Last minute production changes at Horse and Country meant they were left with a very important client contract to fulfil but not enough internal crew to do so.  Cue Feral and our ability to nimbly juggle our own work in order to step in and help one of our most valued clients.

‘Fit for Welfare’ with the Society of Master Saddlers, was a brand activation and partnership series commissioned by the SMA for H&C+, Horse and Country’s premium subscription offering. This five part series was to be shot over two days in North Wales. It had already been postponed once due to illness and was in danger of being pushed yet again. Through our work with their eventing broadcasts, H&C knew what we could do and so reached out on a busy Tuesday afternoon to see if we could help. and By close-of-play, we had a call sheet, crew booked, hotel bookings and a full two-day shooting schedule.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, we were missing a presenter.  With the original talent lost to another production, this series would need someone of quick wit and mental dexterity, able to charm and somewhat entertain guest speakers and clients alike. There was only one answer to this in the Feral office: quick, someone pull out the microphone-shaped spotlight and shine it into the sky! We need Nicole Brown! Luckily, amid some calendar juggling and childcare remapping, she was free and already doing her research. The next morning at 6am, the Feral team was on the road…

The first challenge was to take the editorial and shoot plan and make itwork for everyone concerned, whilst also bending it slightly to suit our own methods and ways of working. For Feral, that meant juggling the shoot schedule and planning the shot list with the clients branding team, as well as shooting each scene in an order that lends itself more towards efficiency than narrative or chronological order.

Another challenge was working with some unknown team members that were already booked on the shoot by our client, an added bonus for Feral, as these two superstars were an absolute joy. Firstly there was photographer and camera-operator, Tea Smart. A delightful and personable professional who, whilst having their own agenda of shooting stills for the broadcaster, was also keen to be part of the wider team and slotted right in to that mantle. You can see more of Tea’s great-great work at www.teasmart.co.uk.

Also on the team was B Camera Operator, Ramy Mousa, wielding his A7s and adding some much needed farm-life glamour to the b-roll, thanks Ramy. We also threw in an extra camera-operator so that the director could be moving between two filming units. Time after all, really is money!!!

 

Arriving just before lunch on day one and after some quick client helllo’s and a rapid-recce of the location, our approach was to shoot each episode interview back to back using three cameras to capture presenter, guest and a nice safe 4K wide shot. Most of the interviews had props and horses, so much of the b-roll was wound in already. The rest we captured on day two. With fading light, time was of the essence, so we shot one PTC with the presenter and then got all the interviews done between lunch and 5pm.

 

One tricky issue was winding in the addition and changeover of horses and props within each scene. Do you cut around it or try show the changeover? So embodying the immortal words of Yoda “Do or do not, there is no try”, we just went for it and the result was a nice ‘behind the scenes’ vibe, where we just watch the action unfold. We must say that this approach was only made possible via the spellbinding brilliance of presenter Nicole, wielding her handheld microphone like a wand, and skilfully holding the attention of the audience in just the right way, at just the right time, so as not to distract from the content.

 

 

 

With the foundations of all five episodes in the can it was time to move on to day two, and so unfolded a rapid-fire foray of scene-organised b-roll shooting, a mix of light-hearted yard-life GVs (think cute super slow motion dogs and close-ups of horses blinking) and very specific b-roll tailored to each episode shot in multiple location such as the Saddle Workshop, Tack Room, a confirmation check shot in the yard (for the uninitiated, as we were before this shoot, confirmation to equestrianism is as posture would be to a humans gate) the Wash Bay and finally ending the day with an Arena based saddle assessment.

 

 

Bagging all episodes, including travel, in under two days we hot-footed it back to Feral HQ to let the edits commence. Time was of the essence, so the Feral edit began the very next day and and in to the weekend, mostly to send out complex assessment scenes to the client for sign-off. The ultimate result was five well crafted and cinematic-looking episodes that please both our client and theirs.

High five Feral team!!!!

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