CROOKED is not your typical comedy. A unique blend of mockumentary and sitcom, it tells the story of a group of wannabe criminals who yearn to become ‘legitimate’ gangsters. Independently produced, CROOKED is also a testament to the commitment and talent of its creators.

To fast track their vision to the screen, the filmmakers financed and produced all six episodes of CROOKED themselves. Producers Matthew Holmes, Adam Willson and Paul Bellman performed the enormous task of writing the series, finding locations, building necessary sets and casting. Each major character brought their various ideas to the mix and from this huge pool of ideas, the shooting scripts were devised.

From key new characters through to bit parts, a large percentage of the South Australian acting community were screen-tested for their improvisational abilities. Once cast, every actor was responsible for the realisation of their designated character.

The scenes were all shot improvised, giving the cast room to explore the scene and try new things. Working closely with the director and their fellow cast members, all dialogue was created on the spot, guided by descriptive scene outlines. This gives the performances in CROOKED their natural feel and spontaneous humour. Each actor was encouraged to bring their own personal style and comic abilities to the screen - some of the most poignant and hilarious moments in CROOKED were created by the cast on the day.

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Production

CROOKED, like most of Two Tone Pictures’ productions, is very unique. A creative team was assembled to bring the series to life. This included the seven lead actors who developed their own characters. The producers began working out the logistics of shooting a six part series on a shoe-string budget. It took several months to develop the scripts for each episode. Because the dialogue and action would be improvised, the scripts served as story guidelines. From the script, the actors and director could create the scene on the day, knowing what needed to be told.

Once the scripts we’re complete, the production began to audition South Australian actors for the numerous new characters that would inhabit the series. Also, many locations needed to be found across Adelaide and the main set needed be built and outfitted with props and lighting. With all the roles cast and locations secured, the production was finally underway. The filming was done over an intense 18 day period, plus some pickups later in the year. The production moved at a fast pace, covering every scene with two SONY Z1 HDV Cameras, ensuring coverage for editing. Filming six episodes back to back in less than three weeks was a huge challenge, but it was successfully completed nonetheless.

As 'The Biscuit Effect' had proven, improvisation was a great method of bringing characters and scenes to life and gave everything a healthy dose of humour. Multiple takes were done of every scene, allowing the cast to explore the scene and iron out any problems. The director could fine tune ideas along the way to create a vibrant and fresh scene. Because CROOKED is meant to be ‘fly-on-the-wall’ mockumentary, it was important that the dialogue and acting felt very natural - which improvisation provides - as well as a spontaneous humour that is very hard to create on paper.

Music

CROOKED boasts a dynamic music soundtrack comprised of many South Australian bands and artists, most notably the renowned hip-hop group TERRA FIRMA. Terra Firma’s frontman Simplex opened up his catalogue of tracks to the production, as well as composing and producing the funky CROOKED theme. Terra Firma also make a guest appearance (as themselves) in Episode Six.

Other bands whose music will also feature in the series are Masterplan, Schickel, Tony Font Show, Co4Sure, ASD, and Fifth Floor. Local musician and composer Peter Bee has also written a bunch of tracks, as well as co-producing the gang's song ‘Pirana Cudaz’.

Credits

Director/Editor:                  MATTHEW HOLMES
Writers/Producers:            MATTHEW HOLMES
                                             ADAM WILLSON

                                             PAUL BELLMAN
Music:                                 SIMPLEX

                                             PETER BEE
Title Sequence:                DANIEL POTTER
Sound Recordist:             JOEL SPRIGG
Production Manager:      JONNIE WESTERN

Camera Operators:         ANDREW CRISPE

                                            ROSS MORGAN

                                            MATTHEW HOLMES

SHOOTING FORMAT: HDV, 16:9

DELIVERY FORMAT: HDV, 16:9, Dolby Digital Stereo

NO. OF EPISODES: tba

EPISODE RUN TIME: various