The Destiny Show Project
Words and Pics by Carnival Cinema Contributing Photographer Aaron Walker
Destiny is a multi-million dollar live stage production in Macau produced by the entertainment giant MGM. Housed within a high-end transformative theatre Destiny was designed and directed by the specialised theatre architects and production powerhouse Sceno Plus Productions from Montreal.
The international cast and crew were in the last 3 months of final rehearsals in Macau. I was brought into the creative team to work as an aerial performance designer, which is what I do when I am not shooting commercial/art projects or training other aerial artists in Melbourne. As an aerial designer, I work on the choreography, training and staging of the aerial cast. Which means long days testing, adjusting and physically running all of the aerial automation above the stage, basically creating safe and exciting flight paths for a team of aerial performers to fly through during a number of scenes in the show.
Working on Destiny was a great project for my circus career, but I soon realised that as a photographer I also had a number of unique opportunities to enjoy:
* Exclusive location I was inside a brand new state of the art theatre shooting a highly commercial, no expenses spared circus/theatre production that no other photographer was shooting, which no one from the general public had seen yet. (And yes I had a NDA!)
* Access All Areas (AAA) I could access any area of the theatre, backstage dressing rooms, training facilities, rigging catwalks, hydraulic stage sections and dress circle, any time of the day since the show build was 24/7.
* Connections with cast and crew When you work 10-12 hour days 6 days a week for 3 months (and then go and shoot it all) connections are made! And that feeling of all being part of a team with a common goal is unforgettable. When I offered to create some fashion style shoots on location I had so many willing models I ran out of time to work with them all.
* In-depth first-hand experience of stage choreography. I was literally shooting what I had been training the artists to do all day long in the air! Luck has a very small part to play here. I know exactly how they will move and most importantly – when. That decisive moment is still very exciting to capture even when you start collecting many!
* Repeat runs I was shooting full dress runs over and over again as we had so many. This is something which is rare for me as a show photographer, generally, I’ll try and make sure I watch a run before it gets to dress status so I know what to expect, but at times I have to “shoot blind” without knowing what is up ahead. With Destiny, I had the luxury to experiment with my choice of lens, find more unique angles and be very familiar with the staging.
* Ability to explore surrounding areas On my one day off a week I would explore my surroundings. Macau is such a mash up of Vegas/ Portugal/China. To get a break from the MGM casino strip I would take my camera and enjoy wandering the laneways, getting lost and found again around the more relaxed and local areas of Taipa and Coloane. If I had the energy I would head over to the hustle of Hong Kong or the vastness of China across the border.
* Enhanced my role as an aerial designer Sceno Plus Productions realised they could also benefit from my mixed and unique skill set as an aerial designer and a photographer. By providing them with professional photo documentation of the show they were creating and also using my aerial design expertise. It was mutually beneficial for the production company, the cast, the show, and ultimately my photography portfolio.
* Multiple genres Where one job like this led to many photographic outcomes. Not only was I documenting the live performances I was also covering the experiences of the cast backstage and behind the scenes, exploring the locations to build my travel photography and creating my own fashion shoots on location with the artists. Instead of feeling like I was spreading myself too thinly across too many areas, there was instead a sense of these natural links and overlaps that I grew more aware of as I kept shooting what I simply really wanted to shoot. Hopefully, these unique opportunities are demonstrated in my work.
[The above gallery is just a taste of Aarons work from that adventure. Check out more in the links below]
The Destiny Show: https://www.aaronwalkerphotography.com/shows#/destiny/
Macau: https://www.aaronwalkerphotography.com/travel#/macau/
China: https://www.aaronwalkerphotography.com/travel#/china/
Hong Kong: https://www.aaronwalkerphotography.com/travel#/hong-kong/
Destiny Fashion Shoots: https://www.aaronwalkerphotography.com/fashion#/destiny-artists/
Aaron Walker
Contributing Photographer Aaron Walker
Aaron is a professional photographer with a fifteen-year career in the arts industry as an international aerial performer, circus trainer and show consultant. Specialising in capturing physical movement, and portraiture. His passion for photography grew once he started capturing artists on stage and behind the scenes. During his extensive touring he has photographed a wide range of cultures, people and places.
Links:
www.aaronwalkerphotography.com
www.facebook.com/
www.instagram.com/
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