Behind the scenes: Joey L. shoots stills and video of Tim McGraw for Pennzoil

Joey L. is a photographer from Lindsay, Ontario who is based in Brooklyn, New York. On a recent job commissioned by advertising agency Doner, Joey and the video production company Variable were hired to produce stills and video of country singer Tim McGraw for a Pennzoil campaign.

The theme of the campaign is “Car Stories” and it was shot on location at McGraw’s ranch in Nashville, Tennessee. The rural landscape and open roads of Tennessee are a constant inspiration to McGraw’s song writing, and the team of Joey and Variable did a great job of bringing McGraw’s car story to life. Joey was hired to capture the still photos for the campaign, but also to direct the video. This provides consistency between photos and video, and also offers better value for the client (only one set has to be built, equipment can be shared, one schedule for the talent, etc.)

The video was shot using Snaproll Media’s custom RC helicopter and the latest cameras from RED Digital Cinema, while the stills were captured with a Mamiya/Phase One 645 and P65+ digital back.

For a complete description of the shoot, including a detailed equipment list and lighting diagram, please visit Joey’s blog.

Here’s the video for the final spot: