Low-budget improv comedy series production
This post was written by Jessica Pierce.
I still remember Luke Goodall and Mark Gallagher (creators Followers) stands in front of me excitedly unfolding the final climax from their current draft script. Followers is a comedy mockumentary involving a cult, murder, timeline reversal, regional shooting, life-size effigy burning, police raid, shooting, and the ultimate risk; A group of comedians who are free to improvise.
Liked! All this, but all I could think was … we have no money and no time.
Producers get their name because they always say “No!” I’m here to tell you that we don’t like you any more than you do. I know, I know… “bad producers”.
Historically, the roles of producer and director (who these days are usually also writers) have been divisive. This division can appear in one of two ways:
The producer holds the money and dictates what can be done and how, while the director tears his hair and cries himself to sleep over his lost vision.
Alternatively, the director has complete freedom and the producer finishes the project looking 20 years older due to lack of sleep and now has a parade of cast and crew that they owe a lot of favors to.
Basically, this model doesn’t work for anyone either.
FollowersOne Curious Cat Pty Ltd
I’ve definitely had that dynamic in some of my past projects. The good news is that it doesn’t have to be. In my 10 years of manufacturing, I’ve learned some pretty tough lessons. One of the biggest is defining the relationship between producer and director from the beginning.
Why am I talking about this now? Because when it works, it works well. That’s exactly what Luke, Mark, and I found Followers. Our approach to the producer/director relationship allowed our individual work and the project as a whole to be as creative and fun as it could be for everyone involved.
There’s a term I like to use for improvised content – “sandboxing”. This is where we create a space with clearly defined parameters for people to play, experiment and improvise. While the Idea Team is in that sandbox – go crazy. That’s how I created and ran the Dee-Brief, and that’s what I created Followers.
In my opinion, the success of a sandbox comes down to three things: collaboration, curiosity and trust.
FollowersOne Curious Cat Pty Ltd
Cooperation
As a producer and story producer, I was lucky to be involved Followers from a very early stage. So that meant we were able to build a working relationship based on a pretty clear understanding;
- We were all incredibly good at what we did in our respective fields
- We all had something to learn from each other
- We all wanted to create the best web series.
Now go back to the big square; The goat, the fire… Like I said, I loved it. But animal wranglers, security guards, stunt performers, extras… how could we do that within our budget?
The fact is that we simply did not have the budget and time. This is how the cooperation began. I explained my concerns and asked as many questions as I could about what led to these elements in the story. We could then explore different ways we could achieve the narrative and visual rhythms Goodall & Gallagher were hoping for on their big stage.
I am incredibly proud of those who worked Followers Said it was one of their most relaxed and fun sets ever. Problems inevitably arose along the way with … well … anything and everything that can go wrong on a shoot. However, problem solving was never a problem because Luke, Mark and I were a team, and any time something unexpected came up, be it creative or production related, it was a team effort to collaborate on a solution.
FollowersOne Curious Cat Pty Ltd
curiosity
No, this isn’t a shameless plug for my company One Curious Cat (okay, maybe it is), but curiosity is very important when we collaborate. That big rift I mentioned is often because communication between producer and director has broken down and assumptions are made. When we care, it completely changes our behavior and thinking. Or about why decisions are made or different perspectives on how we can approach them.
Suppose a director walks into the room and asks for an expensive and seemingly extravagant item. As a producer, your initial thought may be that you don’t have the budget or time to meet such a request. It’s easiest to just give up and move on, right?
Instead, let them know you don’t think we have the budget and try to understand why they need it. If you try and understand the result, you can consider alternative ways to get there. It’s easier said than done when we’re all tired, but if you can take the time to slow down and understand … the relationship between the producer and the director, and subsequently the project, will be better.
FollowersOne Curious Cat Pty Ltd
the weather
This is the biggest. Between all that collaboration and curiosity, you have to trust. Sometimes you may not understand or know if something will work, but you have to trust your creative partner’s choices.
For me? I’ve never done this level of improv combined with such a high-concept production combined with a mixed format and run-and-gun. Goodall and Gallagher are pros at high-concept, low-brow viral content for the Internet. Many times I looked at the schedule and said, “I don’t understand how.” Whenever we could, Luke and Mark took the time to explain – however, there were always points where I just had to trust.
Trust their experience, their judgment and their respect for me and the project. Because we were one team – I always knew that any issue would be solved together.
It’s that simple, isn’t it? Build a working relationship based on trust, communication and curiosity.
I have always followed the saying that the relationship between producer and director can be like dating. You need to find someone who speaks your language. Someone with whom you can be clear about how you want the relationship to work. One who listens and communicates.
So when you need to produce a project (and especially a low-budget series with fire, shooting, raids and improvisational comedy) … you know you’re on the same team.
Now I’m happy to say that we managed it with a lot of improvisation. Unfortunately, the goat had to be sacrificed.
See the full series here.
Goodall and Gallagher on social media:
One curious cat
