Taking a streamlined approach from the commercials world and utilizing small crews of highy skilled technicians we combine lighting and gripping as the Europeans do, allowing us to create the hollywood result in North America at a fraction of the expense and without the usual bloated heirarchy, accounting, and other complications of a typical oversized hollywood production.

Production managers know first-hand how much easier it is to work with TALCO and a preloaded truck then a typical lighting department and grip department, each with their own inventory lists that require prep days, transport, etc. In most cases we can accomplish with one gaffer, one best boy, and a small truck what would normally take a whole transport crew, 40′ trailers, and multiple departments and keys to organize. Producers understand immedetiatly that these savings translate directly into increased production value for every dollar spent.

My favorite film “City of the Lost Children” (La Cité des enfants perdus) by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, for example, could not have been made in a Hollywood style. The director explains his budget was so tight that his cheif lighting technician brought in a construction crane for a shot where they needed, but could not afford a movie crane. They strapped a steady-cam operator to the bucket of the lift and that was how he got one of the final scenes which was an aerial shot ascending from the set.

It is this type of innovation that TALCO values and the “Can-do” attitude that states: where there is a will, there is way! We pride ourselves in our ingenuity under pressure and are confident in our abilities and tools to overcome any obstacle a production may face.

The City of Lost Children trailer. Separate montage from film is posted below: