The combined photo and film plan for TJ Sawyerr and Daze, set out here as pages rather than slides so it can be read on a phone on set and linked to line by line. Every set, vignette and deliverable is as issued. Reference imagery is the deck’s own. Where a decision is still open, it is marked. Nothing on this page is an amendment; the amendments live in the response.
Direction
One shoot, two crafts
A convergence between Janet Jackson and Saint & Citizen: a photo series that places Janet on her rightful pedestal, honouring her legacy as a living legend while holding her beauty and elevated style. This is what crowns her as the quintessential Saint.
Photo and video are shot in parallel across the same three looks and sets. The lighting is rigged once, by Daze and TJ together, and stays continuous, so the still and the moving image come off one build and read as one story.
Janet is shot across three distinct set builds in studio, each adding a layer: beauty, legacy, upbringing, distinctive style, infectious energy, and presence as one of today’s evergreen leaders. A mix of intimate, glam-led close-up portraits and expressive, dynamic full-length moments, inclusive of contextual set design and elevated styling.
The approach
Visual technique
Renaissance-esque regal portraiture, Deana Lawson-style home photography, and black and white tonal image-making, carried across both photo and video
Lighting & camera
Soft, continuous lighting with calculated composition. Rigged once by Daze and TJ together so it serves both stills and motion, with only partial relight between mediums
Format & finish
Photo shot on 120 film, hand printed, for a timeless texture and vibrance. Video mirrors the same tonal and compositional language for a cohesive, fluid series
The imagery anchors
Output
Print cover
First Book of Saints / Sainted Magazine
Immersive install
Physical use within The Fourth Space exhibition, Miami, December
Moodboard, all three looksThe reference set as issued with the deck. The three strips further down break it into the look each one belongs to.
Against the pillar. Hand printing is the line that carries the most weight and the least detail. Who prints, and to what reference, is the one unanswered question with a lead time attached to it.
Core set ups
Three looks, one continuous build
Each look carries full editorial coverage from photo and two 30-second vignettes from video, with no dialogue, shot to projection spec. Every look also contributes one hero close-up and framing for the projection crop.
Saint’s Portrait
Look 1 of 3
A renaissance-esque portrait sitting that crowns Janet as a Saint, both metaphorically and literally. She poses against a painted and textured scenic backdrop in a voluminous, classical-yet-avant-garde dress: homage to traditional portraiture with a modern, glam edge.
Moodboard reference, Look 1Painted grounds, sculptural volume, the sitter held still and central.
Photo · TJ Sawyerr, lead
Full editorial coverage of Look 1
One of three hero close-ups, minimum one per look
Contributes to 18 total selects for print, social announcement and magazine
Cover options with vertical crop, masthead space reserved
Spread options
Frame a portion for projection crop, per Carson’s surface ratios
Video · Daze, lead
Vignette 1
Janet as one still shot, lighting focused away from her, as she slowly raises her head. A strong warm beam projects onto her, high contrast between herself and the room. Stays in line with the concept of her as our Saint.
Vignette 2
A motion version of the lighting carried by photo. Handheld imagery, slow head turns, 120fps slow motion, close-ups of jewellery details, eyes and outfit, cut between environmental elements. Dutch angles and creative cropping.
Two 30-second vignettes, no dialogue, shot to projection spec
Continuous lighting shared with photo, partial relight between mediums
The beamVignette 1. Light arrives on her rather than sitting on her.Environmental cutVignette 2. The detail the camera goes to between head turns.JewelleryVignette 2. Eyes, outfit, 120fps.
Reference, Look 1 vignettesThe frames the video brief points at, in slide order.
Against the pillar. The second place. Work at its apotheosis, and the only set with no domestic object in it.
Timeless B/W
Look 2 of 3
Iconic, timeless black and white imagery in a simplified, minimalist setting. Sleek bold glam and hair, intimate close-ups accentuating Janet’s features alongside dynamic full-length movement. Dark block colours and eccentric silhouettes: her most personal, proximate offering.
Moodboard reference, Look 2Skin, structure and silhouette with the set taken away.
Photo · TJ Sawyerr, lead
Full editorial coverage of Look 2
One of three hero close-ups, minimum one per look
Contributes to 18 total selects for print, social announcement and magazine
Cover options with vertical crop, masthead space reserved
Spread options
Frame a portion for projection crop, per Carson’s surface ratios
Video · Daze, lead
Vignette 1
Close-ups, all black and white, framed and cut to show half of the screen like the crops in the reference. Smiles, outfit, facial moments, character expressiveness.
Vignette 2
A still moment, slow zoom out, continuous shot. Janet stands centre of set looking directly into camera as it starts hyper zoomed in. It slowly zooms out revealing her full look and the environment. Post makes it read as a mega zoom, so the set build feels like a giant portal of textured wall.
Dream ask · the reveal lands on two gigantic speakers booming. Reminiscent of her Scream era.
Two 30-second vignettes, no dialogue, shot to projection spec
Vertical capture pass flagged here if used for social cutdowns
Continuous lighting shared with photo, no relight between mediums
Half frameVignette 1. The crop that makes the cut.Split screenVignette 1. The reference the brief points at: two halves carrying one moment.Focal lengthVignette 2. What the zoom out is travelling through.The dream askVignette 2. Scale, and what it does to a room.
Reference, Look 2 vignettesThe frames the video brief points at, in slide order.
Against the pillar. The third place. The leveller, and the reason the set is stripped rather than dressed. The zoom out is the only shot in the deck that turns a set into a portal, which is why it earns the reveal.
80s Living Room
Look 3 of 3
A room-set build reminiscent of a classical African-American household from the 80s, in the spirit of Deana Lawson. Warm, familiar, with elaborate prop detailing. A window shows a Los Angeles sunset, a subtle nod to Janet’s Encino upbringing, from then to now.
Moodboard reference, Look 3The room is a character. Curtains, lamps, upholstery, a window doing real work.
Photo · TJ Sawyerr, lead
Full editorial coverage of Look 3
One of three hero close-ups, minimum one per look
Contributes to 18 total selects for print, social announcement and magazine
Cover options with vertical crop, masthead space reserved
Spread options
Frame a portion for projection crop, per Carson’s surface ratios
Video · Daze, lead
Vignette 1
Janet close to camera, right of frame. In the background, a vintage television in the living room playing a montage of classic eras.
Vignette 2
A wide of Janet in the room, large scale, with imagery and decor on the wall above her relating to her journey. The window open next to her, air gently blown in by the set, so the curtain and any flowy elements of the styling carry a light breeze.
Two 30-second vignettes, no dialogue, shot to projection spec
Continuous lighting shared with photo, partial relight between mediums
Subject close, life behindVignette 1. The television plays in the same frame, not in a cutaway.BreezeVignette 2. Air moving through the curtain and the styling.
Reference, Look 3 vignettesThe frames the video brief points at, in slide order.
Against the pillar. The first place. It already carries its honest trace of the real: the window, with an actual sunset behind it.
Additional shot concepts
Three ways to put an image inside the image
Optional concepts from the deck, one attaching to each look. They are set down verbatim, with the look each belongs to named, because they are the same idea three times and the deck does not say so.
Look 2 · Timeless B/WPodium
“Within our Timeless B/W setting, we could potentially add small podium for Janet to stand on, giving her more grandeur as well as physical height and scale, to metaphorically allude to her stature.”
Look 3 · 80s Living RoomMirror
“Inside our 80s living room, we could have a mirror on the wall, where we shoot Janet in the reflection, to add some dimension. On the wall alongside the mirror we could make subtle reference to Janet’s legacy with an old magazine or album cover print that just creeps into our frame as an Easter egg.”
Look 1 · Saint’s PortraitSaint’s Room
“Using our Saint’s Portrait hero image, we could create a wall setting with a large scale, framed version of the image mounted upon it. This could exist inside our living room, or on a non-descript textured wall, which we would then shoot on its own.”
Against the pillar. All three are the same move: an image inside the image. That is why they feel right and why the deck cannot say why. Each is a portal, and each opens onto a different place, which is what makes them worth keeping as a set rather than picking one. The television in Look 3 opens backward, onto the first place, the room she came out of. The framed hero in the Saint’s Room opens sideways, onto the second place, the image already canonised while the sitting is still happening. The mirror opens forward, onto the third place, and it is the only one that does not look back, because a reflection is the present tense. One per look, no more. A second portal in the same set makes both of them decoration.
Production note. The mirror is cheaper as a lit empty frame than as a real reflection. A true reflection puts the camera, the rig and the crew in shot and costs a relight. A frame with light in it reads as a mirror and stays clean.
Reference, additional shot conceptsThree for the podium, two for the mirror, two for the Saint’s Room. Cut from the slide as issued.
The interview setup
Q&A
Shot in whichever set creative and exec feel is strongest, which is the open decision on this page. The deck marks a moodboard reference here; these are the frames it carries.
Rig
Three-camera setup with a full audio rig
A-cam wide shot
B-cam high angle profile
C-cam low angle detail
Elements of set may show in the A-cam as a stylistic choice
In the room
Questions asked ideally by JQ, as the communication factor may be best
Best moment on the day for any social capture needs or drops
Lav and boom, questions supplied in advance
Set in frameA-cam. The build allowed to show, as a stylistic choice.Close and lowB-cam and C-cam. High angle profile, low angle detail.Seated, unhurriedWhere the sitting actually happens.
Reference, the interviewThree frames, as the slide carries them.
Against the pillar. Which look the interview sits in changes which questions belong. Home questions in the living room, legacy questions in the portrait, self questions in the black and white. Choosing the set is choosing the register.
The Fourth Space content
On camera, liners and audio
Everything captured on the day that is not one of the six vignettes.
Janet on camera
Sit-down Q&A, multi-cam, lav and boom, questions supplied
The Fourth Space promo liners, full list, two takes each
Vinyl signing, motion coverage for promo
Welcome to The Fourth Space, 10 seconds
Welcome to The Fourth Space Dinner, 10 seconds
Vertical capture pass on liners and welcomes for social, Giulia to flag which
Merch & motion
30-second motion visual for The Fourth Space merch store, imagery only, no speaking
Editorial montage across all three looks, feeding the projection mapping build
Audio
The Fourth Space audio liners recorded clean, isolated track, room treated, list supplied
Room tone and a backup recorder running on all Janet speaking segments
Against the pillar. The ten-second welcome is the thesis statement of the whole exhibition. It is the shortest thing on the list and the one that has to be right, so it is shot last, in whichever set the exhibition opens onto.
Final output
What the shoot has to produce
Straight from the deck, for reference when the selects come back.
Craft
Deliverables
Photo
Three looks with full editorial coverage. Minimum three hero close-ups, one per look. Eighteen selects cleared for print, social and magazine. Cover options with vertical crop and masthead space. Spread options. Projection-crop framing per look
Video
Six 30-second vignettes, two per look, no dialogue, shot to projection spec. A 30-second merch store motion visual. Sit-down Q&A with the full liner list, two takes each. Vinyl signing motion coverage. Two 10-second welcome videos. Vertical social cutdowns as flagged
Audio & post
Clean isolated liner audio plus room tone and backup on every speaking segment. Full card offload and backup before wrap, by Daze. Selects organised and handed to Pana, by Daze. Pana to Giulia and LAL for social and campaign prep. Approval pass with Gil before anything goes live
Schedule
Timeline to delivery
Eight days between the shoot and final delivery.
Date
Stage
What has to be true
Wed 17 Sept
Pre-shoot lock
Q&A set, The Fourth Space liner list, vinyl-signing capture list, social asks, projection specs, looks, call sheet and set build all signed off
Sun 20 Sept
Shoot day
Photo and video captured in parallel across three looks and sets, on one shared build
Post
Offload and select
Cards backed up on wrap. Selects organised and handed to Pana, then to Giulia and LAL for social and campaign prep. Approval pass with Gil
Mon 28 Sept
Final delivery
All photo, video and audio deliverables finalised and delivered
Two things this timeline does not yet account for
Hand printing runs hours per image, and there are eighteen selects. The reference print also has to exist before the projection grade can be matched to it. Both sit inside the same eight days, and both wait on the budget being confirmed.
Immediate needs
What is still open
Three items in the deck carry no answer yet. They are listed here so they are visible next to the plan they hold up.
Item
State
What it blocks
Budget
Not yet confirmed, needed as soon as possible
Locking the film and photo crew: DP, lighting and camera assist, PA and sound. Rates, availability and rental gear all pending this number. Once scope is confirmed, TJ sends the full photo crew and equipment list to be combined with the film-side asks into a final approved number
Photo crew
Film crew listed, photo crew to be confirmed
On the same dependency as the budget
Location
Studio near Beverly Hills, or Hubble Studio. Final venue to be confirmed
Call sheet and crew clearance list, with Bianca
Film crew
Role on the day
DP
Camera operator, video camera department. Sets frame and movement within the shared lighting plan
Lighting / camera assist
Supports rigging continuous lighting and camera builds across both photo and video setups
PA / sound
Production support on set. Audio capture on Janet’s speaking segments: liners, Q&A, room tone
Read next
What this deck is read against
The deck is the source. These two are the framing and the notes.
