Picture This: Dan Prince’s Hands on Approach to Capturing Footage
Dan Prince is a photographer and filmmaker with a passion to tell real stories, about real people. Reaching into people’s lives, connecting and understanding who they are, what they do and why they do it, is a driving force for his creativity and intrigue.
He creates projects with purpose, that engage, and tell a visual story. Subjects of social issues, community, agriculture, health and wellbeing. Working alongside good people doing good things.
Most recently, Dan worked on Benromach's latest campaign 'Firsthand Stories'. The documentary style short film was shot on site and captured the real workers of one of the last whiskey distilleries in Scotland where everything is handmade.
LBB> What was about the initial brief that intrigued you?
Dan> The campaign was to produce a series of documentary style films and capture supporting photography images for the rebrand of well-known Whisky Distillery company. The distillery is one of the last in Scotland to make everything using a true handmade process.
This campaign intrigued me as it was all about the people and their process. Another element was the style was black and white. This took me back to the early dark room days as a student, so I was excited to revisit the styles which influenced the reason I got into photography.
LBB> What were your first steps when it came to breaking down the brief and formulating your ideas?
Dan> It’s not often you get to be a part of the creative process from the start, and the first steps were to work with the agency closely to build the confidence in my approach. This was the first commission for them, and they wanted me to guide them through the documentary style, as it was unfamiliar to them.
LBB> And what were the ideas and influences that you wanted to bring together?
Dan> I wanted to bring a genuine unique approach, to truly capture the character of the people, represent their personality, create strong visuals and tell the story along with work within the guidelines of the creative for agency and client.
LBB> What were the interesting or challenging conversations that you had with the art director or client?
Dan> The agency were hugely supportive and trusting throughout. This was an absolute joy as they gave me room to create, build, and trust in my approach and process. Filming in a true documentary style, you need to stay open minded to find moments, not scripted, but maybe only guided. Some scenarios were set up for key visual elements to create dramatic moments.
LBB> Who were the key members of the team and what did they bring?
Dan> I am very used to working within small productions. I do think this keeps the team moving quickly and efficiently, be able to adapt so a team who can work in this way is vital. I am very hands on so can capture footage, direct, capture stills and operate a drone, which helps hugely in a documentary environment. I worked alongside a DOP, lighting tech and producer. We shot in multiple locations, sometimes splitting up the team to prep the next shot to make sure we were maximizing our time for the clients expectations.
LBB> How did you approach casting - and how challenging was it to uncover the perfect cast? What was it about the models/actors that you ended up going with that really struck you when you came across them?
Dan> We were working with real people, doing real jobs. We knew we could not stop them working as this would stop live production, so would capture the action in real time, then get interviews and plan specific time slots throughout the day.
LBB> How do you generally like to work with your cast/subjects to get the best out of them?
Dan> I managed to speak to the people during the recce. This helped to see their process, understand their characters, and more importantly, get them to know myself a little and understand what we were going to do prior to shooting. Trust is a massive factor in what I do and it’s important to understand that when working with real people.
LBB> And on this occasion, what was it you were really keen to capture in your subject/cast? What was the chemistry like on set and how did you work with them?
Dan> The job is to make sure people trust in what you are doing, be honest, and think about the real expectations of the commission. Being genuinely interested in people always helps as I enjoy getting to know people and what they do.
LBB> Tell us about the location or setting - where did you shoot and why there?
Dan> We shot everything in and around the distillery as we had to. It was about the people and the place. Capturing everything from the barley in the field with the farmer who supplies the distillery, to setting up interviews in the storage warehouse along with creating and lighting dramatic scenes in the filling room. It’s such a pleasure to figure it out and work around the location.
LBB> Tech specs - what did you shoot on? Any interesting elements in the lighting or lenses that we should know about?
Dan> I am very pragmatic in my approach to everything. I think the idea is more important than the tech, but you need the tech to achieve the idea. Both work hand in hand and using what is needed for each production is the best approach in my eyes.
LBB> What were the interesting technical challenges that this project brought up and how did you address them?
Dan> Each production has its own challenges. This one was about power and how to get it to places without. Can we light and work in possible flammable areas. Just a few of the usual workarounds we had to deal with.
LBB> How did the day of the shoot go? Any spontaneous opportunities or surprises?
Dan> There are always opportunities and surprises. I managed to capture the drone footage during the recce as the light was good. I do this often, as why not capture it when the opportunity is there.
LBB> When considering the final shot, why this particular shot over any of the other takes?
Dan> This answer may be a little different for this production, but, a lot changed in the edit as the client had interview talking points, so we needed to make sure the films fit around what the client wanted to include.
LBB> What is it about this project that stays with you? What made it different to anything else you’ve worked on?
Dan> This project had everything. My involvement in the creative, the style, the visuals, the direction and my structure within the edit. I do feel that in the creative industry, especially now, we need to be skilled in multiple areas. This I feel really helps to understand all production roles, which can then help communicate to crew and creatives. You can’t cheat experience and being fully involved with a hands on, open mindset is an enjoyable way to work.
