Photos provided by crew of "Nicolife"
Written by Macie Wilson
May 1, 2016
Nicolai is clinging onto his sanity, desperate for attention that no one seems to want to give him. And Phil? Well, Phil doesn’t talk too much these days.
Nicolai and Phil are the main characters of "Nicolife", a web series, created and shot in San Luis Obispo, Calif., that centers around the main character, Nicolai, on his search for stardom. In his attempt to climb to the top, Nicolai hires Phil. Phil is a cinematographer who is there to document every minute of Nicolai's, delusional, rise to fame.
“For me, it was about three friends, getting together, to work on a creative project,” Robin Nyström said. Nyström is the Creator, Writer and Director of "Nicolife". He also plays the role of Nicolai.
Nyström attended film school in Stockholm for two years before moving to the United States. When he arrived he said he was “burnt out” on making films and turned his attention mostly to writing fiction.
“The thing that changed me was meeting Jason,” Nyström stated. Jason Kaiser is Director of Photography for all six episodes of "Nicolife" and also a coworker of Nyström's.
“Jason just really wanted to work on a project,” Nyström recalled. "He came to me once he heard that I had been writing. All he really needed was material."
Needing one more person to round out his crew, Nyström sought the help of another one of his coworkers, Hartley Comfort. Comfort plays the role of Phil and, while his official offscreen title is First Assistant Camera, he has become sort of the go to for just about everything.
“I like building gadgets and tinkering with things,” Comfort stated. Like building a 16 foot long crane out of PVC pipe to capture a sweeping shot for example. “Robin know’s that so he wrote a little bit of that into the character of Phil.”
The characters of Nicolai and Phil can be complex, to say the least.
“He (Nicolai) is an ego-centric, attention starved, nobody, who thinks very highly of himself and believes he is meant for great things,” Nyström explained. “The fact of the matter is, he’s not.”
As you move throughout the episodes, you see Nicolai slowly come to the realization that he might not be the big star that he had planned.
“You see, as it becomes more and more obvious that he’s not successful, how he grows more and more desperate in his attempts to be famous,” Nyström continued. “If I were to describe 'Nicolife', I would say it’s a story of a person who wants attention so badly, that he is willing to go to extreme lengths to get it.”
Phil’s character is on the opposite end of the eccentric spectrum. Due to a traumatic experience from his past, Phil suffers from Aphasia, which leaves him unable to speak.
“It has it’s challenges,” Comfort said. “How do you express yourself without words? He’s (Phil) been through hell and back, so not much surprises him.”
Comfort said he took the time to study up a bit, turning to silent film stars such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, but the most difficult part of playing Phil according to Comfort?
“Honestly, the hardest part is not being able to laugh,” Comfort said. “Especially scenes where we just have to stare at each other.”
As the show progressed and the episodes became more difficult to tackle, Nyström added another member to his team, Laurel Degutis. Degutis became a Writer and Director for the series, also starring in the show as Nicolai’s sister, Nikita. She is, you guessed it, another co-worker of Nyström's.
“I honestly thought I was done at episode four. The person that really inspired me to keep going was Laurel,” Nyström recalled. “When I started working with her, realized that she could produce and that she would be Nikita, we shot episodes five and six back to back.”
With no budget and a crew all trying to balance a full time jobs along with everything "Nicolife", hiring professional actors was not going to be a part of the equation. So to bring an element of realism to the screen, the crew decided to cast everyday friends, family and members of the community for all of the characters you see in "Nicolife".
“Usually, the way it worked for me, I would meet someone and then I would write the part for them,” Nyström explained. “I’m not asking them to act, I’m just asking them to be themselves and do what the script tells them to.”
Overall, you get the sense when talking to both Nyström and Comfort, that at it’s core, "Nicolife" is a passion product, born out of pure desire to create.
“If nothing ever comes out of 'Nicolife', the whole experience of being a part of it, that enough is worth it right there,” Comfort said about working as part of the crew of the series.
“This is not driven by making money or, really, any particular goal”, Nyström explained. “The fun and joy of it is in the making of of it and having made it at all. It’s really just a creative project driven from our own creative ambitions.”
Plans for season two are in the works, but right now they are working on getting people to watch what they have already developed with season one.
“Just to create something in the world that wasn’t there when we started,” Nyström said, “to me, that’s one of the most beautiful things you can do.”
You can watch all of season one now on their website www.nicolife.net or catch the first episode right below.
