The Greatest On Set Moments of 2023

My most memorable on set moment of 2023 was working with Erykah Badu for Meta. This was a DREAM project! The agency (Translation), Erykah, and I were excited to explore her liberating approach to downtime. Collectively, we imagined an Alice in Wonderland-esque world (titled ‘Erykah In The Baduverse’), where Erykah travels to replenish her soul. 

At one point, a crew of more than sixty people stood speechless as Erykah performed a sublime ritual of surrendering to Mother Nature – allowing the rain and freezing temperatures to wash over her. It’s one of the purest, most vulnerable moments I’ve ever experienced on-set. In the weeks following (and even as I write this now), that moment serves as a creative revelation for what’s possible when collaboration and trust are the foundation of a partnership between agency, client, and director.

I had the distinct pleasure of directing THE Boyz II Men who were reprising the iconic Chili’s baby back ribs theme. The gravity of this was not lost on me. We had planned everything to a tee as the Boyz went into the studio to get to work. The one X-factor was how the track started, and how we would transition from the Boyz in situation to the spectacular live performance when they start singing. This was contingent on the timing of the final recording, which hadn’t hit my inbox until the day prior to our shoot. Of course I had a plan A, B, and C, and plan C was a bit of a wild card. I asked my production designer, Ali Isaksen, if she could track down some white peacock feathers - a totally reasonable task at no notice - and she somehow materialised them. So, I shot one perfect take of them fanning open (yours truly operating) in front of the lens to reveal the flourish of the Boyz in matching white suits. This is all to say that I will forever have white peacock feathers standing by!

In the summer of 2023, I embarked on the adventure of a lifetime to deliver the FIBA Basketball World Cup trophy (known as Naismith trophy in honour of basketball's inventor James Naismith) to various countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America.

Our mission was to get iconic photos and content around the world from the 32 countries that qualified to compete in the World Cup (hosted in the Philippines). As we arrived in the 35-degree heat of Côte d’Ivoire and unbelted James (the trophy) from his window seat, it all became a reality. After three jam-packed days we found ourselves at the pyramids of Giza, then onto Sao Paulo, Brazil we went, and the rest was history.

Four months, seven lost bags, and 300 plane meals later, the trophy made it to Manila and found its way back to Germany with the winning team. 

What a whirlwind year it's been! From kicking a football in an antique store with Lionesses for adidas, to building a makeshift classroom in a Spanish dessert for American Express, it was exciting and a bit surreal all the way through. But wait, what was the cherry on top? Directing the one and only Drew Barrymore for a Garnier commercial in March. It was a day jam-packed with epic hair flips and the most infectious vibes. Drew's not just a pro; she's a ray of pure sunshine. We chatted about her pet lizard, Jeremy (yep, you heard that right), and cracked up over TikTok memes. And let me tell you, her 'sbagliato, with prosecco in it!' impression is spot-on hilarious!

I have two top on set moments of the year. The first has to be filming at Talladega Speedway. We go to a lot of NASCAR races, but it is not often that we get to be at one of the most iconic speedways and have it all to ourselves to race cars around. It is a massive space, and we watched this huge storm roll in (which caused production to stop), but it was an exquisite feeling being in a place that is normally beaming with people, but with just a small film crew. 

My other top experience this year was filming sunrise and sunset at Grand Teton National Park. As someone just now beginning to explore national parks, seeing these vast spaces is life-altering. Nature is so beautiful, and attempting to capture it can be tough. But I think our team did a great job!  

In 2023, our crew had the delightful experience of filming at the Kansas City Zoo, a location that, while not outlandish, offered an unexpectedly heart-warming welcome. The highlight of this shoot was our interaction with the penguins, who seemed as curious about us as we were about them.

As we loaded in, these charming creatures waddled over, greeting us with their playful spirit and inquisitive glances. This encounter reminded us of the simple pleasures and unexpected moments of delight that can occur on set, making our work in production not just a job, but a journey full of surprising and unforgettable experiences.

In February, we did this super cool shoot for Destination Canada, teaming up with the awesome folks at Rethink. We were on a mountaintop that we could only reach in this huge, kinda dystopian-looking truck – no way you could hike up there. We were racing against time, with just a couple of hours to get our shots in before this blizzard hit. It was a wild ride, and it was the coldest I've ever been!

Seeing as I’m a Jamaican-Canadian guy from Toronto, finding myself on this crazy mountain, filming these hilarious, super-Canadian scenes, was incredible. The crew and everyone was having a blast, especially since my face was totally frozen over – they kept cracking jokes, saying I looked like I was straight out of 'Cool Runnings,' and throwing the classic ‘Sanka, you dead? Yeah, man!’ line at me. It was an epic day - definitely one for the memory books!

My remarkable first full year with Camp Lucky brought a wide variety of projects; comedy on the volume wall, high-speed-high-design-throw-food-through-the-air motion control work, heavily integrated post production elements…but one project stands out in its ambition…

 

Specifically, this was when Carl’s Jr./Hardee’s came calling with a clear vision: create two distinct looks to differentiate the brands, don’t get too precious with it, and make it all mouth-wateringly delicious. And, while the original list had about 70 shots, this grew to nearly 100. 

To execute this ambitious ask, we built a set for each brand and a third insert set, had three full crews, and built a command centre from which I would communicate with my teams.  The pace of the job, the output, the energy, and the quality of the work…was unprecedented for everyone involved and changed the way I consider what’s possible in production.

Filming the latest campaign for the new KIA Telluride X-Pro, ‘La Buena Vida’, in a torrential downpour along the rainforest roads of the Pacific Northwest - one that would have washed us out were it not for the massive canopy tree cover and a heap of luck - was such an exhilarating adventure.

Later, while racing around the Oregon coast’s beach during a hailstorm, we thought we’d only have to rely on sky comps. However, as if by magic, the clouds and storm dissipated just as the golden hour approached, blessing us with a breath-taking sunset, perfect for capturing our hero shots. The shoot was a total dream come true, all thanks to an exceptional team that went above and beyond with a killer attitude and ‘never-say-die’ energy - a fitting combo for filming at the iconic Cannon Beach, made famous by the film ‘The Goonies’.

Afterhrs. recently collaborated with the USOPC to develop, produce and capture content for a 360 campaign for Team USA and the Paris 2024 Olympics. We developed the creative for photography and video assets across all digital and social platforms. The capture will equip the client with a unique content suite for each of the 65 participating athletes; from the journey to Paris through the closing ceremony. We had only minutes with each athlete, so we designed two separate sets that were completely modular and changeable at the push of a button in order to apply different concepts, per athlete, at a moment’s notice.