The Challenge
We started planning for our rash guard video shoot “A Weekend with Blood Red” in May of 2018. As we had done before, we wanted to do one “master” shoot for all the items, not just the rash guards. The water sports collection comprised a manageable-sounding 38 items. We’d done this before, except, this time, we agreed we wanted video in addition to our standard photographic requirements. Challenge accepted!
The Plan
The storyline was simple: show you the Blood Red lifestyle by following a group of people on a weekend trip. The execution was not as simple. 4 adult talents, 2 child talents, a lean production team of 10 persons, plus the 4-crew support team aboard our yacht. Shoot period including travel: 3 days—hey, it was gonna be “A Weekend With Blood Red” so we wanted it to be as real as possible!
The Location
Having been to Camotes Islands for holidays a number of times before, we agreed that it was still the most reasonable location for the shoot. Its rugged bays, clear waters, and rustic charms were enough to convince us. Also, it was 2 hours on water from The Beach House, where Shameless was usually anchored.
The Talents
Our main requirement was that our on-camera talents had to be comfortable in water. That sounds like a no-brainer for a sailing and water-sports brand, but we just had to make sure as they were definitely going to get wet! We did quite a few go-sees, and scheduling problems were rearing its ugly head early on. In the end, we managed to get to our final four as planned. As you can see from the output, they indeed had fun!
The Grind
Day 1
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- Jolina (production assistant), Eric Chocat (Underwater Videographer) and Leonard Gubat (Concept Manager)
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- Left to Right: Bianca, Jacqy and Alex taking a minute break
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- Bianca in between takes
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- Dancing on the trampoline
We started for real at our flagship store, with Jacqy, Bianca and Alex picking out their clothes and gear. Then we went on the road and did the driving and drone shots on our way to the yacht. We ran a bit late with the tide being not in our favor at the pick-up point, so I was getting a bit anxious. But, we did manage to get all the shots we needed, despite the drone wanting to go its own way—away from the boat at sea. Nope, we didn’t lose it.
Day 2
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- Videographer Norbert captures Bianca’s downtime
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- Photographer Jon checks in with Leonard
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- Talents reviewing their shots
The pressure was really on as this was our only full shooting day for this rash guard video. All fears of the Philippine monsoon season were dispersed on this boiling hot day. Luckily, we specialize in clothes that offer sun protection. Yes, we wore Blood Red behind the cameras too. We only had to worry about bare faces and feet, and staying hydrated on location. Unfortunately, Jacqy and Bianca had unexpected bouts with motion sickness, but you wouldn’t know that from the pictures and footage over and under water. Troopers? Yes!
Day 3
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- Taking the RIB to the beach location
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- Selfie!
Our last shoot day wasn’t even a full one because we wanted to set sail well before sunset. There were a few hiccups with the beach location, but we were lucky. We only literally had to look in the other direction and we found a suitable spot. It was another boiling hot day, and we were treated to ice creams and fruit shakes while waiting to sail back and shoot the sunset along the way.
The Bonus
DOLPHINS!!! This was not in the original plan. While we have seen dolphins on prior crossings between Cebu Island and the Camotes Islands, they couldn’t have chosen to show up on a better day. The crossing was choppier than usual, which generally meant no chance of dolphins in the area. But hey, they showed up and stayed with us for several magical minutes. Luckily, we had our cameras ready and were able to include them in our rash guard video.
Watch it all again here or on our YouTube channel.
The next collection is being designed as we speak, and the next shoot will, no doubt, be in the works soon. Don’t worry, we’ll keep you posted.