Waiting To Get Picked Up!

Backing be photographed in West Chester, NY

As everyone knows in this industry, the real money does not start pouring in until the show gets picked up by a network. Even then, it is not uncommon for executives to be frugal with the budget for the first season, waiting for the show to prove itself. This all leads to filming much of the scenes on location outside of a sound stage. Not ideal, but still “cheaper” in the short term.

However, once it comes time to build sets, months have pasted since the last filming was completed. Although this may not too much of an issue in So. Cal., here in the North East, and also the Mid-West, the change in the seasons makes it impossible to photograph your backings without it looking completely different.

Although you can (and we have) add in leaves and change the seasons of backings photographed, nothing beats photographing the scene during the actual season needed for the show. So what are you to do?

This is the exact situation a show we recently worked with in New York found themselves in. The first season was filmed over the summer with minimal set builds and much of the filming done on location. Although everyone was confident the show would go onto another season, especially given the talent, the production did not want to expense the cost of producing backings they many never use. Completely understandable given the cost.

So in this instance we captured, and only charge for, the photography of the six backings they would need for season two come November. Basic proofs were provide for reference, however it will not be until the second season is picked up when the bulk of retouching, production, and licensing will begin and be charged for.

As you can imagine, the cost to produce six separate day|night backings is well into six figures, whereas the photography for these did not exceed five figures, making it a reasonable expense to incur. Assuming the second season gets picked up, not only will this make the backings look much better than Photoshopping in leaves, but it will greatly decrease the overall retouching costs as well