We are Fairmont: My two day journey on set

One month after finishing up my four and a half years at The University of British Columbia, I found myself setting up props and running errands on the set of a Fairmont worldwide branding video. For a business graduate with big dreams of being a professional illustrator, this is not a bad start at all.

A little bit about myself — my name is Aiken Lao and I’m an illustrator and designer working at Production Road, a small studio made up of LEMONNI, Chairman Ting Industries, and, of course, Hubert Kang Photography. I landed an internship at Production Road in the spring of 2018 and, not exaggerating, it’s changed my life. Prior to this, I was going to give up as a creative and progress slowly into the business side of operations in the field of marketing, my degree specialization, due to my lack of education in the creative field. The artists at Production Road somehow saw potential in me, and here I am now learning from some of the most humble, talented, and kindest people in the industry.

Day One: Equipment setup & rehearsals

I’m currently working full-time as a studio manager at Production Road, working on a huge array of different tasks. One of the things Hubert assigned for me was to storyboard his vision for Fairmont’s upcoming brand video. I worked with Hubert, his wonderful producer Amy Jones, and other key individuals like Hamish Hamilton and Mike Southworth to create a final storyboard to show to clients and the employees onset. What started as a simple concept grew into a massive set with several walls, dozens of picture frames, and a small army of Fairmont employees selected from Fairmont locations across Vancouver.

A few weeks later I was invited to help on set as second assistant director, helping out whoever needed assistance. It was a great role to learn from as I was exposed to so many areas of the shoot — administrative work, art prop preparation, and more.

The first day included a lot of set up and preparation. I was nervous since this was my first time being on a shoot this big and I was unsure of how to help, but everyone on the crew was incredibly kind and efficient in work delegation. I had the pleasure to work closely with Angie Martin, a wizard prop stylist who was prepared for all possible mishaps and hazards. She single-handedly bought out two Michaels art stores in pursuit of the perfect picture frame, or to be specific did so in one hand as she injured one of her arms in a snowmobile accident. It was amazing to see her at work.

My nerves from the first day calmed, and on the second day I was ready to get started on what Amy assigned me the previous day—to speak with Fairmont employees as they entered and be ready with paperwork for them to sign. It was a fascinating process to see how the employees transformed throughout the day, they radiated nervous energy in the morning but was calmed by the crew’s playful and casual atmosphere by the afternoon. One of the Fairmont Hotel Vancouver doormen even gave me life advice on how to get the best out of traveling, and where to go in the future. It was awesome.

“To any young creatives out there like me, a word of advice—being humble, kind, and willing to go the extra mile to help will do wonders.”

Although having 10-12 hour work days back-to-back was incredibly exhausting, the experience was well worth it. It’s only when one is sleep deprived and stressed does one understand the importance of having a trustworthy, experienced, and overall all-star crew. To any young creatives out there like me, a word of advice—being humble, kind, and willing to go the extra mile to help will do wonders. If you do good work and people like to work with you, then you’ve got a solid foundation to create some very cool things.

Thanks for having me Kindred & Scout! I look forward to seeing all the amazing things you guys do in the future.