ICG Magazine - April 2017 - New Technology

ICG MAGAZINE

GHOST IN THE SHELL THE HANDMAID’S TALE • THE OA SUNDANCE 2017

NEW TECHNOLOGY ISSUE APRIL 2017

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VAN DE SANDE ON CINEMATOGRAPHY

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With a stellar record of cinematic successes from Blade and Cruel Intentions to Big Daddy, Homefront and the upcoming Magic Camp, Theo van de Sande ASC revels in pioneering creative processes that serve his art.

Car work is not new to him—just recall the cult classic he shot, Wayne’s World.

To add more dynamic car lighting on an upcoming feature he reached out to friends at VER.

Our script called for four night scenes inside a cab in Las Vegas, with lots of different actors. The Strip is a pulsating High Dynamic Range light and color environment on steroids. I wanted to capture this vibrancy of light and colors inside the cab, in 360°.

Moving a dozen people for four short scenes to Las Vegas was impractical. Green or blue screen, wouldn’t work and Digital BG projection wouldn’t give me the desired interactive lighting. VER’s Enhanced Environment was the only system which could sync light and color changes inside the cab with what was happening outside, using a combination of LED panel types for lighting and background. VER’s system proved to be very efficient and gave us tremendous freedom to manipulate the lighting and easily create different moods on set.

In order to make this work we had to shoot with nine 4K cameras to create nine different plates, synced and stitched to a 360º digital background environment.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

04/2017

NEW TECHNOLOGY ISSUE

p.38

CONTRIBUTORS

Michael Chambliss (Totally Real? Almost.)

“As an incubator of experimental entertainment and art, VR has become a staple of Sundance’s New Frontier program. This year the New Frontier’s VR content was framed by sponsored VR venues from Jaunt and Oculus, drawing throngs of filmmakers to start thinking outside the rectangle. What we saw was compelling.”

Lauretta Prevost (Nun But The Best) “It was an honor to sit down and chat about craft with so many inspiring DPs at Sundance, as well as talk about the importance of supporting fellow female crewmembers through recommendations and forward-thinking hiring practices. I am so happy to get to make movies, and so lucky that my fellow Local 600 members (further along in their careers) are down to share their knowledge and experience!”

The Handmaid’s Tale p.50 The OA p.60 DEPARTMENTS

Sara Terry (Sundance 2017, Refraction) “Snowiest Sundance ever! I’ve been several times as a documentary filmmaker, and shot this year, for the second time, at ICG’s (aptly named) Snowdance party as a member of Local 600. Despite the near constant snowfall, women marched, films were premiered, sold-out audiences gave standing ovations – and people partied. My feet were cold and wet most of the time, but it was totally worth it.”

GEAR GUIDE / 14 REFRACTION / 22 EXPOSURE / 32 PRODUCTION CREDITS / 92 STOP MOTION / 106

SPECIALS HDR 101 / 24 SUNDANCE 2017 / 68 CORRECTION: We regret omitting the names of Local 600 Unit Publicists Gregg Brilliant, who worked on Kong:Skull Island, and Deborah Simmrin, who worked on Fist Fight, from our February/March stories.

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JoJo Whilden (Eyes Wide Shut, Stop Motion) “One of the cool things about my job is working with actors who are often familiar to me from previous roles, and to witness them change into a completely different character in a new story. It’s a front-row seat every day watching actors work, and seeing how all the production elements help shape character and story (design, lighting, camera moves, locations, hair, make-up, costumes, props).

My job is to figure out how to tell the story of their characters with my photographs.”

RULE THE NIGHT

Final Grade

Scene from the film “It’s a Mess” by Director/DP Frank Prinzi, ASC Captured on VariCam 35, V-Log, AVC-Intra 4K 4:4:4 T4 at native 5000 ISO, negative gain set to 2500 ISO

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Photo by Scott Alan Humbert

PRESIDENT’S

LETTER April 2017 {vol. 88 no. 03}

Steven Poster, ASC

License to Thrill If you work in the world of movies, television, commercials and new media, do you have a job or a career? In my experience, there’s no one I know in this industry who doesn’t approach the work he or she does with the passion and intensity of a lifelong avocation, a forever career. We all come into this pursuit of making global entertainment with the idea that our contributions are much bigger than ourselves.

Of course not every project feels that way. But the majority do, and that’s really what sustains us.

Along those lines, everyone in our industry is doing some kind of continuing education. And while doctors, dentists, psychologists and many other professions must provide evidence of continuing education to maintain a license – board examinations, for instance – this industry has no such certification program, or even a process to license our practitioners.

The phrase “You’re only as good as your last job” is the de facto way the entertainment business allows its members to keep working. Hard work, timely and safe delivery of the product, in a way that recognizes one’s key contribution to the creative process, will always result in your license being “renewed.”

Knowing how to work within a system that produces new technologies – for capture, workflow, image creation – is challenging, because there’s a new learning curve nearly every week! What I’ve found is that we absorb and implement those new systems very quickly, simply because we have to.

What is out there to help us maintain our continuing education? Extensive training programs across the nation are provided to this membership by its Union, of course. Beyond that are many annual events – like this month’s NAB in Las Vegas – that help sustain education for industry professionals. NAB is a massive enterprise of new technology, equipment and seminars of what’s coming next. Each year I’ve gone, I encounter fellow ICG members on the show floor asking, “What’s new?” and “What have you seen?”

The family-style affair that is Cine Gear, on the heels of NAB in early June, is specifically targeted toward our production community. Over those few days at Paramount Studios, I see more camera team members, the vendors that serve them, and technologists than at any other time in this industry.

And, of course, we talk, which is a fabulous education!

A few months before NAB, there's a terrific event 8

National President International Cinematographers Guild IATSE Local 600

in Atlanta with a name to match: Technical Visual Effects Showcase of Cinematic Innovation, sponsored

by PRG and Paskal Lighting. There’s also NAB New York, IBC Amsterdam, Cinec Munich, AFC’s Micro Salon in Paris and BSC Expo London, all aimed at educating our global tribe in the many new rapidly developing technologies thrust upon us. Along with our union training classes, attendance at these events is the best form of continuing education we have in this industry.

Additionally, when a member reads our weekly ICG newsletter, they’re made aware of the many vendor-specific events that occur throughout the year centered on new technology training and education. Typically, this amounts to no fewer than 10 learning events each week available across the country. There are also smaller expo-type events worth attending, where a single facility will combine a group of different manufacturers to showcase their latest products. Three that come to mind are: J.L. Fisher’s barbecue, just before summer starts in late May, which brings members of the ICG, SOC and ASC together for a relaxed and informative mixer; Tiffen’s Open House, including the Steadicam Guild’s Stabilizer Gear Expo, which is typically a few weeks later and includes moving camera systems from across the spectrum; and Band Pro’s One World Open House, an annual winter holiday gathering in Burbank that brings many diverse production-centric vendors together for an entire day and evening.

These are just a few of the ways that our industry colleagues are providing ICG members with a platform to expand their technological knowledge base, helping to renew our “license to thrill” in this fast-paced and ever-changing industry.

Congratulations to Linus Sandgren on winning The Oscar for Best Cinematography for LA LA LAND! Thank you Linus and Tony Cady for choosing Cinemoves to be part of this amazing project and crew.

Thank you to our Cinemoves family for representing us the way you do; we are beyond proud.

Cinemoves - The Art of Camera Movement TECHNOCRANE OPERATOR Bogdan “Bdog” Iofciulescu Mike “Spike” Ryan

OCULUS HEAD TECH Shawn Fossen

TECHNOCRANE TECH Dustin Evans Michael “Hawk” Montez

OCULUS HEAD TECH Simon Shin

FLORIDA • NEW YORK • GEORGIA • NORTH CAROLINA • LOUISIANA • NEW MEXICO CALIFORNIA • EUROPE • AUSTRALIA U.S. WEST COAST: 1-888-80CRANE • U.S. EAST COAST: 1-888-CRANE52 • DIRECT: (941) 492-9175 • CINEMOVES.COM •EMAIL: INFO@CINEMOVES.COM

ICG MAGAZINE Publisher Teresa Muñoz Executive Editor David Geffner Art Director Wes Driver

ACCOUNTING Glenn Berger Dominique Ibarra COPY EDITORS Peter Bonilla Maureen Kingsley

April 2017 vol. 88 no. 03

INTERNATIONAL CINEMATOGRAPHERS GUILD Local 600 IATSE NATIONAL PRESIDENT Steven Poster, ASC NATIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT Heather Norton

STAFF WRITER Pauline Rogers

1ST NATIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT Paul Varrieur

CONTRIBUTORS Michael Chambliss David Geffner Kevin H. Martin Lauretta Prevost Elle Schneider Sarah Shatz Sara Terry JoJo Whilden

2ND NATIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT John Lindley, ASC NATIONAL SECRETARY-TREASURER Eddie Avila NATIONAL ASSISTANT SECRETARY-TREASURER Douglas C. Hart NATIONAL SERGEANT-AT-ARMS Christy Fiers NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Rebecca Rhine

PUBLICATIONS & PUBLICITY COMMITTEE Henri Bollinger, Chair

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ADVERTISING POLICY: Readers should not assume that any products or services advertised in International Cinematographers Guild Magazine are endorsed by the International Cinematographers Guild. Although the Editorial staff adheres to standard industry practices in requiring advertisers to be “truthful and forthright,” there has been no extensive screening process by either International Cinematographers Guild Magazine or the International Cinematographers Guild.

EDITORIAL POLICY: The International Cinematographers Guild neither implicitly nor explicitly endorses opinions or political statements expressed in International Cinematographers Guild Magazine. ICG Magazine considers unsolicited material via email only, provided all submissions are within current Contributor Guideline standards. All published material is subject to editing for length, style and content, with inclusion at the discretion of the Executive Editor and Art Director.

Local 600, International Cinematographers Guild, retains all ancillary and expressed rights of content and photos published in ICG Magazine and icgmagazine.com, subject to any negotiated prior arrangement. ICG Magazine regrets that it cannot publish letters to the editor.

ICG (ISSN 1527-6007) Published Monthly by The International Cinematographers Guild 7755 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA, 90046, U.S.A. Periodical postage paid at Los Angeles, California.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ICG 7755 Sunset Boulevard Hollywood, California 90046 Copyright 2017, by Local 600, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States and Canada. Entered as Periodical matter, September 30, 1930, at the Post Office at Los Angeles, California, under the act of March 3, 1879.

Subscriptions: $92.00 of each International Cinematographers Guild member’s annual dues is allocated for an annual subscription to International Cinematographers Guild Magazine. Non-members may purchase an annual subscription for $48.00 (U.S.), $82.00 (Foreign and Canada) surface mail and $117.00 air mail per year. Single Copy: $4.95 The International Cinematographers Guild Magazine has been published monthly since 1929.

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WIDE ANGLE APRIL 2017 NEW TECHNOLOGY ISSUE

David Geffner, Executive Editor Twitter: @DGeffner Email: davidgeffner@icgmagazine.com

The coolest thing about new technology is when it crosses creative borders beyond anyone’s original intention. Case in point is our April cover story on Ghost in the Shell, a new live-action version of the 1995 Japanese anime cult hit, directed by Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders and shot by Jess Hall, BSC (who stretched technological boundaries for Wally Pfister’s directing debut, Transcendence – ICG April 2014, also a cover story).

Hall was looking for a way to blend the muted pastels of cell (and some digital) animation from anime into the live-action world, in effect creating a watercolor painting on the big screen. Personally, the bright whites (and greens) of modern LED lighting would not have been the first place I would have thought to start, but that’s exactly where Hall headed. He shot more than 2000 stills around Ghost’s main Hong Kong locations, and then created a palette comprising 28 colors. That color chart was then programmed across a variety of different LED vendors.

Knowing that his lighting would be integrated into sets, props and even costumes, Hall approached LiteGear’s Mike Bauman (in Los Angeles) to develop custom LED fixtures that could infuse any color scheme (he and Production Designer Jan Roelfs created) with tungsten, cool white light or amber. Hall could, basically, desaturate and de-shift the color palette to achieve live anime in front of his eyes.

“After mixing the colors and testing them on camera,” Hall notes in Kevin Martin’s cover story (Silent Runners, page 38), “the profiles were sent to a programmable lighting board that could call up the blended LED palette on any unit, anywhere, anytime.”

