Roger Brings The Laughs for Lifetime TV
Following Lifetime TV's buzz-worthy "Maniac" spot for "Dance Moms," LA-based mixed-media production studio Roger recently reunited with the network to create a new series of promos for "Preachers' Daughters." The brand-new reality documentary series premiered on March 12th. Led by Creative Director Terence Lee, the promos comically present the trials and tribulations of teen parenting (with biblical proportions).
"Roger has been a great fit for these projects," remarks Aaron Goldman, Creative Director, Lifetime. "With both 'Dance Moms' and 'Preachers' Daughters,' Terry took our ideas and brought them to levels that exceeded our expectations. Roger provides the kind of collaboration I look for in a creative agency. They have great ideas, make our ideas better, and are incredibly easy to work with -- no egos whatsoever."
Shot on a split screen, " Nightly Prayer" (:30) shows contrary bedside prayers: a father prays for his daughter to avoid temptation, while she herself prays to not get caught sneaking out.
"Say A Little Prayer" (:30) follows choral interpretation of the titular song originally made popular by Dionne Warwick. A montage of the girls getting ready for what seems to be a night on the town (heavy makeup and sequined mini dresses) turns out to be their Sunday best when their appalled fathers scream: “No daughter of mine is going to MY church dressed like that!”
"It's been a prolific run working with Lifetime on so many great projects and shows," Lee recalls. "We were especially excited to bring our live-action capabilities to help develop their concepts. It provided us with yet another opportunity to demonstrate our talents beyond design and animation as we continue to take on more large-scale productions."
Shooting two completely different :30s in one day for "Preachers' Daughters," production required capturing all of the coverage thoroughly and efficiently. This included shooting and redressing bedroom sets for all three daughters. Surmounting that challenge, Roger also had to structure its busy production day to accommodate other parties on set for a still shoot and web interviews.
"Being creative and being organized often don't go hand in hand, but the team at Roger has a perfect balance of these qualities," adds Lifetime Producer Karen Griffenhagen. "They took on quite an ambitious project and were able to maintain a high level of creativity, all while being extremely efficient. This made for a wonderful and relaxed working relationship."
Celebrating the New Year's Day return of the hugely popular "Dance Moms," the Season 2 promo is an homage to the 80s ballet flick "Flashdance." Roger headed to Pittsburgh, PA (home of the show and the film) for the one-day shoot.
"It was only fitting to tie ‘Flashdance’ into the promo concept," says Lee. "We explored the original film, pulling the most iconic moments to help sell our story. We took pains to make the wardrobe and set-dressing reference original scenes from the movie while still functioning for what we needed to change."
Unable to secure the original “Flashdance” location (now a private office), Roger scouted an alternate location, dressing it with characteristics of the film's original set. This included building additional walls and erecting a massive lighting rig outside to make the given rainy day feel as though it was sunlit.
"Every detail was art directed, directed, and shot beautifully," concludes Goldman. "The 'Maniac' spot was one of the highlights of our year, and the buzz helped drive ‘Dance Moms’ to its highest rated premiere ever."
Roger & Lifetime are currently collaborating on another series of promos for “Devious Maids.”
Project: “Nightly Prayer” & “Say A Little Prayer” Promos for Preachers’ Daughters
Airdate: March 2013
Client: Lifetime TV/Los Angeles, CA
Creative Director: Aaron Goldman
Producer: Karen Griffenhagen
VP, On-Air Creative: Jas Sustrich
SVP, Creative: Valerie Albanese
Production Company: Roger / Los Angeles, CA
Director: Terry Lee
DP: Sion Michel
Executive Producer/Producer: Drew Neujahr
Line Producer: Rich Kaylor
Production Supervisor: Jake Blasco
Production Designer: Matthew Holt
Where Shot: Los Angeles, CA
Editorial Company: Lifetime
Color Correction: Margarita Mix
Project: “Maniac” Promo for Dance Moms
Airdate: January 2013
Client: Lifetime TV/Los Angeles, CA
Creative Director: Aaron Goldman
Producer: Karen Griffenhagen
Production Company: Roger / Los Angeles, CA
Director: Terry Lee
DP: Sion Michel
Executive Producer/Producer: Drew Neujahr
Line Producer: Cisco Newman
Production Manager: Damon Smith
Production Designer: Greg A. Lang
Where Shot: Pittsburgh, PA
Editorial Company: Lifetime
Color Correction: New Hat
Colorist: Bob Festa
