Production Tales

Agi spent a good portion of the summer working on a photo shoot for the Aruba Tourism Department. She produced the job for Loan River Productions' photographer, Andy Anderson and Lowe Worldwide out of New York. In addition to producing, Agi did the location scouting and all of the principal and extras casting. She wore a couple of other hats on this shoot, which included wardrobe styling, props, and acquired local crew.

No matter how remote the location, leave the logistics to Sunbow Location Services! For example, while working on a feature film which required a shot from the mountain top in the rain forests in Tortola, BVI, the only way to get the equipment into the forests was by tying the camera equipment onto donkeys.

On another occasion, while filming for Norwegian Cruise lines, our locations spanned four islands and two countries in four days of shooting. Sunbow took care of all the immigration and customs clearances without interrupting a very tight shooting schedule that included sunrise and sunset shots. We chartered a sea plane to scout locations and transport crew that were too remote to reach any other way, and we moved the equipment in trucks on large barges.

For a TV commercial shoot, we shot on a remote private island in the Caribbean and had to transport about 70 talent and crew. Our props included sailboats, powerboats, and an old sea plane goose. In addition, we acquired and transported several monkeys and exotics birds that were needed for the shoot.

One of our locations was an isolated island that had no trees, but the commerial required palm trees in the shot. Well, the art department at Sunbow Location Services got busy and designed and constructed the palm trees and erected them on the island. When the shoot was finished and the art department began to dismantle the set, we found out that the Palm Trees looked so real that the local conservation police inquired into our activities -- they were concerned we were cutting down trees! They were amazed when they realized there were no trees on the island and these palm trees were especially constructed for the set.

Sometimes we know budget will dictate a location, but we don't let that limit us. The shoot required a waterfall but the budget couldn't afford to go to a location with a waterfall. No problem! Sunbow Location Services to the rescue -- we created a waterfall by using water trucks and special rigging and built a tropical rainforest set with plants rented from a local nursery.

Sunbow Location Services was doing street casting in St. Martin for a Mayo Clinic shoot. Agi saw a women who looked perfect for one of the parts and approached her with an explanation of the project, which was to be shooting on an elegant 240 foot sailboat. She would be paid in cash, well fed, and her wardrobe would be provided by Sunbow. The woman was very skeptical at first, but Agi's warm personality and persistance convinced her she was perfect for the role. After the shoot, Agi received an email from the women thanking her profusely for a great day that she would never forget!

Proctor and Gamble was shooting a TV commercial to introduce a new body wash. One of the requirements for the shoot was a glass shower outdoors on a beach. Providing the set was no problem for Sunbow, however finding a location was a challenge because of the nudity of the shower scene. Sunbow scouted locations and came up with a beach that was not only easily accessible by land but was completely private as well, and offered all the scenic elements required for the shoot.

The scenario: Lynn Redgrave, a huge freezer full of weight watcher's dinners, and a large talking exotic bird to be delivered to a deserted island accessible only by boat for a sunrise shot. The logistical problems were immigration and customs needed to be cleared first thing before business hours and we had to provide power for the freezer for the day. Easily solved with Sunbow's landing craft carrying all of the equipment, freezer prop, and a powerful generator with cables run right off the ramp of the boat onto the beach. Customs and Immigration picked up and brought to location on overtime; Sunbow was able to take care of all the clearing requirements on location while the crew began working on the island.