I could go on about other technological innovations Hall implemented in his experimental search to recreate anime with live humans – including a custom designed 29-mm (spherical) wide-angle lens by Dan Sasaki at Panavision (for the ALEXA 65) that provided a compressed perspective with a unique focus fall-off, and on-set monitoring 12

in DCI P3 color space to ensure accurate rendition of his custom color palette through final grading. But, tech-geek love aside, the fact that all of Hall’s innovations were meant to subconsciously channel color theorists like Josef Albers, Vittorio Storaro, AIC, ASC, and even a Japanese fine art master like Hiroshige is the coolest thing of all.

The cool factor in this issue doesn’t end there. Our Exposure conversation (page 32) is with a man who embodies DIY innovation.

Lest anyone forget, John Dykstra, ASC, took motion-control cinematography into space (Star Wars) in the late 1970’s using optical compositing of multiple (dynamically shot) elements without the benefit of computers. He also came up with a system for getting aerial VFX plates (with a wide variation in frame rate) by controlling the exposure from inside the aircraft, and was an early adopter of highpowered lasers, whose beams he bounced off Mylar (!) to get cool new VFX shots.

Like Hall and Dykstra, whose technological innovations are born out of creative necessity, our wrap-up coverage from Sundance discovered several Guild cinematographers doing the same thing with virtual reality (Totally Real? Almost., page 80). For Through You, a multigenerational love story told through dance, Dagmar Weaver-Madsen designed a new way to move the VR rig that would respond to the dancers’ experimental movements, much like a human camera operator.

She tells writer Michael Chambliss how she put the camera rig on a tripod with rolling spreaders, and then put down black event carpeting. “[Co-director] Saschka [Unseld] and I wore full black Moray suits,” Weaver-Madesen relates. “I kept the ISO on the cameras low to lose definition in the shadows. That enabled us to move around on the black areas of the floor like old-school puppeteers!” For Under the Canopy, a co-production between Conservation International and Jaunt VR, DP Céline Tricart ventured into the Amazon rainforest to photograph sloths, birds and a giant anaconda. There was no Internet or computer power to “stitch” shots together, so Tricart set each camera’s ISO and shutter speed individually, and then used her light meter to guide each setting.

Under the Canopy Director Patrick Meegan says his film would not have been possible just one year ago, given the lack of a gyro-stabilized VR camera system. He says the narrative in the VR format, which “lives between the dual spaces of cinema and video games,” appears directed.

“But behind every door is another landscape to explore.”

And that’s really what our New Technology issue is all about: going through doors we never have even imagined were there.

Gear Guide

APRIL 2017

Canon C700 + PL mount has 14 stops of dynamic range, up to 4.2K resolution + EF mount has 15 stops of dynamic range, up to 4.5K resolution + Records Internal 4K ProRes and XF-AVC + Canon Log 2 and 3 availability + ACES support + SMPTE 2084 HDR monitoring + 10 stops of internal ND filtration

“I really appreciated working with the C700 on [the short film] The Calling. Detail in the shadows is amazing. The rendering of faces was beautiful, and the camera sports a 15-stop latitude in 4K resolution that makes it a great candidate for shooting HDR productions. But what was even better for me was that the C700 is designed to move through a film production schedule with speed and ease.” – Russell Carpenter, ASC

$28,000 www.usa.canon.com 14

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Gear Guide

FilmLight Prelight + Import stills alongside LUTs, BLGs or CDL values to populate the look library + Develop the look using the same underlying processing, color science and color tools as the Baselight grading system + Export reference stills as well as grading values in BLG files, so the grade can be inserted and re-used in the color pipeline + Commercial version extends these tools for the DIT with 3D LUT export, live SDI input for capturing and viewing images from the live camera stream + Support for driving LUT boxes and support for embedded 3D LUT and BLG metadata directly inside the ARRI Alexa SXT camera

“Consistency in mood/color throughout an entire scene is one of the most challenging parts of digital cinematography. To achieve this, the DP needs a colormanagement system on-set that is simple, efficient, and fast, with excellent frame grabs as reference to earlier scenes and with a full ACES workflow to carry the right mood through post, and all the way into the DI. Prelight has it all – and more. It worked fantastically during Magic Camp with our dual 4K/2K recording from our Panasonic Varicam 35 cameras.” – Theo Van de Sande, ASC

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The Cooke Look

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Photo by Gordon Segrove

One Look. All Speeds

"After testing many combinations of cameras and lenses and having to work on 4K for The Crown , we chose to use the Sony F55 and vintage Cooke Speed Panchros. It was always my intention to fight against the high resolution and ultra sharpness you get from the modern camera sensors and by using the Cooke Speed Panchros I achieved a very romantic, filmic look with an incredible range of latitude for beautiful highlights and detail on the shadows.

Modern redesign of the original Cooke Speed Panchro.

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I have always enjoyed working closely with the production and costume designers.

On The Crown, choosing a muted palette, lighting through big diffused sources and using the Speed Panchros helped me to achieve a nice period look. It’s ironic that after achieving such high resolution from the camera sensors we had to go back to vintage lenses made for film cameras to get the beautiful warm feel I was looking for.

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In spite of their age, the original Cooke Panchros match nicely with the Cooke zooms and even with the modern Cooke S4s.

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I’m very pleased with the look I achieved on The Crown and much of that is due to the lens choice.”

Adriano Goldman Cinematographer, ASC, ABC The Crown , TV series, Netflix

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Gear Guide

ZoeLog + Share notes with other users immediately after you write them + Enter notes faster with specialized keypads and auto-fill + Search for notes by scene, roll, lens or any field + Customize your log’s fields, lenses, filters and character names + Protect your log with four user-authorization levels + Read and write notes even without an Internet connection

“Zoe Van Brunt’s Zoelog is the only digital log I’ve seen that is set up for the needs of a professional assistant. I am currently working on a VFX-heavy show without a data wrangler. Our script supervisor and VFX supervisor use the app daily. It has been a great communication tool for the whole show.” – Dan Urbain, camera assistant

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Gear Guide

PRL Lustra 50 + Portable, high-performance, quality LED light providing high-intensity output for continuous, full-spectrum lighting in a variety of situations + True alternative to the use of strobes and flash for a great variety of applications + Combines high-power LEDs and engineered TIR optics with an integrated dimmer to deliver optimal intensity and full dispersion of light across the color spectrum + Clean, ergonomic design is the perfect complement for static in studio as well as location projects, capture of video interviews and spot news on the go + Every fixture is paired with a dedicated 12-V power supply and incorporates an option for utilization of portable power via a Sony NPF L-series 7.2-V DV battery

“The Lustra 50 is a great, quick, powerful option for bouncing light as either key or fill when space and time are scarce.

The output is amazing for the size – it’s very punchy. I like how lightweight and quick it is to set up and control. Also, it can be battery operated when you need something in a crunch and moving fast is imperative.” – Mateo Londono, DP

$495 www.prllighting.com 20

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§ DP Lights has evolved into a mobile “production hub” for color-management § Features the industry’s premiere color-science § No computer required! § The DP and his DIT or assist can both work in parallel in real time § The DP Lights system is “empowering” the ASC CDL to reach its fullest potential § The new DP Lights system can support multiple cameras with dedicated displays for each camera § Features hero monitor/display per camera, with full tracking of metadata § The system is the height of adaptability: with a webinterface, Technicolor can trouble-shoot and monitor remotely § On-set creative decisions flow easily into the finishing color processes § We can monitor in parallel SDR and HDR, in real time

For more information and demonstrations, please be in contact with:

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Refraction. new technology Issue

photo by Sara Terry

HDR

Explained

by Josh Limor

High dynamic range (HDR) has generated a tremendous amount of media coverage and analysis over the past year, with the more breathless headlines focused on the implications of having multiple formats that may confuse the creative community.

To be clear, studios and content distributors are excited about the commercial prospects associated with HDR and are asking the creative community – including cinematographers – to incorporate this rapidly rising image technology into their projects. This raises interesting questions about whether or not there are truly creative benefits to be gleaned by artists from HDR. This is an especially cogent question when you consider that the hype around technologies like 3D and 4K seemed to add significant complexity to the creative process without delivering a commensurate improvement in the audience experience.

My view is that HDR does offer creative opportunities that will be well received by consumers interested in cinematic, episodic and live programming. I work with artists every day who are using the expanded spectrum of light and colors that HDR provides, helping to accentuate story elements and heighten the overall experience for the audience.

At its core, HDR is not a complicated proposition. It simply offers content creators access to a much wider palette with which to work, and introduces new opportunities to inject nuances associated with contrast management that were not previously 22

available. While this is exciting, this does not materially alter the tools and skills that cinematographers and colorists have been using for years now.

So what exactly does the creative community need to know to begin getting the most creativity out of HDR? From a cinematographer’s perspective, HDR represents an opportunity to revisit some important concepts that we learned from capturing content on film. Film acquisition is predicated on capturing the widest latitude and highest dynamic range of light on the negative in order to ensure that the post-production team – including colorists – has access to the fullest range of information. In digital acquisition, the tendency for many content creators drifts toward trusting what is seen on the reference monitor as the final image. For years now, digital cameras have been able to acquire much more dynamic range than what we have been able to see on available monitors – which we might retroactively refer to today as standard dynamic range monitors.

The emergence of HDR monitors that are not only available in production environments but are starting to penetrate the home allows creatives to take advantage of color and luminance information so that new dimensions can be added to the story.

The risk of working with more dynamic range is that it can

allow more noise to be apparent in the image. As a result, cinematographers should ensure that steps are taken to protect the shadows from any undesirable, encroaching noise.

Similarly, protecting details in the highlights – or brighter areas of the image – ensures that colorists can now create more depth in the picture they are painting.

One of the biggest advantages of HDR is that artists are able to work with this depth to develop the illusion that people are no longer looking at a flat screen, but are gazing through a window. That said, even though a wider palette of light and color is available with HDR, not every scene and shot demands it. It is always important to remain true to the story and use the additional range only where it makes sense. While a specular highlight off a metal watch might make sense in an advertisement, a bright practical light source may be distracting in a drama.

Once the content has been created, there has been a lot of discussion about how to get HDR images into people’s homes.

The studios, technology companies, content distributors and consumer electronics manufacturers have come together to develop open specifications around HDR. The market, however, is still wrestling with the fact that multiple formats for content currently exist.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the variation in formats:

SDR The rise of HDR has created a category that requires a name for the existing way images are displayed, standard dynamic range, which is also known as BT.1886, Gamma, Rec. 709.

(Gamma is a relative transfer function that stretches or compresses code values evenly across the display from its peak luminance to its minimum luminance.) This mouthful of jargon is what has allowed consumers to experience interoperable high-definition images using the pre-HDR range of luminance that the content ecosystem has had at its disposal. As we move beyond SDR, the entire industry has agreed that the color space will expand from Rec. 709 to BT.2020, which provides a wider color gamut. Where things remain unresolved is regarding what the best replacement should be for BT.1886 Gamma – which defines the luminance curve. As we discuss HDR, some of the key differences between the formats revolve around the characteristics of their luminance curves.

PQ (Perceptual Quantizer) This curve is the foundation upon which HDR10 and Dolby Vision are built. It is what the technical community refers to as an “absolute transfer function” for luminance. Each code value corresponds to a specific measurement of luminance (typical luminance is measured in nits, or cd/m2) from the screen. PQ spaces the 1024 code values, in a 10-bit signal, up to 10,000 nits. As a frame of reference, today’s consumer SDR TVs display peak luminance of 100–350 nits, while OLED HDR TVs display peak luminance of 540 nits and higher; LCD HDR TVs support peak luminance of more than 1,000 nits. Typically, PQ is used for images that want to maintain as much of the original light characteristic that can be handled by a given display. So if you have an image that was graded to 1,000 nits presented on a consumer display that supports 600 nits, then working with PQ may maintain the image accurately to 540 nits and then roll off (or compress)

the additional highlight detail into the remaining 60 nits. While PQ was designed as a perceptual distribution of light, it was not optimized for compressed home delivery. This means it can potentially limit the image quality by the time it reaches the home because most current encoding technologies – which compress images – were designed before PQ existed.

HDR10 and Dolby The only difference between HDR10 and Dolby Vision is that HDR10 relies solely on static metadata describing the entire piece of content and hardware inside the TV to map and roll off the highlights. By contrast, Dolby’s HDR technology relies on a combination of metadata from the content-creation process and hardware inside a Dolby Vision TV. Dolby’s metadata is created with a specific additional trim pass on top of the HDR10 version and requires Dolby’s proprietary hardware.

HLG (Hybrid Log-Gamma)

This curve, which has been supported by the BBC and NHK, is a “relative transfer function” that is designed for HDR content. This ostensibly allows content to be sent without the need for metadata. (This point is disputed by some critics.)

