The Fine Brothers ‘Celebrities React’ Set Design
Original Set Design for Celebrities React, a special edition of the Award-Winning "React" web series created by YouTube sensations Benny and Rafi Fine of Fine Brothers Entertainment.
OBJECTIVE
Create a custom production design for new YouTube Web Series which features celebrities reacting to viral videos that appeals to viewers exclusively on the YouTube platform.
CHALLENGE
Design and build a set that is reminiscent of traditional Late Night Talk Shows and embodies the Celebrity/Hollywood theme of the show while staying consistent with the client’s current branding.
BACKGROUND
The show features celebrities reacting to viral videos on the internet. Celebrity guests who have appeared on the show include: Chris Hardwick of Nerdist & @midnight, James Vanderbeek, Nick Cannon, Pete Holmes, Tony Hawk, Sarah Hyland, Emily Osment, Aime Teegarden, Debby Ryan and Maria Menounos.
The Fine Brothers Channel Stats
Subscribers: 2.5 million
Views: 800 million
PROCESS
Discovery and Research: During this stage, I used a variety of research methods to gain insight into what types of Talk Show sets currently exist both in Television and New Media, what types of imagery could be used to represent Hollywood and what types of sets/background designs are currently resonating with viewers on the YouTube Platform.
Click here to visit the concept board I created for this design
Mockups: Based on my research, I created a series of several digital design mockups utilizing Hollywood imagery and worked with the client to refine the mockups until we landed on a design that satisfied the objective.
Materials Planning & Sourcing: Once the digital mockup was finalized, I created a plan for implementing the design. The plan included a list of materials, where to source the materials, materials budget and a step-by-step guide to assemble and create the set.
Materials planning for this set included custom color matching and extensive research to acquire specific, Hollywood themed props. Research included sourcing, documenting and cataloguing specific props before making final purchasing decisions.
Set Creation and Build: After acquiring all materials and special props, I completed the following steps to build the set by hand.
- Mix custom blue colors for mountain background
- Paint blue mountain background on wall
- Using digital mockup as reference, sketch out 3 layers of city scape by hand on 10’x5′ foam core
- Cut out each city scape by hand with an Exacto knife
- Paint each city scape by hand to match the digital mockup
- Arrange wooden square tiles on city scape to finalize window patterns
- Paint each wooden square by hand
- Glue painted wooden squares in perfect grid pattern to simulate windows in city scape
- Separate 3 layers of city scape using toothpicks to create depth
- Mount the completed city scape to the wall using a bracketed shelf
- Assemble shelving for props
- Line open back of shelving with gold paper
- Fit each shelf with an individual, spotlight for each prop
- Greek out props where necessary
- Arrange props on shelf according to digital mockup
Watch the series here!
About the Fine Brothers
(bio from Fine Bros YouTube Channel)
Fine Brothers Entertainment is a full service production company that has amassed 3 billion views online and over 15 million subscribers across their channels. Brothers Benny and Rafi Fine started by making feature films in high school that played in film festivals. Now we have a staff of over over 25, recently premiered a TV show on Nickelodeon, pilots for several other networks, have feature films to be released in 2015, won awards at the Daytime Emmys, Streamys, and Webbys, and have been featured in the biggest publications (Variety, NYT, Huff Po, Times, USAToday, 100s more).
Click to view Melissa Judson’s IMDB credit for Celebrities React Production Design
Credit for production stills: Fine Brothers Entertainment