Back in June, the Ted Baker team contacted me asking if I’d be interested in doing a photoshoot for them . I was interested so we chatted on the phone and discussed the ideas they had , essentially an off road commute to work showing the varied terrain and conditions the suit was deigned to withstand. The Ted Baker team had some initial ideas on locations in the Peak District but for the story they were trying to tell, I felt that the mountains of Scotland would be better suited to give a sense of drama and being in quite spectacular situations that you wouldn’t get in the Peaks ( Sorry my Sheffield based friends, you know it’s true: ). The only problem was I had essentially 3 weeks to plan a 3 day shoot , pull together a team of people, assistants, mountain guides and drone pilots to create the feel and vibe that I was going for .
Its quite full on being both director of photography for film , doing the filming yourself, doing the stills and directing the drone pilot so there’s not much resting space. We were incredibly lucky with the weather we were able to film in both the locations I had planned , it can so easily be not the case as I have found out numerous times this year on other film and photo projects.
Matt Cousins was the athlete/model and he’s part of the GB bouldering team and a very strong climber so there was nothing we were going to come across on the routes that he wasn’t happy soloing. I had an assistant for the stills holding the flash ( Elinchrom quadra ELB 400 ) and an assistant for the video setting up the tripod and gimbal when required and we had Jamie from Eastwood media flying the DJI inspire 2 drone.
The brief was to capture as much of the mood and the drama of the place and the situations as well as some close ups of the suit. We also had along a makeup and hair stylist for Matt , and it was the first time she had ever been up a mountain and she did say it was the most terrified she has ever been , but she did the job so hats off to her.
The one part of the film that was a bit nerve wracking to watch was the jump, I had said to Matt that I didn’t think it was a good idea as the consequences of getting it wrong would be fairly serious but being the pro athlete he is , he did it in good style and with cat like ease, but I wasn’t going to ask him to do it again !!, it’s towards the end of the film so worth hanging in there for .
http://nadirkhan.co.uk/film/ted_baker_endurance_suit_no_ordinary_commute
Check out the suit , particularly useful if your commute involves running , climbing and jumping between pinnacles.
As always , the teams gear was carried in a number of different F-stop gear bags, the Loka UL and the Lotus and Ajna mountain series packs. Thanks to Arcteryx for the hard shells, keeping me dry and warm.