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- [00:06]
A
Welcome to Pluribus, the official podcast, an intimate insider conversation about the making of the Apple TV series with the cast and creators behind the show. My name is Chris McCaleb. I'm one of the editors of Pluribus and the host of this podcast. And this is our first bonus episode. Now, these are generally going to be more one on one conversations and as opposed to the roundtable approach of our regular podcasts, which I love because we're able to include more voices and their stories, often people who aren't able to physically be in Los Angeles for our recording sessions. So for this first bonus episode, please welcome to the podcast our movement choreographer, Nito Lariosa. Nito, thanks a lot for coming on the podcast.
- [00:53]
B
Of course.
- [00:54]
A
I just want to start with how did you first get involved with the show?
- [00:59]
B
I got a phone call from the producers regarding about this show and I guess they heard about me through other colleagues of mine because I'm also a stunt coordinator. So I know some stunt coordinators and some choreographers. They heard about me. They said that. I heard you can do multiple things. We wanted to see if you're interested. It really didn't tell me anything about the script or the story yet.
- [01:28]
A
Right? Yeah, no. So you get the job on Pluribus. And how, how. What are your first conversations with Vince like? I mean, he's, you know, he's. He's been envisioning this thing for however many years, you know. What kind of conversations did you guys have about that?
- [01:44]
B
I live in California, so my whole connection and my whole meetings and talking and brainstorming was with the producers, like with Jen, I, Diane and a couple other people. I was brainstorming with them. And then I met Vince later in New Mexico when we had a meeting and we were talking about what he thought would be cool for the cotton swabs, how he wanted it to move, and a couple other things. Vince was very cool. I think the last thing my conversation with Vince and with all the producers was that, look, if there's something I don't like, Vince, I'm gonna tell you. And he goes, no, I want you to do that, but if I don't like it too, Nita, I'm gonna tell you. And I said, vince, that's the best policy and that's the way how I like to work. I'd rather be straight up with you and not tell you. Oh, yeah, it's awesome and it looks horrible. But I think he liked that where I was like, very, very honest. And because I'm very Picky when it comes to this. I think he was happy when we talked in the meeting with everybody, and I said, look, what might look good alive might not look good on the lens. So whatever looks good on the lens, I think will work. And I think that made him look at me a little bit different because I feel that right there is everything when it comes to camera. I think the hard part with this team was, you know, I don't know these guys. These guys been together for years.
- [03:23]
A
Sure.
- [03:23]
B
From Breaking Bad to Better Console, maybe even before that. I'm the new kid on the block, you know what I mean? Because I'm sure they never used a guy like me before. But at the end of them, like, look, I gotta prove to these guys that I'm worth it, that I'm good. So.
- [03:40]
A
Right. Talk about the process of working with the performers and choreographing those movements. Like, what was that process? Like, you know, there was some conversation about, like, what kind of performers could be doing this. And ultimately, I think it really runs the gamut of the type of performers who were doing these movements. But even before that, were you involved in the casting as well of these people, like, sort of like picking the. Kind of the diamonds in the rough?
- [04:08]
B
Yes. Let me tell you something real quick. When I first got the script, I got the first episode script, I was like, okay, take a look at it. Tell me what you think. I said, okay. When I read the script, I was like, damn, there's a lot of action in this. Every scene, every. Mostly every paint. I was like, this is more than stunts. This is crazy. This is a lot of work. And when I kept reading it more, I'm like, whoa, what is this? Why are they doing this? What is this? What is this cotton swab thing? What is. What is this? People doing this in the hospital. What is this? People write. I'm like, oh, my gosh. Okay, wait a minute. Let me write all my notes. And then I gotta workshop this thing because I gotta make sure I got a great vision or a great hold of every scene that requires movement or action in it. I think the blessing that was good for me, and they were very helpful, was I told the producers that, look, I need to workshop this thing in LA so I can get the right people for the movement. And also we can brainstorm and tell me if you guys like what you guys see when I text it to you or when I put it together. And they're like, okay, that. That sounds good. You don't. I workshop every scene for the first episode. So I had a good feeling for it, and I could. I could get more involved in it and more intense with it. And then once I did that and I sent the previz or the videos, I would get responses from Trina and Jen, and they would tell me, yes, we like this. We like that. You know, like this, we like this. Yeah, that's good, Nita. That looks better. That looks better. So I think it was a great working relationship so that I could get a good feel for it. And then once I finish all the scenes for the first episode, that's when I had to go to New Mexico to do casting. Because I think the most important thing was we wanted to make sure the talent pool in New Mexico could do it, because it was so unique and very specific.
- [06:28]
A
Very specific movements.
