (Drums) who’s back had been blasted with dry ice throughout the shoot and had to go on numerous jogs up and down the hangar to warm up.
Watch your eyes! Oh......never mind. Technical difficulties.
I decided to use a technique called lens compression to capture the fire and flame shots. By using a long focal length lens (for example 150-200mm) and shooting through the flames from a fair distance away, the subject of the image would appear to be very close to or even engulfed in flames. It’s a technique used a lot in the movies and also by photojournalists (for example, the famous “unnamed protestor” in front of the tank in Tiananmen Square – this was shot on a very long lens and appeared to show the protestor very close to the tank. In actual fact he was further away than the photo implied. Still a brave and unforgettable moment in history though).
Marcus before Lens Compression
Marcus after Lens Compression
Here are more of the flame and fire shots as well as some photos taken from the performance part of the video.
A warm drummer is a happy drummer. Dan in action.
Tom with my bass. Yes, that's right, MY bass.
Look, there's Steven up there!
Nick Workman, bright spark.
Adding a bit of glam to the rock.
James having a great time. Beer just behind the box. Seriously, it was just behind the box...
You may be cool but you'll never be Dan Chantrey playing drums in James Bond's studio cool.
Finally, here is the finished video for White Flag. Catch VEGA on tour in the UK throughout May 2016 and give me a shout if you see me - I'll be with them too.