Marching Penguin partnered with Decoded Advertising to create a series of YouTube commercials for the Metro by T-Mobile “Nada Yada Yada” campaign. We produced both English and Spanish versions of the spots. With all of the sizing and language variations, there were more than 40 deliverables ranging from 30 seconds down to just 6.
While my relationship with Jordi Matsumoto and his company, Marching Penguin, dates all the way back to August of 2012, this marked my first collaboration with Director Tom Morris. If you check out his work, shooting on a monochromatic stage is familiar territory for this visionary filmmaker.
Scaling the Production
When we met in person for the first time at the location scout on April 25th to outline the complex logistics of shooting, I realized that the only way we’d stay on schedule was with multiple cameras.
Our schedule challenge stemmed from the fact that we tailored specific scripts for each of the 30, 15, and 6 second ads. We planned to shoot each version in English and then repeat it with the same lighting cues using our Spanish cast. There’s a world where the shorter versions could’ve simply been created in editing from the longer ones, but making them bespoke for each length created more impactful spots in a limited runtime.
Three Cameras, One Performance
Tom initially hoped to shoot with only one camera to keep eyelines perfect for the direct address. Unfortunately, doing so would likely create a headache in editorial trying to match the three setups for performance and timing of the lighting gags.
Even if we had enough time to shoot each of the three camera positions necessary for the spot to work, I knew I’d lose my mind moving the gear in circles throughout our jam-packed schedule. In a three-camera scenario, one perfect take accomplishes so much and lessens the pressure on the actors to nail every take perfectly.
No sane producer wants to drastically adjust their budget less than a week from the shoot date to accommodate a request for more cameras, teleprompters, and crew. Thankfully Jordi and his team performed a miracle. John Lovejoy and I frantically called around town for a vendor willing to help us. We had already booked my ARRI Alexa 35, so I proposed we settle for two ARRI Alexa Minis instead of sourcing additional Alexa 35s to save money.
After many hours on the case, John told me that his connections at Rare Breeds Camera could make the numbers work for Alexa Mini LFs—I couldn’t contain my excitement.
To preserve eyelines as best we could, we jammed the three camera bodies as close as possible along with their respective teleprompters. Most jobs involve compromise, and deciding where to draw that line is often our greatest challenge. I’m grateful Tom was open to this solution and that we could make the numbers work. If we only had one camera, we might still be shooting the spots today.
Designing the Lighting Cues
Tom and I focused much of our prep discussing the set design with our Production Designer, Amanda Fletcher. The creative shifted several times before we landed on a minimalist approach. One of my primary concerns was how to integrate the lighting cues into the set.
Along with my gaffer, Valentin, we weighed the pros and cons of different fixtures and ultimately landed on the Aputure MT Pros. They’re compact, powerful, full RGBWW, and DMX-capable. We didn’t want them to appear as bare bulbs, so Amanda’s team built custom housings to integrate them into the set. Given the short lead time, this wasn’t trivial—but her team came through in the clutch.
In addition to the MT sconces, we placed Astera AX1 tubes behind the console and used Astera NYX bulbs in the practicals. The “neutral” look lived around 3200K. For the spotlight look, we pushed the warmth for contrast. For purple, we leaned heavily into Metro’s brand color across the entire set.
Working with a visually and technically fluent director like Tom is always a joy. His background in photography allowed him to clearly communicate the three distinct lighting cues. With an arsenal of Aputure fixtures, Val and I dialed in settings for the neutral, spotlight, and purple looks.
Tom requested the ability to execute transitions in camera, so they needed to sync perfectly with dialogue. Most cues ran through Blackout Lighting Console, while a few fixtures used Sidus Link. Even with modern DMX systems, things don’t always behave as expected—but again, having three cameras kept us on schedule.
My ARRI Alexa 35 handled the locked-off wide shot on Zeiss Supreme Prime Radiance lenses. I stopped down slightly to keep both actors reliably in focus. The limitation of having one set of lenses worked to our advantage. To match fields of view, C camera had be slightly further away from set which gave Dario just enough room to work without compromise.
Over the course of three days, Marching Penguin efficiently block-shot this campaign at Interwoven Studios in Culver City, CA. By segregating the sets, we were able to pre-rig and buy ourselves valuable time. In a perfect world, we would’ve had a full day to light and rehearse the cues, but we made it work in just seven hours.
As I mentioned in the other post, I’m seeing Metro stores everywhere since we shot these commercials. Do you think it’s a case of the Baader-Meinhof phenomenon?
Crew
Director
Tom Morris
Production
Jordi Matsumoto — Executive Producer
Johanna Saldaña — Producer
John Lovejoy — Producer
Ericka Burwell — Coordinator
Rachel Gaudiosi — Coordinator
Elle LeBlanc — Coordinator
Bryant Familia — 1st Assistant Director
Camera
Dustin Pearlman — Director of Photography
Dario Vittolo — Camera Operator
Samantha Kelly — 1st AC (A-Cam)
Sofia Gonzalez — 1st AC (B-Cam)
Elaine Pusey — 2nd AC
Jacqui Carriere — DIT
Grip & Electric
Valentin Selembier — Gaffer
Noah Frassetto — DMX Operator
Richard Brush — Key Grip
Gordon Chan — Best Boy
Sound
Alex Altman — Sound Mixer
Production Design
Amanda Fletcher — Production Designer
Carolina Perdoza — Art Director
Leo Arroyo — Lead Man
Maximo Huete — Set Dresser
Tai Wilson — Set Dresser
Wardrobe & Makeup
Chaisson Baggett — Wardrobe Stylist
Samantha Klein — Makeup
Cynthia Angelina — Makeup Assist
Additional Crew
Ryan Rathbun — Production Assistant
Jean Rigler — Production Assistant
Cast
Angelique Chapman — New Customer (English)
Ruben Matos — New Customer (Spanish)
Jamin Keene — Existing Customer (English)
Samantha Tejada — Existing Customer (Spanish)
Annelise Hermsen — Non-Metro Customer (English)
Estefamy Gomez — Non-Metro Customer (Spanish)
Shelby Andre — Hand Talent
Mike Carolina — Hand Talent
Agency
Decoded Advertising
Mac Demy — Executive Producer
Justin Ramirez — Senior Producer