HLG is designed to allow for a greater use of code values with the assumption that most images may only be graded up to 1,000 or 2,000 nits. This assumption allows code values to be better distributed throughout the bits available in the signal.

S-Log3 This is a proprietary curve designed by Sony for acquisition in professional environments – not for consumer distribution and display. It maximizes the dynamic range potential of their camera sensors while limiting the noise.

The key thing to keep in mind is that there have been specific market conditions that have led to the development of each of these formats. In other words, there is a constituency behind all of these approaches to HDR. The challenge is to figure out how to manage this complexity for content creators and consumers. It turns out that the math exists to create algorithms that can harmonize and normalize this array of formats by creating a common baseline from which all content can be recreated. As a result, it is possible to build a universal distribution platform that can carry any piece of content (regardless of format, including SDR) from any source to any display.

An example of such a platform is Advanced HDR by my firm, Technicolor, which was designed with compression quality in mind to allow artists to create any format of content to tell their story. The platform ensures that HDR content can travel over any distribution vehicle, and then be consumed by audiences over any device or display.

Josh Limor is Vice President, Technology and Ecosystem Development, Technicolor, in charge of developing the portfolio of next-generation immersive video solutions. He has spent over a decade in business and product development for the video industry, and has a track record for defining market opportunities and creating successful product portfolios.

Prior to Technicolor, Limor worked at Panavision, where he designed, developed and implemented a range of digital workflow solutions that helped to transition the market from film, to digital, to higher dynamic range.

23

HDR 101

by Pauline Rogers

Amazon’s crime series, Bosch, shot by Patrick Cady, ASC and Paul Sommers, opted for an HDR final with Warner Bros. colorist Scott Klein / Photo by Aaron Epstein

“It’s not a fad. It’s an entire shift in filmmaking. And unlike 3D, it’s not painful to watch,” describes colorist Kevin Shaw of high dynamic range (HDR), the newest technology industry stakeholders are carefully charting like a hurricane on The Weather Channel.

In this month’s Refraction (page 22), Josh Limor, Technicolor’s vice president, Technology and Ecosystem Development, explains how the theories behind HDR should not intimidate users from a technological standpoint. But to go from theory to practice, there’s nothing better than realworld experience. So we reached out to a group of Local 600 DP’s working on HDR projects, and the colorists who are grading for both Dolby Vision and HDR10 display platforms.

(Colorists have more flexibility to adjust metadata for different brightness levels in a Dolby Vision grade than when working in HDR10. More on that later.)

A few years back, DP’s Patrick Cady, ASC, and Paul Sommers, who have worked closely with producer Pieter Jan Brugge on the Amazon hit series Bosch, were impressed by a demonstration of Dolby’s then top-of-the-line monitor. “It was capable of producing brightness that almost made you

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squint,” Cady recalls. “It had nicer versions of cyan, closer to what your eye sees. At the time they were using the phrase ‘Better pixels, not more pixels.’ [And that resonated] for me, because resolution is less important in telling a story than being able to play with darkness, light and colors in a subtle way.”

When Bosch opted for an HDR final, Cady didn’t change his on-set approach; he simply pushed a color harder for the SDR release. “If I wanted a seedy-looking fluorescent or mercury vapor color, I added more cyan and green on top of a modern cool white bulb or metal halide fixture,” he describes. “[The look of] Bosch recalls films of the 1970s and ’80s that used harsh industrial fixtures. So we were less subtle about carving out weird colors like cyan and green that are limited in the SDR range. [Warner Bros. colorist] Scott [Klein] toned them down a bit to let them breathe in the HDR space.”

For Steven Fierberg, ASC, whose Good Girls Revolt was one of the first HDR projects on television, the technology is promising, but there are some cautions. “The benefits are a greater vibrancy, brilliance and intensity of the image,” Fierberg relates. “The concerns are that details will

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Steve Fierberg, ASC, says some concerns about HDR include “details present in areas that weren’t meant to have them, revealing the painted studio backdrop, and highlights so brilliant they distract from actors’ faces.”

now be present in areas that were not meant to have detail, thus revealing the lurking monster or the painted studio backdrop. Also, bright highlights can easily distract from the actors’ faces, because they are so brilliant.

“In one demonstration of HDR, well-meaning but done without the cinematographer’s input, I was shown details in the cloud cover that had been a unifying white in The Revenant,” Fierberg continues. “And I found myself looking at the sun poking though the clouds rather than Leonardo DiCaprio’s face! With two image systems for viewing that must exist at the same time, each with different thresholds and capabilities for tonal reproduction, creating the proper look feels almost impossible.”

What are the solutions to such HDR dilemmas? First, Fierberg, says, involve the cinematographer in everything.

And second, do not necessarily use the entire range of HDR’s capability. “Up until now, it has been standard practice to place some area of a photograph at an almost pure white, and some area at an almost pure black,” he adds. “This gives the photographic print the most vibrancy it is capable of reproducing.

“In the case of HDR, where the blacks and especially whites are so extreme, this practice must be clearly repudiated,” Fierberg continues. “It is not necessary to have something in the frame that is a ‘pure’ white or even a pure black. One can use only half of the tonal range available and still have a magnificent image. And, in a conversion from an existing, non-HDR image, the point at which detail disappears

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in both the highlights and shadows should be maintained. Do not bring in detail where there was none before. Just because it is possible doesn’t mean it needs to be done.”

“To me, we’re experiencing two applications of HDR – on-set for capture, and in post for delivery,” adds cinematographer Jay Hunter, who recently did two HDR projects for director Joss Whedon. “In-camera, you can shoot a duplicate (or secondary) frame for each frame you capture [which is exposed either brighter or darker than the primary frame.] And then in postproduction, your colorist may choose to use [or not] the secondary frames to bring greatly increased latitude to the final image. If you overexpose the secondary image, you will have increased information in the blacks/shadows that would otherwise be lacking in detail/ information/texture. If you underexpose the secondary frame, respectively, you would have increased information in the highlights to extract and blend into the final image.”

HDR allowed Hunter to finesse shots and recover otherwise lost detail on both of Whedon’s projects. But the downside of all that extra information was massive data files, and, as Hunter describes, “getting a slight bit of motion blur from the in-camera process that has to be offset with a narrow shutter angle. I find that not only requires much more light to attain proper exposure levels but can also give you that hyperfocused narrow-shutter feeling.”

How key is the colorist on Planet HDR? Since Guild DP’s and DIT’s have not [yet] been able to monitor for HDR

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Marco Polo colorist Martin Zeichner says that “as HDR takes off, productions will be bringing more of the colorist’s digital tools [like scopes and HDR monitors] to the set.” / Photo by Phil Bray/Netflix

on set, and must use old-school film techniques like metering, the colorist becomes invaluable. Using professional reference monitors with different luminance measures, like the 1000nit Sony BVM X300, and the equally bright Dolby PRM 4220, they can see how HDR can not only impact an image’s emotional content but how HDR color space could enhance the image without changing the intent.

Pankaj Bajpai, Senior Colorist and SVP, Business advancement in Deluxe’s TV group, was one of the first colorists to do an HDR pass for a TV series – Amazon’s Good Girls Revolt – which Fierberg shot with John Lindley, ASC, and Cynthia Pusheck, ASC. Bajpai found that the [brighter] highlights could make certain areas of the frame seem more real – like a practical lamp, car headlights or the specular highlights off a metallic object. “HDR really has a strong effect in the midtones,” Bajpai shares. “It can give you a greater feeling of texture and of detail on surface or skin than is possible in Rec.709, which is key for cinematographers, make-up artists and designers to understand.”

Bajpai goes on to describe HDR as “being much closer to the dynamic range” we see in real life. “Until DP’s can truly monitor in HDR on set, they need to be aware that when viewing a Rec. 709 monitor, the mushed detail, or that blownout highlight, will, on an HDR display, look more like what we see with the naked eye,” he adds.

Netflix’s Marco Polo colorist Martin Zeichner, who works out of Deluxe in NY, realizes that cinematographers might,

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initially, want to stay within the SDR luminance range. “I think we all hear about what HDR can do technically, but we really don’t think in HDR terms until we see it,” he offers. Zeichner’s prediction is that as HDR takes off, productions will be bringing more of the colorist’s digital tools to the set. “Using an HDR monitor on set will give them at least a rough idea of what the final picture can look like,” he says.

DP’s can also benefit by using scopes to figure out the optimal brightness levels that work best for HDR. “There is a sweet spot where a cinematographer can place the highlights and take advantage of HDR without having such extreme ratios that the highlights end up compromised,” Zeichner adds. “If you don’t get there, it’s going to be more difficult to take advantage of what HDR has to offer, but if you go significantly higher, you can have a lot of very bright highlights that can really overpower other aspects of the shots when you see them on a 4000-nit monitor.”

While looking at camera tests, Deluxe’s Company 3 colorist Cody Baker (who just completed work on an HDR10 version of Z: The Beginning of Everything) realized a few things that needed to be addressed. “A lot of information will clip in Rec. 709 and look blown out. Normally you’d say, ‘Okay, that kitchen window is six stops over [key]; we can just let it clip.’

But it doesn’t work that way when you’ve got a display with 40 times the brightness. It might be blindingly bright, but you can still see detail. If there’s something in that window that you see

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While grading the HDR10 version of Z: The Beginning of Everything, Company 3 colorist Cody Baker warns DP’s: “if there’s something in that window that you see with your eye on set, it will show up in HDR.”/ Photo by Giovanni Ruffino/Amazon Studios

with your eye on set, it will show up in HDR.” Bringing the luminance down to adjust brightness levels by a colorist isn’t as straightforward as one might think.

What level do you bring the blown-out areas to? 500 nits?

1000 nits? Is that going to cut with the reverse shot that’s at 100 nits? Baker says that many editors use flash-to-white as an editorial device, “but with HDR, they have to choose a brightness that suggests white without creating a blinding flash,” he continues. “I think with HDR, we have to define what white is. Peaking out the display anymore [as in Rec.709] is no longer an option.”

“Once we know what the target is, then we can make color decisions based on this,” relates Michael Smollin, DI Colorist at Roundabout Entertainment, in Burbank, CA. “It’s about brightness in the highlights, how much crushing is going on in the shadow detail and what saturation level is comfortable. But it’s also in the technology used to view.”

Smollin describes HDR as two different workflows.

“Without any extra equipment, other than a monitor that can display up to 1000 nits, you can do an HDR10 grade.

For a Dolby Vision master, you need, in some cases, a monitor that can display up to 4000 nits [Dolby Pulsar] and a CMU [content mapping unit, which, as noted above, allows for brightness adjustment levels via metadata in Dolby’s HDR system]. The CMU analyzes the output of the color corrector in order to create the metadata that goes along with the Dolby Vision master.”

Sam Daley, with Technicolor PostWorks New York, recommends a camera test and LUT creation through the same pipeline that will be used for SDR and HDR delivery.

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“This will inform your decision on which version will be your ‘hero’ and which will be your ‘trim,” Daley states. “It may not be practical to grade in HDR first,” since the technology has yet to reach large saturation with consumers.

Anthony Raffaele, Senior Colorist, also with TechnicolorPost Works New York (who did Woody Allen’s Café Society), says the formats are bound to change. “The consumer market hasn’t even taken hold of HDR. Once there is more content, which will drive TV sales, we will then begin to see the formats settle.”

Supervising Producer Nick Theodorakis says the industry is definitely moving toward embracing HDR, calling it the future of imaging. “This is not a subtle makeover, either,” he insists. “It’s a tectonic shift in the way audiences will perceive the creative intention of filmmakers, and it can be done without the audience even being consciously aware that they’re being exposed to a new technology.

Hollywood understands that Dolby Vision and HDR10 can have interoperable standards, instead of needing to be in competition.”

But Theodorakis, like others, insists the cinematographer’s involvement is key to HDR’s success, along with the best digital tools to assist the final look. “That means having a DIT on set to meter the exposure and display the content correctly for both HDR and SDR grading,” he says emphatically. “It’s paramount because shooting RAW [and maintaining the most information possible] has become absolutely necessary, especially when the grade can go in so many directions with HDR.”

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Exposure. new technology issue

John Dykstra

by Kevin H. Martin photo courtesy of Tony Donaldson

When it comes to new VFX technology, most would agree that John Dykstra, ASC, has spent his career raising the bar. His first credit was on Douglas Trumbull’s classic, Silent Running, which led to his being effects supervisor on the original Star Wars (for which he won the first of his two Oscars).

