There are many faces behind the Zero Point Zero Production crew that bring "Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations" to the Travel Channel. And several questions are posed to the crew each day from the online message board community. Below are some long-awaited answers to those questions.
Archive
Published: Feb. 13, 2009
Q. Hello Crew! I'm just wondering about what sort of process you use to either pick or create the background music for the episodes? It's always so perfect and different. I wish I could get my hands on all of the music, but if you could specifically tell me the name of the song played on the piano in the Venice episode, I'd very much appreciate it as it is driving me nuts. - lammer
Eric Lasby, Editor: Lammer -- Great question! We editors love it when people realize things like music don't just happen that way on camera! Wouldn't it be great if we all had a theme song that played every time we walked into a room? Well, as you pointed out, each episode is different and so the process can also be different. It starts in the field. Often our crew is lucky enough to work with indigenous musical groups or performers, and they bring CD's or live footage back to use in the edit. It always provides a nice organic touch and speaking for my brethren, we love it! However, it's not always easy. With lawyers working overtime these days, securing rights keeps our producers very busy!
Back in the edit room, all edits start the same way -- scouring our production music library. We work with one of the biggest libraries in the industry (Associated Production Music), which provides us with a variety of music fitting all genres and descriptions, including music that is unique to the country we are covering. Finally, there are those times when we just can't find what we need in the footage or in the library. Then we will go to a freelance composer, like Kai Gross for portions of the Uruguay episode, or Mike Ruffino for the entire LA soundtrack, or our very own editor Jessie Fisher and his band-mates, who have produced tracks for many episodes!
As for the creative inspiration to decide what works -- It can come from ANYWHERE! Often Tony will have musical styles or influences in mind before the crew even goes into the field and they are always fertile ground for the imagination of the editor. The track you are referring to in the Venice episode is entitled "Lunar Dancing," and it came from our music library.
Q. I was wondering what camera are you shooting with, and at what rate? HD? FCP or Avid? How many people are shooting/editing and how long does it take to finish an ep? Thanks! - nino224
Adam Lupsha, VFX, Gear Management: Nino -- An episode is usually shot in the space of a week. If two episodes take place near each other, Tony and the guys spend as long as three weeks running around the world. The show tapes (which can be a good 50-90 hours of footage) are either Fedex'd back to us or brought when the crew returns. Usually, Diane Schutz or Emily Mraz will call from the airport on the way home and solicit those of us in the office to welcome them back and carry the 200 pounds or more, of gear up to the office (it's a family affair) where it is reviewed and repaired before the next shoot.
Once we have the tapes, assistant editors load the footage into our Avid servers (rarely but occasionally we use FCP - Final Cut Pro). Over the next nine weeks an assistant editor and show editor piece together the structure of the show. If there are maps or special visual treatments, those are discussed with the VFX/GFX guy and slipped into the cut in the last couple weeks. During this time the show is reviewed by the executive producers at ZPZ, and at Travel Channel and of course by Tony. This doesn't even include the high gloss polish the guys at Postworks do to the color and sound. Those guys seriously could turn your vacation video into "Lord of The Rings 6: The Wrath of Khan."
Technicals -- two main shooters, with a third (commonly a producer) rolling B-roll, typically cut on Avid. Shows are in HD (1080i), shot currently with the Sony Z7U (24P), using Lectrosonics wireless sound, Sennheiser shotguns for ambience. We've also been known to use "weird" lense contraptions and top-secret, non-conventional camera rigs that require a special government license to operate.
Q. I would like to know how the modified Ken Burns effect was created for the still photos on the Uruguay episode. Somehow, the foreground was separated from the background and appeared to jump off the screen. Kudos to whomever did that. Would you share your technique?
Adam Lupsha, VFX, Gear Management: Hi, this is Adam Lupsha. I do the VFX for the show. One of the several fun things about all this stuff is coming up with ideas that are new or seldom used that also fit into a real tight production schedule and often a small suitcase. The Uruguay effect was a post effect that I'd wanted to try for a while. I'll go into a little laborious detail that should teach you a lesson -- that asking nerds about their jobs is dangerous.
