Chris Roth

Once again I collaborated with my brother Steve Roth to create a dynamic 30 second trailer for the latest installment of the Dark Hunter book series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. With the help of costume/styling goddess Amber Votel, we set out to bring the dark underworld of werebears, demon hunters, and Daimon-slayers to life.

PLAY VIDEO


After receiving final approval on our script, we began casting our talent. Over the course of two audition days, we saw over 60 individuals finally settling on the seven who would appear in the final 30 second spot (not counting extra demons).




In a similar process to The League, our entire production took place on a green screen sound stage in downtown LA over three days.
A great deal of attention was put towards the lighting, which can make or break the final outcome when other elements and backgrounds
are added to the scenes in post.

[above] an example of the many layers and elements that can go into each shot, this one had over 40.

The story takes place at the infamous “Sanctuary” -a fictional bar in New Orleans where all of the super human individuals tend to hang out. Starting with a picture provided by the author (below), I was able to achieve our opening shot by working some “day for night” magic, and adding other elements, such as sky, street, lights and fog to the scene.

For the shot of Dev in front of the bar, we opted to use a practical set piece. This was necessary in order to capture the headlights from the motorcycle accurately as they played across Dev and the entrance to the bar behind him. The signage and bar interior were added in post.
For a scene in which Chi, Samia, and Nick are cornered by a gaggle of approaching Daimons, we broke the shot up- shooting the heroes separately from the bad guys. In post, they were put together and combined with various photos and textures which were lit virtually.

A screenshot of a typical day in the world of Adobe After Effects.