Sanctuary which airs Fridays at 10pm on the Sci Fi Channel, is an unusual show for two big reasons. First, it began as a web series, which impressed the Sci Fi Channel and led it to pick up Sanctuary as a TV series. And second, the show is filmed largely with green screens, meaning the majority of what viewers see is computer generated.
If you didn’t know this, you might not be able to tell. Sure, you’d suspect the fire-breathing, three-headed monster was CGI, but what about the houses or the streets or the rain or a trash can? Such is the wonder of Sanctuary, and star Robin Dunne is quite aware of what a special environment he works in. BuddyTV spoke to Dunne about his journey to Sanctuary, working with the cast and crew, and coping with the green screen technology. Continue reading to listen to the full interview.
The technology used to make Sanctuary may be amazing, but Dunne took the role because of the character. Dr. Will Zimmerman is a brilliant forensic psychiatrist with a dark past who suspects there’s more to the world than what most people see. In the pilot, he was introduced to the fantastical world of monsters living among the humans, being offered a job to work at Sanctuary, a place to keep the monsters safe from humans, and vice versa.
Many TV shows these days have webisodes, from The Office and Battlestar Galactica to Ugly Betty and Chuck, exclusive online content is suddenly all the rage. What makes Sanctuary extraordinary is that the show was originally created for the web, but it’s success raised the eyes of the Sci Fi Channel, who picked it up as a TV series. NBC did the same thing last spring with quarterlife, with disastrous results. However, based on its first two weeks on the air, Sanctuary is doing much better.
The green screen technology may be difficult to grasp at first, but Robin Dunne is supported by a very talented production team. Though he sometimes has no idea what will actually be on the screen when the episode is finished, he is able to follow the vision of creator Damian Kindler, who Dunne was the utmost respect for.
-John Kubicek, BuddyTV Senior Writer
(Image courtesy of Sci Fi Channel)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
John watches nearly every show on TV, but he specializes in sci-fi/fantasy like The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural and True Blood. However, he can also be found writing about everything from Survivor and Glee to One Tree Hill and Smallville.
