Heather Elder Represents
Reps Journal

Dan Goldberg on Being Adaptable and Nimble for Taylor Farms

Sometimes, even the best-laid plans can go awry. And it’s the Director and crew’s job to be adaptable in order to maintain a successful shoot. Dan Goldberg’s recent shoot with Taylor Farms tested this, but a solid pre-production and nimble crew kept the shoot on track. 

Being a one-stop-shop for production has cultivated a crew that works together well and speaks one another’s language. And when there is an unexpected torrential downpour for a shoot lit with natural light, this ability to shift plans in an instant is invaluable. Read on to learn more about Dan’s unpredictable motion shoot with Taylor Farms.

What was a  memorable moment from this project?

Since this shoot was not in Chicago and we couldn’t use my studio, we chose a house that had a great outdoor space we could capitalize on the natural light. The plan was to use as minimal artificial light as possible. There was not a lot of extra time build into the schedule, so when a torrential rainstorm took place on the shoot day, we had to act fast. We wanted it to look like there was a sunset streaming through the window so trying to figure out how to accomplish that with my crew, the agency and client was certainly memorable.

What did you learn from this shoot?

It reinforced the importance of good pre-production. Timelines are always getting tighter and tighter so the more nimble you can be, the more valuable you are. The torrential rains could have blown the whole shoot, but fortunately we had a plan B and quickly pivoted our plan. We had tested the inside of the house on our scout day in case of rain so we knew exactly how we should set up inside. 


What is one thing you want people to take away about you and your work from seeing this project?

That we really are a one-stop shop in terms of production. We can produce the project from start to finish, including editing, music, sound design & color grading. It's important that we have this cohesive flow as a crew and can be quick and agile, especially when a timeline is short.