Project: Survive - Start To Finish
I have always found charm in abandoned locations. Maybe it’s the character it gains as it ages. Kinda like people, I suppose. However, Singapore seems to give their buildings and locations face lifts before they ever get a chance to gain some proper ‘wrinkles’. So when I chanced upon a disused basketball court with weeds growing out from cracks all over the floor, I felt like I had stumbled upon treasure! I just knew that I had to do a photoshoot there.Â
Often, I have felt that my portfolio was lacking sports images. The aesthetics of my images would be very suitable for that genre when it came to editorial or advertising. So at the start of the year, after my trip from LA, I decided to create a series of sports images containing the same visual and narrative elements present in most of my work.Â
And that’s how the idea of Project: Survive was seeded. To grow the seed, I would first need to decide on the elements to include in the photo series.
The brief below was used as a starting point and was later simplified.
Set in the near future where the environment is harsh, two teams of players battle it out in a brutal game resembling a combination of American Football, Basketball and Inline Skating. The players look battle-worn and bloodthirsty. We later learn at the end of the game, these people have nothing but camaraderie towards each other as they try to survive their present trying world through sports and companionship.
The shoot should contain these elements
Multiple players/characters in two teams
Players to express distinct characteristics or physical attributes through action or wardrobe/makeupÂ
Models to be of different races.
I’m a big motion picture fan so inspiration came from movies like Mad Max: Fury Road, Edge of Tomorrow and Rollerball, where elements were recognizable but presented in an unfamiliar fashion. Mad Max was a large source of inspiration since I had caught it in the cinema and was in awe of what had been done to it such as treating a tanker truck while in motion like a ship to be boarded by pirates. Recognizable yet unfamiliar.
Locking Down Props, Wardrobe, Location, Crew & Talents
I had initially planned for two teams of three players each and had the characters all planned out. However, it proved impossible to schedule 6-10 individuals for something that was more of an indulgence than a necessity. The project felt like it was falling apart when a shoot date could not be set and even the tentative date keept getting pushed back. Eventually, I decided to reduce the total number of characters to four so that a shoot date could be locked down.Â
Fortunately, while all that was going on, the location was secured after getting approval from the folks managing it.Â
Wardrobe was mostly taken care of by Xindi (stylist). All I needed to do was to locate and pick up some football protective gear, which turned out to be hella tough in Singapore, where soccer is the first thing that comes to mind when ‘football’ is mentioned. Almost by a stroke of luck, I came across the Singapore American Football League, which not only had the appropriate gear, but was kind enough to loan Project: Survive some.
Due to scheduling conflicts, the shoot had to wrap by 1:30pm which meant an early call time. The earliest we could push for was 7am. This meant only 6½ hours to set-up, make-up and shoot 9 planned shots (with additional shots if there was time) while toggling between the two shoot locations in the area. It was going to be a rush and it did not help that the only holding area available for make-up was at least 200 meters away from the shoot locations. Thankfully, I had a great team helping me along the way to make sure all I needed to do was to focus on shooting and interacting with the models.
Having planned the shot list and schedules beforehand, and run through the sequences in my head many times in the days leading up to the shoot, everything was pretty much on autopilot on the actual day. . During shoots like these, I almost feel bad for not being able to spend more time with the people in front of my camera in between shots or to check in with my crew. The process feels very cold which is why I always try to take everyone out for a meal after.
The shoot went better than planned, and I got more shots than expected. I think everyone ended up having a bit of fun despite the rather hot day (I got sunburnt!).
As with all past projects where heavy post production was required, I ended up learning additional techniques to do some of the things I'd done beforeÂ
Because most of the wardrobe was loaned, almost all of the nine planned shots had to be weathered only in post. Added to the special effects I was planning to add on and the masking to remove the background , this meant many long nights, in front of the monitor with my Wacom tablet. At a later date, I may put together a video showing the transition in post production. Â
One thing I am bummed about was not being able to add more effects to the final image. It turned out that the image was busy enough and adding any more elements would have been too distracting. It was one of those times where the initial idea seemed better in my head than in implementation.
I am however very satisfied that I was able to create a series of portraits as well as features for each character to supplement a ‘hero’ shot. I’ve always wanted to create little snippets that contributed to the main shot and this series allowed me to do just that.
Project: Survive is a passion project and therefore purely self-funded. Getting people committed to such a project by working out a trade of some form is always tricky, and tends to limit choices. Things like physical materials are difficult to barter for since the ‘currencies’ are almost always different, and sometimes you cannot get away with it.
Most of the time, I have to bank on people who believe in my vision and are willing to be on board for less than what they would normally charge. While these people are difficult to find, the search is made worthwhile by the great experience of working together as a team, with everyone contributing their expertise and experience towards the finished product. I found that I learnt a lot from my time together with the Project: Survive team, which is partially why I continue to dedicate resources to doing these passion projects.
Note: I should point out, this is neither license to low-ball someone nor is it your call to determine that this is great for someone’s portfolio. Let them make the decision. If you are planning to collaborate with another artist, share your idea with them and let them decide if it is worth their time and energy. Too often I read of companies or individuals telling people who are just starting out (or not) that it is great exposure for them.Â
Looking back, much can still be improved. Lessons can be learnt from the mistakes and oversights I made. You might hear me talk about them if you ever attend one of the workshops I teach.Â
There were a lot of shots generated during the shoot. The selected images were not necessarily the best shot for that character but chosen to compliment the other pieces in the series. I may share the other good shots down the road during some down time. Â
I still like large productions despite having left the world of video and film-making. I enjoy telling stories with still images and I plan to continue creating more series containing both a main image and supplementary images. My end goal is to create a short graphic novel containing purely of stills. But it’s going to be a while before I get to that.
Many thanks to Vanessa Caitlin Jayne, Alex Lim and Kim Zhuang for their assistance during the production, which allowed me to focus on shooting. Thanks to the talents, Eden Ang, Pablo Kotey, Alexander McColl and Kateryna Chursina for being the faces of a story I was trying to tell, and putting up with the heat. And last but not least, a big thank you to the rest of the visual creative team Zann Thiang (Make up & Hair) and Xindi Siau (Styling) for making a kooky idea I had in my head, come to life.Â
I am grateful to the Singapore American Football League for their help with the football gear as well as buddies Willie and Joseph for loaning out their roller blades and coolers.Â
I continue to look out for folks who are looking for creative collaborations. If you have an idea you want coming to life, pitch it to me. If it’s something I think I can use in my portfolio or if it is simply fun to work on, I am definitely down for it. Drop me an email at [email protected]
To check out some of the work I have done in the past, head on down to egohphoto.com
