WE CARE: MAKE IT EASY
- Leonardo Newman
- Feb 12
- 3 min read
Updated: Feb 12
Nothing beats watching a production come together. From pre-production to the final product, there's a certain joy that happens when you see something that was once an idea, become reality. As a Production company, we get to experience this joy not only in our own projects but also on projects where we may only be playing a small role.
That brings us to summer 2025, where we served as the local production company for the American Express "Wave" summer campaign. Contacted by Stept Studios, we were brought on board during pre-production. From being a part of pre-production calls, location scouting, and building out the local crew, this production was truly a joy.
Our team worked with the Line Producer to solve unique logistical challenges that carried us throughout the property at Rosewood Bahamar. In addition to this, we attained permits, coordinated travel itineraries, handled transportation, filled 16 crew spots from Gaffer to Hair and make-up, managed a budget and so much more.
During the prep day, wardrobe got sorted, steamed, and our stylist stitched a huge black flag, but more on that later. The art department assembled props and greeked logos on paddle boards, the production team, transported the last few travelers, created a visual board for the shot list, loaded equipment and made final crafty purchases.
On Day 1, we were ready to roll. With a 5 am call time, cameras were up right on schedule to capture beautiful first light shots. As a stills and motion production, the team worked efficiently and deliberately. We spent the majority of Day 1 filming exteriors and stills.
Lights, Camera, Action. Day 2 brought us indoors, where the lights and the haze came out. Cinematographers love haze, smoke alarms? Not so much. But proper planning ensured our location was isolated from the fire alarm system to allow our DP to use as much fog as he liked.
One other request took some ingenuity. We had to film a night scene during daytime because this is when the restaurant was closed, so every window needed to be blacked out. During the prep day, we learned that we would not have enough black flags. One of the windows needed a 20x30 to be blacked-out, but at the time of writing, no 20x30 frames or rags exist in the Bahamas.
But, a little bit of quick thinking by our Wardrobe stylists saved the day. With fabric stores closed because it was of a public holiday, we purchased some blackout curtains from a utility store and wardrobe stitched it all together to make one giant black out curtain.
It wasn't as thick as duvetyn, but it was enough for the DP to create his vision. He was very appreciative of the quick thinking. With the biggest challenge taken care of before the day, day 2 went smoothly and everyone was happy.
We are so in love with the process of filmmaking, and being able to ensure a seamless production for both client and crew is the reward.
Here's what Bo Butterworth, the Producer of this campaign had to say about our efforts. "I hired New Hill for a commercial production we were doing in The Bahamas and I was extremely pleased with the experience. Leonardo was very communicative and on top of all tasks. And he was great at keeping a running budget to ensure we weren’t going over. And beyond that, he’s just a lovely guy and a total pleasure to work with. I’d recommend New Hill to any other producer or production in a heartbeat."
Thank you Bo!
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