- [06:30]
B
Yes. And then that's where I think the beautiful thing. When I had my meeting before I got the job, I told the producers and Angie, the first AD and a couple other people. Look, I kind of have an idea of what you guys are looking for. One of the things we can do when we do casting is we can try and look for dancers. We can look for people who do yoga or athletes or cheerleaders or. Or anybody who has a good sense of direction. If we can find that, then I think we can hire everybody in New Mexico. So that I came up, and then we had a whole audition process. And I think the audition process was kind of weird because a lot of people were used to doing something like that at an audition.
- [07:20]
A
Right. Because it's a lot more than just. It's more than just acting. It's more than just dance, more than. It's this weird hybrid of movement and performance.
- [07:32]
B
Yes, exactly. And during the audition process, I think what was great was it wasn't a look thing. They wanted diversity from the board. They didn't have to be 6ft tall or anything like that. If he was black, Latino, Native American, Filipino, they loved everything. And I thought that was great. So we got a good variety of people, short and small, even people in wheelchairs. So that I thought that was great, and I wanted to make sure we could use them. I think what was cool was I made sure that when we auditioned, because I'll know right away who has it and who doesn't. I just made them walk across the floor, walk back, do a little bit of shaking here, do a little bit of this here, and that was it. So it was a quick process, but that right there would tell me if you have it or not or if you can take direction. If you can't take direction, you out. And then once we did the picking of all the people from the petri dishes to the others to any scene. My rehearsal process was very, very relaxed. I, I, I'm a dancer, so I kind of like that dancer structure as far as warming up to music just to cut loose and make everybody feel comfortable. Also I would do some yoga breathing techniques. I'll make them breathe in and out so that they can relax their bodies. We'll do a lot of exercises with their eyes so they can relax their eyes and not so be googly and intense. And then also I'm an old school popper locker and we used to do a lot of shaking and vibrating. So I would do a lot of, we call it diamond stops. And it's like ticking. It's like if you watch break in or like those old school beach street movies where they will do like popping, it's all hits. So I would do like, I'll play like old school music, like Zapp and Roger, like old school songs. And I'll make everybody do like some popping and class and then I'll make them do like some popping with their chest. Like a bunch of different things that I do when I teach popping or hip hop class. So it was funny, but it was awesome because everybody loved it. And I think once we did all those exercises, we would mix it all up and then we would try to incorporate that with the scene. But before we do the scene, I would make everybody do it individually. Because to me, I think sometimes when you see somebody do it individually, I think it inspires you, you know, So I think once everybody did the movement and the shaking and the twitching and the eyes and the falling and all this, people would be like, oh, you know what? I like what he did. Oh, you know what? I didn't like what he did. That kind of inspires people. And I feel that made people perform better. Like, I can do better than that. I'm gonna kill this. That's how I am. Like when I see a good dancer, I'm always like, I can do better than that. Okay, I'm gonna show it. And it kind of builds their confidence too, because I put them on the spot and I think if they can do that on the spot and kill it, I'll definitely put them in a great spot so they shine and they're on camera. So I'm like, you are very good. I'm going to put you where the camera is the best. But at the end of the day, I just wanted to make sure that people enjoyed the time and the company, and they were into it. And I think everybody was, you know, I mean, if there wasn't, they wouldn't be asking me, neither can we do the next episode. So I thought that was cool.
- [11:27]
A
How would you describe the type of movement that the others are doing? How would you describe the way that they move, the way that they move.
- [11:36]
B
Together, as far as the movement for the others? You know, it was something I had to play with a little bit. I think I needed to see what looks good on the lens first.
- [11:45]
A
Right.
- [11:46]
B
I think with that, I kind of wanted to see what was something more natural, more real. The way they walked, just the. The vibe that they had, their energy, and especially the shaking. Because it wasn't just the others that were shaking. I had the actors, I had a bunch of the lab people. I had to do the petri dishes. That was tough, too. I just needed to kind of just figure out the shaking first and then work on the walking and then the subtleness of their movement and making them not blink so much. But what. Another scene that was a lot of work was the petri dishes. And that was an unusual casting because that was a specific type of look they wanted. And also they wanted to make sure they're all in unison, kind of choreographed together, moving together. And that was a challenge. And because their background wasn't dancing or movement, so that was.
- [12:55]
A
So they had been cast sort of movement blind. Like they were cast more for the performances, their acting performances. And then the sort of. The movements that you were doing were kind of thrust upon them.
