Who says Netflix and Amazon have a hold on producing streaming series? Local house Nutmeg Creative didn’t let those big names stop them. Instead, they collaborated with First Printing Productions to produce the pilot for a new Web series – The Small Time. It doesn’t hurt that the companies chose Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker, regular cast members from NBC’s LA Law, (1986-1994). The new show’s pilot is currently on Vimeo (see it here: https://vimeo.com/138805557 )
Jill Eikenberry and Michael Tucker, regulars on NBC’s ‘LA Law’, star in ‘The Small Time’, produced by Nutmeg Creative and First Printing Productions.
The behind-the-scene’s angle is that Eikenberry and Tucker not only co-starred in the lawyer procedural some 21-years ago, but they are married in real life. In the pilot, the real-life couple play the fictional parents of Ben Bernstein, a struggling literary agent.
The Small Time (www.thesmalltimeseries.com) follows Ben Bernstein, the series lead, as he works to become a hot literary agent. That pursuit, however, turns out to be a “hopeful but hapless pursuit” according to press material, as the manuscripts he receives aren’t very good, while the author pitches are “loopy” and “out-of-touch.”
Since this is a production without loads of studio money, it’s typical for any one person to wear many hats. Andrew Rein, for example, plays the son, Ben Bernstein. But he also co-created and co-wrote the series with playwright Jack Canfora. For extra measure, he serves as an executive producer of the pilot.
You don’t need a lot of expensive gear to shoot good looking video these days either, since top DSLRs deliver great video. That’s terrific if you’re creating a pilot without a big studio or network behind you. (Nutmeg Creative is the production side of the company, while Nutmeg Post handles editorial work on commercials.)
The pilot was shot with a Canon 5D fitted with Canon L series lenses; on-set audio handled by gear from Sound Devices, Lectrosonics, Sanken and Sennheiser.
Nutmeg’s Rich Jack served as director and Carl Vasile was DP. Producers include Brian Donnelly, Shea Pepper, Michelle Scanlon and Laura Vick.
“The Small Time” pilot has already been showcased on Vimeo’s curated comedy channel, on FilmShortage.com as a Daily Short Pick and on Digg.com as Short Film of the Day.
