Beyond the Boundary: Charity Cricket with Hayward & Green

If you too are dreaming of some sunshine, let me take you back... to the sizzling July we had this Summer. Specifically, to the Hayward & Green shoot I worked. This shoot really showcased the best of British, and the best of the summer!

Hayward & Green are a family-run aviation supplier and support provider based in the south of England, supporting everything from private aircraft to Boeing airliners, helicopters and MoD - but this shoot was far from being about the aircraft. It was much closer to the ground, and much closer to home.

The Client:

Hayward & Green are proud supporters of a phenomenal Mid-Sussex charity, the Kangaroos, who support children, teenagers and adults with severe learning disabilities including those with mobility issues, epilepsy, autism, challenging behaviour and complex medical needs. From my work with other charities such as Andy’s Angels & Brigetta Trust to name a few, I knew the delicate nature of the environment I was stepping in to.

And here’s where I come in: Hayward & Green wanted to showcase and celebrate the Kangaroos and show how proud they are to support the charity that does so much for their family. In order to do so, Hayward & Green were hosting a cricket event in their honour! See? Peak British summer.

The Brief:

I had the initial meeting with Tanya, the daughter of the founder of the company, and a key player in Hayward & Green, and it became clear that we were absolutely on the same page about the incredible cause and also the importance of still capturing their own company’s brand – otherwise, why not just shoot directly for Kangaroos? We had an opportunity here to do both, celebrating both companies and the great work they do.

This also feels like the perfect opportunity to thank and endorse the amazing networking community that we have for local businesses in Sussex. My contact with Tanya and Hayward & Green came about through referrals and word-of-mouth, and I’m so grateful to any and every person who has recommended me, my brand and my services.  It’s a real accolade to the local system, because it does work. Networking does work. And I'm very grateful for their involvement.

But, enough gushing, and back to the project! It really is as it sounds – my brief was to create a fun-filled video package of the Hayward & Green charity cricket event – one longer-form and two supporting reels for more casual use by the client. Bish, bash and bosh!

I was effectively brought in to take the pressure off Hayward & Green on the day, allowing them to experience their event and not have to worry about capturing it. Helpfully, Tanya had seen another cricket event shoot I’d done for Worthing-based company, ECE Architecture, so we had a really clear idea of what I was going to be able to deliver – the way I shot and edited, the kind of shots I liked to showcase, and the way I set about capturing the atmosphere and energy of an event, really.

So my role on this shoot was to cover everything: I was the person looking for opportunities, trying to organise interviews, the Creative Director, Editor, and everything from working out what the best angle was for the lighting to Sound Designer. Because – little known fact for you - I've had to add in sounds of cricket bats when people have hit the ball in the video. Surprise! I know, I’m sneaky. That was quite an interesting concept that people perhaps don't always think about - that when I'm videoing something very far away, then I won't hear it unless I've got a microphone next to it. And surprisingly, I didn’t have a microphone hurtling through the air alongside the cricket balls, and no one to volunteer to run around holding one! So I went away and created those samples of cricket bats hitting balls and kind of created my own sound archive of things that I could use.

The Shoot:

One of the interesting and fairly unique aspects of this shoot was the calibre of the cricket being played. And that might sound a bit obvious or even a really random thing to point out but you have no idea how much easier it made the shoot for me, and a joy to work! Little things can make a big difference, and having subjects who clearly played cricket and knew the environment, effectively – knew the etiquette and the rules and the lay of the land – made for a far more seamless experience than I was preparing for. Because on a shoot of many moving parts, as I’ve done and spoken about before, it can be a very full-on and fractured shooting experience, that only really all comes together and makes sense in the editing process. But here were people who were really looking and playing the part, and it meant that I could turn my camera to almost anyone taking part and capture something really focused and authentic. Plus, you know, not standing around with their hands in their pockets or daydreaming off into space!

Technically, as with a lot of my shoots, a challenge was being everywhere at once. But that’s part of the fun, and a huge part of the reward – to stretch myself and see what I can achieve. There were so many aspects of the event we wanted to cover – the cricket itself, and on different pitches, no less; the crowd, the mouth-watering food, a raffle! - and there was also a continual need to switch up my equipment – wide shots, getting up-close-and-personal, drone footage – and the issue the drone represented in terms of airspace and having other aircraft in the same space. But as overwhelming as this sounds, don’t panic – there is a system! This is all an essential part of pre-planning and making sure you know the event you’re working; intended shot lists and logistics of the days running order are essential tools! You don’t want to be late for a moment – in this instance, two cricket pitches away - where you end up having to sprint round the circumference to get there in time. And arrive as a wheezing, sweaty mess. (I’m not kidding, I can get through a lot of t-shirts on a shoot day! See my article on the Hastings Half Marathon where some genius thought it was a good idea to run part of the race... all in the name of the Arts, eh).

Not only was there a lot to capture, but the nature of the shoot presented its own challenges. Now, anyone who knows a little bit about my brand and has been following along  - frankly, if you’ve been reading these articles, I’m probably talking about you! - will know that I have a lot of experience with filming dance and a lot of dynamic, live events.

Bowl… thwack… Hurrah!

