Thunder Park Airsoft is an Airsoft gaming site near Bodmin, Cornwall in the South West of the UK.
Cleo the Assassin
We have been doing work for the site as it has grown from humble beginnings to a much-loved and vastly expanded and exciting enterprise which is visited by fans from far and wide.
As the park has grown and they have introduced new features at an astonishing rate we were tasked with photographing the ever-improving facilities and creating a buzz around the brand which would appeal to both die-hard (no pun intended) gamers as well as those curious and new to the sport.
Fun between takes
Target Practice
We needed to make it look exciting, as well as friendly and welcoming, and not to show it in a way that might exceed expectations. It needed to look thrilling, but also very safe (as it is suitable for families with children over the age of 12).
On ManoeuvresOn Manoeuvres
Taking a break between takesTaking a break between takes
The trick with Brand Photography is finding out exactly what will appeal to the perfect audience (no point in attracting people who are then disappointed with something that promises something else). The images need to promote and sell honestly and accurately. Everyone remembers tales of holiday villas being half-built and not as shown in holiday brochures. Or Christmas Winter Wonderland "experiences" being poorly run, and not as advertised, with disappointed and crying children.
Ready for ActionReady for Action
Ready for FilmingReady for Filming
Together with the owners we created mood-boards for the images and story-boards for the video to accurately show the site in all its glory, as well as making it look as exciting as possible and as far-removed from a hand-held mobile 'phone video. Lighting, composition, colours and text were all important.
Trench ActionTrench Action
Part of the remit included filming a video which could be used to promote the venue across a variety of platforms, and would show various different locations around the site, as it has both indoor and outdoor gaming facilities.
Deadly Red in The BunkerDeadly Red in The Bunker
To add to the story of this unique venue we created the character of "Deadly Red" who is actually Airsoft gamer herself as well as being a CQB (Close Quarter Battle) Ladies Champion. The Deadly Red character can be used as a distinctive "definer" for Thunder Park and be unique to this particular site in the West Country.
Battle StationsBattle Stations
And finally the promo video. For the technically minded, we shot in 1080 (as 4K would be too high a definition for the website and potentially slow to load), on Olympus cameras, and the software used was Adobe Prelude, Premiere Pro, After Effects, Lightroom, Photoshop, Illustrator, SpeedGrade and Audition.
Here's the verdict from the owner:- "Absolutely awesome. Love it. thank you so much. Exactly what I wanted." (Barbara Fahey - CEO Thunder Park Airsoft)