Dykstra then assembled the original Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) team from Star Wars in a Van Nuys warehouse and spearheaded construction of a camera system that came to be known as the Dykstraflex, a landmark achievement in motion-control cinematography. continued on page 34 32

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Exposure. new technology issue

At Apogee, Dykstra introduced new processes like reverse blue screen (which allowed shiny miniatures to be photographed without a “blue spill” effect), and the Blue-Max frontprojected blue screen system. Dykstra has worked as visual effects designer on a variety of projects, including the last three Quentin Tarantino releases. A truly worthy 2014 recipient of the Visual Effects Society’s lifetime achievement award, Dykstra’s most recent credit is Ghost in the Shell [page 38], where he worked in support of visual-effects supervisor Guillaume Rocheron, with whom he’d teamed on Godzilla [ICG May 2014 ].

ICG: When embarking on Star Wars, what were the principal obstructions to overcome in developing a system that could deliver such a volume of opticals? Dykstra: The original challenge for visual effects in any film back then involved using a photographic medium in situations where it was otherwise impractical to do so, owing to issues arising from optics, physics and acceleration/deceleration of mass. For Star Wars, in particular, we had to create a camera small and flexible enough to capture unusual events ranging from high-speed pyrotechnics to dynamic photography of miniatures in non-real-time situations. This meant having to capture various elements through separate camera passes that all matched precisely, then optically compositing them together. Going back to my earliest work for Doug Trumbull, we had been chasing that goal, using simple gear drives and synchronous motors to control camera movement. Numerical control machining was the technology of the time, so to achieve this repeatability you made parts with a lathe or mill, then worked out your move using a device that was more of a calculator than a computer.

Repeatability was the key, but not the only factor? The challenges were, to be honest, exponential. We had to be able to make a move, record that move and then repeat it whenever necessary, but we also had to be able to figure

in time offsets to address scale and speed issues, and had to be able to vary exposure for different camera passes – running lights and engine glows on the ships, for example – while retaining the same displacement on the elements frame-for-frame. The other key aspect was moving the camera during the shot with a shutter that reflected naturally occurring motion blur. That image smear took things to a level of credibility that was beyond the then-traditional stopmotion animation look, which was a dead giveaway for effects of that time.

Being able to photograph several subjects separately in the course of one day was what really let us get ahead of the curve and mass-produce. Prior to that, we’d been limited to leaving a static setup in place, shooting one element at a time, and possibly spending weeks on just one shot, since we would be bringing those elements to the in-place camera, rather than proceeding in an efficient workaday manner.

Apogee developed new approaches for shooting visual effects and refined existing ones, often in very creative ways, like bouncing lasers off Mylar. Was it always a specific need that drove the tech innovation? For me, it was a tech approach that was just immensely fun. Even the part about figuring how to express or explain to a filmmaker how motion control or light refraction would work – creating a GUI for him, in a sense. We were out there getting to do things that weren’t necessarily academic or commercial with highpowered lasers when they were first available. When we needed to get usable aerial plates with wide variation in frame rates, we came up with a system that let us control the exposure from inside the aircraft, and who doesn’t like getting to fly airplanes down canyons?

What’s changed with effects-related challenges in recent years? With what I call the black box, there is now infinite variability. Motion control was still limiting, owing to having to carry the camera and film with you. With a virtual camera, there’s no mass, and the ability to computer-generate images removed continued on page 36

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Exposure. new technology issue

“THE IDEA THAT SOMETHING IS GOOD OR SHOULD BE EMBRACED BECAUSE IT IS NEW OR COMPLEX SEEMS ONLY RARELY TO BE TRUE.” so many limitations. But the computer programs still use the same kinetics as motion control, with cameras translating up/ down, left/right, forward/back and pitch/ roll/yaw.

So too many possibilities when there are infinite options? You have to be a pragmatist. After all, this is all illusion. The idea that something is good or should be embraced because it is new or complex seems only rarely to be true. Some of the best movies rely on stories that have been told before in an expansive fashion, but this time out, it was told best – not necessarily due to the methodologies, but rather how they were utilized and who was behind that.

Comparing the old way of doing effects with the current virtual environment is like thinking about the processes behind writing a hand-drafted letter versus sending an e-mail. The former is often more considered than the latter, so there can be some benefits to the older approach.

Star Wars was a huge project in its day, with about 365 effects shots. But that pales with franchise VFX films today.

Modern filmmaking has gone into a mode where conspicuous consumption of eye candy – which sounds derogatory, and maybe it should if it doesn’t contribute to telling the story – leads to exciting entertainment, but also sometimes shallow results. It could well be that back when we had to struggle just to figure out how we could possibly achieve the end result, more thought went into the value of a given image and how it related to the film. I think the artistic culling that went on was of value, designing machines to achieve the end results for a limited number of shots, while today we just have the black box.

So how does the volume of work affect the ability to deliver quality? For some films, VFX are now a commodity, purchased by the pound, and if you buy that way, it isn’t all going to be quality goods, not when you’re dealing with so many factors like time

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and animation and fixing live-action issues.

The idea you’re going to deliver 1,200 to 2,000 VFX shots without two years to do the job means compromise will creep in, and there is always a worst shot, in every movie.

So you have to decide about prioritizing. You don’t want to do 50 percent of the shots to 100 percent excellence and the other half at 75 percent. You’re better off going for 95 percent solved on all of them, because at least then you’ve got consistency.

When you came on the first Star Trek, Apogee had 150 shots to do in a few months, everything from mo-con miniatures to salvaging half-completed live-action work. On Trek, we were dealing with models and concepts that were originated by another team and having to manage the best we could with what was at hand. That’s a less-than-ideal situation, because if you’ve got an actor in a blue costume shot against blue screen and dealing in pre-digital compositing, the results are never going to be 100 percent. But the objective you work to differed depending on the medium as well. With Apogee’s TV work, we were committed to a playback medium where no one was as critical about the final product; you didn’t quibble about the resolution. Nowadays, the commodity nature of action visuals – although increasing due to innovation, both technological and creative – is diminishing things, due to quantity required, plus of course time and money constraints.

With Ghost in the Shell, you’re working on a well-known property that has origins in manga and anime. What sorts of special issues arose? Guillaume [Rocheron, Ghost’s VFX supervisor] was the driving creative force on effects from the start. I didn’t join production until after principal had wrapped, and can only speak to the color environment issues of the show’s unique color palette as they applied in post.

By adapting the anime sensibility and stylistic approach, it did cause a struggle to maintain

a sense of reality to some degree – not just for the imagery, but also for the story itself.

The character palette is, quite frankly, outside the norm, which could possibly distance viewers from that automatic sense of immersion. The demographic was ideal for faithful anime viewers, but you also had to maintain the wider view for a more general audience who isn’t aware of anime – the style might seem conspicuously obscure to them if you weren’t careful. And if audience immersion isn’t complete, then the VFX can start to seem like they’re not well integrated, which is ultimately the bottom line. I think every effort has been made to please both camps of viewer.

What do you see as the future of VFX cinematography? [Pause] The technology has made the medium of filmmaking available to a much broader range of filmmakers than ever before, and I think as a direct result of this, we’ll get increasingly more diverse and intriguing stories. The lightweight, easy-to-use camera is an aid to them, but also a benefit for more experienced and established filmmakers, too, providing them with greater efficiency, which is a real boon when dealing with the always-too-short schedules. You can do more iterations and spend more time shooting and less time figuring out how to shoot it.

Will the current run of big-budget spectacles exhaust itself, or just exhaust the VFX artists having to top themselves every time out? Right now, the marketability of action tent poles is a major deal, but while some are very quality-minded, others seem to just get cranked out, which means you’re going to get a mixed variety of results, regardless of how much time you put in … and the work expands to fill the time, regardless of the project. [Laughs] It’s really anybody’s guess whether the quality projects or the assembly-line ones will be more successful, but I know which ones I want to see!

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37 Creative Freedom

SILENT RUNNERS Jess Hall, BSC, helps to create a live-action alternate future with the anime-inspired thriller Ghost in the Shell.

by Kevin H. Martin Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures

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The 1995 animated film Ghost in the Shell is among the most acclaimed entries in the anime genre. Derived from a manga (Japanese comic book) series, it depicts the adventures of Major Motoko Kusanagi, a human-cyborg hybrid who leads an elite law-enforcement task force devoted to stopping cyber (and real) terrorism in 21st century Japan. Ghost in the Shell inspired interest in the U.S.A. as a live-action remake. (It’s often cited as one of the principal influences on The Matrix.)

But the project remained unrealized for years until Steven Spielberg brought Snow White and the Huntsman director Rupert Sanders onboard. The British filmmaker recruited Scarlett Johansson to star as the Major and Jess Hall, BSC, as director of photography.

Kevin Martin talked with some of Ghost’s creative principals, including Hall, VFX supervisor Guillaume Rocheron, 1st AC Craig Grossmueller, Park Road Post workflow architect Tony Pratt, Park Road colorist Jon Newell and Park Road director of picture engineering Ian Bidgood, about the project’s groundbreaking use of new technology.

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PREPRODUCTION: STRETCHING THE CANVAS Jess Hall, BSC: Rupert handed me the first script for Ghost about a year in advance of principal photography. I’d been a massive fan of the anime Akira and gone through several VHS tapes of various versions growing up. Translating anime into live action has a challenging history, but I realized what an opportunity this could be and approached it on several levels, including composition and camera movement, translating 2D into 3D, stills into motion, and of course, color.

Guillaume Rocheron: Rupert’s idea for portraying this environment is that it is not our future, but a parallel one. They don’t have WiFi, so everything is hooked up with cables and feels analog and retro. Rupert was keen to have a practical basis for our work, and responded best to being able to walk around a physical object, even if it was only used as a reference.

Weta Workshop [in New Zealand] built a few miniature buildings that were scanned and made into digital assets. Those became design tools we could evaluate and alter until we were happy. We even used pieces from them as kit bashes to make interesting roof patterns.

Hall: Vittorio Storaro’s theories on color had a profound impact on me as a developing cinematographer, particularly his exploration of color as a signifier of both emotional and 42

culturally specific meaning. These aspects of his work were masterfully employed in his magnificent works Apocalypse Now and The Last Emperor. I saw Ghost as a wonderful opportunity to develop a sophisticated and nuanced color palette with which to explore the parameters of color in the digital cinematography space. Working in concert with Rupert and production designer Jan Roelfs, I developed a design aesthetic that reflected Ghost’s anime origins whilst also drawing on many other sources.

In terms of color, I was inspired by the great works of anime but also traditional Japanese artists like Hiroshige for the use of simple yet refined color schemes to create a harmonious effect. I was particularly interested in combining colors, so my research went deep into color theorists like Josef Albers. In studying the original Ghost in the Shell and its sequel, Innocence, I was intrigued by the complex and unusual skin tones that appear for the Major, and I began to ask myself, “What if I could achieve something like that for Scarlett?” I was identifying soft grays infused with secondary colors of warmth or violet that were extremely subtle. The anime of Ghost was created using a mix of traditional cel work and computer animation, and, in moments, achieves an almost watercolor-like feel. I wanted to create something in live action reflecting that look, which hadn’t really been done before. This meant Ghost’s requirements were going to drive technological innovation.

“The anime of Ghost mixed traditional cel and computer animation to acheive a watercolorlike feel. I wanted to create something in live action reflecting that look.”

– DP Jess Hall, BSC

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GHOST IN THE SHELL

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Based on the anime Ghost and some 2000 stills he shot at night in Hong Kong, Hall created a palette of 28 colors achieved through LED’s.

PRODUCTION: PAINTING WITH LIGHT Hall: Based on the anime Ghost and some 2000 stills I shot at night in Hong Kong, I created a palette of 28 colors, achieved through LED’s. [See accompanying chart.]

We programmed the 28 colors across fixtures – from Digital Sputnik, LiteGear, various Arri units and Creamsource Sky lights. Sputnik’s units had six-color channel mixing that was quite effective, and I could dim the fixtures without the color shifting. I couldn’t achieve all of the subtle washes I wanted, so I talked to LiteGear’s Mike Bauman, whose LED ribbon lights would be integrated into the sets, props and costumes. Mike developed prototype units that went beyond their four-channel RGBW. We could infuse any color with Tungsten, cool white light or amber, desaturating or shifting it toward more of a secondary coloration. Mike manufactured various custom fixtures, including LiteMats with six channels of color. This developed ultimately into the single more efficient 6-channel strip Cine6. After mixing the colors by eye and testing them on camera, these profiles were sent to the lighting desk, where they could be called up on any unit. We tracked everything so VFX would always know exactly what colors were being used on set. If they got a green screen element of someone in front of a window and had to add a nightscape outside, they’d know I used warm gray and pale blue-violet and could match our work.

