Krunal Saadrani's take on
@travisscott ,
@tyla and
@vybzkartel - P.B.T.
Projects like this come down to trust — especially the trust a DOP places in their gaffer. I genuinely couldn’t have done this without the confidence of my DOP and friend,
@courtneybennettdp , alongside the support from my team, my 2nd unit gaffer, production
@noir.productions , and SHL.
From the recce stage, Courtney and I were in constant conversation — how it needed to look, how fast we had to move, how much pre-rigging we could realistically achieve. We played with some bold ideas, including lights being in frame, and pushed the setup as far as we could.
The lighting package was a mix of old and new: classic tungsten heads like 12-bank
@filmgearusa MaxiBrutes and
@ARRI T12s,
@lightstar luxed 9 light alongside a handful of
@Nanlux fixtures — 2400Bs, 5000Bs, and 900C’s.
Our biggest challenge was that there was no pre-light. I had two teams, each with four sparks. The second team was led by fellow gaffer
@stevecameron .We’d start together on the main setup, then Steve would move ahead to keep pre-lighting as we progressed.
On top of that, we were working in real, live locations with local crowds — hundreds, sometimes thousands of people. Locations were - the Broadwater estate in Tottenham and Reading Music Festival. Even moving a light a few feet could be a challenge. There were moments when a setup was ready, only for the scene to be moved or rescheduled last minute because of crowd flow, meaning a full rush reset.
Power was another issue in some locations, but the
@pessenergy Wattman battery was an absolute lifesaver —mobile, powerful, and exactly what we needed.
We also used some great lightweight fixtures; inflatable battery-powered
@lightbanklighting Mito 4 x 2, 4 x 4 and the
@nanlite Forza 60C,
@Aladdin lights with Gem Ball attachments, which made certain setups incredibly quick and efficient. In bright daylight, the fixture that really held our hand was the 5000B with the parallel beam attachment - so powerful and bright for the exteriors.
A tough, exhausting, but incredibly rewarding shoot — and one I’ll always remember.
@dop_e_gaffer 
