Call of Duty: MW3 London Launch Event

[chrisgeary]

What goes into launching a massive game like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3? What goes on behind the scenes? Who attends such an event? I was commissioned by Mediakinetic for the second year running to document the launch on Monday 8th November 2011 at Old Billingsgate Market in London. My brief was to capture the crew in action; the camera crews and celebrity interviews down on the floor, the director and producers at work, the production team mixing the audio and video from London, Paris and Berlin, and the streaming team providing the live feed to the internet.

Jason Bradbury was in attendance, of course, along with his co-presenter from the Gadget Show, Ortis Deley. Other VIPs included Danny Wallace who compered the evening, Katie Melua, Billy Murray, Billie and Samantha Faiers, Maria Fowler, Joey Barton, Ashley Cole, Tinie Tempah, Graeme Swann, Jessica Wright, some dude in a hoodie called Dynamo and another dude from CITV. Example headlined on the main stage followed by Chase & Status.

Much more on the blog

 

[Marcus Geezer]

Chris I've always been a fan of your work, but these raise and set the bar high as a fine example of pro commercial photography work. A prestigious gig to be employed to cover, but to get it for the second year on the trot is just outstanding. The lighting looks very difficult and I bet it was busy with lots of jostling and jousting for just the right positioning. I'd love to cover an event like this and challenge myself to get even somewhere near this level of quality.

Fine work and don't be shy about posting any more events you may cover.

Best Regards,

Marcus

P.S. - Everyone - check the blog. It's worth it!

 

[chrisgeary]

Thank you Marcus. Lovely words
The lighting wasn't too bad actually. Only a handful of times did the combination of an overall blue ambient light mixed with an occasional yellow spot and the 3900K LED camera light cause me some interesting PP white balance issues. As I was working for the TV crew, I had a crew pass which meant I didn't have to fight for any positions at all. All the press photogs were in their own ring fence and when it came to shooting in the pit, the pit was large enough that I didn't need to worry anyway.

Indeed it was an honour to be commissioned a second time.

 

[danmon_81]

looks like a crackin event to be at...bet you were goosed afterwards, you certainly got about!!!! What lens did you have on most??
Some brilliant documentary photography there!!!

The hoody guy is Dynamo - a new magician...very good!!!!

 

[chrisgeary]

Yes, my legs were dead for 3 days afterwards. I'd need to check my metadata, but I think it was the 35/1.4 that got the most use.

 

[Deleted member 21335]

As said, what a great event to cover and some fabulous images. Really well done. Who'd have ever thought video games would get so big?! It's a great game too!

 

[danmon_81]

i dont want to step over the line...and tell me to jog on....how did you go about tendering for the job? What type of price package did you offer? Per hour? Event cost? I'm trying to pull together a price plan.

cheers

Dan

 

[chrisgeary]

They asked me to do it again, so it was a case of how much would I charge. I quoted for the event as a whole because I already knew the hours I had to cover and the PP time I would need.

 

[schizophonic]

Great work Chris, you've captured the work of the team and the event.

I bet the crew loved the expressions they pulled off when they had a successfully night.