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Today I’m taking you behind the scenes on a shoot we did for an influencer. I say shoot, but really we just provided lighting. So we brought out our grip truck and lots of diffusion, lighting, all that good stuff. And that’s what we were doing on this project. It was a fantastic day and we spent a lot of time moving frames around.

Early Morning Load Out

It is 5:20 in the morning and we are starting our load out for our shoot today. It’s not really our shoot. We are gaffing for a photo and video shoot, and it’s early equipment rentals as well. Equipment rental gaffing. So, we are providing the grip truck and a whole lot of G&E and a whole lot of diffusion. Lots and lots of diffusion.

Lights, we got setups. You got three different backdrops that we’re providing lighting setups for, but only two live at a time. So, these two, this one, and this one, and then that one comes at the end of the day. So, we’re providing some lighting setups, then everything else goes outside. So, we were brought in on this shoot to put up frames and lights and make sure that everything looked good in camera.

Setting Up Frames and Diffusion

Now, we’re on to the next setup. We have this set that’s going to come into play in a bit, and that’s going to basically be an ultra bounce. Over there we have a few more sets. We got a couple indoor sets. And then over here we’ve got the 12 by providing a lot of shade. We’ve got a light to kick back a little bit. And then I got the rest of the stuff on the cart. So this is basically making sure we got nice soft apple light for everything.

So we’re running a 12 by quarter silent grid cloth. So it doesn’t knock the level of the light down too far, but it gives it a nice softness. Got a light soft box filling in shadows. Morning sun is pretty early right now. So, got that thing literally touching the ground because that’s all we need to get the setup in place. Got one of our trusty carts on set.

This is our final setup. We have an 8x8 ultra bounce. We have 12x12 Quarter grid. We’ve got a 4x4 ultra bounce. You see the ultra bounce in play. So, this is inside. We’re playing with lights. We brought a couple wheel stands for the heavy lights. We love them.

Making It Work on Set

We’re going to run two eight buys next to each other to shade this scene. So, we got a lot going on. Can’t quite get enough height. We ran out of combo stands, so we had to use C-stands, which is not my favorite thing to use for an 8 by, but it’s vertical and we’re right here. And it’s not a windy day, so we’re just going to go with it.

Food break because we’ve been going since 5:00 in the morning and it is now 10:30. So, we were brought in by the photographers on this shoot who’ve worked with us before on other projects and said, “Hey, we need help with lighting and these guys are great.” So, it was good to just keep continuing that networking.

Eat, fuel, refuel yourself. That’s what you got to do on a shoot day. Hydrate and refuel. It’s always an interesting dynamic when it’s not your shoot. And you’re there to provide big lighting and frames and diffusion, all this stuff. And you got to kind of learn how to work with other people and learn what styles they have and what they want and how they like to work and how they like to organize things and run the shoot. And so you just have to learn to adapt to different ways of working and how to still make a great image, because that’s what we’re hired to do at the end of the day, is make the image look good.

If you want to see more of the kind of production work we support, you can look through our portfolio and learn more about our video production services.

Moving Frames All Day

We were literally just moving frames around all day. The indoor setup was pretty straightforward and the photographers were moving those things around themselves. So, we were all about the outdoor. So, now it’s time to break you down. And so we are tired. And all these outdoor sets are struck, breaking down. All these frames, what goes up must come down.

Wrap and Load Out

When it’s the end of the day and you’ve got three carts full of stuff and a whole lot of other things because your van is emptied out, that’s the moment you realize you have a lot of stuff. And then you walk inside the van and be like, “Oh, the van’s not even empty.”

It is 8:00 p.m. and we are done. We’ve loaded out and we’re done. It’s a long day. We’re going to go get some tacos. It went great though. Went good. Client was happy. Everything looked good. We did what we were there to do. So, it was a successful day.

Key Takeaways

• Providing lighting support can mean a full day of moving frames, diffusion, and bounce setups
• Soft natural-looking light often comes from careful control with grid cloth, ultra bounce, and fill
• Working on someone else’s shoot means adapting fast while still delivering great images
• Long production days depend on teamwork, energy, and efficient load in and load out

About StoryKing Studios

StoryKing Studios is a Bakersfield video production company that helps businesses and brands create clean, story-driven visuals. Whether we’re handling a full production or supporting a crew with lighting and grip, the goal is the same: make it look right in camera and make the day run smoothly. Learn more about our approach on the About page.