A Waste of a Video!
19/09/19 18:33
Over the last 12 years I've filmed in a huge variety of factory, lab, industrial and business environments - but this recent project really did involve a lot of waste.
Earlier in the year I got asked to quote for producing a video which would need to be filmed at an Anglian Water Sewage Treatment Plant in Essex. I immediately made further enquiries and established that I would not need to go crawling around waste deep in any sewers with my expensive camera gear. It has once before been covered in a sticky brown liquid, as regular blog readers will remember - See HERE! So I put in my quote and awaited the outcome.
Well, I got the job! On arrival at Basildon sewage works and stepping out of my car I was confronted by 3 things, all of which made me think I'd quoted way too low! First the smell: then the sticky, slightly moist brown material underfoot; and finally the flies - lots of them!
Actually, the flies were interesting as I learnt something new. Both the people I was filming plus myself were in orange Hi-Vis jackets, but the lady who was coordinating the marketing interface between me and the client had arrived with a yellow Hi-Vis jacket…and all the flies ignored our orange ones and headed straight for her! Apparently, yellow is avoided in the world of waste water treatment because flies are attracted to it more than any other colour. Anyway, after a few minutes we had to stop filming and get her an orange one, just so we could then share "wearing" the flies more equally.
It was challenging to film for lots of reasons, not least the high noise levels from the nearby screens, but the video is now completed and the client is delighted with the end result. It was actually terrific fun to do and the people were great to work with.
So here it is:
Earlier in the year I got asked to quote for producing a video which would need to be filmed at an Anglian Water Sewage Treatment Plant in Essex. I immediately made further enquiries and established that I would not need to go crawling around waste deep in any sewers with my expensive camera gear. It has once before been covered in a sticky brown liquid, as regular blog readers will remember - See HERE! So I put in my quote and awaited the outcome.
Well, I got the job! On arrival at Basildon sewage works and stepping out of my car I was confronted by 3 things, all of which made me think I'd quoted way too low! First the smell: then the sticky, slightly moist brown material underfoot; and finally the flies - lots of them!
Actually, the flies were interesting as I learnt something new. Both the people I was filming plus myself were in orange Hi-Vis jackets, but the lady who was coordinating the marketing interface between me and the client had arrived with a yellow Hi-Vis jacket…and all the flies ignored our orange ones and headed straight for her! Apparently, yellow is avoided in the world of waste water treatment because flies are attracted to it more than any other colour. Anyway, after a few minutes we had to stop filming and get her an orange one, just so we could then share "wearing" the flies more equally.
It was challenging to film for lots of reasons, not least the high noise levels from the nearby screens, but the video is now completed and the client is delighted with the end result. It was actually terrific fun to do and the people were great to work with.
So here it is:
Just thank your lucky stars there is no such thing as smellievision!