Re: was : Salgado & assnt. & TV crew!

[Donal Philby <donalphilby@earthlink.net>]

> Ted wrote:
> 
> The shooting took place in the home and how
> the hell a documentary TV crew of 8 can be "like a fly on the wall?" is
> hard to believe.
> 
> I mean it's tough enough being a single Leica toting photojournalist
> working in confined quarters and trying to be unobtrusive, let alone a
> video crew be unobtrusive.

I got a call last year from the Cotton Industry foundation wanting me to
shoot ads of the same subjects/situations that they were doing
commercials for.  That way the print and broadcast campaign would be
similar.  And since the film crew was already setting up things, it
should be easy.  Of course, I said no problem, we can work out things
for efficiency and I can bring Leica RFs to be quiet and get it down on
film.  

Well, when the foundation brought up my being on set, the film crew
director threatened to refuse to do the job if a still photographer was
to be on set--too disruptive, cause too many problems, etc.   Pot
calling kettle black.  But the foundation backed down and ended up with
no print ads to reinforce the broadcast.  What amazes me is that the
film crew felt it had the power to say no.  If I ran the foundation,
they would have been fired on the spot.  

In the end, both the Cotton industry and I were the ones hurt.  Of
course the film crew was only getting a few hundred thousand dollars for
a weeks work.  And there was no serious money left to fund a separate,
high production value still shoot.

Donal Philby
San Diego