ROOSTER TEETH: LAZER TEAM II

Long time client Rooster Teeth recently wrapped LAZER TEAM II, the sequel to LAZER TEAM, a film about four unlikely heroes who must save the planet.

Writer/director, Matt Hullum teamed up with Daniel Fabelo to co-direct Lazer Team II. The cast includes”Shameless” star, Nichole Bloom and “Heartland” star, Victoria Pratt. Per Variety Magazine, “Bloom will play a new lead character — a scientist named Maggie Wittington — alongside “Superstore” castmate and returning original “Lazer Team” cast member Colton Dunn, who plays Herman.

In addition, Victoria Pratt (“Heartland,” “Mutant X”) is joining the “Lazer Team 2” cast as Kilborne. Returning cast members include Rooster Teeth co-founder and chief content officer Burnie Burns as Hagan; Gavin Free (“The Slow Mo Guys”) as Woody; and Michael Jones (“RWBY”) as Zach.

In “Lazer Team 2,” after Woody (Free) goes missing while working on secret alien research, Maggie (Bloom) must recruit the former members of Lazer Team (Burns, Dunn, and Jones) to join her in rescuing their lost friend.”

Cinematographer Philip Roy, who shot LAZER TEAM, returned to DP LAZER TEAM II.

For the futuristic project, MPS provided lenses and camera support, and well as lighting, for the shoot that extended over three months. Working to create two different looks (one look for “earth” and one look for “sic-fi”) for the movie, Roy chose our Super Baltar Primes, Zeiss Standard Speeds, and Cooke 18-100mm zoom to work alongside his Schneider Cine Xenon primes.

“Because of the nature of this film we decided to have two looks. We decided to use the Super Baltars for earth because they are very warm lenses giving us that earth feel,” said Roy. “For space we used my vintage Schneider Cine Xenon lenses from the 40s-60s. They have a very cool temperature and the highlights bloom a little more. Kubrick used these lenses a lot and they have a very nice sci-fi look. I love both sets of lenses because they are vintage and have beautiful flare and imperfections to help dumb down the Epic – W. I chose the Epic-W because of it’s latitude and I was able to switch to 8k when I needed to get wider or more shallow when shooting on location. This also allows me to achieve a relatively shallow depth of field wide shot with a longer lens. We also used an older Cooke 18-100 zoom, which we also used in the first Lazer Team. It gives a beautiful, creamy look again with great flare.”

MPS provided G&E for the show, including a complete 10-ton package, ARRI M-series HMI’s M18’s and M40’s, Kino Flo 4′ 4 Bank, Source 4, and Original Slider Company 4′ Mini Slider and 6′ Mini Slider.

“Lighting wise, we had to order over 700′ of lite gear LED ribbon to integrate into the space ship. This allowed us to quickly adjust our lighting from a DMX board, allowing the lights in the ship to pulse, flicker and change color. This was very helpful because in one section of the ship it had to double for several other locations and we were able to change the look almost immediately. We also used the ARRI Sky Panel S-60’s a lot as they can be dialed in to most any color and have some serious punch. We used some softer looks for the girls but mostly went direct through frames. It was tough to create a dramatic sci-fi look with an ensemble cast and also make sure it’s safe enough for a comedy. We shot with two cameras for most of the shot as well.”

Roy continued, “Lazer Team was a great experience because I was able to get some of the best crew in town, most of them just wrapped Alita (Alita Battle Angel, Rodriguez 2018). Todd Smiley, gaffer and Donis Rhoden, key grip, are incredibly gifted and wonderful to work with. Three of the four week shoot were in the armory which made the shoot a lot easier than being on location. I always enjoy working with Rooster Teeth and the directors were fun to collaborate with as I’ve worked with them extensively in the past. There were several scenes, which I can’t talk about, that are so crazy they make me wonder, what am I doing here in this crazy spaceship movie, but loving every moment. This was a quick shoot, TV show pace, but the directors and I were able to get almost every shot we had designed which I feel is rare but will read in the edit.”

In addition to lenses, MPS provided a Preston 2-Channel wireless system, complete with MDR-4 and (2) DM-1X motors, a Preston Single Channel, and an Odyssey 7Q used in combination with Teradek Bolt 300 and monitor cage for wireless director’s monitor.

Be sure to keep your eyes open for LAZER TEAM II on YouTube Red in 2018. In the meantime, you can watch the first Lazer Team here.

ABOUT MPS

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