Ocean Drive Magazine  July/August Swim Issue with model, Jessica Gomes.

Photographer: Erik Almås of  Vaughan Hannigan

Razorfish in New York commissioned James Bareham to shoot a series of portraits of the typical Mercedes Benz GL family to be used on the mbusa.com for the all new GL.

The concept was based around the tagline “Are We There Yet’ and comprised of a series of portraits of the GL ‘family’; each of which was used in animated showcases based around the feature sets of ‘comfort’, ‘innovation’, ‘guidance’, ‘entertainment’, ‘safety’ and ‘flexibility’.

After a fairly exhaustive casting, we found our ideal family––and a dog. The full set of portraits were shot by James Bareham at Go Studios stunning penthouse daylight studio (which rather ironically was blacked out). The shoot was produced by Stuart Hart  – TNC Productions and the Creative Services Manager at Razorfish is Yael Bloom.

A couple of snapshots of a Midwestern city on the upswing and six studio portraits. Simple, right?

This relatively straightforward pitch was secretly a rapidly and drastically evolving creative melange which required us to be extremely resourceful and turn on a dime. Certainly a worthy test of our strength and resolve.

Columbus, OH based Huntington Bank and Boston’s Arnold Worldwide sought to begin the grand rebranding of the financial institution through the lens of New York’s Brad Harris.

After scattering scouts throughout a multitude of cities in Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, the client decided ultimately on their own corporate stomping grounds. Off to Columbus, we continued our pre-pro while discovering the joys of The Winking Lizard – when in Columbus, do look them up.

A full set of souvenir mugs later, we were in production at the Olde Worthington Farmer’s Market shooting our first group of extras rounded up with the help of local types I’AMedia‘s Joshua Porter and Heyman Talent Agency‘s Sarah Ginsberg. Everything was going swimmingly until the weather became what we affectionately referred to as Farmageddon and the high-end medium format camera decided to cease all functionality. Since the closest replacement body was in Chicago, we awoke secret weapon Brandon Kornprobst from a deep Brooklyn slumber and he casually handed the photographer the new camera later that afternoon. We were back on.

And then it was Mother’s Day. And all of a sudden we needed a scissor lift and a towncar and property clearance from a downtown Marriott and more extras and police and permits. And it was so. Suffice to say, people in Ohio are generally very nice and forgiving of large photo crews raiding their hotel lobbies without paying them and stealing their luggage carts and valets.

The final Ohio challenge was pulling people from their matriarch-related activities to drive out to Lancaster, OH, a town with more stop lights than it should be allotted based on its population. As we searched desperately for additional extras to fill out our shot, we noticed a group of well-dressed folks wandering around down the block that we thought would be perfect. After speaking to them about our plight and a chorus of laughter, it was discovered that they were, in fact, a RIVAL BANK PHOTO SHOOT!!! Seriously. On that little street in the middle of nowhere. Even though they were far better dressed than our extras, they were mimicking the Abbey Road cover, so we laughed at them and continued on with our business.

On to Chicago, and the Jack Perno Studio, where 6 “real people” talent became the heroes after many street castings and file pulls with multiple casting directors, including one woman they’d used for the mockup and fallen in love with. She worked for the agency in Boston and was flown in for the occasion. In the end, we were able to get everything we required and there were smiles of pride and relief all around.

And yes, Brad Harris, next time there will be club soda everywhere you look.

San Francisco-based photographer Jason Madara approached us to produce a location shoot for Hewlett-Packard’s internal library with Tom Antal’s Creative i. Impressed on previous collaborations with our location scouting prowess, the team tasked us to find the best vantage points in New York City, as well as a Manhattan loft that had to meet a number of specifications.

We spent the previous week scouting the Manhattan skyline from Dumbo to Long Island City. We scouted bridges and landmarks, finding the quintessential NYC shots they knew they wanted while discovering new perspectives we knew they would love. Finally, we figured the best way to see our fair city was from the sky, so we removed the doors from a helicopter and held our collective breath while the Tom and Jason snapped gleefully away.

What you see here are our scouting and behind-the-scenes shots. Additional selects from the shoot itself will be forthcoming.

When it came time for Entertainment Weekly to choose a photographer to shoot the cover of one of the biggest issues of the year – The Fall TV Preview – they looked no farther than frequent TNC collaborator Guy Aroch.  The Los Angeles-based shoot revolved around the cast of Fox’s J.J. Abrams produced hit drama series Fringe, which includes the likes of Ana Torv, Joshua Jackson, and John Noble.

Renowned Photo Editor Suzanne Regan and the creative team at EW were looking for a 1930′s detective office on a budget, which is a more challenging proposition than one would imagine.  Surely the L.A. Confidential sets are still lying around somewhere collecting dust, right?  But alas, no such luck.  So, seven location companies later, we found a gem of a loft space above a Venice-based denim manufacturer called The Stronghold on Abbot Kinney Blvd.  We learned throughout this process that Abbott Kinney Blvd. is a place with more rules and regulations with regard to filming and photography than the already heavily ruled and regulated rest of L.A.

Since The Stronghold was a very hip space, but inarguably not a 1930′s detective office, we employed the visionary talents of production designer Loren Lyons and his crack team to change that, which they did with impressive precision.  Guy worked his magic, shooting fast and loose, pulling magnificent compositions seemingly out of thin air.  He shot not only the cover on seamless, but the entire feature spread as well.

Back in the fall of 2009, Radical Media approached us with an interesting challenge.  Their client, Tommy Hilfiger, was opening a new flagship store on 5th Avenue in Manhattan — finally taking its rightful place among the retail gods of stateside fashion.  In order to commemorate such an epic event, Radical wanted to parade a 75-member Tommy-branded marching band in custom uniforms through the most visible sections of New York City — Times Square, Central Park, and 5th Avenue. This had to happen without breaking the bank, or ending up in the city’s doghouse.

Eager to tackle such an exciting event, TNC went to work on the production. We secured all the necessary permits, cooperation from all the NYPD precincts, off-duty NYPD escorts, booked the bandshell in Central Park, worked logistics for the store performance on 5th Avenue, and provided full production support on the day of the event.

Camera phones were out and tourist Twittering was in full effect as we stormed Times Square.  We paused in Central Park to water the band and hand out hundreds of Tommy Hilfiger kites to the kids. And when our 100+ member entourage was barreling down Central Park’s famed Literary Walk toward the bandshell, the producer noticed there was another band already playing onstage. That overpriced gym membership finally came in handy as he sprinted ahead and physically removed the rogue band from the stage just in time for Tommy’s marching band to step in without delay and deliver a staggering performance.

After the concert, the procession continued down the most ostentatious stretch of 5th Avenue, leading the hypnotized fans along like enthusiastic lemmings.  We reached the store and assumed positions.  Drums rumbling on the street and horns seeming to blast from the heavens (the store balcony) and the event culminated in a brief, but grand, rendition of “New York, New York,” much to the delight of passers by.  It was dubbed by both client and agency as an overwhelming success.