- [13:09]
B
Yes, because when I did the audition, I only wanted to concentrate on the shaking because that, to me, was the most important thing. You know, there was another big scene, which is the petri dishes, and I. And I needed to make sure that whoever they picked that they could still take direction, they can still move to count and to a certain rhythm. So I needed to make sure that they could do that. And then once they picked the people for the petri dishes and we rehearse it over and over and over again, we showed it to Vince. Vince loved it. He wanted to tweak it a little bit. He wanted to make sure that they really got into it. So they wanted to make sure when they had those cotton swabs, they were in there, like, really having fun and enjoying it. So that petri dish scene was a lot of work also.
- [14:04]
A
Yeah, well, it paid off. I remember the very first time I saw a very early cut of that pilot and, man, that scene, it's so. It's so eerie. And I think it's where we kind of start to feel the tone of the show developing because it's scary and it's weird, but it's also kind of funny and it's kind of quirky, and it's. It's just. We're just like, what is going on with these people? What is their end game? What exactly are they doing here? And. And what's. Yeah, what's all this about? And so definitely mission accomplished on that because, yeah, that. That scene has always stood out to me as something interesting.
- [14:51]
B
I appreciate it. You know, I think that scene kind of set the tone for the show for me, when I saw the final cut of it, it looks so cool. I was like, wow, I never seen anything like that on film or TV before. And to me, when you do stuff like that, it's awesome.
- [15:10]
A
Yeah, I definitely agree with that. So in the shooting of it and, you know, again, I know we don't want to. We don't want to give too much away that's. That's coming in the. In the. In the rest of the season. But what was the most surprising challenge you faced? Like, as you were out there, you're working with all the, like, huge groups of people. In some cases, I can. I mean, the hospital comes to mind. What was the most surprising challenge you faced out there?
- [15:37]
B
I think the toughest challenge was working with the people, the specialty performers, the other movement people, background. I think that was the biggest challenge because there were so many of them. But I think the great thing was a lot of the people that worked with me with the performance and the movement and the others, you know, they were very nice and. And they made my job a lot easier. But trust me, when you got to work with a lot of them, that can take a toll. But I think the great thing was that they respected me and they believed in it, and they love what they saw because it was something unique and different. And I think the beautiful thing, when I hear those things, they're like, you know what? N. You made me look at another avenue to pursue acting or to try something new. And I think when I hear stuff like that from the performers, I think it's beautiful.
- [16:38]
A
Amazing response to that. And that's very, very inspiring, I think, for. I would imagine, for people listening and just real. One. Maybe just one last question. What was it like working with Miriam Shore, who played Helen?
- [16:51]
B
She's great. Oh, my gosh. The. The actors. I think the great thing about all the actors, they're all professional. And I think the great thing is I did the same drills with them just like how I did with all the others. And all the background, all the movement people. I made them do some drills so they can practice and make sure they look good. And I think the great thing about her is she was a professional. Every angle that we're shooting, I would tell her, hey, they're just shooting at this angle. So I just need this to look really strong. Everything else is okay. I think that made things a little bit easier for her so she doesn't have to do so much. Because performing and doing all the moving can take a toll on your body. I'm sure.
- [17:39]
A
I can imagine.
- [17:40]
B
I think once I found out what angle and where the cameras were, I. I would be like, okay, you don't have to do anything. This one, you gotta sell it. You gotta sell it in the face. It's all the face. This one is just. It's a wide shot, so you don't have to do so much. So I think communicating with her and telling her things like that made it easier for her and for everybody else, you know, because at the end of the day, it's a lot and I just don't want to wear them out. I want to make sure they pace themselves when they're performing. But when it's a close up and it's all on their face, I tell them, you got to give it to me, you got to sell it. So not too hard, not too soft, but just enough where it's like strong and it's believable. And that's it.
- [18:25]
A
That's awesome. That seems like a perfect place to stop. Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience with the show. And, you know, I can't wait for people to see the rest of the episodes to see what else you got up to this season.
- [18:40]
B
Thank you. Thank you. I had a great time. It was a lot of fun, and like I said, I think it was cool because it was something different from the petri dishes to the others. So it was very, very unique and very, very awesome to see something different on camera.
- [18:59]
A
Absolutely. All right, well, thanks a lot. This is fun.
- [19:02]
B
You're welcome. Awesome.
- [19:03]
A
All right, thanks to Nito Lariosa for joining us on this bonus episode for 101. And thank you for listening to Pluribus, the official podcast, an Apple TV podcast produced by High Bridge Productions and Sony Pictures Television. Be sure to follow on Apple Podcasts to get the next episode in your feed and watch Pluribus on Apple TV where available. Our editor and mixer is Nicholas Tsai. Theme music by Dave Porter. Associate producers are Alana Hoffman, Justin Verbeast and Nicholas Tsai. Executive producers are Jen Carroll and me. Your host, Chris McCaleb. Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts.