Shot in and around Sydney throughout May and June by Dan Freene, ACS with support from Lemac, Soul Mates is an Australian comedy series set to screen on ABC2 in late 2014. Following the story of two friends who are drawn together across the course of human history, Soul Mates is set in four different times. In 2013, they are a pair of fashion-obsessed Bondi Hipsters. In prehistoric times, they experience all of life's firsts as a couple of cavemen. In 64 BC, they are designing and installing booby traps in the tombs of Ancient Egypt. In 1979, they are two New Zealanders known as Kiwi Assassins. In the year 2145 they are working in a time travel agency called Travel Time, tackling time travel conundrums.
Or, as is it is more elegantly summarised in Soul Mates promo video, Soul Mates is “a bromance that spans the course of human history”
Freene uses an 18-80mm Alura to shoot Christian Van Vuuren & Nick Boshier as two cavemen
Cinematographer Dan Freene ACS, spoke with Lemac following production: “each of the four worlds had a different style of coverage”. Zeiss MkIII Superspeeds were used to shoot the Kiwi Assassins’ world, set in 1979 - selected by Freene for their vintage look. “It was an aesthetic choice … They’re still quite a good piece of glass, the Superspeeds, and we used them primarily in the Kiwi Assassins’ world because of the look - the older glass - they are a little bit lower in contrast and a little bit faster ”.
The other worlds prehistoric, modern and futuristic - were mostly shot with a set of Arri/Fuji Alura zooms; an 18-80mm and 45-250mm. “I knew we needed to move really quickly and so I felt that we could move faster on zooms.
The two Aluras work well in terms of their length because there’s overlap with those lenses, meaning that if you’re going for a couple of matching mid-shots, or a couple of matching close-ups, you can cross cover and get those shots more easily because there is enough overlap of zoom range”.
Freene, centre – wearing an Easyrig camera support, and Van Vuuren (right) – resplendent in his Kiwi Assassin’s outfit.
Soul Mates shot with two Arri Alexa cameras - with Freene operating ‘A camera’. He explains that Alexa was chosen for a couple of reasons: “The show was shot extremely quickly, and we had a lot of location work and a lot of varied location work. So, in practical locations where I knew we were not going to be able to control the complete lighting environment, I find that the Alexa can handle mixed colours very well… I think Alexa has the best colour rendering, especially when you’re dealing with mixed lighting sources. Then there is the question of dynamic range; dealing with hot windows and bright exteriors whilst moving quickly - for me Alexa has the best dynamic range and I felt that I needed that speed and flexibility.”
‘A’ Cam - Arri Alexa with Alura 18-80mm zoom with FF-4 follow focus, MB-18 mattebox, TV Logic reference monitor atop O’Connor 2575 head on the Grip’s slider.
Soul Mates was created and written by brothers Connor & Christiaan Van Vuuren and Nick Boshier, with the Van Vuuren brothers stepping into the role of directing, and Christiaan Van Vuuren and Nick Boshier starring as the show’s two kindred spirits. The trio’s previous projects include Bondi Hipsters, Beached Az, and popular online videos Trent From Punchy and The Fully Sick Rapper.
Understandably, Soul Mates was a fun shoot to work on - “The boys are very funny. Their comedy is very rich, and every day – there were times when we’d have to stop everyone from laughing. There were always, always moments where people lost their way because of this humour. It made for a fun working environment”
Soul Mates promos for ABC2 can be seen here & here