Nice Shoes helped bring the landscapes of Florida’s Gulf Coast vividly to life by providing post services for the Amazon Prime dramedy Life’s Rewards. Colorist Lenny Mastrandrea collaborated with writer and director Damian Fitzsimmons, executive producer Jordan Wollman, and cinematographer Erik Van Lenten at honing the final look of the show’s 8-episode second season.
Winner of the Breakthrough Streaming Series Award at the Sunscreen Film Festival, Life’s Rewards centers on retired Navy officer Jared Penrose (Jared Wofford) and his quixotic effort to launch a food truck business. Although Jared outwardly appears to have all the answers, inwardly he struggles with love, finances and life’s other complexities.
The series was shot on location in St. Petersburg/Clearwater, Florida and its environs with Erik capturing original imagery with a pair of RED Gemini 5K cameras with vintage Cooke Panchro lenses. Co-produced by Odyssey Studios, Visit St. Pete/Clearwater and VISITFLORIDA, the show makes liberal use of the area’s sparkling beaches and other popular attractions.
Under guidance from Damian, Erik and Jordan, Mastrandrea developed an overall aesthetic for the show representative of its sunny location and upbeat storyline. He crafted customized color treatments for principal locations and unique looks for the flashback sequences that begin each episode (and are one of the show’s signature elements). “When we shoot, we keep the image as neutral as possible,” says Damian, “This way, we retain maximum information, allowing us to add the signature look in post-production. From shadows to highlights, skin tones to time of the day, we aim to create a consistent look and style, even when shots are filmed on different days.”
Mastrandrea adds that he had the luxury of working with the material early. “I received the footage a month before final post began and used that time to experiment with styles and approaches to enhance the fabulous imagery Erik captured on set,” he recalls. “The tone of the show is happy, and we wanted to complement that with a rich, filmic, colorful look.”
“We were also very conscious of its setting in a seaside town with beautiful beaches and gorgeous sunsets,” he adds. “For some locations, we went for stylized looks… smokey environments for local bars and dappled sunlight with lens flares for seaside cafes. It runs the full gamut.”
Mastrandrea notes that he met Damian several years ago and that they had been looking for a chance to collaborate. Life’s Rewards provided an ideal opportunity. “When Damian told me about this project, I was elated,” he recalls. “Our efforts did exactly what Damian wanted: We beautifully enhanced the story through color.”
Trailer Source: YouTube
About Nice Shoes
Nice Shoes supports creators across all forms of content with creative services from the set to the screen. We play NICE, we do NICE, we are NICE. Discover what drives us, here: www.niceshoes.com.
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Simian Gets An Evolutionary Boost For Collaboration, Reveals “Teams”
Simian, the showreel-building, review & approval, and production asset management platform used globally by creative leaders, is kicking off this fall season with a substantial leap forward for collaboration and project management – with more updates on the way during the holidays!
The new feature, aptly dubbed “Teams”, makes it easier than ever for users to give project responsibilities to team members and clients alike. “You can never have too many options when it comes to permission levels,” says Jay Brooks, Simian’s Chief Technology Officer. “Teams provides a streamlined way to assign multiple users to a project at once.”
“Teams are very powerful, but creating one is effortless,” Brian Atton, Simian’s Chief Operating Officer explains. “Simply enter a Team name, add members, and then apply the newly made Team to any desired project. You can even invite temporary guests without changing settings for other projects or needing to create a new Team.”
“We love helping our clients by providing efficient tools to improve their workflow, and this has been a frequently requested feature as of late,” shares Kellie Atton, Head of Sales at Simian. “It feels great to get Teams out into the wild because I know it’s going to be tremendously helpful to everyone who uses it”.
Teams is now available exclusively to Simian’s enterprise clients. Simian plans to release more product upgrades and enhancements during Q4 2024 and 2025 for enterprise and non-enterprise users, continuing its ongoing evolution as the industry’s leading production asset management solution.
For more information on Simian upgrades and features, visit https://www.gosimian.com/
About Simian
Simian (