I was strolling though some oil fields one day.

And not just any oil fields.

One could argue that if it wasn’t for these oil fields, these 400+ acres in Newport Beach, California would already be filled with apartment buildings, commercial strip malls, and hotels. Today, the oil business on Banning Ranch is winding down, producing only a fraction of it used to. The pressure to sell Banning Ranch to development interests has been immeasurable, especially over the last 20 years. But with the support of advocacy organizations like the Banning Ranch Conservancy, this land has been kept out of reach.

This year, thanks to a generous donation from Frank and Joann Randall in the amount of $50 million, The Trust for Public Land is leading the way in raising the additional funds to acquire the property and turn it into something amazing.

The hope is to remediate Banning Ranch, conserve its natural beauty and create a public park for everyone to enjoy. (Read The Trust for Public Land’s blog post on the project)

In the middle of January this year, The Trust for Public Land reached out to Groundmaking to help them produce some creative assets for the upcoming capital campaign, in an effort to raise another $47 million towards the purchase price of $97 million.

This blog post outlines some of the details of the “Banning Ranch” production.

Scouting for a story.

Although Banning Ranch seems enormous when viewed from above, it feels mostly invisible when experienced on the ground. We spent a lot of time driving and walking around the perimeter, identifying any logistical limitations as well as creative opportunities. With the help of The Trust for Public Land, we had access to walk throughout the whole site in advance and explore its many bluffs, arroyos, and wetlands.

We used an app called Artemis to simulate focal lengths from specific lens and camera manufacturers. (We were using a RED Komodo 6K and Zeiss CP.3 prime lenses). More importantly we really wanted to simulate where the sun would land and cast shadows when it came to our planned shoot dates.

Getting a visceral sense of the landscape was a critical part of the process. During those first few scout days we took lots of pictures, made lots of notes and tried to ignore the challenge of eventually having to weave a story into a 60 second video! (How were we going to do that?)

One of the core objectives of the project was capturing portraits of donor Frank Randall and The Trust for Public Land’s California State Director, Guillermo Rodriguez. Thankfully, we were able to recruit my good friend Sam Comen for the job and planned it during one of our last scout days in February.

On the day when Frank and Guillermo came on site, we decided to conduct a few last minute interviews, mostly for archival purposes. The interviews were originally intended for archival purposes, but during the editorial process they were impossible to ignore.

A last minute interview of TPL’s California state director, Guillermo Rodriguez.

Casting “real” people.

One of the goals for the video project was to help viewers imagine themselves on Banning Ranch, doing activities that one might be able to do in the future, such as running, cycling, hiking, and even camping.

We spent several weeks visiting local parks posting casting call flyers and using the online platform Backstage, to find the right people. I have a lot more respect for casting directors, because narrowing down the possibilities is really a grueling process. We were thankful to have a few backup options since we had a couple of last minute cancellations.

We tried our best to find local talent and “normal” people who could play the part. Given that we typically shoot documentary-style work, this approach felt appropriate.

I’ve linked some cast members Instagram pages: K Dacosta’s Instagram, Ruben Arellano’s Instagram (America Ninja Warrior!), Michela Melone’s Instagram, Alyssa M. Simmons Instagram.

Waiting for the weather—and flowers.

When we first scouted the site in February, it was clear to us that waiting for some more rain would benefit the general aesthetic of the video. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind the desert look, but a few daisies and green grass goes a long way in helping to frame the vision of a future Banning Ranch.

We used this extra time to not only narrow down our casting decisions but also to better develop our shooting script and equipment needs. We brought not only drones and a RED Komodo camera package with Zeiss lenses, but also some extra tools like a camera crane, gimbal, and slider. Making sure we had everything for well-staged camp-site also took some thoughtful preparation.

A crane precariously balanced on a bluff to capture Michela Melone running through a small canyon.

Production!

When it came to shooting, we tried to consolidate most of our shots into the early morning and twilight hours. With such a small crew, it made sense to use only natural light and make sure we backlit our subjects as much as possible. An occasional reflector to fill in shadows was useful.

Spanning a period of two days, on March 26th and 27th, we were able to allocate two twilight sessions and one early morning session with our talent. During the middle of the main shooting day, we captured additional b-roll, enjoyed a long lunch, and prepped for whatever was coming next.

Early morning sunshine at the main staging area where we captured Ruben and DaCosta in running form.

Since the site was so vast and the property is currently privately owned, we leaned heavily on The Trust for Public Land’s local project manager, Gianpaolo Perrone, to assist in escorting folks to and from the main staging area. Gianpaolo was also instrumental to alerting our presence to the oil company.

Aaron Greyson and Kimmy Schlafly made up the Groundmaking production support team, facilitating personal release forms, covid compliance, catering, camp site staging, camera support and so much more. Huge thanks to them both!

Reuben capturing Ruben and DaCosta running up a hill.

It’s hard to resist hanging out the back of a car to get an epic running shot! Which is why I couldn’t resist sharing this picture—I only wish Subaru made electric cars.

Details. Details. Details.

Why “fix it in post” when you can just avoid the problem altogether?

Clearing rocks from pathways, pulling dead ice plants from the ground, removing fallen tree branches—most of the little things that happen behind the scenes typically fade away. It’s thankless detailed work that makes the final product come together.

And if it’s done well, nobody will ever notice.

(I see you, Kimmy. Nice work!)

With an eye for detail, Kimmy repositions flowers and removes dead ice plant from the frame.

That’s a wrap!

In producing this piece about Banning Ranch for The Trust for Public Land, we came away with some really beautiful moments that mixed scripted narrative with a documentary style. We planned meticulously for the production days themselves, but always had to maintain an openness to improvisation.

We feel so incredibly honored to have worked on this project with The Trust for Public Land. Thank you to Vanessa Martin, Laurie Isola, Gianpaolo Perrone, Christine Mathison, and Elyse Leyenberger at The Trust for Public Land.

And to the Groundmaking team, Aaron Greyson and Kimmy Schlafly, thank you. The beers we shared afterwards were extra delicious.

Enjoying a well deserved beer at The Alley Restaurant and Bar.

Thank you to all of the cast members in front of the camera for your patience and hard work. We were so fortunate to have had a cast who got along with each other like life-long friends and who adapted to the landscape so naturally.

The final edited piece is below and was posted on The Trust for Public Land’s blog post on May 20, 2021. See the blog post here.

Stay Grounded,

Reuben

Production Report: The Trust for Public Land, "Banning Ranch"