For our fourth Adult Swim film promo, Director Paul B. Cummings and I took a similar ‘doc-style’ approach as our last one for Pixar’s Elemental. In this instance, we felt like having a few intentional zooms would give the camera a nice observational and reactive feel. Those two specific moments would hopefully punch up the scene’s comedy as well.
To faithfully recreate such an aesthetic, we opted to shoot the non-interview pieces handheld on a Fujinon 19-90 as we would if we were natively covering the scene. Since I would use primes on sticks for interviews, we utilized my Schneider-Kreuznach XENON FF lenses for those sections. I’ve been using them on a bunch of other docs and I love them. This was my first time putting them on my ARRI Alexa 35 and it won’t be the last!
We briefly flirted with adding a second camera to keep the documentary illusion alive, but Paul wanted the eye-line to remain direct to camera throughout. Thankfully we didn’t have a ton of alternative lines or improv like some of these promos have in the past, so two set-ups for our two characters could fit into our relatively tight schedule. We used a 25mm for the wide shot and a 50mm for the tighter one.
My Gaffer, Team Bashet and I kept the lighting pretty simple and naturalistic throughout the piece. Our location near LAX had nice soft overhead LEDs that looked great in camera as practicals, which made our lives easy. Thankfully their placement worked well with the blocking and they didn’t introduce any flicker.
To break up the monochromatic cubicles, I added a splash of color to the glass dividers against the wall. We used two 12′ pieces of RGB LED tape from Cush Light (Python 300) and connected them with a CINTENNA receiver to enable DMX control.
Steven Tolber and his team did a wonderful job populating the bare office with amazing Planet of the Apes memorabilia and greens to differentiate between our two characters. I love how the posters form a vertical line between their workspace (one that isn’t equitably split).
We originally planned to transport the giant Ape prop to set. Ultimately, bringing it into the tight location proved impossible logistically. At the last minute, we called in my old roommate, Nogen Beck, to shoot stills of it for us. As much as I prefer practical effects and props, I think the comp works well.
Nathan Barnatt’s cameo as the Mailperson made this collaboration extra special. If it weren’t for Nathan, then this and every other gig that Paul and Matt Marenyi (Producer) have done–which are many–wouldn’t have happened! While Nathan and Paul’s relationship goes back many many years, I first shot a series of commercials for Skittles with them during our brief stint together at Maker Studios in early 2012. Roughly a year later, I met Matt through a friend. In our initial meeting, he requested that I recommend some commercial directors. The two have been consistently working together ever since! Like my favorite old-time radio personality Paul Harvey always said, “…now you know, the rest of the story.”
Kevin: Anthony Esposito
Dwayne: Michael Cunningham
Mailperson: Nathan Barnatt
Director: Paul B. Cummings
Producer: Matt Marenyi
Production Supervisor: Mike Machin
Commercial Coordinator: Ursula Brown
1st AD: Stacey Nation
2nd AD: Eric Schwartmiller
Cinematographer: Dustin Pearlman
1st AC: Samantha Kelly
2nd AC: Marizó Siller
Gaffer: Team Bashet
Key Grip: Caleb Phillips
Best Boy Electric: Harris Smith
Best Boy Grip: Hiram Borges
Production Designer: Steven Tolber
Lead Man: Sam Vilifshi
Prop Master: Gilbert Aguilar
Sound: Peter Beer
HMU: Hannah Sherer
Wardrobe Stylist: Kerri Hennessy
Locations: Mark Porter
Driver: Lawrence Meeker
PAs: Spock Brown, Lawrence Meeker, Norman Galeas, & Denise Moreno
Ape Photographer: Nogen Beck
VFX: Joey Deutsch
Colorist: Diego Petrusky
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