Think about it: the conversations highlight productions worthy of television awards through panel discussions with the artists themselves. The video above is presented by Apple TV +, produced by IndieWire Creative Producer Leonardo Adrian Garcia, and presented by Deputy Editor and Critic Ben Travers.
When Apple TV + gave the go-ahead to do a first season of 10 episodes of “Ted Lasso” for the first time, the production team didn’t have to start from scratch – not technically. The series was inspired by a series of shorts made by Jason Sudeikis years ago, in the character, as the adorable football coach who takes his talent to London as a Premiere League football coach.
“We looked at the original short films that were made, clips and other things, and the only thing that was really said was, ‘We don’t want it to look like that,’” said cinematographer David Rom, recalling the first guidelines he had given about the look of the series.
The only other note: “’We don’t want it to look [like a] documentary or a lot like ‘The Office’, ”he said. “It was a useful guide, but more about how they don’t want it to be.”
So it was up to Rom, as well as production designer Paul Cripps, to build the world on his own, if not from scratch, very close to that. Based on the guidance of showrunner and executive producer Bill Lawrence, as well as fellow Sudeikis EPs, Jeff Ingold and Liza Katzer, the cinematographer and designer decided to make a distinctly non-sitcom sitcom.
“When everyone came [to England], it became clearer that Jason really wanted the series to have a more dramatic / comedic air, ”said Rom. “They wanted it to be more like a movie. […] We keep suggesting ideas; things that would thwart the appearance of these tropes in [other] series. Things like the laptop, which we started to use a little and ended up using almost all the time. [With] things like the locker room, the idea was to be portable, free, in the ‘Friday Night Lights’ style so that we could walk around and take a look. “
Rom used wider lenses and a shallower depth of field to create stunning images that stood out from other television comedies. Meanwhile, Cripps worked on the design of spaces such as the team owner’s office Rebecca Welton – where Cripps recorded our interview, as you can see in the video above – and the dressing room of the Richmand club, which was built after the team visited clubs from real football like Chelsea and Fulham and Tottenham.
Cripps took into account the different sizes and common themes, such as the use of slogans and graphics, but also valued the competitive environment.
“Distant changing rooms are interesting [too] because they make them as uncomfortable and not as relaxing as they can for visiting teams, which is very instructive about how they try to deflect opponents. One of them we entered even had urinals in the center of the room, ”he said.
Both Cripps and Rom emphasized the collaborative nature of their experience in “Ted Lasso”, whether working together to develop stages and spaces or talking to the actors and producers to ensure that certain ideas are translated as intended. There was a scene in a later episode in which Ted has a panic attack in a crowded nightclub, and Rom praised the creator and artist for wanting to discuss how it could be with his DP
“Jason really wanted to talk to me,” said Rom. “I had some ideas like ‘Requiem for a Dream’ or ‘Pi’, where we would put the camera on him and that would give him a disconnected and out of the world experience, but he was sure he wanted nothing like that. It was great to talk to him about it. […] Very quickly, I think we agree [on] the style, the natural and claustrophobic feel of these places, and not being overly lit – take a trip through that space and see the growing panic reaction. “
In the panel above, Rom and Cripps discuss how they embarked on the series to get started, what kind of color scheme they wanted to incorporate, how to balance bright and cheerful colors with a more realistic tone and, of course, the football matches themselves, where more magic than normal came into play. See the full panel above for all of this and more about the “Ted Lasso” look.
“Ted Lasso” is now being broadcast on Apple TV +. The 2nd season is in production.
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