It was in my last year of high school that I first got the idea to turn my interest in filmmaking into a job, and I used Kijiji to find freelance opportunities. I replied to a listing from a wedding videographer, Greg, who was seeking someone to assist him with edits. The work was simple: logging footage, syncing speeches, and preparing rough outlines of the cinematic wedding documentaries that he specialised in. He paid cash, and the hours were flexible.
After performing well on my first few edits, Greg asked if I’d like to assist him on a wedding shoot. While filming weddings did not turn out to be my calling, it was the perfect place to learn the foundational knowledge and skills that I still use today. With a crew of only two or three people, we would run multiple cameras, record audio, and manage data throughout a shoot day that would often exceed 12 hours. It was Greg who taught me the very basics of aperture, shutter speed, and lens choices.
I never attended film school, took media studies, or obtained any other formal training in the field where I’ve made my career. Everything that I have learned about photography has been either self-taught, or, more likely, learned from a mentor like Greg. But, as I focused on growing Take5, there were less opportunities to freelance and to work with other more experienced directors or producers.
That changed this past week. I was invited to travel with commercial director Nico Gomez to Bogotá, Colombia to see him in action. Nico and I had connected earlier in the year, when he arrived in London to raise his family here. His energetic and friendly personality draws people in, and it’s easy to see why he thrives as a director in his hometown of Bogotá.
From the moment I met Nico to drive to Pearson to catch our red-eye flight he was locked in. Constantly in contact with his production team in Bogotá making adjustments on talent, working with the client and agency on last minute script changes, and putting out a dozen other mini-fires.
With the shoot set for Tuesday, we had the weekend to relax and Nico showed me around his home town, introducing me to family, friends, and colleagues. We got an early night on Monday, and agreed that I would arrive to the first location at 9AM, in time to see the first shots.
Uber had other plans for me, and when my driver said “ya llegamos” (we’ve arrived), I looked out the window to see a part of the city that Nico hadn’t shown me, and not a camera crew in sight. I had gone to Carrera 7a # 37-04 in south Bogotá, when I should have been at the same address in north Bogotá.
Concerned comments from Nico’s colleagues when I arrived on set explained why I had not seen the area on any tourist guides.
The shoot itself was a great experience, and left me feeling reinvigorated about our own projects back in Canada. It was interesting to see the differences, but also the similarities between Nico’s shoot and our typical production. The crew of more than 50 was much larger than the crews I work with – the catering team alone was as large as our typical crew! And the way the art team completely transformed a location into an eyewear store—complete with over 200 model glasses—was truly impressive. But at the same time, they also used many of the same lights, specialty lenses, and even the Dana Dolly that we often use on our projects.
My last night in Bogotá was about as “authentic” an experience as one could find. Nico and I started the night with a number of directors, producers, and their agency clients at an “arcade” called Frog Bolirana Club. Bolirana is a Colombian arcade game similar to skee-ball. After several rounds of intense competition, a group of us carried on to a dive bar where 10 beers and a mickey of aguardiente could be had for $25. After a night of drinking and dancing, I was glad for an afternoon flight back to Canada.
I look forward to returning one day to take in more of what Colombia has to offer. But for now, to the wonderful people I met, and to my gracious host: Con gratitud, nos vemos pronto.
