As video content leaps into cell phones, bicoastal/international @radical.media and director Jeff Labbé are among those on the cutting edge of the medium with Head and Body, an original series for mobile phones. The eight shorts range from about two-and-a-half minutes to three-and-a-half minutes for client MTV Networks with sponsor Motorola. Labbé created and wrote the series with freelancer Mike Folino.
The shorts–“Morning,” “Bus,” “Clinic,” “You’re Up,” “Jogging,” “Club,” “Taxi 1” and “Taxi 2”–are playing on phones in Asia, Europe and Latin America (and are available on VCAST phones through Comedy Central in the U.S.). They all feature a man whose head is disconnected from his body resulting in two main characters: Head and Body. Labbé explained that launching the content abroad was primarily due to the advanced mobile phone capabilities in those markets.
It was a natural inclination for Labbé to include Folino on this project since the two had worked together years ago as creatives at Wieden + Kennedy, Portland. Labbé explained that he came up with many treatment options, but it was Folino’s idea to feature a man going about his daily routines without a head.
The duo works well together and had partnered on international campaigns before that had presented specific challenges, Labbé noted. This latest work had to cross cultures and tell a story through visuals since the episodes are dialogue-free. Overall, the goal was to focus on a universal truth, he related.
“It was about the human truths,” said Labbé. “When you look in the mirror, you think you’re really fat–and you’re really skinny. Kids struggle with that, [but at the same time] you can have a lot of fun with it.
“You can just imagine going through life if your head was detached,” he continued. “It’s almost like this massive handicap, but it’s a funny handicap.”
In “Morning” we see that even the smallest things, like going to the bathroom, are difficult for the character known as Body. Without a head, his aim is off and he creates quite a mess around his toilet. Body then takes Head off of the sink where it was resting, and puts it in his lap to shave the face. Since Body can’t see, it’s quite a messy operation. Later, Body puts his pants on backwards and heads out for the day with Head in his hand. But, once his apartment door is shut, his phone begins to ring and Body accidentally drops Head down the stairs.
In “Bus,” Head and Body venture out into the streets of what looks like a Third World country. Head smiles and says, “Hello,” to a woman he passes. She’s not fazed by the sight, but a bus driver looks confused when the pair boards the vehicle. Body sets Head on the seat next to him and proceeds to feed him a sandwich. Suddenly, as the bus stops abruptly, Head flies off of the seat and rolls down the aisle, eventually getting kicked back the other way. Body fumbles around looking for him. Grabbing a large citrus fruit, he quickly realizes that’s not what he’s feeling around for. Finally, he puts his hands on Head, returns to their seat and buckles him in.
“The universal truth I think Jeff’s talking about is that it’s the whole idea of your needs and desires of your body sometimes get your head in trouble. And then sometimes what your head wants to do gets your body in trouble,” editor Steve Prestemon of bicoastal Cosmo Street related.
NEW MEDIUM/NEW CHALLENGES
Creating content for a very small screen presented unique parameters for the work. “It was challenging really to come up with the idea but once we locked onto it, we were off to the races,” Labbé said. “The biggest challenge after that was figuring out the technology–how to shoot these things, how to edit these things, the film resolution, darks, lights, panning shots, all of that kind of stuff was the really challenging part about this project.”
Labbé related that the process of figuring out the best method for production started with assembling a good team, which included Prestemon and Ting Poo. The latter is an editor at bicoastal visual effects shop Outpost Digital. From there, they loaded the director’s reel onto a phone to see how it would play in the medium. They noticed things like right to left pans and tracking shots that used dollies breaking down. However, if done with a hand-held camera instead, the shot held up better. They decided to shoot PAL for better resolution but Labbé didn’t want to lose the qualities that film provides, so they shot with Panasonic digital cameras with 35mm adapters to give the look of 35mm film.
“I think Jeff actually directed a little differently than he would normally because of these restrictions,” Prestemon said. “All of the wide shots had to be very simple and graphic because if you’re looking at an image that is maybe two inches by two inches that’s very small, the information in that frame has to be very simple without a lot of movement. I think he probably used more close-ups and graphic shots than he would normally. It’s a little limiting but once you learn that language, you get into it.”
Labbé said that he did indeed primarily use medium and tight shots because being too far away from Head would minimize its details. This criterion played into casting for Head as well. The director said that he was looking for someone who had a long face framed with dark eyebrows and dark hair. The actor also had to be able to create great expressions like Jim Carrey.
For Prestemon, the challenge of the effects cannot be underestimated. The tight budget influenced the way they shot the effects–Head wore a green body suit and Body wore a green hood, both garments were removed in post. But, he noted, the limitations add charm to the final product.
He also noted that he wanted to create the atmosphere of an otherworldly place. The setting was supposed to feel familiar but unidentifiable. The footage was shot primarily in Tijuana, Mexico, and Skid Row in Los Angeles during a four-day shoot.
SILVER LININGS
Along with the unique difficulties, there were also specific advantages to creating content for this medium. You can get away with a lot when you are creating something for a one inch by one inch screen, Labbé remarked, meaning that he could hide things that would show up in a larger screen. Yet, all of the qualities inherent in this project add to its irreverence for the director, which, he pointed out, is appropriate for the brand.
Another perk for this team of people who typically work on spots must have been the autonomy MTV offered. Though they were in daily contact with the client and there were progress checks, Labbé said this project was treated like any MTV content, such as Jackass or Punk’d, where the director and producers shoot a show and turn it in–without boards.
“The great thing about this client for me was that unlike in commercials when clients get very concerned about individual shots, MTV seemed to look at these as pieces of entertainment and whether each one was successful as entertainment or not, and they really didn’t change anything,” Prestemon said.
Additional credit at @radical.media goes to executive producers Jon Kamen, Frank Scherma, Frank Stiefel and Donna Portaro. Jill Wakeman was producer, Jaqueline Hamilton was line producer. David Lanzenberg was DP.
At Cosmo Street, Yvette Cobarrubias executive produced and Helena Lee produced.
In addition to the aforementioned Poo, AJ Pyatak and Casey Price were also editors at Outpost Digital. Carla Attanasio was executive producer. Pyatak was also audio mixer.
Additional music credit goes to performers Mr. Magic and Positive Choice Band for “Club”; Tony Pearson of Stones Throw Records, Los Angeles, was writer and producer. For “Jogging,” credit at Supersonic Music, Los Angeles, goes to Jason Moss and Dean Harada, composers, and Cathy Parsons, executive producer. For “Taxi 1” and “Taxi 2” Joey Prather of Blue Scout Music, New York, composed. In “You’re Up” Carla Bruni performed.
Machine Head, Venice, Calif., provided sound design for the series, and music for “Clinic” and “Morning.” Stephen Dewey and Dustin Camilleri were sound designers. Adam Schiff and Marcus Brown were composers for “Clinic” and “Morning” respectively. Dewey was creative director on all of the films. Vicki Ordeshook was producer/head of production.
Paul Westerberg was composer for the introductory music in the series and some of the music in “Bus,” “Taxi 1” and “Taxi 2.”
Ziggy Ferstl at R!OT, bicoastal and Atlanta, was the colorist.
