The showstoppers – From fashion to production to talent. The trailers and their design process
Fashion Production and talent trailers – The Showstoppers
While our last blog gave you an inside look at the veterans of our new fleet, in this blog, I will provide you with an inside look at the thought process behind the units that followed the Blue.
While we benefitted from a positive shift, we saw a pattern within our design process in which our main focus was versatility.
We wanted our units to be able to do everything under the sun, and while practical,
We wanted to bring it to the market units that targeted specific demands but gave them full attention.
This is where the Ambassador, Infinity, and Presidential came into play.
In fashion projects, whether campaigns or fashion spreads for A-list actors or Musicians when shooting on location, one thing was sure, what was available in the market always fell short.
Whether that was wardrobe space, hair and makeup counter, or an interior worthy of a celebrity of grand magnitude.
Many clients had to settle, therefore not getting the best result from a production day. At On-Time Elite, we saw an opportunity that we called the Ambassador. The Ambassadors’ main focus was fashion.
High fashion – no editorial low budget bookings. I’m talking high fashion – security guards for Million dollar diamonds and the housing for fashion icons such as Annie Leibowitz, Anna Wintour, Grace Coddington, and others. The most notable names in the fashion universe. Masters of their universe.
The design process for the Ambassador focused on efficiency and chic decore from entry to exit. Its expansive space is made for a studio on wheels and is photographer friendly.
The back area, with its built-in racks, housed couture collections from Christian Dior, Oscar De La Renta, Vivienne Westwood, and Balenciaga, to name a few.
With custom hair and makeup stations, the ambassador became Men’s fashion houses’ wet dream when shooting on location.
Since its release, it remains a client favorite for an anything fashion project because we dedicated an entire unit to a single need: Fashion.
Our fashion and production trailers, such as the Infinity, are unique to me because I had never really seen anything like it in our field or off it. Since I handle the bookings at On-Time Elite, and since we specialize in on-location units, demand for units and restrooms became repetitive, so much so to the point that in a phone conversation with D we were just spitballing and yapping about what our clients were requesting so heavily.
The focus was the production crew, a way to combine production and crew but separate them simultaneously. The challenge created the concept for the inception of the infinity bus.
There were trailers in the market that provided the office space but had a mix of crew and production. We knew that some separation would be helpful. So D took it upon himself to create a unit that provided unity and division in a single trailer. We completely cut out the exterior on the back side of the unit to make a door.
It sounds so simple again when you read this, but redesigning a ready-made object and turning it into something else, is both genius and highly complicated.
We built this door to create two separate entry points. Similar to the blue (the blue already had two entry points built-in)
Trust me, people making this second door was tricky. This door would serve as an entry to a built-in bathroom and to the trailer’s back office. The front entry had an office layout, production desks, a monitor for running live feeds, and its own restroom.
In short, we managed to create a unit that united and divided the crew and production at the same time, Its focus was not wardrobe; it was not talent; we made it specifically for the creatives who make all these events, productions, campaigns, and concerts come to life.
Both teams benefit significantly from this creation, even today.
The Presidential was tricky because it was riding the coattails of both the infinity and the Ambassador.
We already had the blue and pearl, which were great for talent holding. But, our director of operations knew he wanted to add more to the mix. He wanted more focused units.
This is where the Presidential became the main Star greenroom. All our units call for a focus on hair and makeup stations. Meanwhile, the presidential’s focus became the escape space for the talent it housed. The Presidential was their space to kick back and relax.
Everything about this bus was made with talent in mind. When fabricating the unit, our designers wanted to create a space that felt like home.
We are probably the only vendors crazy enough to bring in actual sinks and build the proper base to hold them.
Bring in an 80-inch plasma TV, and provide a strong enough base to hold such heavy gadgets even in motion.
I want to disclose that while I relay these details seamlessly, the process, like all custom methods, was never easy, and the effort needed to create the presidential was great.
When all was said and done, the final product housed, among others, musicians like Kanye, Post Malone, Beyonce, Lady gaga. John Legend, JLO, and other megawatts.
It’s safe to say that despite its hurdles, the public received the final product well.
If you are looking for fashion and production trailers hit us at 800-779-6642, or fill out the contact form on our website.