Rocheron: In VFX, there are two scenarios: you’re either integrating your

work with live-action elements or doing all-digital shots that also have to retain the properties inherent in the live action.

So I really encouraged our vendors to use Jess’ color palette, especially MPC, which handled the cityscapes. We captured HDRI and lots of on-set reference in Hong Kong and during the majority of shooting, which took place in the Wellington, New Zealand studio. We didn’t notice light falloff from LEDs being much different from traditional lights, but their brightness was more intense. We used a lot of raytracing, modeling the digital lighting on real sources rather than cheating. There were many reflective surfaces, so calculating the amount and quality of light bouncing off these was immensely important.

Hall: Rupert and I had shot the Alexa 65 on a Halo commercial, and based on [the Halo] spot, I knew we needed a wider range of lenses for Ghost. In talking with [Panavision’s] Dan Sasaki, I thought a softer, painterly image was the goal, and considered vintage glass. But my need for absolute color consistency was at odds with that. I didn’t want veiling flares, but required a particular T-stop to be able to shoot available light in Hong Kong. Plus I needed the focus to fall off in a particular fashion. I liked how the compressed perspective looked with primes on the Alexa 65. Anime was often drawn with wide angles, but not necessarily with forced perspective, and the 65-millimeter helped with that. Views between 35- and 24-millimeter glass were appealing, so Dan built us the perfect wide-angle: a one-off 29-millimeter that we used throughout.

65 lenses were the key to the puzzle and just looked amazing. I was hired on early to shoot Hong Kong plates with Jess, which also included some lens testing. I came back after principal to do the pickups and reshoots in Los Angeles. The plates were for exterior views of the city, seen beyond the various New Zealand-shot stage interiors. Main unit went back to Hong Kong for two and a half weeks after the New Zealand shoot, with 1st AC Jonas Steadman handling things. The L.A. reshoots were mainly single-camera, as Rupert seemed to favor a classical approach; although, if there was an opportunity for the second camera, they’d bring it in. It really amazed me how Jess was able to match the New Zealand setups so quickly. He would sit beside the DIT station, with the dimmer board operator on his left, while he studied the A- and B-camera feeds.

The whole set was lit by LED’s, with huge soft-boxes up on motors, and Jess controlling all of this plus camera functions.

There wasn’t a lot of time for rehearsals, so sometimes we’d only have three or four takes with Scarlett before moving on.

We’d set up with a stand-in, but she might do something unique and we’d of course want to accommodate her inspiration. On a 100-millimeter close-up, I noticed in mid-shot that only one of Scarlett’s eyes was in focus. We’re all on [communication] systems talking back and forth. I let Jess know, and he adjusted the lighting and stopped-down the camera a half-stop while the shot was rolling to get that extra bit of depth of field across her face. It was nextlevel work.

Craig Grossmueller: The custom spherical 45

WORKFLOW: GHOSTING THE MACHINES Hall: With our unique palette, I realized monitoring would need to be sophisticated. I proposed working entirely in P3 color space instead of Rec. 709, and Park Road Post was receptive, getting involved calibrating monitors and creating an exceptional workflow to make sure what we saw on set would match projected dailies.

Tony Pratt: Previously critical on-set monitoring and dailies grading has often occurred in Rec. 709, a color space that has no relationship to [the final] DCI P3. Our approach was to monitor D65 P3 throughout the pipeline.

The Codex Vaults are connected to Park Road via a direct fiber-optic link. I worked with SGO to deploy highly optimized GPU debayering.

This enabled painless grading, effortless conform and on-demand screening from the Arriraw media. The workflow allowed for rapid turnaround and communication between the grading suite, Jess’ team at Stone Street, and Production’s editorial.

Jon Newell: Monitors on set with a wide color gamut can be manipulated and balanced to ensure they use a managed profile and gamma, such that the D65 P3 color space look is consistently presented to critical screens.

Carefully profiled Sony OLED’s were used onset and Dolby PRMs in the dailies grade suite.

Feeding these monitors is the Wide Gamut Log-C HD-SDI tap from the Alexa 65, the video stream from all cameras passing through the same “Client LUT” transforming the Log-C signal into the correct color space. I could work with Jess and his DIT [Mike Urban] through prelight with tremendous confidence, as the correct P3 color space was used when passing a CDL/still through to the dailies suite.

Hall: The other aspect that simplified and unified things was working from a single LUT, which I designed with [SHED’s] Yvan Lucas.

It captured our unique colors while putting the white point right where we needed. This wasn’t a severe look, remaining in the middle of the curve, but carried a film-emulation quality along with the tweaked white point.

Ian Bidgood: I established a D65 white point for both Rec. 709 and P3 color spaces throughout the facility. Using a common white point has many advantages for the entire production chain – not the least of which is maintaining consistency between offline and online media – and making for more efficient online. A simple in-projector transform to the DCI white point for final grade/DCI mastering is elegant and tracks effortlessly.

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“Critical on-set monitoring and dailies grading has often occurred in Rec. 709, which has no relationship to [the final] DCI P3. Our approach was to monitor D65 P3 throughout the pipeline.

– Park Road Post Workflow Architect Tony Pratt

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“ As in Blade Runner,

advertising is everywhere. But instead of being 2D, these spots all have volume.”

– VFX Supervisor Guillame Rocheron

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CAMERA MOVEMENT: BATTLE AS BALLET Hall: New Zealand A-camera/Steadicam operator Pete McCaffrey, aided by 1st AC David Elmes, really picked up on my simplicity in composition, and got how certain traits – like shooting through windows and doorways or a particular camera height and lens choice – implied a perspective that referenced Japanese fine art. Whether on dolly, Steadicam, descender rig or Technocrane, Pete always kept this aesthetic in mind. It was satisfying, compositionally, to see ceilings in frame, as they kind of hinge you into real architecture.

There are low angles throughout the work of [Japanese director Yasujiro] Ozu, so this has that Japanese influence as well. [Ozu’s low angles became known as Tatami shots, since they often mirrored the perspective from which a kneeling figure views the world – although his actual camera placement was often even closer to the floor.]

Rocheron: Our opening GhostCam shot runs about 90 seconds, establishing the city with such detail it also becomes a character.

As in Blade Runner, advertising is everywhere.

But instead of being 2D, these spots all have volume. We created about 65 of these “solograms,” each running up to 25 seconds, but integrating them into shots flying through the city required we be able to move around them. Traditional motion control would have been limiting, so Jess talked with Digital Air’s Dayton Taylor, who builds bullet-time rigs, about photogrammetry for fight scenes. Dayton told Jess about a concept he had for video-photogrammetry using a big array of precisely controlled SLR’s that capture its subject in a domeshaped volume at 24 fps, all perfectly in sync. This let MPC, after months of R&D to tweak things, place each sologram within the cityscape and move the camera around it while maintaining proper perspective. Each of these ad characters had a slight low-rez look, which kept with the analog feel of this alternate future.

Hall: The Major has a human brain and a mechanical body, so she exists in what I liked to refer to as a third space, outside of each aspect, a theme we carried over from the anime. Since Rupert wanted a purposeful approach to camera movement, I came up with what we called the “GhostCam,” which conveyed this third space. We liked that the Major was ghosting through the world;

revealing an inquisitive purposeful nature that also had classical weight. Rupert liked using this exploratory camera to follow Scarlett through scenes, rather than the traditional shot/reverse shot grammar. The lighting design figured into this too, since it meant I had to light whole spaces rather than just a single direction. This was facilitated by having so much lighting achieved practically and built into the sets. Some of our GhostCam shots are very elaborate, finding The Major from a great distance, using a combination of Steadicam, crane or dolly work and VFX. Rocheron: Hong Kong still has large stretches with sodium vapor lighting. We couldn’t control or relight these areas, so we used effects to recreate them in the look of our 2029 world. Sodium vapor basically has all the blue filtered out, so making that look like a natural source did take some work.

We’d be grading faces to one degree and grading the tarmac to a different level, to keep things from looking like we just filtered the whole image. On a shot-by-shot basis we used CDL to do specific grading for dailies, evening things out before the DI. Since the colors are very precise, and so much of the movie’s visual identity derives from them, the LUT used for shooting went to the VFX vendors, with the CDL corrected the same way in native format. MPC worked everything “under the hood” in ACES, but the LUT displaying the image still emulated our desired look, even when viewing on the Avid. All the texture painting and other work done was converted from ACES to the Log-C Arri LUT. Hall: We worked with second unit director/ stunt coordinator Guy Norris to develop a language for the Major’s movements, which had to defy gravity a bit. Rupert wanted a dynamic physicality to how she fought, so we found wire-assisted moves with Guy

that helped give her a small boost, enough to show that she was better than human, but not inconceivably so. Everybody liked the idea of continuous shots that brought Scarlett into the action, rather than cutting from a stunt performer to her for closeups. We’d often stitch from either the stunt person or a digi-double to our lead as the Major moved through frame.

I didn’t want to sacrifice composition and stability in the image during the fights by going handheld. To make things even more balletic, we also shot high-speed with the Phantom. I’ve always been interested in choreographing camera and performer movement to enhance the power and grace of an action. This goes back to early in my career, when I worked with the great choreographer William Forsythe, who had a very muscular style for contemporary dance. We didn’t have access to Spydercam in New Zealand, so we used some low-tech Descender-style rigs, along with Technocrane, to imbue this dynamic. The New Zealand studio had been built for Peter Jackson’s films, and each stage had a different footprint.

K stage, built for King Kong, was tall enough to accommodate our aerial work.

CREW LIST Director of Photography Jess Hall, BSC A-Camera 1st AC Craig Grossmueller Jonas Steadman (LA) 2nd Unit Director of Photography Patrick Loungway Unit Still Photographer David James (LA) Publicists Peter Silbermann (NZ) Toni Atterbury (NZ and LA) 49

RAGE AGAINST THE MAN Reed Morano, ASC, directs Hulu’s new streaming adaptation of The Handmaid’s Tale, shot by Colin Watkinson, with more present-day relevance than anyone dared imagine.

by Kevin H. Martin Photos courtesy of Hulu

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Since its first publication in 1985, Margaret Atwood’s speculative novel, The Handmaid’s Tale, has been translated into many languages, as well as showing up on the stage, radio and silver screen. Atwood, a Canadian, imagined a world where a Christian extremist group has taken over the U.S. government and suspended the Constitution.

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n its place emerges a totalitarian theocracy, the Republic of Gilead, which reduces females to secondclass citizens, forbidding them to read and forcing those capable of bearing children into servitude for an infertile elite class. The story is told in the first person by Offred (Elizabeth Moss), a handmaid to a high-ranking Gilead “commander” (played by Joseph Fiennes). Offred becomes a pawn in the sexual politics of the Commander’s household, which includes his wife (Yvonne Strahovski) and driver (Max Minghella). She also learns about a potential resistance movement from another handmaid named Ofglen (Alexis Bledel).

Hulu and MGM television rebirthed Atwood’s tale as a streaming series shepherded by showrunner Bruce Miller, and featuring Local 600’s Reed Morano, ASC, directing the first three episodes. Morano, whose lengthy indie credits include Frozen River, The Skeleton Twins, and War Story, along with HBO series Looking and Vinyl, made her directing debut with Meadlowland (which she also shot). She notes that the script for The Handmaid’s Tale wasn’t written with specific visuals, so she pitched a whole look book.

“Life in Gilead was represented through very symmetrical frames,” Morano describes, “almost Kubrick-like, with uncomfortable compositions. When showing Offred’s perspective, we would go handheld, juxtaposing a more subjective feel with the Gilead scenes.”

Handheld was also employed for scenes of Offred’s life before becoming a handmaiden. “Those shots featured a flowing, more romantic camera,” Morano continues. “The book has a line that reads something like, ‘You remember the past the way you want to remember it.’ So a vérité impressionistic camera was appropriate for portraying that.”

For her DP, Morano selected Colin Watkinson, whose work on Tarsem Singh’s The Fall she much admired. Watkinson’s small-screen credits since The Fall include episodes of Entourage

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and the current Emerald City. “Reed wanted to deal with the film’s palette using contrasting colors in a more elegant way than the earlier feature film [a 1990 adaptation, shot by Igor Luther and directed by Volker Schlondorff],” Watkinson recalls.

Morano recalls how Watkinson came on late in prep, after she had taken location stills and color-corrected them into appropriate looks. “He said, ‘You didn’t leave me anything to do,’” she laughs. “But I think he found them useful as a window into my head.

