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Brokers: A Diary From Set

October 2017

I’m Dano Madden, the co-creator, writer and executive producer of the web shows “Precious Cargo” and “Brokers.” We shot “Precious Cargo” over the course of seven days in July of 2015, released it in May of 2016 and then, like crazy people, shot “Brokers” in six days in July of 2016. I say “we” because there was a significant overlap between the two producing teams. While we were in the process of shooting “Brokers,” I kept a brief diary from the set, typed into Evernote, usually in a delirious state after 12-15 hour shooting days. I tried to be honest and transparent about the process and, by the end, most certainly slipped into the sentimental gushings of an overworked, underpaid (read: not paid) web series producer.

“Brokers” Diary from the Set

July 6, 2016 Day 1 of the Shoot Astoria, New York

Sitting beneath the bridge known as Hell Gate. Great location. Another first day of shooting. Very exhausting. All outdoor shots today, all in Queens. Waiting to shoot the Kang scene. It's beautiful and sunny out here--nice summer sunset on the way. But we need darkness and horror for the Kang moment.

I'm a bit wiser from last year, but still feel enamored of set life, regardless of the challenges. We've assembled a great team and are off to a wonderful start.

To add to the excitement, my niece arrived this morning! My mother-in-law, the volunteer caterer, called while we were on the bus into New York: "bad timing. Baby's coming." And off we went! Baby updates all day! We managed to eat without our craft services person thanks to her advanced food prep.

Aaron (co-creator/star) seems relieved to have shifted into an acting role full time. We started this project over two years ago, meeting in bars, brainstorming characters, storylines, jokes. And now season 1 is becoming a reality. Season 1. Will there even be a Season 2?

I love this work. Not sure how exactly it fits into the overall trajectory of my career, but I do love this work.

July 7, 2016 Day 2 of the shoot Upper West Side, New York

After a scorching hot day in Queens, our Day 2 location had air conditioning! The cool air helped us to manage a number of unexpected challenges, including the complexities of SAG-AFTRA new media agreements and forgotten corndogs. Director Talya Klein and DP Nadine Martinez also came up with a fantastic slow-motion tracking shot for the big party sequence.

July 8, 2016 Day 3 of the shoot

My big moment! In our first scene of the day, I was an extra in a crowd scene. I was on the fence about this last year when I played a casting director in Precious Cargo. As producer and writer on the indie set, stepping away to act is not easy to do. I don't envy lead actress, creator and writer Aaron Ballard, who is in almost every scene.

Spoiler alert! Read no further if you want to be surprised by everything in Episode 1. Here are some spaces to allow you time to think it over.

Okay. One of the major challenges of the day was how to hit Ellen (Aaron Ballard) in the face with a dildo. I know, we live in an age of digital effects and green screens and anything is possible. But we have a minuscule budget. Everything becomes about creative solutions. How do we feed the actors we can't afford to pay? Lots of food from Costco and an amazing mother-in-law who is happy to cook it up and manage craft services (Addie's Appetizers). How do you find a top notch DP for very little money? Get someone excited about working on a narrative comedy. Our lives as producers, two summers running, have been about going forward when there was no money, when we lacked knowledge, when we had no idea where we were going to shoot, when all seemed lost. The desire to make both “Precious Cargo” and “Brokers” has somehow always outweighed the ridiculous number of obstacles. So when it became clear today that we weren't sure how to make a dildo, flung by a woman who has just been...err...interrupted, into the face of Ellen, no one panicked. We just experimented. The final solution? Actress Aaron Ballard had to fling it at her own face. With amazing framing by DP Nadine Martinez, spot on directing by Talya Klein and some Oscar worthy background reacting by Max Arnaud we nailed it on the third fling, a perfect smack to the face by Aaron Ballard. Now that's art.

July 9, 2016 Day 4 of the shoot West Village, New York

Pit stains. Today was one of the hardest and funniest of the shoot so far. We had to cover close to 9 pages. We spent most of the day shooting a huge office scene in Episode 5. One of the problems we had to solve was how to get Giuseppe's white shirt to have visible pit stains. This visual gag plays a major part in the episode and it wasn't reading on camera. We tried various things--water, mustard in water and finally Diet Coke. Diet Coke was the winner. Once we got the stains to be visible we had to stop, in the same way you might to touch up an actors make-up, to reapply Giuseppe's pit circles. We knew the bit was truly successful when our DP, Nadine Martinez, had to stop a shot because she was laughing so hard she cried.

Now we just owe the actor, Lee Sellars, a new shirt if our on set artistry won't wash out.

On to day five.

July 11, 2016 Day 6, Final day of the shoot Astoria, New York

Anxiety, joy, depression, hopefulness, fear, doubt, insecurity, confidence. I cycle through them all each day on set. I feel excited about this six episode series. I'm so happy with the entire team. Director Talya Klein and DP Nadine Martinez have been brilliant. The cast has been hilarious and hard working. The long, 12+ hour days are demanding. Every day I am reminded that making film/ video content is heavily reliant on collaboration- not unlike theatre. Aaron and I worked for over two years developing and writing the script. Certain ideas have remained in the show from the start, others were trashed. The script needs its collaborators. Our DP, Nadine Martinez, always had great ideas for how to frame the shots. For example, she was inspired to shoot Kang, an already enormous man, in such a way that he always appears larger. Talya staged the scenes, mined for jokes that were not in the script and guided the entire process. The costume coordinator, Kristen Dempsey, invested time and energy to think about how every character needed to look. And the actors--I'm reminded over and over again that the words on the page are nothing until they find the capable hands of an actor. The work of everyone has been amazing.

For example, watch Kyle Schaefer, who plays Andrew Gurgle. He invested deeply in his character, even creating little post it notes at his desk. It was difficult to get through takes because he made us all laugh. And I know, based on my “Precious Cargo” experience, that the collaboration doesn't stop here. There will be an editor, a composer, a sound mixer, a color corrector--the project will touch so many hands that it would be impossible for any of us to say “that's mine.” I don't know what will happen with “Brokers.” Will it get a gazillion watches? Will it make us a gazillion dollars? Will it be the moment where some of us or one of us launch upward toward that glorious place of financial stability intersecting with creative passion? I don't know. But this process has been so joyful and fun and exhausting and I am reminded that if I don't do this for love of making work, why do it? I hope people watch and laugh. I hope some people are inspired to make their own web series or film or play. We laughed a lot in the last six days. I am proud of the work we have done.

Meet the Author Dano Madden is a playwright and director, originally from Boise, Idaho.

#Dano Madden #Precious Cargo #Brokers #Talya Klein #Nadine Martinez #Sebastian Lasaosa Rogers #Will Austin #Antu Yacob #Aaron Ballard #Max Arnaud #Lee Sellars #Kyle Schaefer #Elizabeth V. Newman #Joe Kimple #Adam Clayton Powell V

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