NEW YORK – Northern Lights Post (www.nlpedit.com) recently completed work on a new image spot for USA Network promoting its popular TV show Monk. The :60 "Mr. Monk at the Gym" keeps with the network's character-driven identity and provides the viewer with a glimpse of how Monk’s eccentricities make his visit to the gym a humorous one.
The obsessive-compulsive Monk finds himself unable to stand the barrage of sweaty, smelly bodies in motion. When a body builder asks for some help with a barbell full of heavy weights, Monk can only assist him after he’s organized the free weights. Having no clue as to what “spotting” is, Monk instead blots the weightlifter’s brow, never actually helping him with the weights. As Monk walks away, a crash is heard in the background. Unaffected, he disposes of the sweaty handkerchief.
"Mr. Monk at the Gym" is part of a two-spot TV campaign created by USA Network. Collaborating with USA Network VP brand creative Lorenzo De Guttadauro, creative director Christina Hedrick and writer/producer Lori Moretz, Northern Lights Post editor John Laskas used an Avid Media Composer to craft the spot, staying true to Monk's unique character while also reinforcing the network's humanity-based position.
"John [Laskas] is scared of the bird flu, blood and body fluids so he easily related to Monk and his quirky personality, which comes across in his cuts,” says Moretz. “The editor needs to appreciate Monk in order to make it work."
"With their instincts and creative vision, Lori [Moretz] and Tim [Abshire] made my job easy,” says Laskas. “The concept was funny from the get-go and they let the Monk character run on the set. This spot was more of a physical comedy so my goal was to distill what Monk was doing in terms of behavior. This was the ideal project because everything came together very quickly and naturally."
"I very rarely get a spot that has an almost perfect edit on the first try, especially when it comes to a vignette," notes DeGuttadauro. "But Lori and John did just that with Tim's beautiful film."
Backyard Productions of Venice, CA, produced the spot, which was shot at Angel City Fitness in Marina Del Rey, CA.
Northern Light’s Christopher Harrison and Ross Shain provided smoke and DS services. Michael Novello assisted Laskas with the edit. Billy Gabor at Company 3 handed color correction and Laskas performed the online. Mike Garatty and Kevin McElligot of Audio Department handled the mix.
The “Gym" spot was also edited as a :90 version and is currently showing on the USA Network Web site. Monk episodes from the first four seasons will be available on iTunes this month.