Published Sunday, March 2, 2003
in filming commercial
them to Australia
Herald Staff Writer
Two 1986 alumni of Hickory High School, Hermitage, spent January halfway around the globe filming a commercial in Sydney, Australia, for Kohl's department stores.
Marc and Tina Marrie, who now live in the Los Angeles area, work freelance in the commercial industry and team up on assignments several times a year. Some of their credits include spots for Volkswagen, Honda, Visa, Hanes, NORA, Sony, Cannon, Mercedes, Kit Kat and Coca Cola.
Marrie, the son of Phil and Sally Marrie, Hermitage, was notified of the job in late December. "We were both excited and hesitant at the same time," said his wife.
The pair moved in November into a new home, and had little time to spend there due to Marrie's busy schedule. "Marc was filming in Toronto for the month of December and I was in Pennsylvania with our family, so we were already away from our new house for a month," said the daughter of Nick and Betty Simko, Hermitage. "We were looking forward to getting some work done on the house in January, but we had to put that on hold."
The couple went back to Los Angeles for two days before leaving Jan. 7 for Sydney. "We had a couple of weeks to mentally prepare, but only two days to actually pack and get organized," Mrs. Marrie said. "When we got back to L.A., we had to re-pack by switching all of our winter clothes for summer clothes."
While their Pennsylvania hometown was snow-covered and experiencing freezing temperatures, Australia was ready for its summer season. Weather was a probable inducement for choosing the country as a filming location.
"Usually, the main factor is based on the creative concept of the commercial," said Marrie. Landscape or different cities also can be part of the process. "These choices are driven sometimes by the market that the client (who is advertising) wants to focus on," he said.
Although Kohl's is based in Menomonee Falls, Wis., and has no stores outside the United States, it was less expensive for the company and advertising agency to film in Australia. Other deciding factors were the number of main talent in the commercials and the strength of the dollar. "Also, Australia has a very strong film community and Fox has a studio there, where they filmed the last Star Wars and all three Matrix (movies)," Marrie said.
The Marries needed only to have their working visas issued in order to travel. "Marc and I along with the director, director of photography (D.P.) and wardrobe stylists were the only U.S. crew members," said Mrs. Marrie. "There is a lot of filming in Australia so 'crewing up' and getting equipment for the commercial was no different than working in L.A.. A local location scout was used to scout neighborhoods that looked like American neighborhoods, which was harder than we thought. Marc also had to organize and arrange the shipment of Kohl's product from different locations in the U.S. to Sydney. It was about one ton of goods."
Much preparation went on before filming. "Meetings are held between the director, producer (Marrie) and advertising agency to discuss the concept and shot list of the commercial," Marrie said. "There are also several casting sessions, wardrobe selections and fittings and a lot of location and technical scouting. There are creative meetings and there was a video conference with the client in the U.S."
The typical day of filming began with the director, the D.P. and assistant director blocking out scenes and setting the camera positions. Sets also needed to be lighted and dressed.
Marrie, who studied finance and film studies at Pennsylvania State University in University Park, began in features when the couple moved to California shortly after graduating from college. He has been in the commercial industry for 11 years and was booked on the job in Australia by the company for whom he works.
As a producer, he is a liaison between the director and advertising agency. Making sure the commercial is completed as contracted, working with the director and agency's creative personnel to help steer everyone in the same creative direction, overseeing hiring of crew, equipment, locations, talent and controlling the budget are part of his duties.
Mrs. Marrie, an alumna of Indiana University of Pennsylvania, studied script supervising at the American Film Institute while in Los Angeles. She is responsible for continuity, timing the script and recording what has been filmed. Mrs. Marrie has worked in this post for four years.