Josh Taft, who’s repped for commercials by bicoastal Satellite Films, has shot spots in many exotic locales, but his trip to Angel Falls remains his favorite. It was there that he shot the Energizer E2 spot "Basejumper" via DDB Chicago. (Taft also directed "Merry Go Round" and "Football" for the battery maker.) The ad shows Steve Barlia, a professional basejumper, going over a waterfall in an effort to promote Energizer’s new, longer-lasting battery. Barlia had to jump off the top of the 3,000-foot falls and paraglide to a landing.
"It took a lot of discipline, thought-processing and focusing on realizing that every time I asked Steve to jump, a lot of danger was implied," says Taft. "We had to be sure that there were no technical problems, and a lot of organization had to be done beforehand; not only to make sure that he would be safe, but to make sure that all of the crew would be safe as well."
Taft and his crew flew to the falls from Caracas, Venezuela, then took a prop plane into the middle of the jungle. From there, Jeeps brought them to the Amazon River, and then, they had to canoe five miles to camp. To reach the top of the Angel Falls, they helicoptered 20 minutes daily and landed on the mountaintop.
"Steve actually did four jumps," recalls Taft, "and [first] we sat there for four days waiting for the right opportunity because of the weather. It had to be just perfectano windabecause the landing [area] was a postage-stamp-sized spot in the middle of the jungle."
Taft admits that the shoot was a challenge. "We were working with a Venezuelan military crew with Russian helicopters, in a place where there was basically one good hour of weather a day," he marvels, "and we actually got trapped on the mountain five or six times, waiting for perfect weather. One dayaand I’m not exaggeratingawe didn’t even have food or water."
Despite the dire circumstances of the shoot, Taft remained unfazed. "At the end of the day, I try to come out with a good life experience and a good spot at the same time," he says. "I think you’ll find that in every job I do. Whether it’s sitting on a stage in L.A., or in the middle of the jungle, the experience [for those involved] is oftentimes as rewarding as any other part of it."
