A Virginia Beach-based video production company, Rex Motion Media, is putting its own twist on the reality TV genre with a new program based around the tanning industry - "Tanner's Point." Ethan Marten, a producer with Rex Motion Media, likens the show to "Seinfeld," "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and "The Office."
Besides the fact that those are sitcoms and "Tanner's Point" has an element of reality TV, there's an even bigger difference - the story lines in "Tanner's Point" include promotion of the local tanning salon chain Sundays Blue Box.
What viewers will get with the new show are stories and characters that originate from the tanning salon chain, loosely scripted episodes that involve a fair amount of improvisation by some actors and some actual salon employees, and the occasional tweaking of the reality TV format when the "Tanner's Point" crew turns the cameras on itself.
"The last thing we want to be is an infomercial," said Norvell Rose, a five-time Regional Emmy Award winner who forms the core of the "Tanner's Point" team along with Marten, Sarah Pope and Tess Whitaker. "But we do want to make people want to go there. We built the character and story lines early on, and the product lines grew out of the story lines."
Rose said product placement in other television shows may seem haphazard and distracting, while in "Tanner's Point" it arises organically from the story line and doesn't call attention to itself.
The crew wrapped up filming this month on the first four episodes, which are scheduled to air on Cox beginning March 15 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
The story revolves around Dennis Ligon, owner of the 10 Sundays Blue Box tanning salons in Hampton Roads. The story follows him and various characters who hang around the salon while exploring the tanning lifestyle in Virginia Beach and surrounding communities.
Ligon said he thought reality shows such as "Sunset Tan" on the E! network had been disrespectful of the industry, so he wanted to do a show that focused on the positive aspects of tanning. As the show's star, it's Ligon's job to exude confidence and security. During one day of recent filming, he looked the part with his bronzed skin contrasting against his spiky highlighted hair and ultra-white teeth. He seemed at home on the set.
"There are seven story lines in the world that all art is created from," said Marten. "This is the 'hero's journey,' and Dennis is our hero."
Each episode ends with Ligon at one of his salons, bathing in the calming blue light of a tanning bed. Marten said the goal is to make "Tanner's Point" "a state of mind."
Copyright: 2009 The Virginian-Pilot(Norfolk, VA.)
Under license from:
|
