"I’ve never wanted to ever do a video project," declares DP Joe
Kessler, whose shot-on-film portfolio to date encompasses TV promos,
commercials, documentaries, and feature films. Lucky for him, he made
his video debut with the gang from Comedy Central’s Reno 911!, a new
reality-TV spoof that makes comic virtue of the plain-vanilla look of
DigiBeta camerawork.
Kessler, whose shot-on-film portfolio to date encompasses TV promos,
commercials, documentaries, and feature films. Lucky for him, he made
his video debut with the gang from Comedy Central’s Reno 911!, a new
reality-TV spoof that makes comic virtue of the plain-vanilla look of
DigiBeta camerawork.
As DP and camera operator, Kessler’s job is not just to emulate a
documentary style, but also to keep up with the show’s freewheeling
cast. Reno 911! is unscripted narrative television. That means that, on
any given production day, cast and crew have little idea what’s going
to unfold in front of Kessler’s camera. That helps keep the show’s
seat-of-the-pants look real. "To mimic Cops, it all has to be
handheld," says Kessler. "No beautiful transitions, no soft pans, no
deep-focusing into a perfect mark. It’s all frenetic- overfocusing,
backfocusing to your mark, really trying to throw away all those
conventions you took so long to learn and making it seem like
super-urgent documentary style."
documentary style, but also to keep up with the show’s freewheeling
cast. Reno 911! is unscripted narrative television. That means that, on
any given production day, cast and crew have little idea what’s going
to unfold in front of Kessler’s camera. That helps keep the show’s
seat-of-the-pants look real. "To mimic Cops, it all has to be
handheld," says Kessler. "No beautiful transitions, no soft pans, no
deep-focusing into a perfect mark. It’s all frenetic- overfocusing,
backfocusing to your mark, really trying to throw away all those
conventions you took so long to learn and making it seem like
super-urgent documentary style."
Show co-creator, producer and star Tom Lennon (he plays the
tight-shorted Officer Dangle) says the idea was born partly of
desperation, after a sketch-comedy show the team developed for Fox was
scuttled at the last minute. They scrambled to translate their skills
to a new concept, and Fox’s own Cops seemed like a perfect satirical
target. The show would be improv out of necessity. "We never had time
to write anything for it," Lennon admits. "But it really served us, not
having the luxury of time."
tight-shorted Officer Dangle) says the idea was born partly of
desperation, after a sketch-comedy show the team developed for Fox was
scuttled at the last minute. They scrambled to translate their skills
to a new concept, and Fox’s own Cops seemed like a perfect satirical
target. The show would be improv out of necessity. "We never had time
to write anything for it," Lennon admits. "But it really served us, not
having the luxury of time."
The hardest thing, Kessler says, was getting in sync with the comic
sensibilities of stars Lennon, Kerri Kenney and Robert Ben Garant-
three of the driving forces behind 1990s MTV sketch-comedy series The
State. ( Director Michael Patrick Jann is also a State alum.) "It’s
pretty much operating with your right eye on the cam and your left eye
open, anticipating where the moves are coming up," according to Kessler
But what helped him land the job was his sense that the cameraman could
also be a narrative element. "As we started shooting more, and the
camera really became a character, it made it easier for them to just
worry about themselves getting their beats, and I would find them. It
was very interactive." As production progressed, Kessler became a
narrative presence, with the cast referring to him on-camera as " Joe."
sensibilities of stars Lennon, Kerri Kenney and Robert Ben Garant-
three of the driving forces behind 1990s MTV sketch-comedy series The
State. ( Director Michael Patrick Jann is also a State alum.) "It’s
pretty much operating with your right eye on the cam and your left eye
open, anticipating where the moves are coming up," according to Kessler
But what helped him land the job was his sense that the cameraman could
also be a narrative element. "As we started shooting more, and the
camera really became a character, it made it easier for them to just
worry about themselves getting their beats, and I would find them. It
was very interactive." As production progressed, Kessler became a
narrative presence, with the cast referring to him on-camera as " Joe."
"He can make or break scenes based on what he’s finding," Lennon says.
"A lot of scenes are brought over the top in camerawork. He has exactly
our sense of humor, so you feel he knows how things are going to bounce
around the room."
"A lot of scenes are brought over the top in camerawork. He has exactly
our sense of humor, so you feel he knows how things are going to bounce
around the room."
The show is mostly shot by Kessler on a Sony DigiBeta 900. Fourteen
episodes were shot in 29 days. "On an average day, we shot 12 to 15
tapes- easily six hours," Kessler says. On a busy day, he’d use up 25
32-minute tapes. At least some of the camerawork was automated. When
the sun was directly overhead, casting harsh light, a cast member or
two would be sent out in a real police car with Toshiba IK-TU40s,
better known as "ice cube" cameras, mounted on the dash. Talk about low
maintenance- Kessler remembers playing whiffle ball while the actors
drove around L.A. "They’d come back, we’d put two more people in the
car, slap in a tape, and send them out."
episodes were shot in 29 days. "On an average day, we shot 12 to 15
tapes- easily six hours," Kessler says. On a busy day, he’d use up 25
32-minute tapes. At least some of the camerawork was automated. When
the sun was directly overhead, casting harsh light, a cast member or
two would be sent out in a real police car with Toshiba IK-TU40s,
better known as "ice cube" cameras, mounted on the dash. Talk about low
maintenance- Kessler remembers playing whiffle ball while the actors
drove around L.A. "They’d come back, we’d put two more people in the
car, slap in a tape, and send them out."
The sheer volume of footage created its own challenges. "We edit an
episode every three days or so, which is basically as fast as we could
possibly do it," says Lennon, who spends his days in the editing room
along with Kenney and Garant. "For a long time, we had an
around-the-clock system where the assistant editors would digitize at
night, the editors would come in in the morning and edit all day and
into the evening, and then the assistants would digitize again all
night."
episode every three days or so, which is basically as fast as we could
possibly do it," says Lennon, who spends his days in the editing room
along with Kenney and Garant. "For a long time, we had an
around-the-clock system where the assistant editors would digitize at
night, the editors would come in in the morning and edit all day and
into the evening, and then the assistants would digitize again all
night."
"I wouldn’t be surprised if they could have cut two more seasons out of
the stuff we shot, and I’m always amazed at what makes it in and what
doesn’t," says Kessler. "We would see the rough cuts and the editors
wouldn’t want to talk to us, because there were so many things you
could hope to make [out of the hours of raw footage]. When I first came
to the set, I wasn’t ever sure where the shows were going. I was just
trying to get those beats down and get all the shots done in a day,
figuring that I’d be shooting episodes over the next four weeks but
none of them in any order. You always shuffle in your head what episode
you’re on, and what’s important for the joke."
the stuff we shot, and I’m always amazed at what makes it in and what
doesn’t," says Kessler. "We would see the rough cuts and the editors
wouldn’t want to talk to us, because there were so many things you
could hope to make [out of the hours of raw footage]. When I first came
to the set, I wasn’t ever sure where the shows were going. I was just
trying to get those beats down and get all the shots done in a day,
figuring that I’d be shooting episodes over the next four weeks but
none of them in any order. You always shuffle in your head what episode
you’re on, and what’s important for the joke."
CREDITS
Reno 911!
Producer: Jersey Television in association with Comedy Central
Director: Michael Patrick Jann
Writers/executive producers: Robert Ben Garant, Kerri Kenney and Thomas Lennon
DP/Camera Operator: Joe Kessler
Editors: Monty DeGraf, John Refoua and James Wilcox
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