Project 12- Amin n Partners
In November of 2018 I was contacted by another producer from the original Coco team about helping with another epic project. The Egyptian comedian and actor, Ahmed Amin, had developed a sketch comedy based idea of a live theater performance that would then be broadcast. The series titled Amin n Partners would perform 13 brand new 70-90 minute long comedies that would perform for a live audience (two plays per night) while being filmed for editing and broadcast. During the month of November Mr. Amin and the ensemble cast went on a writing retreat and developed the basic ideas for 20 different story lines that they would then narrow down as time went by. They began rehearsing and writing the first 5 episodes in mid-December and January. During this time I began meeting with the producer, director (Alaa Ismail) and the director of photography (Wael Youssef). They had seen my work for the CIFF events, given that DMC was also producing this series, and were enthused to work with me. As creative consultant I was also part of the review and hiring process for the art director/set designer.
In mid -January I began my work in the theater, the Must Opera House. After consultation with the lighting staff and production manager the use of in-house lighting equipment augmented with a small rental was decided upon. The original intention was to reconfigure the light plot for each episode. But after a review of expenses and the possibility of drastic changes to the performance order, we decided on a basic plot that would remain unchanged except for small episode specific alterations. This ultimately paid off in the editing and continuity process. As each episode was performed at least twice (Performance week 1- episodes 1 and 2, Performance week 2- episodes 2 and 3, Performance week 3- episodes 3 and 4, etc,.) any difference in what the cameras recorded would make editing from one episode into the other very difficult. The beauty of the light plat was its simplicity and flexibility, along with the balance of color temperatures that are critical for the cameras.
Amin n Partners- Must Opera House light plot
The last two weeks of January were spent rehearsing the first two episodes and doing camera tests. The first week of February we began the live performances and filming. Each episode was performed for the 1100 audience members while between 5 and 7 cameras filmed. Then each consecutive week until April a new episode was added to the schedule. Writing would be finalized the previous week and the actors would rehearse and continue development until Wednesday. We would then start to add the lighting, sets, costumes and test camera. Thursday afternoon was a final rehearsal for the cameras and the live performances were on Thursday and Friday nights. It was a hectic schedule for everyone. But I developed a great working relationship with Mr. Amin, the director and DP. Time was so scarce, especially between the afternoon camera rehearsal and the performance, that we developed a communication system from the control truck to the light booth so we could fix problems immediately. As my credibility improved, I was eventually given my own set of camera monitors and a switcher so I could control not just what the active camera saw, but I was able to look ahead at the pending camera and make adjustments before it went live. After the afternoon rehearsal was also a time for script revisions and notes from the director. I gained their professional respect because I could be given a note and be able to fix it without actually seeing the set, actors or lights onstage. Using “blind” functions on the two lighting controllers (one for moving lights and one for conventional lights) I could edit the information in the lighting cues without actually seeing them. I had to coax the lighting staff to allow me to do this as they weren’t familiar with the concept. This was a very nerve wracking process because one mistake, which might not be visible until that moment of the performance, could ruin that section not only for the live audience but for the recordings, continuity, editing, etc,. I was not perfect in this, but was good enough that it became part of our notes process.
While this was an incredibly demanding project and I travelled the 70km from AUC to the Must Opera House 100 times from January through April, the reward was the live performances. Scheduled to start at 8pm, but not really starting until 9 or so, the energy from the live audience was unlike almost anything I’ve seen in the world. As the people would come in to the outer lobby they were greeted by a live band playing songs that they danced and sang to, cut outs of Ahmed Amin that they could take pictures with and a well-stocked food and drink area. And it wasn’t just adults. There were whole families including younger children because of Mr. Amin’s popularity with all ages. During the performances the comedic relationship between the audience and the cast was incredible. There were numerous times when people in the audience were literally falling out of their seats laughing. Ushers had to occasionally help a laughing patron out of the aisle and back to their assigned seat. After the fourth week of performances it was voted the number one live show in Egypt with a 100% audience capacity waiting list for every performance. Once the episodes started broadcasting the numbers were beyond expectations. There are no accurate counts but it’s estimated that the average viewership was over 20 million people in Egypt and other countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Lebanon and Morocco.
Below are links to the YouTube page, select episodes and examples of the working environment.
Amin n Partners
أمين و شركاه
Main Page
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPVwqnMGjY3rGzX_6EbMDDA/featured
Media and Reviews
https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/63630/Amin-and-Partners-theatrical-project-to-start-on-Jan-31
Full Episodes
Mr. Smelly
أولى حلقات " أمين وشركاه " مع النجم أحمد أمين - الجمعة 15 - 3 - 2019 | الحلقة كاملة |
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8psyjfZ13Q
Devil’s Play
أمين وشركاه - مع النجم أحمد أمين | الحلقة الرابعة | مسرحية " شيطانكو "
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hs5GCwcQwAM
Weighted
أمين وشركاه - مع النجم أحمد أمين | الحلقة الخامسة | مسرحية "المرجيحة "
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lAhrprso9B0
Almighty Yabta
أمين وشركاه - مع النجم أحمد أمين | الحلقة الثالثة | مسرحية " تعاليلي يابطة "
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEYejDSPqFI
Without Voyage
أمين وشركاه - مع النجم أحمد أمين | الحلقة السابعة | مسرحية "بدون فوايد"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whwJWipcYIA
Galata Sayes
أمين وشركاه - مع النجم أحمد أمين | الحلقة السادسة | مسرحية "غلطة سايس "
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXpG1KH2ufc
Hit for no reason
أمين وشركاه - مع النجم أحمد أمين | الحلقة الثامنة | مسرحية " ضرب من غير سبب "
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGYD3r0MquU&list=PL_ej7RMCgBBM5tym1TjSYbkuwsGJeEzKU
This link is to the opening title credits we filmed on a separate day at the theater. The lighting package and cameras were significantly upgraded to film this. At 32 seconds into the video you will see the name of a person who is obviously from out of town.
This is my view of the tiny booth where the lighting and sound controllers were located, operators for each, three assistant directors, producers and desks for the Must staff.
The broadcasts were so popular in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that we were invited by their Ministry of Culture and an anonymous sponsor to perform in Riyadh in June. Live theater performances are not a common event and while resources for the sets, lighting, sound and projections were difficult to come by, the end result was an amazing experience for the cast and the audiences. We were the first Egyptian produced theatrical even to perform there in recent history, and all of us treated that honor with the utmost respect, as we did the country’s culture. This was also a time for me to contribute to the overall production. There were issues with the projection images for the two plays that we transferred there. This problem wasn’t apparent until about 10 minutes before our first performance. Luckily, I was able to take the video files into Q-Lab on my laptop, reformat the content and connect to the video system. This permitted the first play to be performed as planned. I was asked if I could do the same for the second play which had much more complicated video sequences. I told them I would need seven minutes. They timed me and I was able to do it in five. As I explained the benefits of this program (No, I don’t get commissions from Q-Lab) the director realized it would also solve sound problems. Their system had been to play the sound files through iTunes. Each sound could only be played individually and involved a lot of clicking and occasional delays before the sound was played. With a quick demonstration the director was able to lay out all of the complicated sound cues (with only a little help from me). With this last minute reorganization of the programming, both the sound and the projections worked better than they ever had before. Mr. Amin and the directing staff awarded me the honorary “man of the match” award. I’m glad my contributions were appreciated, but I would like to think that is the same sense of collaboration I give to all my projects.