Pause and reflect on that one shoot. You know the one.

It is a feeling – when a project’s subject matter or location or fellow crew or all of the above meet - and production joy happens.

That shoot that you find yourself working on or walking away from and feeling – THIS is why I do what I do.  Things clicked.  Weather was optimum.  The light was awesome.  Shots were magical.  The vibe was simply perfect.  If you haven’t experienced it, you must do so to understand.  If you have – you know.

Production nirvana.

On a few of mine, the location was the obvious embrace.  Natural locations from coastal towns to annual harvests to national parks.  Special places that instantly warm you prior to frame one.  People do it to me too.

I have met centurions for a project and wept.  I experienced double nirvana on the same project when we returned to film them.  I experienced young kids with troubled beginnings that were rescued by forces greater than us all.  The project was for a cause.  It too made me cry.  A good cleansing cry.   When I work with top-shelf professionals, from the crafts to on-camera talent, and the collaboration turns out to be a wonderful overall fit – it overwhelms me and stirs me to career pause.  Nirvana.

I relish that I’ve been paid to: watch sunrises and sunsets, scout beaches, go fishing, interview unique characters, play golf, travel, eat new foods, and light fireworks.  We all have a list of notes we can compare.  Do so.  Never feel like you have done enough – yet.

I simply wish this feeling for you all.  When you feel it once you will wish it too.  Promise.

One wonders, out of all the projects there will ever be, why can’t they all be like this?

For more tangible ways how production nirvana can happen, visit The Location Guide and read how earning trust from Location Owners causes good things to happen.

Content is COPYRIGHT Jamie Vesay    USE of materials requires permission.