“We talked about our differences, how I keep things rougher looking while he is more polished,” she adds. “Combining my handheld sensibility with Colin’s more polished ways kept things filmic. I gave specific input on composition, color and lens choice, but with lighting I just gave general ideas, so that is more the undiluted Colin, which I loved for the surprises and the results. Our differing sensibilities fused to create a hybrid that was the best of both of us.”

A-camera/Steadicam operator Mike Heathcote recalls Morano presenting Watkinson, himself, and B-camera operator Michael Carr with a beautiful and detailed mood book.

“It contained images, lines from the script, detailed information about her thoughts on the characters, the story, the feel and her inspirations,” Heathcote recalls. “After reading the entire document I knew exactly how Reed wanted to tell the story and the experience she

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wanted for the audience. I was also fortunate that Colin sent me many references and we talked about the script in detail and how to bring Reed’s vision to life. Reed and Colin gave me a lot of freedom to explore shots. It was very liberating to work in such a fresh and exciting way, often going against conventional framing with more extreme compositions.”

The mood book also shaped the contributions of production designer Julie Berghoff and costume designer Ane Crabtree. “The palette that Julie worked with complemented wardrobe,” Watkinson adds.

“On our end, we used lighting to express and reinforce the color choices.”

Morano says the biggest challenge was visually transposing so much voiceover.

“You had to put the audience in [Offred’s] shoes in a way that’s not just coverage with actors talking,” she declares. “Flashbacks helped, though it is funny to me that previously I’ve always sworn that off, as both DP and director, because it can often seem contrived. Still, I found that coming up with visuals that were emotionally appropriate was the key to making the voiceover and flashbacks work.”

That included a series of time changes that Morano laughingly calls the Inception flashback.

“In the first episode, we show a flashback within a flashback, followed by another flashback, before returning to present-day,” she continues. “Everybody above me worried it was too confusing, but I think by treating each part of it appropriately, with its own

“We called the bonnets ‘wings.’ After photographing them, I let [costume designer] Ane Crabtree know we needed more translucency, so they became like a soft box for their heads.”

– Reed Morano, ASC

distinct look, the audience will understand and go with the flow. Using sound to lead into the flashbacks worked hand-in-hand with the visuals, so for episodes two and three, we leveraged off sound in this way when Offred recalls her life from before.”

Both Watkinson and Morano were in agreement on shooting with ALEXA. “We’re both fans,” Watkinson shares, “and we went with the Mini for the 4K. For lensing, we chose Canon K35s to express a certain vintage quality. We tried to stay with wider choices, but occasionally we’d go more extreme, as with an 18 millimeter. Our DIT [Ben Whaley] jumped in and really helped develop our look, for which we wanted some pollution in the shadows – not a safe look at all. The grader from Deluxe also came down to the set to get an idea.”

Whaley came on two days before shooting, and discovered Watkinson likes to work close to the director. “Colin’s not a DP who spends his time in the tent like it’s mission control,” Whaley describes. “He wanted to work in-camera and needed a system that would not hold him back. I tried to get as much immediate feedback while he was at the camera as possible, both good and bad. In this way, he could set the tone, leaving it up to me to translate his concepts with tools that made it all seamless.”

Chief among these tools was Teradek COLR. “Everything was live-graded,” Whaley continues. “And with Colr, you can connect

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to the camera remotely, which makes color and ND changes simple, going in from the back and dialing it in as the DP works the scene. Colin was annoyed to have a box on the camera at first, but once he realized what it could do for the look, it stayed on.” Capturing from cards, the workflow was CDL-based, which facilitated tracking through editorial. “I did a global look for all cameras, and when it came back I adjusted the image, depending on how the lenses and sensors took the look,” Whaley adds.

One technique used throughout – with both Steadicam and handheld – was the use of only a 28-mm focal length to show Offred’s response to her plight. “Reed wanted to feel like you were right there with her, experiencing things as she did,” Heathcote reports. The operator recalls an involved Steadicam shot that required close collaboration between the camera team and cast.

“It starts upstairs with Offred in her bedroom,” Heathcote recalls. “The Steadicam leads her down flights of stairs to the main floor where a confrontation takes place, then continues further, following Offred outside, down to the street where she gets into a vehicle. It involved several of our main characters and was a lot of fun coordinating and operating. My A-camera first [AC], Gottfried Pflugbeil, did an incredible job keeping everything in focus.”

Many rooms of the Commander’s house were created on stage. “We have go-to looks established for a lot of these sets,” recounts gaffer Jonathan Gaudet. “While our big guns were conventional lights, we would not use tungsten sources for anything in the range below 12Ks, instead relying exclusively on LEDs. We did use Mole beams, mostly on stage, to create what Colin referred to as volumetric lighting, but our LED-structured foundation let us move quickly in studio for changeovers. Since we wanted to explore the 10,000-Kelvin range of light as well as 2800 degrees, we didn’t even use Celebs, which weren’t diverse enough for this show.”

With much of the illumination coming from windows, Gaudet used SkyPanels to set up appropriate soft lighting, augmenting with custom-built LED with diffusion, in chuck-wagon configuration. “DMX and Pixel LEDs are new tools that make it fast and easy to create new [lighting schemes],” Gaudet continues. “These days, I find having a programmer something of a necessity, though I still occasionally have to explain the importance of this position. On this show, working indoors was all about carrying the consistency of color separation, plus the layering of colors. The mixed color temperatures were a real learning curve for me, very nontraditional, which is in keeping with a show that didn’t use traditional backlighting.”

Also nonstandard was Watkinson’s approach to fill light. “It was ambient color, so there are layers to the fill, not just flat,” he reveals. “We never transmitted through white [except for

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“Reed wanted to feel like you were right there with her, experiencing things as she did.”

A-Camera/Steadicam Operator Mike Heathcote (IATSE Local 667/Toronto)

the handmaid’s bonnets – see below], usually going through colored cloth, sometimes a gray bounce or a China ball in midgray. We tried not to uplight or overlight, letting areas go into shadow. On daylight interiors, we always lit from the outside, then we’d bring the characters in and position them for that light, rather than have to bring in extra units.”

As noted, extra lighting proved unnecessary for shots of the handmaids wearing their distinctive bonnets, dubbed “wings.” Morano shares that, “when first constructed by Ane, we called the bonnets ‘barns’ because of their shape.

After photographing them, I let her know we needed more translucency, so they became like a soft box for their head.”

The biggest challenge was how the bonnets limited camera angles, especially on walk-and-talk exteriors. “You couldn’t use staggered two shots or profile views without losing their face completely,” Morano adds. “But as it turned out, from an acting and storytelling standpoint, this had an amazing and useful side effect. Since [the handmaids] weren’t supposed to display any of their emotions, we could shoot two walking side by side from the front while capturing each character displaying a reaction that the other cannot see. The nonverbal conveyance really worked, so the wings became an asset in that way, as well as a strong graphic image.”

In addition to a 4K finish, an HDR version of the series is also being readied. “The workflow is set up for HDR,” Watkinson notes, “but it isn’t yet ideal. Most viewers will see the 2K, so we have to really look to that as the most important in the short-term. But future-proofing the material is smart.”

A veteran of many DI’s [The Handmaid’s Tale was being graded at Deluxe as of this writing], Morano says she uses the process to point up certain colors, but in a subtle manner.

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“Our LUT had a muted color palette overall,” she reflects, “but we wanted the red of the handmaids’ costumes to be more saturated, giving them something like a bit more photochemical snap to the look. So we pick that one color to pop ever so slightly.”

Political realities of the novel that once seemed like cautionary fiction were directly brought home for Morano during editing. “We were shooting while the presidential campaigns were underway,” she concludes. “And the day after the election, I was watching assemblies of episodes two and three, and suddenly just started crying because some of these elements that might have felt fantastical before now seemed very possible and real.”

CREW LIST Director Reed Morano, ASC Director of Photography Colin Watkinson A-Camera Operator/Steadicam Mike Heathcote (IATSE Local 667 – Toronto) A-Camera 1st AC Gottfried Pflugbeil (IATSE Local 667 – Toronto) DIT Ben Whaley (IATSE Local 667 – Toronto)

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EYES WIDE SHUT Lol Crawley, BSC, and Guild VFX Supervisor Lesley Robson-Foster team up to create a magical (and totally unreliable) world for the new Netflix hit, The OA.

by Elle Schneider Photos by JoJo Whilden/Netflix

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Last December, Netflix premiered its new original series, The OA, with no advance warning, and instantly took the streaming-media world by storm. A fresh, tense fairytale for the modern age, The OA’s plot seems simple on the surface. It begins in the Italian neorealist-inspired suburbia of Crestwood, where Prairie Johnson (played by co-creator Brit Marling) returns to her adoptive parents after a seven-year kidnapping ordeal.

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Although many of the series’ 800-plus VFX shots are subtle, “the subject matter couldn’t have been more exciting to design,” says VFX Supervisor Lesley Robson-Foster. > framegrab courtesy of Netflix

B

UT THINGS ARE HARDLY WHAT THEY SEEM, beginning with Prairie’s inexplicable recovery from total blindness. She soon befriends a pack of local misfits and regales them with a harrowing tale of her imprisonment and eventual escape from an underground lair and laboratory, where she and her fellow captives were under the control of a villainous scientist. As the flashbacks unfurl, co-creator/director Zal Batmanglij, along with cinematographer Lol Crawley, BSC, use specific looks to build a complex narrative where each layer is more fantastic than the next, enhancing the (deliberate) mystery of whether everything Prairie shares with her newfound friends is fact or fiction.

Although many of the series’ 800-plus VFX shots are subtle, “the subject matter couldn’t have been more exciting to design,” says VFX Supervisor Lesley Robson-Foster (also a Local 600 member), who worked closely with Crawley, Batmanglij, and production designer Alex DiGerlando to create three distinct environments.

An average of 100 VFX shots per episode “was more than I’d done [for television] and a definite learning curve,” Crawley adds. And Batmanglij says it took many revisions and “concept artists to get worlds we invented from scratch to come to life.”

VFX shots in The OA range from complex set pieces, like an underwater blue screen setup involving a school bus full of children, “which Lol, Alex, Lesley and I drew out in detail,” adds Batmanglij, to an ethereal realm experienced by Prairie within her story called Khatun’s Starscape, created entirely in post by Robson-Foster’s team.

“For the starscape we moved away from slickness and towards it looking more like a set, “Batmanglij continues.

“We wanted the infinity feeling to come from mirrors. We didn’t use real mirrors, but Lesley and her team calculated the effect as if there were real mirrors reflecting back the

stars in the room, creating what I would call a ‘fractal’ reality – meaning the randomness and order we see in nature from a tree to a shell.”

Robson-Foster recalls that they “made a block-box environment that had many, many little tracking markers, so it kind of looked a bit like a star field. It was important to Zal that the actors felt comfortable; it’s hard to act against nothing.”

The VFX team photographed natural and human-made objects, mixing those with digital elements to create the texture of this cosmic world. “The star fields themselves are elements that we shot of burning steel wool,” RobsonFoster continues. “We made our designs out of these practical elements and mapped them onto shapes and kaleidoscopes.” Some of the ethereal outdoor shots were “shot in the parking lot at the stage in Yonkers, and then we had photographs taken of lava fields in Iceland. We made a 3D model of that world and mapped the pictures onto it.

That one’s completely 3D photogrammetry,” she says.

Robson-Foster adds that sometimes in television, she will encourage [showrunners] “to just write, and we’ll figure out the VFX later. But with Zal and Brit, they’re young and brave with their subject matter, and they needed no encouragement to write the impossible,” she laughs. With today’s advanced VFX capabilities, Robson-Foster, who’s supervised shows like HBO’s Vinyl and Boardwalk Empire, prefers to keep effects to the last step and not stifle creative freedom on set. “My team is really keen on not getting in the way,” she adds. “Giving the DP and the director a lot of freedom in the photography is important these days, with VFX there to support them.”

Many VFX shots serve to enhance practical effects created on set, including a terrifying contraption dreamed up by the show’s villain, Dr. Hap (Jason Isaacs). The device was designed so it would be utilized safely by the performers, 63

while using VFX later to sell the look. “Those are very carefully puttogether composites,” explains Robson-Foster, “so that we could do [the scenes] with a lot of safety gear, which we then [digitally] removed. Zal and Lol were lovely partners; they knew that this stuff must look completely realistic, so they were really good about letting me get in there and get the plates and any things that I needed.”

