How to Produce a Netflix Comedy Special, the Nuts and Bolts.
The one hour format TV Comedy Special has its roots in 1975.
‘HBO… was the first to give comics a full hour to unspool their stories on TV… “The beauty of it was, you didn’t have to pack everything in quickly,” Robert Klein who starred in HBO’s first stand-up special.’
George Carlin popularized ‘uncensored’ TV Comedy Specials, pushing boundaries, and appearing in no less than 14 Specials on HBO. Mainstream Stand-Up Comedy and the way it was watched was fundamentally changed forever. Fast forward 40 years and another wave of change was about to break.
“Netflix has brought forth a scale of disruption hard to imagine even a few years ago. This is without a doubt the greatest time in the history of the world for stand-up comedy… There’s almost no part of the stand-up special business that wasn’t affected by [Netflix] jumping in.” Brian Volk-Weiss, the CEO of Comedy Dynamics.
The first Netflix Comedy Special was produced in 2012; Bill Burr’s “You People Are All The Same‘. At that time Netflix was at the forefront of a fundamental shift in the way people consume content. This coincided with comedians wanting to push beyond the established hierarchy of HBO, Comedy Central, and traditional TV.
Fundamental Change of Comedy Specials…
“Money used to define how Netflix specials looked: like they had a production budget previously only offered to the biggest comedians. Netflix likes for their programming to have premium signifiers, but when every special has it, it’s not even something you notice any more.” Jesse David Fox, Vulture
In November 2016 Jo Koy produced a self-financed Comedy Special which he later sold to Netflix. “I think audiences are more diverse than ever and they’re hungry for comedy that reflects who they are and their experiences,” Caroline Kyungah Hong, an English professor at the City University of New York, “The newer platforms have become one way for a changing audience to find comics like Koy.”
In this post, we’re exploring various production requirements to produce a TV Comedy Special, touching on a wide range of disciplines, from Live Event Production, Hiring Producers, Choosing Venues, Multicam Video Production, Stage and Lighting Design, Audio Engineering, and Post Production.
Hiring a Great Producer!
Production Tip: Hiring a Great Producer means hiring the RIGHT Producer.
Finding a high profile producer is straight forward. That’s what IMDB is all about! Find a Producer or Production company that has produced for a Comedian you respect or a Comedy Special you thought was awesome. Here is an Interview discussing producing Netflix Comedy Specials with John Irwin, who has produced some great Comedy Specials OR see the photo opposite: Brian Volk-Weiss has a jawdropping portfolio of hit shows. Budget permitting, hire one of them, or ask for recommendations.
If your budget is tight, consider a hybrid, hire a partner that can produce the nuts and bolts, and bring in your own independent creative talent, seasoned producer and/or director. Not everyone has produced huge shows for big names, or had their first hit comedy special yet… and that’s ok. One approach is to find a Producer who has worked for more experienced producers, with a high level of responsibility and is ready to fill larger shoes. However, you WILL NEED a Producer who is up to the challenge to tie everything together. So, do your research.
The RIGHT producer will be someone who is passionate about your project, dedicated to producing an amazing result, and someone who has the time and energy to make it happen. Whichever road you go down budget-wise, get the right Producer attached to your project and established before you make any other decisions!
Photo Credit: Villian Media/Stephanie Kleinman
San Francisco Bay Area Venues
The San Francisco Bay Area is a treasure trove of amazing venues, for almost any event. But for a Comedy Special in the Netflix model, it is Comedy Gold. Whether you want an enormous audience like Kevin Hart or an intimate venue like the Netflix Comedy Special “We Are Miracles” by Sarah Silverman, the San Francisco Bay Area will have something Fantastic! Here is a short list of some of our favorites. Repertoire Productions Run of Show Blog sharing a blog post series, comprehensive guide to Venues in the North, South, and East Bays and Penninsula in the coming weeks, stay tuned.
1.The Fillmore (https://thefillmore.com/)
Description: Legendary iconic venue for musical acts and comedians from all over the world. The Fillmore was originally named the Majestic Hall in 1912. In 1954 the hall was renamed, the Fillmore Auditorium. It is in Western Addition, on the edge of the Fillmore District and Upper Fillmore neighborhood. Although the Fillmore is predominantly known for the music performances that take place there, some comedians found their way to the Fillmore stage. ShowTime filmed Dave Chapelle’s “For What It’s Worth” comedy special in 2004. Accompanied by John Mayer, Dave Chapelle took the stage again in 2018.
Location: 1805 Geary Blvd, San Francisco, CA 94115
Opened: 1912
Capacity: 1,315
Public Transportation: Take the 22 Fillmore MUNI bus to Fillmore at Geary, or the 38 Geary to Geary at Fillmore. Both buses run 24 hours a day. BART connects to the 38 Geary line at Montgomery St. Station.
Parking: The Fillmore does not have a parking lot. Street parking and several public parking facilities are located nearby.
Stay Tuned for our upcoming Run of Show Blog Series Guide to Bay Area Event and Conference Venues, for a full description and much much more for all of the venues on this list.
2. SF Masonic Auditorium (https://sfmasonic.com/)
Notable Comedians: Ali Wong, a San Francisco Native, on her “Milk and Money Tour”
Location: 1111 California St, San Francisco, CA 94108
Opened: 1958
Capacity: 3,481
ADA: Yes
Public Parking: The Masonic Garage offers indoor public parking 24-hours, 7 days a week for visitors, guests, and local businesses. Daily Parking Rates apply except when there are events at The Masonic.
