Skip to content

The Who’s Tommy – A Photo Manipulation!

This is not the story of Young Tommy, the deaf dumb and blind kid. It’s the story of The Poster for Tommy, with a behind the scenes video.

Behind the Scenes Creation of a Poster

Ah, the story of Young Tommy, who witnesses his father’s brutal murder, goes blind, deaf and dumb, discovers pinball, creates a religious cult and then gets thrown out of it. All set to a great rock and roll score.

Actually, I never did much like the movie. However, from what I have seen of the musical being produced right now at the Footlight Club, this is going to be an awesome stage show!

Kristin MacDougall introduced me to the director, Kristi Wivagg and we hashed out the poster concept in an evening. Simple really. Photograph the reflection of young Tommy in a silver sphere.

Ah, but then it gets interesting. We don’t have access to the actor playing Tommy. We don’t have a silver sphere. And, when we do get one (it’s amazing what you can find on ebay, isn’t it?), it’s basically taking a picture of a round mirror. You see everything!

It took a little retouching, but we got it cleaned up and simplified.

Here’s the behind the scenes timelapse for a sneak peak at what happens here in the studio.

Related Stories from the Studio . . .

Entertainment Photography, Stock Photos A Moment on Stage Footlight Club Brochure Cover 2008-09 seasonFootlight Club Brochure Cover 2008-09 seasonFootlight Club Brochure Cover

Theater photography to promote Cabaret at the Footlight Club. A nice little noir set up to portray that Life is a Cabaret! They are gonna do something special with this musical so don't miss it!

So, strip it down to the basics, make it eye catching and appealing and make it a fantasy. What better fantasy than the cover of a beauty magazine?

Photographing Live Theatre for Theatrical Marketing: On Stage with OTP's Fear Project. How we captured an amazing performance for posters and reviewers.