Filming the cricket games called on a lot of that experience but also presented a whole host of new challenges. You've got to be incredibly quick to be able to catch someone on camera catching a ball, particularly one that's been hit because you hear it before you see it. It gets hit by the batsman, but if you're zoomed in on the batsman then you don't see where that ball's gone, so it's your job to zoom out quickly and find it somewhere in the air and find the person who might catch it and zoom back in on it, focus the camera, and get ready for that catch and - my god - it just goes in a heartbeat! And if you don't get it the first time then that’s it. If I was even half a second late, I would miss pivotal moments like these! People couldn’t just ‘go back and redo that last bit’. It’s such a pressure but such a reward on shoots like this and really calls me to focus (literally and figuratively) and be absolutely present.

So, yes – my main challenges on this shoot came from trying to showcase as many people/companies and as many aspects as possible. We were showcasing Hayward & Green, and supporting the Kangaroos, and we have cricket, catered food, and crowd responses all to consider. On shoots like this, where I know I’m going to be stretched and needing eyes in the back of my head, I usually make myself a shot list or at least a checklist to say, Have I got this? Have I got that? It’s similar to a wedding - ‘Have I got the VIPs? Have I got this moment? Have I got the cake cutting moment?’. Just substitute in the charity cricket event! - Have I got that person making that speech? Do I know who the representative is from the charity? Do I know who the local MP is who might have been invited? Do I know who the local collaborators are? Are there particular representatives here from other companies that my client is trying to celebrate or impress?

You need to know it all and be sensitive to the information.

Sticky Wickets:

So here’s the funny thing about flying a drone at an event for an aviation company... You kind of can’t do it!

Obviously, having spoken to Tanya in our pre-production meeting, we knew that it was important that we still represented Hayward & Green and their brand in amongst all the focus on the charity. So, of course, with them being an aviation company, we had helicopters flying in and out. Which had a direct impact on whether or not I could use a drone. And it's a huge no, no. It's a massive risk factor. If you've got a drone in the air and you've got a helicopter, it’s even more problematic than a plane because a helicopter is 100% reliant on their one rotor. And if you have anything that could affect that, you're in trouble. And this goes all the way up to the CAA, the Civil Aviation Authority, and goes back to your drone training about what you're meant to do in flight planning.  So I obviously check every time I do any drone work whether there's going to be anything that I'm impacting. And where this wasn't an airfield, like Shoreham Airport, for example, where they would have a general no-fly zone, this wasn't actually an airspace event. It was just something that was featuring helicopters coming in and out, but not exactly a planned aerial event. It was just kind of people popping into a field! There was no time set up for it. So I needed to keep my finger on the pulse, because I didn't know when they were coming. From a technical capacity, I had to be very much on edge. If I was the other side of a cricket pitch, flying a drone and capturing some lovely sweeping shots and I heard rotor blades in the sky, it was all hands on deck! I had to land safely and quickly, switch cameras, run across the field, go and find the field where they're landing, get those shots and then go back and retrieve my drone. And hope it hadn't gone anywhere!

I think looking back, I couldn't have done a better job without having more people. And that really is a marker of when I feel good about signing off on a project. As with all of us I think – when we know we’ve given our all, that’s something we can feel proud of.

Another technical challenge was remaining sensitive to who could and couldn’t be featured in the footage on the day. It’s worth remembering that Hayward & Green were celebrating Kangaroos, who work with vulnerable children and adults. Some people weren’t able to be featured, which has to come first and foremost when you think you have a great shot of people being authentic and having fun, and capturing certain charming moments. Because if someone appears in your shot who isn’t supposed to be featured, you have to choose a new moment – a new subject – and just be willing to change course. Part of the job is to do your planning, but the other major part of the job is to be flexible and able to adapt on the spot.

My aim for the Client, and the biggest take-away:

It was important to me to be able to deliver a two-fold product from this shoot. Of course, the focus of the day was on the charity and their incredible work, and why Hayward & Green are proud to support them. But the videos I produced could do more than that, and I wanted to also show how willing Hayward & Green were to facilitate this charity and other companies, and how they show up to cheerlead others in the community. They could shine the light on the charity and still share in that glow themselves, if we played our cards right with how we framed the shoot.

A hugely important theme of the day – everything from the dynamic sports shots to the emotive speeches - was the human interaction and spirit of the event. Everything was collaborative and people and players depended on each other. I was trying to land shots of the cricket ball being struck, but also the Fielder catching it, and the crowd’s reactions /responses. And the same rang true for the more intimate moments – speeches that were made, where the speaker’s words and their sentiment was of equal importance to how those words landed and were processed by / reflected upon by the listeners.

There were some beautiful and moving moments shared by so many there that day, and it really drew my focus in to those simple concepts. You hear it said all the time in Acting circles, that a huge part of acting is reacting. And I think the same rings true here. It would be all too easy to focus doggedly on the dynamic shots – the crowd-pleasing visuals – and forget to celebrate the visual of the crowd being pleased (if you’ll allow me to extend that little bit of word play). Because, from what I’ve found, the visual dynamism is important and striking and will often sell a product. But the atmosphere and the energy and the spirit of a company itself? That’s often in the little moments that risk being lost to the cutting room floor. And I think it’s important to recognise that, and make a conscious effort to celebrate and include those important human moments.

At the end of the day:

I want to say a big thank you to Tanya and the Directors, Jeremy and Simon, members of the ‘Green’ family that make up Hayward & Green, for trusting me with such an important day and with delivering such an important ethos. It was clear from the crowd and the participants on the day that this was something really special, and I’m touched that you wanted me to showcase it for you.

The Charity Cricket video can be viewed here on my website, on YouTube, and through Hayward & Green themselves in theirs ‘News and Views’, where you can keep up to date with other exciting projects they have on the go.