Another Shoot in the Can

Another shoot completed, another trip outside of Atlanta, another location where we’ll experience some more teachable moments.

I was fired up for this shoot, not only because we were going to the home of ‘Wild Bill from Dawsonville’, Motorsports Hall of Famer and 16-time winner of NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver. And not just because we were visiting the place where racing began back in the day of moon shining. And no, not because we were going to experience the new Atlanta Motorsports Park (AMP), where really slick cars, old and new alike - go super fast.

I was excited because this marked the first official shoot when all the Fast Forward crewmembers were on board (our PA Bobby had to complete UGA Graduation before joining us). I would finally have the opportunity to watch how well our team worked together. Important because it’s my job to make sure everyone has what we need as a team to do that.

On our way to the course, we stopped at City Hall, where we also discovered The Motorsports’ Hall of Fame. I don’t know if they are one in the same, though they might as well be. I’ve learned Dawsonville is synonymous with fast vehicles.

As I put the van in park, everyone was unloading the gear, jumping to their feet and working like a well-oiled machine. I admit having to stay on their case about the time. And sure; I may have threatened to leave someone behind, but I didn’t. The shots were shot, the van was loaded and we were headed to location.

At AMP, the crew hopped to it again. Everyone was working in unison. It seemed as if we had hit a production benchmark. A true Kodak moment in any PM's mind.

We knocked out a couple of establishing shots, recorded several interviews and managed to catch a stampede of Shelby Corvettes leaving the park. We learned more about the future of AMP and planned our shot list for the following day. Everything was moving along really well.

And though you’re probably ready for the crisis, this time it wasn’t so.

Friday’s production went just as smoothly as the day before. We interviewed some interesting folks and captured some telling B-roll. Recorded Lamborghinis and BMW M3s going at speeds, which appeared to be over 100+ mph. We even put our cameraman, Ben in the passenger’s seat to capture the POV of a vehicle moving that fast.

I don’t know much about cars, but there’s something about watching fast cars race the wind. And there’s something pretty neat about discovering our STEM teachable moments behind these intelligent machines. Whether the engineering needed for a successful build, the technology behind keeping driver’s safe, the science of the sound traveled or the roller coaster sensation created by the g force. It’s all pretty fascinating to know the story behind what makes a fast car move fast.

And for this location, that’s a wrap. Whew.