Check out the show here. When we started planning Rabble & Rouse with Katie Martell, what stuck with me in particular was how many shows it needed to be at once. It’s a talk show, it’s a podcast, and it’s also a stand-up set with a live audience. Necessarily, the camera plan and set design needed the flexibility to handle all three formats and convey the unique energy and tone Katie needed to make the show work. Decisions for both had to be made in concert so we could capture the host, guests and audience beautifully in a studio where every inch was potentially on display. We had exactly 24 hours to build the set. Total chaos? Maybe for some. But we pulled it off flawlessly. The lighting brought the whole vision to life. We used ceiling-mounted spotlights with fresnels to create a vibe that was The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel meets Johnny Carson. Shooting on a white cyc meant we could shift the entire mood of the room just by changing the background lights. When it came to the camera setup, I ran a tight, six-camera rig. Every operator knew exactly what they were doing—zero guesswork on my set. I was on A Cam myself, running a wide lens on a gimbal. I literally speed-walked backward into the audience to frame Katie’s entrance perfectly. It was the most choreographed shot of the shoot, and I nailed it on the first take. For the rest of the setup, we had two locked-off cameras for the host and guest, plus a handheld for audience reactions and B-roll. I also threw in two Insta360s as an experiment. While the footage didn't quite hold up against the Sonys in low light, it was a great test, and now I know exactly what those little cameras can do. Audio was equally dialed in. Every main voice had a backup, and we rigged a shotgun mic over the audience to capture every laugh perfectly. Honestly, I’m most proud of the graphics. I’m completely self-taught in animation, and we landed on this incredible handmade, cut-out paper vibe. The 15-second intro alone has over 50 moving layers that I timed out by hand. At the end of the day, when you’re juggling six cameras, seven mics, and a set built in 24 hours, the gear only gets you so far. The real job was keeping the energy alive, and we absolutely crushed it.
- Camera Operator
- Film Producer
- Filmmaker
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