Movember by Damien Bredberg
Being his fifth installment now for the moustache donning charity, he boldly planned a 1950’s car chase scene. And nothing was held back. This year’s production involved more action, more people, more props, and more retouching than all previous years.
All talent shooting was crammed into one mammoth day and then Damien flew to Melbourne to shoot various landscape elements.
Read on for an in-depth interview about Damien’s process on this project.
The results of your latest Movember shoot are just stunning. It’s a real tribute to you and your team! What goes into planning a charity shoot such as this?
Every year we try and raise the bar, both visually and logistically. This particular piece involved at least double of everything – talent, propping, travelling, preproduction and post production. From a creative point, it was very challenging as lighting and perspective was key to producing a realistic scene – so more planning and measuring was taken to ensure a perfect result.
This is your fifth shoot for Movember, why did you select this particular charity to promote through your shoots?
I specifically chose this charity as some close friends have been affected by Prostate Cancer. Also, the style and brand that the charity promotes, offers fun opportunities to think creatively and humorously.
“I’ve always been a strong believer of this saying… ‘When you want something done, give it to a busy person’. If I’m not busy, I tend to procrastinate, often leaving it until the very last minute.”
Being a not-for-profit shoot, what motivates you to pursue such a project for no real financial gain?
Apart from doing our bit for the charity and raising funds and social awareness, there is a more selfish reason; self-promotion. Shoots of this scale rarely happen within Brisbane, so for me to prove to the broader market of my ability, I need to engage and create my own shoots that showcase my best qualities.
Tell me about your planning and process on this project. Is your creative process different to when you work commercially with clients?
The process is identical, but the most limiting factor is budget and time. And surprisingly, its easier when shooting for free. The main reasons being that I have more time, absolute creative freedom and more control over the end product.
The usual process starts with a creative idea. Once I’ve worked out a very basic idea in my head, I then isolate all the elements required from props, talent and expressions and find corresponding stock imagery. It is here that I start building a scrapbook style layout – brief if you will that determines the amount of talent required. Once I’m happy with this, pre-production starts.
My producer Nicole will engage talent agencies, locations and permits, Make Up, Stylist, Studios, Assistants, appropriate equipment and shooting dates. Once confirmed and everyone’s briefed, we then move swiftly towards a shoot date.
After the actual shooting day, all files are sorted, archived and post production begins. This is another process again.
You’ve also been really busy with commercial projects lately. How do you find, or even justify the time to spend planning and in post-production on a massive personal project?
I’ve always been a strong believer of this saying – “When you want something done, give it to a busy person”. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always performed better when working under pressure and in stressful situations – I guess I thrive under these circumstances. If I’m not busy, I tend to procrastinate, often leaving it until the very last minute.
What’s something interesting or unusual that might have happened on set or during post for this project.
Can you tell me a behind the scenes story?
I actually engaged a 3D artist to build the background streetscape, but during the development, he realised it was beyond his ability, and the quality failed my expectations. So I dismissed this altogether and then photographed a bunch of street scapes that would composite well to closely match the original perspectives and idea.
You’ve had an overwhelming response on Facebook with the launch of this project’s long-awaited finished images. What are some of the reactions or responses?
I never expected to receive such a reaction, and nor was it my intention. But it’s nice to know that the time and effort put into an image is appreciated and supported. I do thank all my fans, clients and colleagues who’ve helped me along the way. Without them, I wouldn’t have the drive or passion to continue with self-promotional photographs of this level.
In what ways did this project push you to create or achieve? Did the freedom of the “personal project” allow you to push yours/the team’s boundaries more than you would usually?
Exactly, having no client restrictions is a blessing. Its these shoots where you have the opportunity to showcase your true talent and demonstrate your actual ability on all levels – production, creatively, photographically and in retouching.
Design Montage interviewed Damien in early 2012, you can read this interview here. Also, there’s a great behind-the-scenes article by Damien himself that gives further insight to this project.
