You've all seen the final results of our photoshoots on our socials and on our website; stunning imagery of glorious Pembleton V-Sport 3-wheelers and T24 roadsters in a smattering of different locations at different times of the year evoking a yearning to get behind the wheel, but you haven't seen what goes into making these stunning pictures come to life. I thought I'd offer a glimpse behind the scenes of a photo and video shoot of the latest Pembleton T24 to emerge from the factory on one of our favourite roads tucked away in South-West Wales. It's worth noting, the images you see in this blog won't be the aforementioned glossy stills, they will be my best efforts snapped from my phone, so excuse the lower quality...
Friend and recent customer of PMC Zaki kindly offered us the use of his newly delivered T24 as a subject of the shoot. Finished in Hartland Green over a Gold waterproof leather interior and accessorised with stainless fixtures, the car is a real head-turner which made for the perfect vehicle to showcase some alternative specifications to what we have shot before.
When I say it was newly finished, the hand-over of the car actually happened only the afternoon before shooting. For context, ordinarily when shooting a customer car, we will gain permission from the customer, before contacting one of our free-lance photographers to arrange the shoot which will typically happen between final registration of the vehicle and the scheduled delivery date. But such is the inclement weather in South-West Wales in August, this shoot was delayed for weeks and weeks, to the point the customer had actually collected the car before we had found a window of opportunity to shoot. Fortunately for us, he was still willing to allow us use of his car even after he had collected it, providing he was able to come along for the ride. What he hadn't anticipated was the 5am start followed by 3-hour drive in the heavy rain, just hours after collecting his car...
The meet time was 8am, we'd be arriving in 3 vehicles; the photographer and the videographer arrived in one vehicle (shortly before getting a flat tyre), I would be arriving in the support vehicle and finally, donning a suitable yellow fisherman's outfit/goggles, the luggage rack adorned with a wicker picnic basket full of cheeses and meats and the 200L boot FULL to the brim to cover all eventualities, Zaki arrived in his brand new T24. "I only picked up the car yesterday afternoon, so was eager to get some miles on the clock and what better way to do it, it drove superbly and was an absolute joy despite the weather".
We laid out a small plan of action over a breakfast on the go, corners and stretches of road we'd like to shoot on, how we want the car to come across, the feel of the video etc. before setting into action. Shooting a combination of video and photos was great fun, the respective professionals, Ralph and Jamie had worked together in the past so knew each others work-flows to a tee. Armed with walkie-talkies in lieu of any phone signal, at 08:30 we headed up into the hills to get going.
Fortunately for us, by this time the weather had relented and the sun had broken through for what became a glorious day in the mountains. The location was chosen for the the fabulously secluded mountain road, but also for the sheer beauty of the landscape, the perfect harmony of ancient tree-lined hillsides and exposed twisty tarmac. We wanted to theme the shoot as if you were on a solo roadtrip.
Now I've been rather coy as to the exact location of said road, mainly through selfishness, but also to maintain a slight trade secret; these secluded shooting spots are becoming fewer and further between. Keener eyed viewers may recognise it from our T24 launch video back in September 2020, and our owners may recognise it from a trip we hosted a few years ago, but that is as much as you're getting from me.
In every shoot we do, wherever the location we look to get a handful of different types of shot to display the car in as many ways as possible.
Panning shots; these are where the photographer/videographer are road side, often up a tree, tucked in a ditch or just stood in a lay-by. They shoot at a relatively low shutter speed with the vehicle passing at speed, this gives blur and sense of motion. Walkie-talkies are very necessary.
Static shots; as the name suggests, parked against a breathtaking backdrop, or where the light shimmers most pleasingly, these shots are used to give context to the wider shoot and put the car in the location. It also provides an opportunity to shoot some of the details of the car and its specification.
Tracking shots; these are shot car-to-car, strapped in to the boot of the support vehicle with a purpose-built harness, they shoot backwards toward the subject which is often extremely close to the bumper, this creates a highly dynamic view of the car and driver.
Onboard shots; taken from within the cockpit whilst moving. These give an insight to what the driver (or passenger) is experiencing whilst also providing interior details with the added element of motion in the background.
Drone shots; a birds-eye view on things where climbing a tree may not be sufficient. Mostly to offer a stunning cinematic feel to video.
Once we're happy we've got everything we need, we call it a wrap, pack everything up and head back. In this case, we were so blessed with weather, time and scenic opportunities we actually ended up shooting until 19:30, a long day by any standards, and that's not including the three hour drive either side.
*Huge props to our videographer Ralph who actually set off from Oxfordshire at 03:00 only to get home for 01:00 the following day. Big shift.
A lot goes into making these things work; aligning cars, drivers, photographers, videographers, the British weather to name a few, it's a miracle we ever get any shoots done. But the results are always so worth the long days behind the wheel, the early starts and snack lunches on the go (a picnic basket of meats and cheeses is not at all typical but exceedingly well received). It's such a rewarding element of my job that I hope comes across in the final results.
The photos will be appearing across our socials in the coming months...
I'd like to thank Jamie Bufton the photographer, Ralph Bohannon the videographer for their exceptional skills and professionalism and finally Zaki for use of his new T24 roadster.
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