FOR A VFX-HEAVY SHOW, THE OA EMPLOYS A SURPRISING amount of handheld camera to cover the characters’ synchronized movements. “My B-camera/Steadicam operator, Rod Calarco, was much better then me,” says Crawley, who operates on the series. “There’s a moment with Brit and Emory Cohen in the cells, shot on a 50-millimeter, and Zal wanted the camera to follow all these tight movements of the characters’ hands. And Rod was really good at just locking in on those fast movements.”

Originally planning to be synced with VFX by shooting individual performers using motion control, the cast was able to sync up their choreography on set. None of their intricate movements, which required meticulously precise choreography, utilized VFX. It makes a big difference to Crawley to be able to work handheld with the actors and anticipate their movements, a synchronicity that resonates on screen. It’s a “privilege to operate handheld in that moment with a subject,” the DP describes. “There’s nothing worse than doing a static scene and the director’s pushing you to put in movement. You have to feel that movement.”

In fact, Batmanglij says he wanted to work with Lol because of his emotionally evocative photography. “So much of the emotion on screen stems from the marriage between Lol’s raw quality [of photography] and the actors’ rawness, in many ways, collaborating with the camera like another character,” the showrunner notes.

Crawley shot most of the show on the new Panasonic Varicam 35+ 4K camera system with a Codex V-RAW recorder, partially because the camera hadn’t yet been used on a large number of 64

“ So much of the emotion on screen stems from the marriage between Lol’s raw quality [of photography] and the actors’ rawness, in many ways, collaborating with the camera like another character.”

Co-Creator Zal Batmanglij

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projects and lacked an established look. “The image wasn’t extremely defined or sharp or out-of-the-box crisp,” explains Crawley. “When we tested [the Varicam], a big draw was the fact that it has two native ISOs – 800 and 5000. There was a slight level of noise to the 5000 that I liked, even to the point where I thought about shooting the whole show on 5000.

[He ended up mixing both ISOs.] “Early on, I was inspired by photos by Todd Hido,” Crawley continues, “who does a lot of long exposure work. I thought, well, if I can’t do long exposure, because it’s a moving picture, I can crank up the ISO, using less film lighting and more available light.”

“The Varicam has a very nice look,” Robson-Foster adds. “We had to shoot plates on other cameras like Blackmagic Ursa Mini, Red [and Sony a7S], just for practicality, because sometimes we were on our own on a plate unit for VFX and doing things like throwing a camera in a housing off a 200-foot-high bridge to crash into water. There’s even some iPhone footage.” For all VFX plates, “the Varicam and Lol’s style of handheld were the driving factors; that was the standard to which we were held up.”

Crawley shot mainly on Panavision G anamorphic lenses, though there were some scenes shot on Canon K35’s and Zeiss Superspeeds, especially when VFX were involved (and the anamorphic format was matched in post). In addition to trying out the new camera, Crawley experimented with live grading on set, although he ultimately decided it slowed down his workflow.

“I choose to operate and light when I can,” he explains, “and live grading is fine if you can sit by the monitor and have that control, and explore that control. For me, [grading on set] just became a slower process.”

The OA also experimented with HDR, which Netflix was interested in exploring. “I think they’re trying to be at the forefront of what’s available,” Crawley notes. At first, he and Batmanglij were not sold on the HDR process.

“In color timing, we ended up embracing the HDR,” Crawley recounts.

“The difference was like looking at a photograph and a slide you’d hold up to light. It really felt like [the HDR imagery] was emitting light.”

Mostly HDR was used with caution, for specific moments. “For [Prairie’s hometown of] Crestwood, we used the HDR to dial things down so it didn’t have this kind of super energy,” Crawley states. “Then when we came to the story world, we embraced it more to saturate and really push the fairytale elements of her story.”

Batmanglij says the ultimate goal of Season One of The OA was to show 66

two separate worlds – reality and fantasy – and then create a proof in which the fantasy enters the reality at the last possible moment.

“Working with Lol, Lesley and Alex, we were able to create a modern neorealism that celebrated rather than masked the mundane,” Batmanglij reflects. “This in turn allowed the fantasy parts of the story to pop as I feel that they do at the end of the first chapter. Eighty percent of those last 15 minutes is VFX. For me, shooting an eight-hour movie with so many varied locations, feelings and ideas worked seamlessly because of the dedication of this team.”

Regarding the complex blend of practical effects, VFX, and handheld camerawork, Crawley concludes it’s “immensely rewarding when everything comes together.”

Now that Prairie’s fantasy has bled over into reality, where will The OA go next? A mysterious trailer released this past February only hints at the creative visuals and story points yet to come. Stay tuned!

CREW LIST Director of Photography Lol Crawley, BSC

DIT Matt Selkirk

VFX Supervisor Lesley Robson-Foster

Underwater DP Pete Romano

B-Camera Operator Steadicam Rod Calarco

Underwater 1st AC Loren Elkins

A-Camera 1st AC Boots Shelton A-Camera 2nd AC Chris Seehase B-Camera 1st AC Jerome Williams B-Camera 2nd AC Cameron Sizemore Loader Peter Westervelt

Still Photographers Myles Aronowitz, Elizabeth Fisher, JoJo Whilden Additional Camera: Operator Mark Schmidt 1st AC Doug Kofsky 2nd AC James Madrid

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SUN 68

photo by sara terry

dance film festival 69

PLAYING IN THE BAND ICG Executive Editor David Geffner talks with director Amir Bar-Lev and cinematographer Nelson Hume about an ambitious Sundance documentary that charts the long, strange history of The Grateful Dead.

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I will confess to shifting uncomfortably in my seat when, at the first Sundance screening of Long Strange Trip, Amir Bar-Lev’s exhaustive and thrilling documentary about America’s most impenetrable rock band, The Grateful Dead, I heard the running time was four hours. Sure, I had high school friends who obsessively collected “live concert” tapes in the underground network the band allowed (despite outcries from their record label). And, yes, hearing another live version of Jerry Garcia’s gorgeous guitar solo on “Morning Dew” or the folksy harmonies of the countrytinged “Ripple” was always a treat. But I was never a Deadhead. So four hours, even for music I mostly liked, seemed like a serious investment of time.

(I ended up watching two hours at the Sundance premiere, returned for another hour at a press screening, and then wrapped up via a screening link from Amazon, which debuted LST on their Prime service in March).

In retrospect, the finished product unspools like a Grateful Dead jam: wandering improvisational moments that ultimately return to a few core themes. It’s impressive how Bar-Lev and editor Keith Fraase meshed more than 50 years of archival vérité and interview footage with new interview and B-roll footage shot by Guild DPs Nelson Hume and Sean Kirby. That included surviving band members Bob Weir, Phil Lesh, Bill Kreutzmann, and Mickey Hart (founding members Pigpen McKernan died in 1973, and Garcia died in 1995), not to mention girlfriends, wives, publicists, recording engineers, tour managers, head roadies, and other key players that were part of the Dead’s traveling circus for many years. What follows is Bar-Lev and Hume’s thoughts about the film’s main themes: the ephemeral nature of creativity, the relationship between artist and audience, and the changing societal context that fueled “America’s band” on such a long, strange trip.

How did you envision Nelson’s contributions fitting into this project, given the many hours of archival footage, B-roll, interviews, et cetera?

Amir Bar-Lev: The subject matter demanded that we improvise, and Nelson and I have done a lot of that on past films. Unlike what they teach in film school [about shooting documentaries] and trying to be a “fly on the wall,” we wanted to be active participants. For example, we would enter peoples’ homes and ask them to go find us archival material on the band – photographs, tape recording, film reels, whatever – and that became the dramatic core of the scene. Doing that, we got the first recording of Jerry Garcia playing the guitar, ever, and a tape recording of Garcia professing his love to someone late in his life. We have archival material of the band that had never been seen because the documentary crew that shot it was too high on LSD! All of those discoveries of our interview subjects showing found treasures are presented as scenes in the film.

Nelson, how did you reflect that approach visually? Nelson Hume: Early on, Amir had this idea of the interview subjects listening to archival material on camera because recordings are so much a part of the band’s experience. Along with Sean [Kirby], we talked about having these moments feel natural with a touch of rock and roll, meaning sunlight or a light streaming in from behind. That meant using bigger units, like a 1200 going through diffusion or a Mole 1K blast in the background to imitate the sun. One section where you really see that is Mickey Hart’s musical “barn,” with him holding up this instrument… ABL: It’s called a “beam,” and it was invented by Pythagorus! [Laughs.] NH: Exactly. That moment with Mickey and the “beam” was emblematic of how stylized we got.

I also looked at some of Annie Leibovitz’s music stills that were often very wide frames and shot outdoors, and Ryan McGinley’s photographs as well. Amir wanted all the interviews handheld, so I learned to become good friends with the EasyRig! [Laughs.]

Did the archival footage influence your approach to the present-day B-roll and interview footage? ABL: Absolutely.

The Grateful Dead were constantly trying to draw anyone who was filming them into participating, rather than observing. They actively tried to break down the barriers between artist and audience.

That could be anything from glances and smiles into the lens, to dosing the film crew with psychedelics so they were incapable of observing. The archival footage made it clear how the band was truly a participatory experience, and cameras, at their worst, could be anathema to that. Obviously we needed to get above the fray, to ask the right questions for posterity. But essentially we wanted to reflect the Dead’s ethos in our visual approach.

Can you cite a specific example? ABL: It would have to be trying to get an interview with Robert Hunter [the Dead’s main lyricist who never gave interviews], and that moment of pure improvisation when Nelson positioned himself in such a way that the elevator door was closing, and Hunter suddenly felt compelled to say, “Come on, get in here!” Nelson rode down with Hunter to this backstage area – without me – and got the coveted face time that has eluded so many other camera crews that came before us.

Nelson, where is that line, as a documentary cameraman?

Getting the footage you need versus pushing subjects past where they want to go? NH: One of the advantages of [documentaries] is you’re never an army taking over. You’re a small crew with not much gear. Amir and [producer] Ken [Dornstein, who shared interview duty with Bar-Lev] did a lot of prep work in advance, so even when the topic was difficult [like the build-up to Garcia’s untimely death], everyone felt safe and protected. Also the interviews tended to be very long, and that helped break down those ready answers people had been giving about the band for many years and get us to a deeper place. The short answer to your question is: I keep shooting until it’s time to go.

One of the strongest voices is former tour manager Sam Cutler, who gives observations about The Dead as a uniquely American band, as well as how they sabotaged their own commercial success. How did that come about? ABL: Sean [Kirby] shot the one day we had with Sam, and all of that footage is so alive and unexpected…[pause]…let me say that every character Nelson and Sean shot was viewed less like an interview and more like a “visit.” Sam Cutler was living in a van at that time, so he came to “visit” us [in New York City]. In the vérité material Sean shot, Sam gets pulled over by a cop and then later scopes out who would 71

be the best person to approach on the street – if he needed to for the Dead – for getting them drugs. You can’t possibly plan for that stuff.

Did this film come about because you’re both Deadheads? ABL: I certainly am! Nelson, what about you? NH: I saw them only three times, so I was never fully committed. But I always respected their music a lot. [Laughs.]

ABL: I approached the band in 2003, after I had made only one film, and 11 years later they finally said yes. In the many years in between, I kept revising my pitch and just would not take no for an answer. But I should add, that was one reason why [Producer] Ken [Dornstein] also did interviews, because he is absolutely not a Deadhead. Ken asked the questions that, I, being so close to the band, would never have thought to ask. Like what is the big secret, anyway? Why did people give up years of their lives to follow the band on tour?

What kind of gear did you use? NH: We shot the whole thing on the Canon C300 using the Canon Cine zooms – 15–47 and 30–105 millimeter – so we could reframe during the interviews. Amir and I had done [the music documentary] Regeneration, which had tons of backlighting, so to get a little bit of that feeling we would use any window we could to motivate a light out of frame and have it flare or blow out, like I mentioned in Mickey’s barn. ABL: I would also add that Terrence Malick was an inspiration because the sun is so much more than just a light source in his films. We even had our animator add sunlight or backlight to many of the still photographs you see.

As a doc DP you never have complete control over the frame like you would in narrative filmmaking. What 72

keeps you so interested in this format? NH: The luxury of entering these worlds you would never otherwise have access to. Often it is just interviews we shoot, only part of which make it into the film, yet hearing them narrate their stories is incredible. I didn’t know anything about the whole Bay Area scene in the 60’s, with Kerouac and Ken Kesey, and I was exposed to all of that through this movie. You not only grow as a filmmaker, but also as a human being.