Notable Comedians: So Many! Famous comedians come together every year in June to perform at ClusterFest.
Location: 99 Grove St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Capacity: 8,500
Parking: on-site parking garage is on California Street it is open 24/7; Close to the Bart and Muni civic center stop
Parking/Transportation: http://billgrahamcivic.com/parking-and-directions/
4. SHN Golden Gate Theater (https://www.shnsf.com/)
Description: Opened: March 26, 1922; Reopened: 1979
Location: 1 Taylor St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Capacity: 2,297
Opened: March 26, 1922
5.Palace of Fine Arts (https://palaceoffinearts.org/)
Opened: 1915
Location: 3601 Lyon St, San Francisco, CA 94123
Capacity: 962
Cost: Cost depends on technical needs, as well as the timeline of load in, presentation and load out. Daily rental rates are $6500.
Parking/Transportation: Parking is available on a first come first serve basis along Palace Drive. Additional metered event parking is located in the triangle lot along Palace drive. To reserve spaces you must contact SFMTA.
ADA = Yes
6.Davies Symphony Hall (https://www.sfsymphony.org/)
Description: Opened: 1980
Location: 201 Van Ness Avenue; San Francisco, California; United States
Capacity: 2,743
ADA = Yes
Parking/Transportation: https://www.sfsymphony.org/Plan-Your-Visit/Directions,-Parking-Public-Transit.aspx
7.Herbst Theatre (https://www.sfwmpac.org/herbst-theatre)
Location: 401 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco, CA 94102
Capacity: 916
8. Cobb’s Comedy Club (http://www.cobbscomedy.com/venueinfo)
Seating: 400 seat venue (offers a full dinner menu and full-service bar)
Location: 915 Columbus Avenue San Francisco, CA 94133
9.Warfield (https://www.thewarfieldtheatre.com/)
Seating: 2,250
Location: 982 Market Street San Francisco, CA 94102
ADA = Yes
Comedy Special Stage Design – An Iconic Look
There’s an iconic look to the stage design of a comedy special production. You would probably recognize one instantly, even if you haven’t thought about it before: a waist up cowboy shot of a well lit comedian with a visible microphone, in front of a subtly lit and textured scenic setup. The focus is squarely on the talent and they’re obviously important (even if nobody has heard of them before).
While the formula isn’t always exactly the same, the look is similar enough that the viewers instantly know the kind of content they’re watching. The comedian is the content, and the scenic design should not distract from them. We don’t need to hide the fact that they are on stage, we might even go out of our way to create the look of a large theater on a sound stage. In set design for a Netflix special production or a corporate presentation, a presenter who appears to be on a large stage with a deep depth of field is clearly someone who has made the big time and is worth paying attention to.
The set design should show the scope of the venue without distracting from the talent, while incorporating enough texture to help the viewer judge motion and distance. Uplit black drape is a cornerstone of this look- remember that we don’t want to hide the fact that we’re in a (prestigious) theater. Expansive gestures and body language really benefit from this visual reference. We can build this out of custom scenic panels, crumpled paper, plain black drape, or other unexpectedly simple materials.
Filming and Post-Production
Some things you cannot compromise when you’re shooting a special; Cameras, Lighting, Audio, Technical Director, Video Director, Audio Engineer, Stage Manager, Camera Operators.
Some things you cannot compromise for post-production; Fast Recording Decks, Edit System, Post-Production Manager, Editor, Coffee and Cigarettes (for the Editor).
Why? Because you only get one chance to shoot and edit your special. While it is common to shoot two nights and cut together the best of those two nights, the same reasoning applies, shooting with subpar gear on one night, will be not be corrected by shooting with subpar gear on two nights.
- Cameras – unless you are shooting in very small venue with a small crowd, your DSLR’s won’t cut it. Digital Cine Cameras won’t cut it either. You need Broadcast Cameras, ideally with a 2/3 Sensor, like these Panasonic 4K AK-UC3000’s Broadcast Cameras. These can be creatively combined with other cameras for different angles and coverage like these Panasonic 4k AW-UE70 Robotic Cameras. But your main stage coverage must be flawless, uncompromised, broadcast quality footage. (Repertoire Productions has those amazing Panasonic camera systems and a full range of Sony and Canon cameras available for projects of any size).
- Lighting – Stage Lighting has to be perfect. Room and Audience Lighting has to be perfect. Hire a Professional.
- Audio – Equipment and Expertise is required. You’re producing Event Audio, and you are Recording for a TV Special simultaneously. Comedy is a verbal medium, and the Audience is a huge part of a Live Special. So, there can be no mistakes with Audio in the room or the Recording. Hire a Professional.
- Editing – No! This will not be something you can edit on your MacBook. You will need a properly designed and maintained Edit System, many bucket loads of CPU, RAM, SGRAM, fast through-put, fast read-write, Redundant Storage. Don’t compromise! Hire a Professional.
Here’s the point…
This is an achievable goal! World-Class Creative Video production is accessible to a much wider range of Artists than ever before in history. The days of the big networks monopolizing content production and distribution are long since passed. Amazing opportunities exist for big thinking Creative Artists to make their ambitious projects a reality.
It is possible to build a dedicated team with the right mix of experience, expertise, and technology to bring a TV Comedy Special to life independently. Especially in innovative, creative San Francisco, with its rich culture and comedy loving people!