May 1, 2016
Nicolai is clinging onto his sanity, desperate for attention that no one seems to want to give him. And Phil? Well, Phil doesn’t talk too much these days.
Nicolai and Phil are the main characters of "Nicolife", a web series, created and shot in San Luis Obispo, Calif., that centers around the main character, Nicolai, on his search for stardom. In his attempt to climb to the top, Nicolai hires Phil. Phil is a cinematographer who is there to document every minute of Nicolai's, delusional, rise to fame.
“For me, it was about three friends, getting together, to work on a creative project,” Robin Nyström said. Nyström is the Creator, Writer and Director of "Nicolife". He also plays the role of Nicolai.
Nyström attended film school in Stockholm for two years before moving to the United States. When he arrived he said he was “burnt out” on making films and turned his attention mostly to writing fiction.
“The thing that changed me was meeting Jason,” Nyström stated. Jason Kaiser is Director of Photography for all six episodes of "Nicolife" and also a coworker of Nyström's.
“Jason just really wanted to work on a project,” Nyström recalled. "He came to me once he heard that I had been writing. All he really needed was material."
Needing one more person to round out his crew, Nyström sought the help of another one of his coworkers, Hartley Comfort. Comfort plays the role of Phil and, while his official offscreen title is First Assistant Camera, he has become sort of the go to for just about everything.
“I like building gadgets and tinkering with things,” Comfort stated. Like building a 16 foot long crane out of PVC pipe to capture a sweeping shot for example. “Robin know’s that so he wrote a little bit of that into the character of Phil.”
The characters of Nicolai and Phil can be complex, to say the least.
“He (Nicolai) is an ego-centric, attention starved, nobody, who thinks very highly of himself and believes he is meant for great things,” Nyström explained. “The fact of the matter is, he’s not.”
As you move throughout the episodes, you see Nicolai slowly come to the realization that he might not be the big star that he had planned.
“You see, as it becomes more and more obvious that he’s not successful, how he grows more and more desperate in his attempts to be famous,” Nyström continued. “If I were to describe 'Nicolife', I would say it’s a story of a person who wants attention so badly, that he is willing to go to extreme lengths to get it.”
Phil’s character is on the opposite end of the eccentric spectrum. Due to a traumatic experience from his past, Phil suffers from Aphasia, which leaves him unable to speak.
“It has it’s challenges,” Comfort said. “How do you express yourself without words? He’s (Phil) been through hell and back, so not much surprises him.”
Comfort said he took the time to study up a bit, turning to silent film stars such as Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, but the most difficult part of playing Phil according to Comfort?
“Honestly, the hardest part is not being able to laugh,” Comfort said. “Especially scenes where we just have to stare at each other.”
As the show progressed and the episodes became more difficult to tackle, Nyström added another member to his team, Laurel Degutis. Degutis became a Writer and Director for the series, also starring in the show as Nicolai’s sister, Nikita. She is, you guessed it, another co-worker of Nyström's.
“I honestly thought I was done at episode four. The person that really inspired me to keep going was Laurel,” Nyström recalled. “When I started working with her, realized that she could produce and that she would be Nikita, we shot episodes five and six back to back.”
With no budget and a crew all trying to balance a full time jobs along with everything "Nicolife", hiring professional actors was not going to be a part of the equation. So to bring an element of realism to the screen, the crew decided to cast everyday friends, family and members of the community for all of the characters you see in "Nicolife".
“Usually, the way it worked for me, I would meet someone and then I would write the part for them,” Nyström explained. “I’m not asking them to act, I’m just asking them to be themselves and do what the script tells them to.”
Overall, you get the sense when talking to both Nyström and Comfort, that at it’s core, "Nicolife" is a passion product, born out of pure desire to create.
“If nothing ever comes out of 'Nicolife', the whole experience of being a part of it, that enough is worth it right there,” Comfort said about working as part of the crew of the series.
“This is not driven by making money or, really, any particular goal”, Nyström explained. “The fun and joy of it is in the making of of it and having made it at all. It’s really just a creative project driven from our own creative ambitions.”
Plans for season two are in the works, but right now they are working on getting people to watch what they have already developed with season one.
“Just to create something in the world that wasn’t there when we started,” Nyström said, “to me, that’s one of the most beautiful things you can do.”
You can watch all of season one now on their website www.nicolife.net or catch the first episode right below.