An Epic Photoshoot
The
biggest in Epic's history some people have said. And big it certainly
was. It took
place over four days, in numerous locations and used over forty actors.
Here's how it all came to pass.
Pre-production
The shoot was for the Army Physical Training Corps 'Health Trainer'
programme, a nine hour e-learning programme focusing on the physical
and mental health of Army servicemen and women. The programme consisted
of five branching scenario topics, each with accompanying tutorials.
With all of these comprising of several characters and taking place
in various Army settings, it was clear that the organisation of
the photoshoot was going to have to be exactly right if it was going
to be successful. Never fear though, as Karen Dale was Epic's logistical
mastermind placed at the helm with the invaluable military support and
organisation from Captain Mark Lewis. In the first few days of 2007,
Karen managed to organise and schedule (and reschedule) all the necessary
shots into a four day shoot.
The Plan
The plan was to shoot all the scenario topics onsite at the APTC
HQ in sunny Aldershot over three days, using professional actors
to play the main parts. These lead actors would be supported by
a cast of a dozen of Her Majesty's finest, who were to be 'background
performers'. In addition, there was to be one day of shooting to
be carried out at Epic, using the good people of Epic themselves
as the stars of the show this time. This would be the easy part.
The Team
Karen Dale – Producer
Andy Costello – Director
Adam Wallace – Photographer
James Chetwood – Production Assistant
The Trip (Pt. 1)
And so it was that, on a cold and wet Monday evening in January,
the Epic photoshoot team set off for Aldershot for two days of hard
toil.
After an evening of planning and preparation in a hotel bar populated
by a rather vocal Dutch darts team, the Epic team were fit and raring
to go. An early morning trip to the supermarket to pick up some
actors' penguins and other refreshments was followed by an interesting,
if unplanned, trip to see the Gurkhas. Then it was down to business.
We arrived at ATCP HQ at 0910 hours to be met by Captain Lewis,
Staff Sergeant Saunders and one rather worried looking actor.
But worry he needn't have. He was soon rolling around in the mud
and climbing ten-foot walls without a care in the world. In fact,
all the actors involved were brilliant and more than happy to get
into some unusual situations for the sake of their art.
Day one began at a frenetic pace with Producer Karen Dale cracking
the whip and the Epic team travelled around Army HQ with an entourage
of actors, Army personnel and a dozen squaddies in tow. Trips were
made to the assault course, the gym, the NAAFI, the cookhouse and
various fitness rooms. With several set-ups in each location and
unusual surroundings for our actors, the situation was challenging
to say the least. However, thanks to Andy Costello's inspired direction,
the actors performed their roles brilliantly.
After a well-earned drink (with what was by now a rather more subdued
darts team) and a good night's sleep, Day two of shooting was somewhat
less hectic and the team was by now working like a well-oiled machine.
Although, it must be said that the help and attention of Captain
Lewis and Staff Sergeant Saunders were invaluable. They escorted
us to all parts of Army HQ and accosted numerous innocent bystanders
in order to make them stars of the computer screen. Our second day
of shooting included more trips to the gym and the assault course,
as well as the quartermaster's Stores. The sun even came out for
a bit! Then it was back down to Epic to plan for the internal photoshoot.
The Easy Part
Unfortunately, the easy part was no such thing. With scripts that
included over forty characters it was always going to be tricky,
but as most of them needed to be under 25, clean shaven and have
short hair, our task was made even harder! As a result, five more
professional actors, and a great deal of improvisation was called
for. However, thanks to a project management effort that was little
short of miraculous from Karen, not to mention Andy's direction,
the eight-hour shoot went off without a hitch. Huge thanks must
go to all the Epic people who kindly agreed to take part.
The Trip (Pt. 2)
That, however, was not quite that. Another trip up to Aldershot
was necessary with yet more actors and yet more squaddies. There
were some new locations as well. Set-ups were needed in Hammersley
Barracks, the medical centre and (the highlight of the trip) the
Army boxing gym with the Army boxing team as background performers.
The final day of shooting went smoothly and the Epic team returned
to the South Coast satisfied with a successful week's work.
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