copy written for VMI
When new comedy series Hapless lands on Netflix next week viewers will be unaware of its extraordinary journey to the screen. The British sitcom starring Tim Downie (The King’s Speech, Outlander) has been compared to Curb Your Enthusiasm or Fawlty Towers and revolves around the indignities of day-to-day life experienced by Downie’s oft-annoyed but well-meaning journalist.
The writing is witty, the performances are terrific and the production values are everything you’d expect of a well-funded TV sitcom.
Yet it was filmed with a skeleton crew on a miniscule budget and was initially rejected by several UK broadcasters.
“On reflection that’s perhaps because it was originally called The Jewish Enquirer,” says Gary Sinyor, the series writer-director and producer. “As] s
It was Channel 5 Controller Ben Frow who suggested a rebrand to Hapless when he bought the show to air on My5 earlier this year. The positive reviews that resulted caught the attention of Netflix which has now acquired the series – with an option of a second season.
Also starring Geoffrey McGivern (Little Dorrit, Plebs), Lucy Montgomery (Tracey Ullman’s Show) and Josh Howie (Call Me Alvy), the sitcom follows Paul Green (Downie), a journalist for the UK’s fourth most successful Jewish newspaper, as he tries to find rubbish stories to please his narrow-minded editor (voiced by Sinyor).
Sinyor wrote the script in 2018 but couldn’t convince a broadcaster to commission something they said felt like Curb Your Enthusiasm.
“As if Larry David’s show wasn’t one of the biggest comedy show hits of all time,” remarks Sinyor. “Besides, this was different. It has a very British sensibility. I wanted to create an edgy and mainstream comedy set in the crackers world we live in.”
When an early investor in the project left Sinyor in the lurch he decided to put his own money on the line to produce it alone. That’s a risky finance model familiar to indie feature films but highly unusual in TV.
Sinyor has vast experience making indie features including either directing, producing or writing films including Leon the Pig Farmer, Solitaire for 2 and United We Fall.
In 2017 he also directed produced and wrote drama mystery The Unseen on a tight budget with a crew of just eight. He took all the lessons learned from that project and poured them into making Hapless at the end of 2018.
Every part of production from crew to costume and camera kit was stripped back to essentials with all involved, including cast, on board with the DIY professionalism.
“It is an absolute joy to shoot with a small crew without all the paraphernalia of a regular production,” he says. “We had one van with all the kit. The batteries were charged in my house. We didn’t need catering - we just ordered from Just Eat. I’m not saying this is how every show should get made just that it was a joy to remove those lavish expenses that come with the circus.”
The seven person crew included DP (Luke Palmer who shot The Unseen and United We Fall) assistant camera and second assistant camera, two sound recordists, a production manager and Sinyor.
“We needed a high-spec and portable package that fitted our budget and production style. I totally trust Luke in his camera choices and VMI were incredibly supportive in helping us obtain what we needed. Barry and Stuart totally understand the constraints of budget filmmaking and are ready to help out.”
VMI supplied a ARRI Alexa Mini along with a set of Zeiss primes and accessories including tripod and gimbal. This is a highly portable suite that Sinyor’s team turned to their advantage.
“Lighting for comedy is not as relevant as it is to a drama where the lighting plays a huge role. The series is set in daytime and really you need to see into the actor’s eyes because in comedy you get performance from seeing faces. By being able to setup and shoot quickly also gave our actors room to improvise.”
All the locations – a gym, a barbers, a florist, a park - are within 500 yards of Sinyor’s house. One of the sets is, in fact, his house.
“The kit was so light we could for example shoot a scene downstairs and then shoot the next sequence in order upstairs. It makes it easier to maintain continuity and maintain the comic moment.”
The camera was stripped down further to be inside a car. “The scene looks more natural when there’s no windscreen between the audience and the characters,” Sinyor says. “Nor am I a fan of being separated from the actors when I’m directing. We just popped the Mini on the dashboard while I’m hidden in the backseat.
“It’s also liberating to be able to make decisions on set or change those decisions and communicate them when you’ve only got half a dozen people involved rather than chains of command.”
Sinyor edited the six episodes under the pseudonym Des Latouche. Then, to generate interest among broadcasters he put the entire series onto Amazon Prime Video.
That strategy worked because suddenly ViacomCBS came calling and bought the show for on-demand channel My5. Now the show is ready to reach new global audiences on Netflix with a second and third series written and ready to go.
“If Netflix do commission series 2 I will be the first to ring up VMI and say I’m happy to pay rate card prices. That seems only fair to me given all the hard work they put in to giving us the best deal for the kit to make Series 1.”
He adds, “I do think that when a production is well financed it should pay the going rate - precisely so that VMI can afford to help out other filmmakers with restricted budgets.”
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