One of the best parts of a photo shoot is the minute after the client/subject leaves. For a brief moment there is an incredible sense of satisfaction, a personal victory lap. I am now in the midst of a three-day victory lap. The Sundance Film Festival is the photographic equivalent of a marathon. There is no time for celebration, because the minute you finish shooting someone, you have to run to your next appointment, deal with a publicist, reschedule someone, find parking, find a new location, to replace the one you have just gotten thrown out of, think of an idea, convince someone not to cancel, upload files, eat one meal a day and sleep a few hours. Yes, it is exhausting but I am not sure it could be more fun.
After three years off, this was my fourth trip to Sundance. In that short time away, the festival has really changed. There are more filmmakers and actors that are known rather than unknown. Everything is more concentrated geographically and in terms of schedule, Main St. in Park City is now the epicenter instead of somewhere to buy a souvenir t-shirt. The opening weekend is the main time to be seen and party, then things start to dissipate towards the conclusion at the awards ceremony.
This year I was working for my stock agency Retna and Total Film Magazine in the UK. We really were the underdogs going into the festival and I could not be happier with the results. I had planned on blogging everyday from the festival, but that was just plain naïve. I am in the process of compiling a gallery of everything we shot, but until then, enjoy Jared Leto and Mandy Moore. Words cannot describe the vibe that Park City takes on during the festival. I am fortunate to have been able to experience the craziness, delight, disappointment, challenge, triumph and exhaustion. If you ever get the chance to go, take it and see the movies and madness in the mountains firsthand. It is the only way to describe it.
