BPM-SFX: Working with Vault5 for a Product Mega-Project.

B: BPM SFX

Produced by VAULT 5 & BPM SFX

Production provided by Vault5 Team

Kit provided by MediaDog Hire.

60 Products, flamethrowers & one of the biggest stage FX companies, touring with comics, artists, performers and bands across the globe came to us to create stunning visuals of their stage FX products. This product shoot was marketing's big golden ticket for 2025. Spearheading their branding & leadership in the SFX space into 2026, they can now showcase all their products to artists, producers and other technicians for collaborative and training work. A super essential and valuable asset to BPM SFX.

So, how do you shoot 60 products in 3 days? Sounds easy right? When your dealing with SFX products that shoot flames, confetti, lasers etc its not easy at all. Firstly, we worked with marketing to create a plan on how to shoot quickly, effectively and safely. The first thing pointed out by technicians was safety, using a low roof studio just wasn't an option for firing flames and fireworks. We needed a BIG studio.

In comes SPACE STUDIOS - One of the biggest sound stages in Manchester. Shooting some of the most recognizable shows and movies you may have seen on Netflix, Disney and Amazon. We booked STAGE 6 - opposite the main stage that was currently shooting a major TV series written by a fantastic writer. It was a surreal moment for VAULT 5 to be occupying space next to some of Manchester's biggest production powerhouses.

The logistic planning was a technical masterclass, and involving BPM SFX technicians into the pre production process was an essential move, as they brought not only their expertise on how to set up & structure the product shoot, they brought a heavy load of experience with tight planning, stage workflows and timings and fresh approaches that us as a production team could not comprehend at the time?

So what mind boggling idea did the BPM-SFX technicians come up with? Well first we must explain the problem. The technicians believe that trying to get 30 products set up and firing all in one day was a major challenge, so we went back and forth on structure, staffing and set logistics. Until one person just said ‘why don't we just build two stages?’ A small moment of silence, I, the production project lead sat there in pure confusion. But it was genius! It would not add too much to the budget to double the sets, our lighting and production design was already cost effective, and it meant we would only need to shoot for 3 days total, saving studio costs!

What is very interesting from a production background, is how similar SFX, lighting and sound technicians are to film producers. We all have our own fields, our own names for the exact name equipment, but coming together to collaborate, bringing different experiences but the same attitude to the table is a refreshing experience. We had never felt more comfortable as a production team shooting with the BPM Technicians. They just got it!

Fast forwarding to shoot days, smooth as butter. A schedule so firm that there was no way to fall behind, only to climb ahead. And that we did. By day 3 we had around 6 hours of ‘playtime’. We got additional shots of pyros, flamethrowers, confetti, and fire walls. After 3 days of hard work, we spent the final hours just having fun, it's clear the technicians just loved their job.

For the kit, we shot with the SONY-FX3 - SIGMA 24-70 E-Mount with a FloatCam DOLLYCRANE camera slider. We hired additional kit from the excellent MediaDog Hire. Providing additional lighting equipment and the odd kit request here and there.

As part of our service, we also offer colour grading which BPM were very enthusiastic about. They really adore their brand colours and we are able to incorporate their exact colours into our grade, keeping everything on brand. When that was complete, we sent off the final rushes for marketing to incorporate into their 2026 content calendar and that was that.

The outcomes of this project are two things, we made a lot of new - like minded friends & we delivered something incredibly on brand. Both VAULT 5 and BPM-SFX are incredibly proud of the outcome.

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