Comedy series, Goober, follows Harry, a friendly, Uber driver through his car rides while he confuses passengers, seeks advice from his dad and struggles to ask his crush out.
Goober creators hope to one day produce a long-form version of the series, where Harry’s everyday life, outside of Uber driving would be shown. We chat to directors and producers of Goober, Simon Williams and Brendon Skinner about their series.
What inspired your web series?
We were thinking of web series ideas and wanted to create a series that was relatively contained by location and actors. We started riffing with some ideas around tech startups and some of the latest fads and then we started to think about ride-share and the fact that a driver is exposed to so many facets of our society. We thought this could be an awesome platform to create a revolving door of stories and characters (a bit like Fawlty Towers).
We knew the main character had to be intriguing, but we also wanted him to be lovable, and when we created the character of Harry, we thought it would be interesting to put a guy who doesn’t often pick up on social cues into a job where they’re often needed.
Why did you choose web series as your format?
The most uninteresting answer to his question is, “because that was the criteria for the ABC & SAFC initiative that we applied for.”
However, we think that the web series format fit perfectly to prove the concept. Uber rides are usually a short trip and you often feel like you get a little snippet of someone’s life (if you bother to talk to the driver or vice versa).
How long did it take to produce and shoot the series?
We received funding approval in February 2016 and Ben Crisp (our writer) immediately followed that by writing the first drafts of the scripts. We shot for 6 days in late April, as well as a half day in the studio with Shane Jacobson to record his dialogue. The edit was turned around relatively quickly as well and we were finished in September 2016 ready for the ABC iview release on Boxing Day 2016.
Was Goober filmed in a real car?
In pre-production we explored all the options of shooting in cars – simtrav, mounting small GoPros, etc., and finally settled on shooting with two real cars on the road. One was a car wreck mounted to a low loader trailer. We cut the bonnet off this car so we could bring the cameras as close as possible to the windshield. The second was the ‘Hero’ car which we used for any shots the were from the POV of a passenger in the back seat looking out the front of the car, and for the one time we step outside the car in episode 6.
As most scenes take place in the car, did this make the filming experience difficult?
Yes. We thought setting our series in a consistent location would make things easier, but when that location is a moving car it’s anything but easy. One of the issues is the constant separation the directors have from the actors. Sometimes the actors are ‘trapped’ in the car by lights or diffusion screens so it’s difficult to talk face to face. This meant there was a lot of communication via radio, which can be a slower process and takes away some of the personal interaction that is important to an actor / director relationship.
Another issue was sourcing the right roads. We needed to find roads that were wide enough for the low loader, had minimal traffic lights, no roundabouts, speed bumps or stop signs. To make it even more complex, the best light we could get was when we found roads that ran north to south. The amount of options we had became very scarce, but luckily Adelaide is a well-planned city with a bunch of roads that fit the criteria.
Do you have any future plans for this series?
Yes. Often we receive feedback from the audience about how much they love Harry and so we’d like to produce a long-form series that expands the world to see Harry in his everyday life outside of just Uber driving.
What did you learn from making this series? What would you do differently?
We learnt a lot about shooting in cars! It’s certainly not an easy task but it is achievable. Working with the ABC also gave us an insight into TV production and how to work with a broadcaster. We had a great experience and look forward to working with them in the future.
What would we do differently? Everything and nothing. You’re always going to have things that you aren’t quite happy with or would change in hindsight but that’s the nature of the business. To quote George Lucas “a film (webseries) is never finished, only abandoned.”
What advice would you give to emerging creators?
Find a great team to work with. Film and TV is a very collaborative process and we think it’s important that if you’re going to go through the process for weeks, months and even years, you may as well do it with people you actually enjoy being around.
FOLLOW GOOBER