The Ken Burns effect was originally a film-camera shooting passes on a dolly or jib of a photograph dead on. It's simple and elegant. I wanted to do something just as pointed and graceful with a hint of "how'd they do that?" snazz. Uruguay was different in that there was a progressive depth to most of all the images used. Try this at home -- draw a trapezoid on a piece of paper. Close one eye and change the angle of the paper until the trapezoid appears to be a square. In Photoshop, there's a handy tool that lets you define the planes of an image so you can paint objects according to scale (more or less). What's cool is that you can bring this data in the old graphics machine and place the camera (the same way you move your eye around the paper) properly to create a little set. That and four weeks of interns' faithful and painstaking matte-cutting is all it takes for an immersive effects shot that gets viewer mail!
Q. What would we have to do to get the crew to explore the greater Portland, Maine area? Just posted to the, "Where Should We Visit," area. Look for the post titled Maine ... We look forward to hearing from you! – Lorraine
Lydia Tenaglia, Executive Producer: We’ve had Maine on the short list for several seasons now. However, picking each season’s line-up is not a matter of throwing darts at a map (believe me – that would make my life much easier!) Picking the definitive locations is a matter of timing and season, as well as fulfilling certain agendas (Tony’s, the networks, etc). The locations are typically a mix of places hot and cold … national and international, and places that Tony would like to explore that are in and around a part of the world that he’ll be in on a particular date (due to commitments outside of NR); etc … So please keep the flame alive for a particular location you’d like to see featured –- eventually we may get around to it. And (keeping the style and content of NR in mind) I strongly encourage you to send in a detailed list of people/places that we should visit there. Nothing sells a location more than a list of “What’s Not To Be Missed.” You can send that to contact@zeropointzero.com.
Thanks for your interest and for watching!
Q. I would like to know what villas Anthony stayed at while in Indonesia? This is where he was feeding the coy fish and getting pancakes from the pancake boat ... I would love to travel here. If you could tell me what they're called, I would really appreciate this. Thank you and I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the show. - little one
Rennik Soholt, Producer: I believe the name of the hotel we stayed at on Java was called Kampung Sampireun.
Q. Is it possible that you guys could create a mini documentary of A.B. and the crew working and interacting together behind the scenes and their travel experience as a group? I'd like to hear everyone's commentary including Tony's. It would be interesting to witness whatever chemistry you are working with. You must have plenty of stories. That would be fun to watch. - la.casais
Lydia Tenaglia, Executive Producer: We proposed this very idea to Tony. We called it “Between Scenes.” We still have it on the table as something we might do in the future. We’ll get to it at some point.
Q. Speaking of crew... there seems to be some changes over the past season... the crew seems to alternate from episode to episode. Are they slowly leaving the show or have they been promoted OR ???
Chris Collins, Executive Producer: Promoted? What is that? We’ve only lost one crew member since we started. I can’t comment further about that person until the investigation is over and or their remains are located.
Q. Is 0.0 bringing in fresh blood?
Chris Collins, Executive Producer: Actually, ZPZ follows Keith Richards lead and transfusions are administered during pre-production of each season. It’s a wonderful time of year, as our complexions are fantastic. Yes. We do alternate producers as they need to oversee edits while other episodes are being shot. Camera people are much more consistent. We’ve maybe worked with five different folks since we started. That says everything about what we think of them.
Q. I, for one, would like to hear more from you, the crew. Tony is great, but the NR crew are a HUGE part of the appeal of the best show on tv. The shooters and editors, in particular are world class. You guys have developed a style unmatched on tv. - nino224
Chris Collins, Executive Producer: For the most part, the same band of talented characters have been producing, shooting and editing the series since we hit the road in Paris, December 2004 when we shot our first episode. Given the authenticity of the show, it only felt natural that if someone in our small crew (five people including Tony) wandered into a scene or if Tony started talking to a crew member in the middle of a scene – that it would be included in the show when appropriate. And of course sometimes, to Tony’s great pleasure, a crew member becomes the scene (i.e. Todd’s infamous destruction of an entire lunch service in Indonesia).
It’s a bit harder to work an editor into a show. But at the end of the day, it is these folks that take the countless hours of footage and turn it into something unique and engaging --- sometimes despite the material they are handed. I think for many of us that make this series while it’s an enormous amount of work and often stressful (remember we are working) it is the experience of a lifetime and we don’t take it for granted. As far as our oeuvres are concerned – some of the good, bad and the ugly can be found on IMBD.
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