One year ago, we were called to work on a super-secret project for Facebook. We had barely more than a week to pull together one of our biggest projects ever. But it all came together as Miley Cyrus and Marc Cohn “touched down in the land of the Delta Blues in the middle of the pouring rain” for a surprise Memphis in May appearance. Members of the Running Pony team look back on that challenging but amazing production with a Q&A.
We conducted a Q&A with three Running Pony employees responsible for managing, shooting and editing this large-scale production.
Steve Shipowitz (Director of Operations)
Q: How many days in advance did you know about this shoot?
Steve Answer: We were alerted several weeks in advance that “something” was happening, but we were not told what it was, or who it was for. As far as the talent goes, we found out about 1 week prior to the shoot, and then we were sworn to secrecy. The funny thing, the talent ended up changing, several times, and we didn’t know it was going to be Miley until just a day or two prior to the shoot. I wish I could tell you what happened with the talent changes, but, I can’t. Sworn to secrecy, but it’s a great story!
Q: What were some of the biggest challenges in planning a live production like this?
Steve Answer: The biggest challenge was the ever-changing scope of the project, and just the sheer number of people needed. We’ve done what I thought were some pretty big shoots, but to be honest, nothing compares to this one. If my memory serves me correctly, we had 15 production assistants and more than a dozen cameras! It took me days and days just to find the needed people, all the while, the scope just continued to change and grow. I think the final count was a total of 60 crew members, everything from DPs to drivers to drone operators. It was massive.
Gabe DeCarlo (Director of Photography)
Q: What were some of the biggest challenges on the day of the shoot?
Gabe Answer: One of the biggest challenges was the stress the rain put on keeping the crew and gear organized. Due to limited “dry” space, the crew was either all in the same small tent and could barely move, or they were spread out across the massive stage.
Q: What did the equipment list entail? How many cameras were at this shoot?
Gabe Answer: We had a variety of different cameras the DP had chosen. Alexa Mini, C300 mk2, and multiple GoPro HERO7 cameras. I think the total was somewhere around 25 with 12 or so of those being GoPro teams. We also used Ronin S stabilizers, Movi Pro, Steadicam, and Jimmy Jib mixed in with handheld and stationary cameras.
Q: What was the highlight of the day for you?
Gabe Answer: Since we had a hectic day with technical difficulties and horrible weather, I think the highlight for me was right after our amazing crew fixed all tech problems just in time. I walked back stage knowing everyone was ready and the last thing on my list was to tell Miley that the Steadicam would be leading her in. After very briefly speaking with Miley and the band, they walked on stage, the Steadicam leading them out. It was pretty great to see this massive undertaking really “begin” in that moment.
Simon Davies (Post-Production Supervisor)
Q: Can you describe what the turnaround was for the edit?
Simon Answer: The turn-around was a little bonkers. We needed a rough cut for Facebook in London for the morning after the live performance. Factor in the 6-hour time change to GMT, that gave us a little over 10 hours to ingest, organize and produce a first pass, which was actually a polished, mixed and coloured “final”. The freelance assistant editor Kari was incredible. We hit our 2am, then 4am ( 8/10am GMT ) deadlines and continued to work after several rounds of notes. I was in the office post-supervising and creating after-effects graphics for about 22 hours straight.
Q: What were some of the biggest challenges during post?
Simon Answer: The biggest challenge was ingesting all the media and managing client expectations on how long that actually takes before you’re up and running/cutting. You can’t have that much media (that many cameras) and expect to be editing right away. Plus, Kari needed time to organize it all into multi-cam groups for Guy, the freelance editor. Guy didn’t start actually selecting and cutting until about 10pm which gave him roughly only about 4 hours to actually work before our first red-line 2am deadline.
