Unit Stills Photography
While I am very well aware that stills taken on a movie set are very low on the priority list of producers and DOP, I take this job very seriously. The stills are available almost instantly, minutes after they have been taken on the set, and are therefore, a very powerful promotional tool that can and will be used right away for press releases and later on, once the movie is completed, for its marketing and promotional collaterals.
When time permits I like to take the time to do special shoots with key characters in between takes.
As a Unit Stills Photographer my job is to create two types of images. The first is, photos specifically intended for use in the marketing and publicity of feature films or television productions, shot as the main camera sees it, while the movie is being filmed. I always look for alternative angles and shots taken from a different point of view than the main camera as long as they can capture the movie mood and feel.
The second type of images I produce on the set is to document the making of the movie and includes close-ups of the actors and crew, wide shots of the crew shooting the action or even setting up the equipment. Basically anything that goes on behind the scenes that can still used for press releases and/or released to the media.
Camera equipment: I shoot with top of the line Canon digital cameras and the fastest prime lenses Canon makes, housed in a sound blimp to reduce (custom made in Hollywood), and mute the sound of my camera’s motor drive & shutter so it won’t get picked on film’s recorded dialogue soundtrack while the action is rolling. All of the above must be done while not getting in the way of the crew, or even worse, without getting in the shot myself! In order to accomplish all this and get the job done it is extremely important to always understand and be aware of what’s happening on the set around me and what is going to happen next also and be…invisible!
These below are just a few of the shots I took on the set of Jerome High’s Scream team, a lot more have been taken and will be released to the public soon.
P.S. This below are from my ”FIRST” and only feature I have ever shot on a set and with a sound blimp…don’t you think I did “pretty good” ? So, although I don’t have a lot of experience on the set yet, I have been shooting stills for almost 25 years, and if you do hire me to shoot stills on your production, you’ll be very glad you did! (I have a of course a lot more shots from the set of”Jerome High’s Scream Team” but cannot release them until I get the ok )
Jerome’s High Scream Team (filming)
Upperline Entertainment
Director: John Swider.
Release date: 2012
Unit Stills Photography by Alfonso “Pompo” Bresciani
Jerome High Scream Team News Package with Anne Cutler. Originally aired on News With A Twist on WGNO-TV New Orleans on October 24, 2011.
Photography by Richard Sprinkle
News Package edited by Ann Cutler
Anne’s Horror Segment edited by Richard Sprinkle.
The following images below were taken on the set of HBO’s Treme first season, and while I wasn’t actually working for HBO or the Discovery Channel (next gallery below Treme’s) I’m displaying them here to show that if I can get the job done without even being a crew member, when it’s even harder to be out of the way and yet, manage to capture the action … I can get the job done period 
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