Preparing for your shoot

Plan your shoot

If you want to film a selection of different moves/shapes, make a list in advance of the shoot. Put them in a sensible order - I would suggest starting with a couple of moves that you are very comfortable with as this will help you to feel confident in front of the camera. Then get any more strenuous moves out of the way while you still have plenty of energy. Save anything that needs lots of flexibility for toward the end when your muscles will be nice and warm. And end the shoot with something that you're very confident with so you can end the shoot on a high!

I will film your moves from the front, and then get some close-up shots of the same moves.

If you're filming a continuous routine, I will ask you to run it twice - once to film from the front, and once to film close-up shots. (You can have a break between run-throughs!). I may then ask you to do a few individual parts of the routine to get very specific shots (for example an overhead shot) if I think it would look good.

If it helps, we can film the routine in sections. This can be helpful if it's a particularly gruelling routine and you don't want to look tired by the end of it!

Arrive early and warm up

I would recommend planning to arrive an hour before the shoot to allow plenty of time for getting warmed up and getting your outfit on, hair and make-up done etc and feeling relaxed rather than rushed. (You are welcome to bring a make-up artist with you).

Bring support if you need it

You're absolutely welcome to bring a friend or coach to help you get the best out of the shoot, particularly if you need some direction (for example somebody to shout at you to point your toes!). As I will be busy thinking about the technical side of the shoot I won't be able to give this kind of direction.

Don't try to capture moves you haven't quite nailed yet

This is THE most common mistake on aerial shoots. It's much better to concentrate on doing moves that you are very confident with to a high standard rather than trying to capture something that you haven't quite perfected yet. Everyone gets nervous in front of a camera which makes it even more difficult to do tricky moves, and you'll likely end up wasting time repeating the move and tiring yourself out and putting yourself in a negative frame of mind for the rest of the shoot.

There will always be another opportunity to capture those moves at a later date once you've really nailed them!

Think about your outfit

We'll be filming against a black backdrop, so if you wear a plain black outfit you will most likely disappear into the backdrop! An exception would be if it's a minimal black outfit where you have a lot of skin visible, or a sparkly/shiny/textured outfit which will reflect the lights.

Don't put off booking a shoot because you're working on a new trick

As aerialists we're always working on new moves and if you put off doing a shoot because you're learning something new, you'll never do a video shoot!

Get some rest!

Make sure you get a good night's sleep before the day of the shoot. You're bound to be a little nervous so take the time to relax, maybe have a look through photos/videos of you nailing your favourite moves to remind yourself of your ability.

There have been a few occasions where people have turned up to do a shoot after a day of teaching aerial and realised that they don't have any energy left for the shoot. An aerial shoot is exhausting despite only being an hour or two, so make sure you arrive with a 'full tank' of energy!

Share your inspiration

If you've seen other aerial videos or photos that you loved, share them with me so I can get a feel for what style you like, whether that's the way the lighting has been done or the way it's been shot and edited.

Checklist

Things you might want to bring to the shoot:

• Water bottle
• Food
• Outfit(s)
• Make-up/hair accessories
• Grip products that you might need such as Dry Hands or rosin
• Warm-up accessories - foam rollers, elastics etc

Also I'd recommend wearing loose clothing before the shoot so you don't end up with marks on your skin from belts etc which might show up in the shoot.

Enjoy yourself!

This is your shoot, you're in charge and I want you to enjoy every moment of it! It's normal to get nervous, but everybody who I've filmed has said the nerves quickly disappeared once the shoot began.

If you have any worries, reservations etc please let me know so I can put your mind at ease.