‘I Think You Should Leave’ Cinematographer Markus Mentzer On the Truth about the Driving Crooner, Plus What Happens to the Sketches That Don’t Make the Cut

Awards Daily talks to I Think You Should Leave cinematographer Markus Mentzer about cramped offices, malicious frat guys, and not-so-great street sets.

For cinematographer Markus Mentzer, there’s never a dull moment—or scene—on Netflix’s sketch series I Think You Should Leave. 

“From the beginning, when I first talked to [director] Akiva [Schaffer] about the job, the idea was that every sketch would have its own look—so that instantly took everything off the rails,” said Mentzer. “At that point, we were game for everything. We talk about ideas and try stuff out, but from the beginning, that’s kind of been the thing. We’re still doing that in Season 3. People don’t seem to hate it.”

And, yes, that distinction and diversification is something people can be sure about! Filming I Think You Should Leave Season 3 included a whole new set of inspirations and challenges for Mentzer, including cramped offices, doggy door monsters, and stunt performers who are too good for their own good.

Summer Lovin’ was Inspired by FBOY Island.

A clip of the Season 3 sketch Summer Lovin‘ has been circulating on social media, where Tim Robinson’s Ronnie denies being on the reality dating show solely for the zip line. The clip is so convincing that some people actually think it’s from a real reality show.

“We found a mansion in Glendale. I think the inspo for that one was FBOY Island. Tim and Zach [Kanin] always nail the casting, and as soon as you have that and everything’s in place, the big trick is to get the zip line and not reveal it too soon. You have to buy into this world as fast as you can. And then Tim just sort of does his thing.”

They Often Shoot in Real, Cramped Offices.

Cigars, hot dogs, awkward office run-ins. If there were a bingo card for I Think You Should Leave sketches, these would be on it.

“The first thing Tim and Zach want is to be on location and in an office. That’s where all their inspiration comes from and that’s what people relate to. I don’t know if it’s as much cinematic, but it has to feel like every office we’ve always been in. The Eggman sketch from this season was actually just a really small office. We had to jam cameras in there to get it all. I think that’s what makes it really believable.”

Richard Brecky’s Jellbean Wants to Be Taken Seriously.

During the sketch where Robinson plays a silent performer who gives money to the audience every time he speaks, you slowly watch it devolve into chaos, almost looking like something out of Fight Club. Mentzer said the key was to make it seem legitimate.

“We found a place we wanted to fill up. If Tim was performing, we wanted to get enough people in there so they could scream at him. We wanted it to be really dark from the beginning. It was supposed to be a take on the traveling Broadway shows that come to town, so it had a vintage look to it, and we wanted it to be taken super seriously, but then not reveal what the crowd’s intentions were until you got it obviously. Once you saw the frat boys outside, you knew where this was going. Keeping it really dark back there was key. It takes a while to catch on and what the points [on screen] are for. We kept it dark and menacing, and Tim is just kind of defending himself. You kind of feel sorry for him at the end.”

That was a Real (Not Great) Street Set.

When Fred Armisen’s character films himself beating up a kid as a lesson for his own children not to mess with him, that was a real street set they found to shoot at.

“That’s a real street set in the valley on the 405, and it’s not a great set. It was perfect for us. We got to shoot that at every angle possible and piece together a really bad shoot. Our stunt performers are always overprepared and too good. And we’re like, ‘It’s okay. It’s not supposed to be that great.’ It’s more of a compliment that they’re able to pull that stuff off.”

The Driving Crooner is Right—It Can Easily Look Fake!

Mentzer said that the Driving Crooner sketch, where Robinson’s character has a hat and cigar decal on his window so he looks like a jazz singer, is “exactly the way it’s scripted.”

“It’s really hard to get it right, and people want to make it look fake! It’s literally in the script on how you have to shoot it. You have to get the right angle on the right side of the right perspective. We had a process trailer that day, so we had a camera on a dolly off to the side in order to get the angle right. It’s really easy to make it look fake! I think all the planning and timing worked out and helped make the sketch.”

That Was a Real Person as the Darmine Doggy Door Monster.

Robinson’s character encounters the doggy door from hell when a monster sneaks in and scares the crap out of him.

“Fatal Farm directors did this one, and they are the ones who did Coffin Flop [in Season 2]. [Darmine Doggy Door] was split out over three different days. We had an animal day where we had a variety of animals coming through the door and the monster. We had this amazing contortionist stunt performer who was in that thing, who had her legs tied back so she was walking on her knees. There was a lot of makeup that really smelled and a latex suit—that’s all practical effects! She was in it for hours. There’s a real pig with a Nixon mask on, but that seemed way easier than what the stunt performer did. We went for this horror grindhouse look, which is really saturated and grainy and bizarro, like wide-angled lenses, to get as much shock value as we could.”

The ITYSL Team Doesn’t Hate Frat Guys As Much As the Sketches Do.

Between frat boys attacking the Driving Crooner and heckling Richard Brecky, they seem to be the unspoken enemy of Season 3, but not so according to Mentzer.

“We shoot 32 sketches and we have to pile them all into 15-minute episodes. There were some really great ones that got cut. There’s a rhythm to it all, and if there was a frat boy rhythm in there, I guess that’s what worked. When you watch it for a tenth time and you’re not bored about it, I think a lot of that is the rhythm. Topically, we never talk about frat boys.”

Hold On. What Do You Mean There are More Sketches that Didn’t Make the Cut?

“If it’s not in the show, you probably will never see it, which is kind of awesome. They’re very dedicated to what they show. I also think that’s what makes the show amazing. You don’t want to overdeliver on stuff; just keep the best stuff in there.”

I Think You Should Leave Season 3 is streaming on Netflix.