Creating the look for MerriMe.com
Wednesday, June 3rd, 2009
June 2, 2009 By Daron Keet
I recently finished shooting MerriMe, my latest web series feature comedy that is available at www.merrime.com on a computer near you.
It stars the Web Series co writers / creators/ actors Kaily Smith and David Weidoff, also starring Tom Arnold “True Lies”, Ryan Eggold “Beverley Hills 90210”, Tia & Tamera Darvette Mowry “Sister, Sister”.
The show plot centers around 20 something Merri Weisman threatened to be cut off her father’s trust fund if she does not find a real job. In a state of panic, she concludes that a husband not a job could save her. She signs up to every online dating website in her frantic race for suitable bachelor, setting into motion an hysterical online fun and games rollercoaster ride to the 21st Century alter, like the web has never seen.
This was my first collaboration with the projects talented, young, up and coming director Sherwin Shilati. When you share common cinematic sensibilities and passion with a director, for sure you try hanging onto those collaborative opportunities for dear life. I am always interested in utilizing every technique possible to enhance stories visually, thus elevating the audience’s emotional experience and a result, personal connection to the subject. As much as I use technique, my work strives to propel the story in an honest manner, without allowing the camera to draw attention away from the story itself.
Filmmaking in essence is the art of story-telling through pictures and sound. Great stories are about “big ideas”. I have extrapolating this “big idea” concept into the personal approach of my cinematography work. On each new job, I throw myself into absorbing the script, the storyboards, the director’s treatment and the locations in an effort to figure out which “big idea” approach to incorporate, in my quest for crafting exceptionally work.
One of the biggest contributions I am able to make on each project I am attached, is ensuring we have the appropriate locations to stage scenes against. If I think a location is inappropriate, it is my responsibility as the cinematographer to let the director and producer know. Once locations are locked, another huge contribution I can make is picking the best time of day or night to shoot. Often schedules are dictated around actor availability, but in preproduction I am forever suggesting, cajoling or trying to influence my 1st ADs schedule around the sun’s schedule, as nothing can save money, speed up or enhance aesthetics quiet like taking advantage of perfect God–given light, or lack of light if required.
MerriMe was fortunate to be staged primarily in furnished luxurious Beverly Hills home, set against a spectacular Los Angeles city backdrop. My “big idea” approach for MerriMe was exposure efficiency. I figured that by using the fastest prime lenses available [Zeis T1.3] shooting wide open at T1.3 exposure, although challenging for focus, would require smaller lighting units, less electric cables, no generators, and most efficient use of crew. Lighting at very low light levels for big night scenes on MerriMe, not only speeded up lighting time required, but gave us wonderful opportunities to showcase the dimly exposed Los Angeles city that our location was juxtipositioned against.
MerriMe was shot on the Red One. I shot on both the daylight and tungsten modes, even though tungsten mode has a tendency to at times introduce digital grain, as the blue channel in that mode is not activated. I used many filters in order to control exposure and enhance in camera images as desired. I used a polarizer to saturate skies or control reflections when shooting at angles through glass or water. I used graduated neutral-density (ND) filters to control exposure. I used straight neutral-density (ND) filters to ensure I could shoot at T1.3, thus creating the shallowest depth of field possible. I also used a Tru-Cut IR-750 filter, which corrects the potential for color shift from the digital Red Camera’s chip.
Having chosen a small lighting package without big HMI’s, my next efficiency challenge was day exterior shooting. My solution was simple; shoot split days from 11 in the morning to 11 at night. Because we were shooting 3 scenes a day, split days ensured that only 1 scene would face the difficult challenges of harsh lighting when the sun is very high in the sky. The 2 scenes would because of the schedule planning be shot in low sun, magic light. I am always trying to get what I call my “Days of Heaven” magic-naturalism-moments, like when the late, great cinematographer Nestor Almendros shot that entire best Academy Award for cinematography award feature in gorgeous magic light. We would then shoot the 3’rd scene at night, my absolute favorite. Night shooting gives you the fullest control of every aspect of exposure. By also breaking up our days into 3 parts, harsh light period / magic light period / night light period, we where able to have crew to pre light for each scene ahead of time, as the peramentors of the external / natural elements where very much predetermined.
I feel that the artificial movie lights we use on film sets needs to mimic the color temperature and quality of light believable in the reality of the world we have created in the place and time of our stories. On MerriMe I primarily used tungsten fresnals, as much of the settings where motivated candle light, HMI with a 1/4 cto was used for exterior shots. I always joke with production when they ask me what lights I want to order. I tell them I am shooting available light. The always repeat available light thinking to themselves oh my goodness this cinematographer is saving us so much money in not ordering lights, Then I reply, yes available lights, all the lights I have available. This joke is not to be clever, but highlight and reinforce the concept that to even create magic naturalism require great technique, and lights, the direction of lights, the quality of lights and the color temperature of lights have infinite value in transporting images to their fullest emotional realizations.
Our big idea on utilizing smaller lights, great locations, steadicam and cranes when required, and primarily efficiency of daylight planning allowed us to shoot 54 scripted pages in 9 days. 8 of those 9 days where by the way completed in 10 hours, with only one day going into overtime, a 14 hour day. We where averaging 30 set ups a day, not bad going considering most of the wides where executed with dolly or jib moves, while close up’s where executed on a slider, to keep even traditionally static set ups pulsating with energy.
When you next have 8 precious online minutes, please check out an episode at www.MERRIme.com
I think that you will be pleasantly surprised by the production value, quality and performance created for series intended for the web.