A project with Kalyx Australia

Last week I was in Young NSW working on a project with Kalyx Australia.  A week-long interstate shoot poses a few challenges - here’s what I learnt.

Improvisation is key
After spending a stressful afternoon finding a replacement drone charger, it was only at Tailem Bend that I realised I forgot to pack an SD card.  There were plenty of moments throughout the shoot that reminded me of how valuable backup plans are, which is why I always bring backup batteries, chargers, microphones, cables, and light stands.

Collaboration is essential
digital yarn is a small team (me), so I have to rely on the kindness of others to get things done.  When I arrived in Young, I was so thankful to connect with Charlotte Tomkins, who not only managed the shoot schedule, but was able to help with holding up diffusers, organising talent and keeping everything on track.

The weather will never be ideal
It was either too sunny, too rainy, or too cloudy.  It was ALWAYS too windy.  Sandbags didn’t cut it, so we had to improvise a lot.  On one occasion, we delayed an interview with someone firstly because it was too sunny, secondly because it was too rainy, and we finally completed it on the last day.  The adaptability and understanding from everyone involved was a huge help.

Research Agronomy is really, really interesting!
This has nothing to do with hard lessons learnt - I just wanted to mention how interesting this stuff is! It was an absolute pleasure working with Charlotte and the rest of the Kalyx team, who welcomed me with open arms, shared their incredible stories and made the entire shoot process incredibly fun.