indieactivity: Introduce your series briefly?
Mykell: 202 is a dramedy that follows 3 roommates who are trying make their dreams come true all while struggling to pay rent. It is true to life and completely relatable to anyone who has risked everything to make their dreams come true. We have recently submitted to the Miami WebFest and are looking into more festivals that specifically promote web series.
indieactivity: How did you develop ‘your series?
Mykell: I wanted to create a series that had simple locations and focused on the dynamics of the characters. This way the budget could be small and the writing could be potent. 202 is shot primarily in an apartment and gives the audience an inside look into the lives of the tenants of apartment 202. I wrote the pilot and pitched the idea to Malynda Hale who plays Nya and is also a producer. She immediately jumped on the board and we were in production a month later.
Watch the entire Season 1 of 202 The Series
indieactivity: How was it financed?
Mykell: We literally use whatever resources we already have. Camera, lighting, locations are all things we had at our disposal. The few things we had to pay for came out of pocket. Our budget is basically non existent but we made a great product.
indieactivity: How long was your pre-production?
Mykell: The turnaround between pre-production was very short. We wanted to begin production before we psyched ourselves out of it. I think we did pre-pro for a month.
indieactivity: What was your rehearsal process and period?
Mykell: During pre-production we had a few table reads with the initial cast but most of our rehearsal is done on set. The way that series shoot, everything is so fast paced that its not atypical to get script rewrites the day of shooting.
indieactivity: You shot the film in days. How long were your days?
Mykell: On any particular episode we usually spend 10 hours shooting on any given day.
indieactivity: Did the tight shooting schedule make it harder or easier? How did it affect performances?
Mykell: The shooting schedule is a double edge sword. On one hand having such a tight schedule makes it possible to get our episodes out in a timely manner. On the other hand, our cast and crew are extremely busy with other projects so we only have small windows of time when everyone can get together to shoot and that can be nerve wracking at times. Even now we are trying to figure out when everyone is available to shoot the last two episodes of the season. I get impatient sometimes because I really want the audience to see how the season plays out. I honestly don’t think it affect performances. Our cast, Malynda Hale, Lyonel Reneau, Tia Robinson, and Harry Holmes deliver 110% every time they are on camera. I couldn’t be prouder.
indieactivity: What was the experience like of working with such a small shooting crew?
Mykell: I personally love it. It keeps things flowing smoothly when there aren’t too many moving parts. It can be comical at times with everyone pulling double duty. Our producer/actress, Malynda, also runs sound and when she is in scene I will jump in and run sound. Our director, Justin Patten, also is grip, art department, and DP. I think it makes us better understand how everything plays together to make a good production.
indieactivity: The film looks stunning. How did you get such a good look when shooting so fast?
Mykell: Lighting is everything! We are fortunate enough to have a director like Justin Patten who has an eye for beautiful cinematography and knows what he wants his shots to look like. Furthermore, he knows how to set the lighting and camera to get the shots he wants.
indieactivity: What were the advantages and disadvantages in the way you worked?
Mykell: Time constraints are always a disadvantage but we have made it work wonderfully. As a production, we look forward to being financially able to hire people to assist with sound, lighting, and production assistance but until then I believe we are doing an amazing job with our skeleton crew and fantastic cast who are always willing to jump in and assist behind the camera as well. Ultimately, our methods of shooting this production have made us into a tight knit family that can get things done effectively and efficiently.
For more information contact Mykell at (818) 940-1242.
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202 The Series is created by Mykell Barlow
