25 September 2011
I love it when a model comes to me with an interesting and creative idea and says, “Any chance you could do a shoot based on ……”
I have had a number of great shoots this year gained on such a basis and they have been an exciting and stimulating challenge to source a location and suitable props to bring an idea to reality.
The most recent of these occurred on 25 September when I was approached by model BarbWire (Chantelle). We had worked together before on a couple of great shoots; but one theme that Chantelle particularly wanted to create was Lara Croft – Tombraider. It required stunning locations, and a boat. I don’t follow Lara Croft so wasn’t sure about the boat; however I liked the challenge and worked out some locations to suit an action adventure day out.
Chantelle is a great model to work with; she has amazing ideas for dramatic shoots and brings her characters to life with real passion. She also has an abundance of energy and a desire to keep working until the perfect results have been obtained, coupled with a wacky sense of humour that is essential to stay sane on one of my shoots.
We chose a Sunday to get going, and headed up north from Grantham to South Shields where we would start work. First port of call – literally – was Port of Tyne, where we boarded the Tyne ferryboat for the trip across the river to North Shields. Asking permission to film on the ferry wasn’t required – we were greeted with, “So what’s with Lara Croft, then?” Well, at least we knew the costume was up to scratch!
The crew on the ferry were amazing and granted us permission to shoot onboard the boat and really got involved in the project. As we didn’t get sufficient shots on the first trip we took a return crossing; this time the Captain invited us up onto the bridge for some superb opportunities. We asked about the possibility of using our (prop) guns as they were essential to the character, and the Captain replied, “No problem, bonny lad, it’s just like any Friday night round here!”
To round off the session Chantelle hijacked the Captain and boat for some great pictures before we disembarked after our third trip across the Tyne and entered into the desolate barren of wasteland that is North Shields. Not that I’m complaining; desolate and barren makes for much more interesting locations, and indeed we found the perfect spot for some images before walking down into the Fish Quay area for a much needed coffee before continuing.
Suitably refreshed we now tackled the long walk to Tynemouth, shooting various scenes en route including an action chase and making use of various props thoughtfully provided by the Council en route. We also came across an abandoned and burnt out factory; sadly all fenced off and inaccessible. However it just had to be used for one photo, and by posing Chantelle on a roundabout it was possible to use a section of it as background. We did get stared at, however – and attracted a great deal of comments as we passed people during the day. Lara was instantly recognised by all age groups – testimony to Chantelle’s preparations and outfit.
At Tynemouth we hit the pier, with Chantelle climbing up it by rope! Then it was round to the exterior of the ruined Priory for some shots to represent an old castle.
We ran into a minor spot of bother here, when an extremely officious woman emerged from the gates and demanded to know if we were doing a commercial shoot. As it was obvious we weren’t, given the lack of equipment and people that such a project would require, we said no. That wasn’t good enough.
“Well it looks like a commercial project,” she protested.
“Well you look like a nice old lady but you aren’t; thus proving that all is not what it appears to be on the surface so go and marinate your head in a vat of engine oil.”
Actually I only thought that, tempting as it was …. But manners won out at the end of the day so I politely assured her that we were a couple of amateurs having fun for no other reason than we enjoy doing it – a concept that so many officials living in their bureaucratic empires fail to grasp.
Once Nora Batty had given up we took the last shots we wanted at the Priory entrance before heading over to the statue of Collingwood that dominates the mouth of the Tyne. We managed to get some awesome shots here as the autumn sun gradually sank offering superb lighting effects.
We had most of what we wanted, but one important scene remained. We retraced our steps to the ferry for a rather more relaxing and gun free trip across the Tyne to await the departure of the huge DFDS ship that sails across the North Sea to, er- somewhere or other. This would provide exterior ship scenes to accompany the onboard session from the morning. We were all lined up and the ship was steaming down towards us when a man approached us with an Alsatian who wanted his photo taken of the dog with Lara Croft. Yes, but give us 5 minutes while we get this scene, I told him. He wasn’t happy and after a bit of a grumble moved on. What perfect timing. And if he had waited until the ship had passed he would have got his picture, but there you go.
The day was done; we were worn out from the exceptionally mild weather that had accompanied a day of running, jumping, climbing and more running. However we were both pleased with the results and the atmosphere of the day as a whole. I certainly hope to work with Chantelle again.
It took three days for the aches and pains to subside – I am not getting any younger – but the end results were worthwhile and hopefully worthy of all the effort that Chantelle put into this idea.
The shoot produced three sets of Lara Croft – Tyneraider that may be seen from the links below.
Also check out more from BarbWire- Alternative Model
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