They're not Monkeys!

Spent 2 days filming a 50 sec commercial for Chapman film students. Director Rosie Lambert wrote a great little script where a guy (me) is filming chimps in the wild. He gets frustrated by their inertia and tries to evoke a response, but to no avail. When he cracks open a coke however, the games are on.

The chimps, Cody and Sable, were so human that it's hard to see them as anything but one (or two) of us. The eyes watching you as you take a sip from a bottle they've just handed you. Will you give it back? Have they just been shafted? The sudden interest in your elbow or a particular finger. But only for a moment. Then it's back to looking around. And my best - the longing for trees. The trainer had them seated under a branch for the first shot, but they couldn't help but look up. The desire to leap up and swing was clearly so strong. Like candy. Or coke, which is even better.

The final shot had us sharing a coke, which was cold tea in a coke bottle - to enable easier sharing. Cody was keen to get the bottle back, but after a sip threw me a look which clearly said "this new formula sucks". For some great photos, you can visit Gearhart Photo.

Rosie's short, "The Reel Monkey", is a finalist in the Coca Cola Refreshing Filmmakers competition. It should be online around the start of Feb at CCRFA.