When we were approached to work with authentic road workers and tell the story of CONAN, the self coning truck, we knew very little about the danger our road workers face on a daily basis. What we learned was shocking, road workers are regularly hurt and can even lose their lives on the job, their jobs are that dangerous. Their heads can be just 20cm away from a speeding vehicle.
Story telling by Vicki Leopold Director+Photographer and with DOP Stephen Langdon leading the camera department, CONAN the self-coning truck was introduced to the country for Traffic Safe New Zealand.
With road workers safety a priority, Traffic Safe New Zealand were the first traffic management company in New Zealand to put worker safety first and bring self coning trucks into the country in early 2024. Their motto, 'Everyone Home Safe, Everyday!
As noted by Teagan, Traffic Safe Crew Supervisor..
"We have to deal with people driving fast, people getting hit! We've had shoulders dislocated, ribs crushed, real tough hospital stuff."
One of the first questions Photographer+Director Vicki Leopold asked the workers was;
'who worries about you, who is at home waiting for you to come through the door at night?'
We were then lucky enough to be invited into Janie, Davie and Kross's homes and meet and film their loved ones, including Drago, Janies gorgeous rescue dog.
So for this part of the project, with an intimate and nimble team, ReloadPictures shot over a couple of days across Auckland. This was a real privilege for us, there was a lot of trust involved.
Vicki is well known for her compelling and very authentic human storytelling, she loves working with real people. This coupled with Stephen's creative eye and soft spot for doco style filming resulted in some beautiful, moving moments being captured.
