#KP just joined a very exclusive club. We’ve now had the immense privilege of producing the cinematic filming of 2 out of the 11 major concerts that have taken place at the Great Pyramids of Giza. We’ll be on this high for quite some time… mostly because we know this is just the beginning.
Egypt is not known for being an easy place to shoot a film of any kind, and the Pyramids venue is probably the most difficult of all locations – so hearing the guys at @FullStopMGMT refer to us as having the “home court advantage” with the experience of 2019’s Red Hot Chili Peppers concert under our belt, the drive to be “the go-to Pyramids crew” took over.
“We”, refers to the incredible partnership that has evolved between 7Cinematics and ourselves. I shared much of the story of the founding of our relationship here, but in the months that have passed, this partnership has grown into so much more, our two companies have evolved into what can only be described as a form of brotherhood, the kind that can only develop when you go through some serious shit together – excuse the language, but these achievements are not without stress!
So, what goes into making a project like this happen?
First, a very excited and late-night call from the Promotors and Owners of the brand “Live at the Pyramids” to rally the troops and get the ball rolling. The division of responsibilities is clear; #KP is responsible for all things permits, paperwork, on ground rentals, crew, staff, drone(s), logistics and bringing the 7Cinematics crew through the airport with all camera gear and their logistics. The 7C team then take over on site with the precision of a special-ops team to deliver what could be yet another Emmy-winning concert film, produced live and on-air.
Let me stress this last point – with the skill and precision this team brings to their projects it is absolutely no surprise that they have 7 Emmy’s under their belt, and that this project could easily be nominated for number 8. We’re talking legends here!
Once the show is ready, cameras are rolling, and production work is mostly done, the #KPKrew goes into standby mode and it’s time for me to take photos of the beast that is the full production - I’ll share some of these below.
We made this beast of a project happen in less than 6 weeks; from that first call to boots-on-ground at Cairo International Airport. Our on-ground production team was ready to install gear at 4:30 AM the day before the concert, and by 8 pm that same day, all 16 cameras were ready for sound and light rehearsals. All that precision planning and preparation meant concert-day was a relaxed affair, enabling us to also take on side screen IMAG duties at the closing hour.
With all the fun over at 11pm, all gear was packed, loaded on busses and trucks and the precious raw 6K footage was sent back to the hotel to be downloaded and backed up safely before one copy made its way to 7C’s LA studio for editing.
Here’s some of the key bits of kit used on this project:
10 RED 6K Cinema Cameras
4 Black Magic 6K Cameras
2 6K Drones
Black Magic Constellation 8K mixing suite
3 Jibs
This level of production is truly immense, but when you are presenting the Great Pyramids of Giza to millions of fans, then nothing less should be allowed. I cannot stress how proud we are, as a small Egyptian company, to represent our national monuments to such a level of cinematic production, never before seen in our region, and for the second time! We will not rest until we repeat this in ALL of our national heritage sites!