Passion project alert!

producing “Plugo Farm”  ·  my process  |  part two

I have always adored the idea of a writing room - bouncing ideas off one another in a safe space. One of our most exhilarating moments of pre-pro was the writing room I put together with my animal actors and my producer.   🛠, SAW

watch “Plugo Farm”    🎬    the 3:00 deluxe edit    |    the :60 cut    |    the :30 cut

Over Zoom I gave each animal (Bee, Chicken, Sheep and Cow - mind you, both Front Half and Back Half) their detailed backstory. I had really fleshed out the personalities of these characters and how they interacted.

For example, Bee is sassy and drives chicken nuts. Yet chicken holds her own and is bossy in her own right (she is the only one allowed to ring the doorbell!) The relationship between Sheep and Cow is also complex... you see, cow (being two people) is slow, and adorably lumbersome. Yet Cow always wants to be in front of Sheep. Sheep is bit of a spitfire.

Once everyone was comfortable with their backstory and motivation, we started playing lines off one another. My idea was to have a “dad-joke-athon.” So we came up with every pun under the sun and built lines around them. Since I knew the personality of each animal, I knew who to give the lines to and on who they should land. Lightning struck. It was a glorious, inspired, creative scriptwriting session with everyone participating. Subsequently, we set up a texting thread so anyone who thought of a new pun would text it to the group over the next week. The jokes were so bad, but certainly in the best of ways, and it became an inclusive experience for all and built communal trust with my actors.

All of the animal characters I cast are improv actors or stand up comedians. I love the way they nail their physical comedy as well as their lines. I could feel their interplay nuances and how that lifts the piece.

The buy-in from the client, crew and cast was phenomenal. We accomplished wonderful things on this shoot because of trust, camaraderie, reliability and collective passion.

Interestingly this shoot happened smack dab in the middle of Covid. We followed industry protocol to a tee, and instead of that being cumbersome, it made for a reduced stress environment. And if you are curious, the client chose to view remotely. I think part of that is obviously about caution, but I also feel that we built up so much trust during pre-production that they were confident in our commitment and abilities.

So, what’s my favorite shot? Oh, that’s easy: when Cow is FINALLY bringing his butt (Cow actor #2) through the door to reveal Sheep still outside just shaking his head. In the editing room, with no sound yet, I laughed until tears - then watched on loop with wet cheeks, cracking me up. BTW, Sheep is the stand-up comic.

stand by for  part three…  my philosophy

missed part one? no worries, here’s the  LINK  to  part one…  my passion

Hi there. I’m Stephen Austin Welch, a commercial director & advertising photographer.

We shoot broadcast & print campaigns for ad agencies, creative firms and companies both locally in California and around the globe.

In our Directing work, we shoot kids & family spots, lifestyle spots and real people documentary shorts.

With my Still Photography, I specialize in crafting lifestyle images with a twist, genuine portraits and dramatic landscapes.

See ’em all on our websites:  spots  »  knsaw.com  &  stills  »  sawphoto.com

Call me, SAW, for the next visual story you want to tell.

We love to shoot!