Rob Sarkies discusses This Is Not My Life
We caught up with director Rob Sarkies to talk about This Is Not
My Life - and how he got involved in Waimoana.
Tell us a little about how you got involved in this
project
My partner (who is in the film industry also) was rung up
by Steven O'Meagher (producer of TINML and also producer of my film
"Out of the Blue") and asked if she could think of any hot young
directors she knew who might be interested in doing a futuristic TV
series. She reeled off a few names and then said "what about
Rob?" The answer came back "I thought he didn't do
television?". She replied - uh, maybe you should ask him,
he'd probably do GOOD telly if he was asked. And a few
minutes later my mobile rang...
What was it about this show which attracted you to get
involved?
The premise intrigued me from the start. I always
wanted to do a thriller and thought the basic idea of this was full
of possibilities. When I was sent some scripts I was hooked
. The main concern I had was how I could direct this in such
a way that would live up to the quality of the writing (on a
miniscule NZ budget and schedule).
What was the shooting of this show like?
Grueling for everyone involved. I guess we all had high
expectations of the show that were not matched by our budget so it
was a constant struggle to try to achieve as much quality as we
could while actually getting the thing done. We were shooting on
the RED cameras which gave us a great look but require a film style
of precision in how you shoot a scene. And we couldn't just shoot
anything - we were in the future so had to build everything or
shoot locations very selectively to avoid cars and TV aerials and
the like (although if you look closely you'll spot them every now
and again - sometimes you've just got to shoot).There were many
positives though. We had an amazing cast - Charles, Tandi,
Miriama and Tania are some of the best actors I have worked with
and were constantly giving. No egos here. It was fantastic
working with the writers (who were also our executive producers)
and the core filmmaking team of Tracy Collins, Andy Commis (DP) and
Pete and I as directors really shared a vision of what we wanted
this to be. So it was hard but in a good
way.
What were the challenges of this show?
Gosh, too many challenges to list! We were trying
to achieve a credible near-future on an oily rag - we basically had
the same budget for this as they have on shows like
Go
Girls
but we were trying to do the future, action,
stunts, visual effects, complex sound design etc etc while still
focusing on getting strong performances and telling a compelling
human story that (despite all the above) people could relate
to.
With a production like this and the filming schedule, was
there any room for fun?
On set there was not much 'fun' to be honest. I mean we
all got on well and became a bit of a big family for the 90 days of
the shoot. But there wasn't a lot of horsing around as we had
so much to do. In fact when we tried to compile a
bloopers reel for the wrap party we found it really difficult
because there were so few bloopers.
How did This Is Not My Life differ from other projects
you've been involved in?
I come from the film world and in many ways making this
was like making a feature film. It was intense and ambitious,
had feature film producers and a experienced crew who kept the
standards high. There was also an expectation from TVNZ that
this should be different which gave us permission to go for
it. So basically for me the ethos was the same and it was
just the details that differed - I haven't done the future before,
haven't done anything so effects and design heavy, haven't done a
mystery-thriller. All of these thing were what attracted me
to this but also what made it a challenge. I guess every
project is different and that's what makes this crazy job of mine
so satisfying and fun.
What was it like filming with the next generation of
cameras - RED cameras?
The RED cameras were often frustrating to work with
because the ones we had broke down a lot. I guess that's the
rap with 'cutting edge tech'. And when they broke down we
would have to wait for them to boot up again as they are basically
just computers with lenses on the front. I really like the
pictures they deliver though. It was great to be able to work
with film lenses and exploit the limited depth of field these
cameras can provide to enhance the sense of mystery.
What were the cast like to work with?
Universally amazing. Working with this cast was the
highlight of my year on this project. Charles was the most
prepared actor I have ever worked with. His marked up scripts are
practically works of art and he really 'went there' on this.
Tandy is a dream to work with (smart, funny
and impossibly lovely in real life) and Miriama is a
superstar waiting to be discovered. Those eyes! Put
Miriama McDowell
in front of the camera
in a scene and the whole scene comes alive and stays alive take
after take. In fact I remember doing one scene in Ep5 with
Miriama and Tania and coming away from it feeling privileged to
have been able to direct a scene like that with those actors.
It was a gift.
I also had the opportunity of working with some of NZ's performing
icons on this -
John Bach,
Joel Tobeck
, even Ian Mune did a cameo.
So that was a real thrill for a boy from Dunedin! In every
case they were smart and giving as performers.
Is there any part of Waimoana that you would like to have
as part of your own life?
One of the
PECs
would be kinda cool and I'd
like to be able to dim lights in a room by just lowering my hand
but that's about it. Waimoana is the antithesis of how I
would like to live now or in the future - which was of course part
of the fun in creating it.
Was there anything from the Waimoana world that you tried
(or succeeded) to take home from the set?
Some of the light boxes that lit up the photos in the
walls now adorn my office (but without the cheesy family
photos). Miriama and Peter both brought one of those dorky
bikes but I've yet to see them riding them.
What's next for you?
I've got another feature film shooting in January and who
knows what after that. Maybe some more good New Zealand
telly?
