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The
'Diesel' ad
by
Zac Macaulay
Reproduced
from in focus 66 (October
1999)
When
I was asked to present my portfolio to one of the biggest
advertising agencies in London packed with underwater images,
I was understandably curious. As a photographer with over
fourteen years experience I've made countless presentations,
but somehow this one seemed to have that little bit more gravity
about it. Having emerged from the meeting, none the wiser,
I went about my business in the normal way for a Monday morning.
Half an hour later I was summoned in again and offered the
shoot for the next 'Diesel' jeans ad underwater.
The
basic idea was delicious: a Mafia-style hit with dead and
dying people tied to concrete blocks at the bottom of a murky
riverbed. The shot as I saw it needed to create an optical
illusion of a vast river bed with various bodies ranging off
into the distance. I especially wanted to create the feeling
of claustrophobia as I believe it is the most negative feeling
anyone, diver or not, has about being underwater.
Slim
Macdonald's facility in Hampshire was booked to provide the
pool, all the lighting and some of the crew. Next to be commissioned
was a special effects company to build and construct the underwater
set. Soon after, models, assistants and safety divers were
all hired.
The
advertisement had been planned for billboard sites all around
the worId and therefore picture q uaI ity in terms of camera
format chose itself. I decided to use a Hassleblad SWC with
a 38mm lens and 220 back loaded with Fuji Astia in a housing.
This proved to be a superb combination with the lens quality
providing edge to edge sharpness, and the Astia giving the
colour punch I wanted.
The
shoot itself took two days. The first day was for set building
and preparation, the second for photography. So on the 18
th November 1997 everyone gathered together on a very wet
and cold day to begin work.
The
first job was assembly of the river bed scene. Five mannequins
dressed in 'Diesei' clothing attached to concrete blocks were
lowered into the water and placed in strategic positions leading
off into the distance. Then two more concrete blocks were
placed in the foreground, closest to the camera, ready for
the models. Various river weed which had been collected was
also placed, weighted down by small lead weights. General
mood setting detritus, which had been accumulated was taken
in and weighted down. Finally, to set the scene, a shopping
trolley was cut in half and sunk in the foreground.
At
the point when I thought the shot was looking good and the
general shape was right I introduced the lights. I already
had a very good idea of how I wanted the lighting to look.
To me this is always one of the key elements in any shot,
land or underwater. In the end we used four 1.5K HMI's purely
as fill in lighting around the edges of the pool, and one
4K HMI run off a generator acting as a natural daylight source.
The added particulate in the water helped to create the shafts
of light thrown down by our 4K.
The
next stage was to take Poloroids of the lit shot to check
it was actually going to look good on film. So a couple of
crew members perched on the concrete block and chain assembly
pretending to be dead. The Polaroids showed me how the lighting
was coming on and how many alterations to make. It also showed
me and the client how the shape of the shot was forming.
The
inevitable was looming and it was soon time to attach the
artists to the chains. Although the artists were very experienced
in underwater modelling, it was inevitably a tense time for
all concerned both were gently lowered into position by their
own safety diver. The models were breathing air and wearing
masks all through this stage. Their feet were tied into position
via the chains which had a weak link built in as one of many
safety measures. Both placed their hands behind their backs
in the pretence that the wrists were tied: in reality both
were clasping a bottle of spare air. When the models were
ready the safety divers removed the air supply and masks,
and on pre-arranged signals both models began their agonising
'death throws* acting. The whole thing looked like some
weird ballet underwater from behind the view finder, and the
tension from the previous week's work and preparation instantly
dissipated as I saw the whole complicated beast coming together.
The
day after the shoot I woke up and looked in my fridge to find
half a dozen rolls of shot fiIm with a monetary value of only
about £20.00. This is always one of the oddest feelings
as you reflect back through all the human team effort, time,
and resources used up by so many people; it is all there,
translated into six rolls of film which you can hold in one
hand. The film was processed and submitted to the agency who
were duly delighted. I collapsed on the sofa with a Stella,
and started to think of my next underwater bad dream.
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