Shooting day

On 11 July, Madrid was in the middle of a heatwave. The previous day at 23:59 hours, thermometers registered 32 degrees. The day had consistently exceeded 40 degrees. The following day we had a Filming and photoshoot for a campaign that due to the protagonist's circumstances, it had to be filmed in just 10 hours, from 9 am to 7 pm. It was a challenge.

In this post, we want to briefly tell you What do these days involve and how are they lived?. As well as many hours of work, a classic marathon of a production day, and taking place in the middle of a heatwave, they are a wonderful experience every time.

00.00 / 05.30. It's one of those days where you haven't slept well the night before due to the tension of May nothing go wrong. The preceding days are madness. Coordinating production teams, the personality's schedule, locations, wardrobe, etc., generates enormous stress. You think you have everything under control, but something can always happen. And you bring it with you the night before. That's why you get up early feeling like you haven't rested. Time to get ready.

 07.00 / 08.00. WhatsApp and Teams are on fire. Are you awake? Don't be late, don't forget this, and this, ah! And this other thing, too...

08.30 / 09.00. Phew! We're all here, everything's here… No! Good heavens, Feliciano is missing! Feliciano López is the centre of all that day. Based on his schedule from previous weeks, where he was bidding farewell to the professional circuit, he had to go to London for Wimbledon due to professional commitments and had landed the day before. Had he overslept? Had something happened? A crisis call to his agents? A breath of relief: all under control, a slight delay, Feliciano is in an Uber on his way…

09:30 to 10:15. The team has been deploying the set in the different locations. Feliciano is in makeup and costume and has won over the team with his humility and willingness. We review the first takes of the video part, but we have to do the photo shoot for the graphic campaign first of all. We only have 60 minutes to get several months' worth of shots. We're a team of 20 people and nobody is standing. Everything planned should be doable. Get the idea: Photographs to create 16 distinct poses for the campaign months, a 45” advert with a 20” version and 5 AV pills for branded content. To top it all off, the heat starts to bite. 37 degrees. The first batch of water, melted.

10:15 AM to 12 hours. Photoshoot done. We even had time for cameos from different team members with Feliciano. He makes it very easy for us, which isn't always the case. While we review the images, the AV team is doing sound and lighting tests. Let's get to filming. A touch-up of makeup, costume, script review and... we're off.

12 to 2 p.m. First scenes completed. Everything done at express speed, but they turned out perfectly. The heat is unbearable. Slight dizziness in some members of the team, we need to find shade and air conditioning. We've already got through 80 bottles of water and almost as many coffees. During this period, Borja Sáez, CEO of Perfecta Energía, the client for whom we are filming the campaign, will visit us. We need to take institutional photographs and it was the perfect moment. He's never seen a live shoot before and is surprised by the resource deployment that you have. Often, it's something you don't understand until you experience it.

2 PM to 3 PM. Time for lunch. Feliciano joins us all in the dining room and we talk about everything under the sun. Travel, being a father, Twitch, his future away from tennis… We discover an excellent person in every sense of the word. And, moreover, extremely cooperative. The catering is good with lots of food but not enough drink. Another request for bottles, but this time, they come with a surprise for the end of the day… Because a few beers are never a bad thing to celebrate, are they?

3.00 pm to 6.00 pm. The most intense and challenging. We have to combine the final shots of the commercial, with multiple scene and costume changes, with the production of five social media capsules. Feliciano is the new brand ambassador for our client Perfecta Energía, and we need to bring together the campaign production with content aimed at reinforcing the company's purpose and value proposition, and especially its commitment to the environment and the preservation of the planet.

6.00 PM to 8.00 PM. Okay… What do we have left, do we have everything? No! The wedges, getting clean audio, establishing shots, and... a last-minute change to the final shot of the commercial. Our director has come up with a better final shot. Feli, can you handle it? And boy, did she handle it; without her willingness and humility, it wouldn't have been possible.

20.17. We've done it. We finished a little out of time, but with everything. Applause, hugs, final photos, we take a breath… a celebratory beer. Time to tidy up and leave everything as we found it.

10.00 PM. Everyone heading home. Or to celebrate, as it's Thursday and the thermometers are “only” showing 36 degrees Celsius still. 

I'm going to bed at 10:30 p.m. I can't go on any longer.

The 20 people on our team who were involved in the filming gave their all to make sure it was perfect. And, moreover, they had the opportunity to meet an exemplary professional, disciplined, attentive to all instructions, who facilitated everything for us at all times. But we also met an exceptional person, approachable, humble, and extremely respectful. Thanks to Feliciano López and the entire Perfecta Energía team for their trust in MIG PRISMA.

We can't wait to launch the campaign!