Our Tampa video production studio recently wrapped principal photography on a web series we created and filmed right here in our own studio! The series combines the documentary style of NBC’s The Office with a behind-the-scenes look at an Independent film-making studio. In conjunction with the St. Petersburg/Clearwater Film Commission (FilmSPC), we were able to bring our web series, “BTS” (short for “Behind The Scenes”) to life. The dedicated talents of local actors, crew, community partners and screenwriters all working together made the project possible. The film-within-a-film concept allowed us to show the process of filmmaking from a highly satirized and comedic (at least we hope so!) perspective.
Director Christian Cashmir and the BTS cast perform a read through of the script at our Tampa video production studio.
“BTS” follows a local group of filmmakers at a St. Petersburg video production company as they attempt to produce a big-budget science fiction musical starring an actor who was just indicted on charges of arson. The team tries to manage a multitude of unhinged actors alongside numerous production problems, money and legal issues; needless to say, hijinks ensue!
Our Tampa video production crew….waiting on sound….in our white cyc studio
With a finalized concept and scripts in hand, FilmSPC awarded us a generous grant and it was off to the races for a very busy and fun few weeks! We filmed nearly the entire series in-house at our Tampa video production studio, utilizing everything from our green screen studio and white cyc studio to our editing suites, nothing was off-limits. Led by director Christian Cashmir, our Tampa video production crew worked tirelessly on set (and through the holidays!) to ensure a smooth production as we hustled to film 8 episodes in only 13 days!
The BTS cast rehearses in our Tampa white cyc studio before the first take of the day.
Director of photography Eric C. helped film the series using gear from our St Petersburg video equipment rental package like our Canon C300′s and Canon CN-E cinema lenses, giving the series the high-quality look and feel of a primetime network show. Most of the principal photography took place in the office area of our studio, but a few scenes were filmed in our Tampa green screen studio. This is where the scenes for the movie-within-a-movie science fiction part of the series took place.
Our director of photography is always happy when he’s by a camera!
We also traveled to St. Petersburg/Clearwater’s gorgeous beaches to film part of the sci-fi movie that the team creates within the show, and thanks to FilmSPC and Visit St. Pete/Clearwater, our Tampa video production crew were able to film everything from full-blown ninja battles on the beach to tender, romantic dance numbers at sundown.
After a challenging two weeks, we wrapped principal photography on the entire first season! With production complete, we now move on to the next stage– post-production! Over the next few weeks the team will be editing all of the footage in our Florida video studio, prepping the series for it’s debut in 2017.
Sometimes you just gotta have a little fun after a long day!
Catch a sneak peek of season 1 below:
Stay tuned for more updates as we approach the series premiere! Be sure to like and follow the BTS: The Web Series Facebook page for more photos, videos, and behind the scenes action as we continue post-production!
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