You do have control over how the interview subject is perceived – villain or hero – according to lighting, framing, lensing. ABL: That’s something we always struggle with in this format, and in life. Your body language, your composure, being in the moment and comfortable, wherever you are, is where the rubber meets the road in documentary cinematography, particularly in interview situations. Nelson’s fantastic at that because of his personality. The climactic scene of the first film we did together, My Kid Could Paint That, I wasn’t even there. Nelson was shooting, directing, and being present as this rupture happened, in real time, and still making sure he got the shot!

The last 20 minutes of the film build towards Garcia’s death. Was that, effectively, the end of the music and their story? ABL: [Laughs.] The story of The Grateful Dead certainly involves big questions about beginnings and ends. The band was committed to the ephemeral nature of live music, yet they had a legion of fans committed to preserving that live experience for posterity. One of Garcia’s big epiphanies, depicted in the film, was seeing the Watts Towers perfectly preserved after the artist’s death and Garcia saying, emphatically, “I don’t want that!” This movie grapples with those questions about now versus later. While Jerry’s death was the end of his making music, it was also the beginning of his life as a dead artist. Think about how many artistic sources we as consumers and filmmakers draw on from the past. If we all did an inventory of our lives, I’m sure we’d be able to find many gifts we get from the dead.

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NUN BUT THE BEST From DP’s to assistants, Sundance 2017 stands out as the year of the female camera team member.

Here are three outstanding stories.

by Lauretta Prevost

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT

Quyen Tran

(The Little Hours, Deidra & Laney Rob a Train) portrait by Sara Terry

Hillary Spera (Band Aid)

portrait by Sarah Shatz

Kat Westergaard (Novitiate)

portrait by Sarah Shatz

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“

The Little Hours

The thing I love about indie filmmaking is You’re forced to be innovative and can’t ever be lazy.”

– quyen tran Deidra & Laney Rob a Train

Quyen Tran had two films debut at Sundance – The Little Hours, in the Midnight Section, and Deidra & Laney Rob a Train, in NEXT. The Little Hours is a capricious comedy that follows three medieval nuns (Alison Brie, Aubrey Plaza, and Kate Micucci) who spend their days using modern language to whine about monastic culture. That’s until their pastor (John C. Reilly) quits their mother superior (Molly Shannon) long enough to bring home a gardener (Dave Franco), who is introduced as a deaf-mute in an unsuccessful attempt to protect the lad against the nuns’ sexual drives.

Tran says she didn’t know “exactly where things would go, blockingwise,” given that director Jeff Baena “wanted to shoot right away because the actors are brilliant improvisers. I’d traditionally start off with a wide master, as a lot of comedy is situation-based or related to hand movement.”

Shooting wider frames meant lighting wider spaces. Considering the film used nineteen locations on a tight, twenty-day schedule and was based not so much on a script as much as an 18-page outline, Tran’s approach was to take meticulous notes on the tech scout and base a shooting schedule around the sun.

“I drew diagrams of the direction of the sun because I didn’t know what the scene was going to be about,” she recounts. “A scene would read, ‘Naked ladies around a bonfire. A character runs and everyone freaks out,’” she laughs. “It was very taxing, in a good way. The thing I love about indie filmmaking is it really makes you pay attention. You’re forced to be innovative and can’t ever be lazy.”

Tran used an ARRI AMIRA 3.8K UHD and Angénieux zoom lenses, 24-290 mm and 28-76 mm, and Cooke S4 primes. She was joined by 1st AC Alexandra Cason and 2nd AC Vanessa Ward. Tran says Cason, who has been working with her for eight years, “really wants to put the film 76

first. [Cason] pays attention to the story. I’m always bouncing ideas off her, and I really value her input as a filmmaker.”

The Little Hours is a sumptuous period piece, filled with soft daylight that bathes all three female leads as they dish on everyone and slow zoom shots that add to the awkward hilarity. Deidra & Laney Rob a Train takes an entirely different visual approach, with bright pop art colors filling the present-day story about a teenager forced to provide for her younger brother and sister (along with saving money for college) when her mother is jailed for throwing a big-screen TV outside her job at a Big Box store. The super-smart high-schooler turns to robbing boxed merchandise from trains as they pass her backyard, aided by her sibling, Laney, and deadbeat dad.

Being a Netflix original, Tran had to capture in 4K, so she opted for the RED EPIC DRAGON. “I knew I’d be keying night scenes with flashlights and headlamps, so I did flare tests, and really liked the Cooke S4 primes,” she recalls. “I researched with the prop master to find out which headlamps [used when Deidra and Laney board the trains each night] would give what output. Sometimes I would ND the headlamp, and I’d use flashlights in the shot to bounce off the back of a cardboard box.”

The wide shots of the exterior night scenes were shot on a real moving train, while close and interior boxcar scenes were done on a static train. To sell that the characters were indeed in the middle of a daring maneuver, the camera was handheld and shot from a low angle to avoid the non-moving ground, and a crewmember operated a fan to create a gusting wind effect. Safety was of utmost importance to the crew. One area of education for Tran was (with only minimal lighting) designing shots and angles that would sell the girls actually jumping onto a moving train, in collaboration with the stunt coordinator and stuntwomen. continued on page 78

Female DP Collectives Provide Visibility and Community

by Lauretta Prevost “People can’t reason that, ‘I would love to hire a woman, I just don’t know where to find one,’” observes Guild member Autumn Eakin, creator of www.CinematographersXX.com, a website of professional female DPs that includes award-winning pioneers like Nancy Schreiber, ASC, and Ellen Kuras, ASC. Eakin says CXX offers a practical solution to that quandary by showcasing the reels of dozens of experienced female shooters. Another new group – the International Collective of Female Cinematographers (www.icfcfilm.com), founded

by Kristin Fieldhouse and Rose Fadem-Johnston – boasts the reels of well over 100 female cinematographers, providing community support and industry advocacy. Both CXX and ICFC have active public Facebook groups (along with private groups), which results in a shared spreadsheet listing of recommended camera and lighting crew who identify as female.

“People hire or mentor people who remind them of themselves, and if it’s mostly straight white men in charge, they end up hiring more people like them,” reflects Laura Hudock (ICG November, 2016), who contributed key footage to the Sundance 2017 documentary Trumped.

Eakin agrees, adding that “getting women in a position of power changes everything. Hiring practices trickle down.”

Dagmar Weaver-Madsen, whose breakthrough VR project, Through You, debuted at Sundance’s 2017 New Frontier section, recently attended a meeting of Local 600’s Eastern Region Women’s Forum, co-chaired by Meg Kettell and Deborah Brozina and held at the home of DP/director Ellen Kuras, who brought the Web pilot When the Streetlights Go On to Sundance 2017. It was at that meeting that Weaver-Madsen became aware of a new term. “However progressive you may be, it’s hard to recognize unconscious bias, which we are all guilty of to some degree,” she describes. “There’s the superficial level – gender, age, race – but even humor and other things that make people bond are often derived from socioeconomic backgrounds, so it’s complicated to pull the unconscious bias out and challenge yourself to bond with someone new.”

“I have seen men with less experience move up more quickly than me,” adds Hillary Spera (Band Aid, Sundance 2017). “I definitely feel that as a woman I’ve had to have twice the resume for the same job.”

Hudock says that she tends to be “hired by someone who is more sympathetic to the need to hire women and minorities, than people

who have had it a little easier. I had a good body of work, and the visibility provided by The New York Times’ covering CXX helped me book Circus, which led to Trumped.”

In the last 30 years, female membership in unions as a whole has risen dramatically, from 33 percent to above 45 percent. IATSE Local 600 has lagged behind the national average with a 13.5 percent female membership, and separating out just for DPs, female membership drops even further to 4.9 percent. As a result, the Guild has, in the past year, funneled intense resources toward closing this gender gap, including designating a full-time staff person dedicated to the issue, offering unconscious (implicit) bias training for its National Executive Board members, updating its Diversity Directory and providing assistance to producers looking to hire more-diverse crews.

Weaver-Madsen admits to being surprised by “the low number of women who were listed as DP’s in the union roster,” when she joined Local 600. But she notes: “I was still very proud to join them.”

Longtime indie DP Rachel Morrison, whose acclaimed 2017 feature Mudbound was her eighth project at Sundance, is currently shooting the big-budget Black Panther but says that it’s rare for a woman to be shooting a movie of that size. Kat Westergaard, who joined the Guild on her recent Sundance award–winning film Novitiate, says it’s common for female DP’s to work smaller budgeted films.

“Novitiate cost 5.5 million dollars, and I had the time, proper crew, and lighting that I wanted,” Westergaard reflects. “On smaller movies you get what you get, and you do your best to make it look good.

Having a little bit of money made it so much easier.”

Kuras says such realities “parallel the same story of women not getting parity in the workplace in terms of pay.” And the idea that, “I don’t care what someone’s gender is, I’ll just hire who is best for the job,” she adds, doesn’t take into consideration the social complexities and the differences in opportunities offered that result in most union members’ knowing more men than women. When those in hiring positions make an effort to seek out more female crew members [as in Ryan Murphy’s new Half Foundation] considering females for jobs 50 percent of the time, inadvertent sexism will stop being perpetuated.

“It’s important to hire the right person for the job,” Spera concludes. “And it is also important to consider what you can do to further the cause of gender equality.”

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Band Aid

Hillary Spera lit and lensed Band Aid, a dramedy about a married couple (Zoe Lister-Jones and Adam Pally) stalled in their careers and relationship. In an effort to “sing it out,” they start a band with their weirdo neighbor (David Armisen).

To make a point about gender diversity in the camera department, director ListerJones hired an all-female crew, which she found to be supportive and nurturing. Costar Pally says having an all-women crew was one of the best experiences of his life.

“I have a daughter, and often you just don’t see women doing different jobs in the movies – setting the lighting or holding the camera. It was really amazing for me to see, every day, all these different versions of what my daughter could be.”

“Everyone was such a team player, there was no ego,” Spera adds. “Women relate to each other in an intuitive way and are so good at multitasking.”

Band Aid drove a tight schedule, shooting four to five locations a day. Spera tackles such timelines by spending as much time as possible with a director before the shoot, looking at references to develop a common language, shot-listing, and “overpreparing.” She lit from outside the house to enable faster turn-around times, and to portray her subjects in a natural and flattering light.

Considering the small spaces and practical locations, an ARRI AMIRA fit the bill as a light and mobile camera for the all-handheld project. Vintage Cooke glass was used to invoke 1970s films shot on celluloid, as many of the movie’s filmic references focused on couples dueling it out decades before.

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“

It was really amazing to see, every day, all these different versions of what my daughter could be.”

– Co-star Adam Pally on Band Aid’s all female crew

Band Aid

Novitiate

Kat Westergaard was able to go into her film, Novitiate (also set in a convent but from a more serious perspective), with a strong amount of prep, as she and director Maggie Betts knew they’d be shooting the film throughout Betts’ year of research.

“We’re creative partners,” Westergaard shares. “It’s not like there was a script and just four weeks of prep. Prep came slowly, looking at images, seeing little movie clips.” Betts wanted Novitiate to have a formal, composed look. The film, set in the 1960s, follows a young woman (Margaret Qualley) studying to be a nun as she, her fellows, and the Reverend Mother (Melissa Leo) struggle with questions of faith, sexuality, and a changing church following Vatican II. “Lighting-wise, it’s a moody film,” Westergaard describes.

“I’d go into a room at different periods in the day and pick what I thought looked the nicest. I’d bring the gaffer back and then we’d try to recreate what we saw by somewhat tenting the windows and mostly lighting from outside.” Other than A-camera 1st AC Scott Johnson (from L.A.), Westergaard used a local Nashville crew. She describes the entire team [A-camera operator David Mellow, A-camera 2nd AC Tracy Facelli, B-camera operator Armanda Costanza, who moved up during the shoot from B-camera 1st AC with Erin Naifeh taking over as B-camera 1st, B-camera 2nd AC Heather Murphy, and additional AC’s Cole Carpenter and Tiffany Murray] as “collaborative, kind and hard-working.”

One challenge Westergaard encountered was related to costuming: shooting faces surrounded by iridescent white cloth above black dresses and dark backgrounds. And visual inspiration included turn-of-the-century painters – portraits against wood and dark settings. To address this, Westergaard shot ARRIRAW, which took a chunk of the budget but provided zero compression and hence more information on the sensor and more latitude to draw

upon in post. “I lit softly so the white headdresses didn’t pick up too much light,” she concludes. “Often a special light would be used on the bodies of the outfits to pull the black of the dresses away from the dark background.”

All three DPs offer frank reflections on being a female DP. “I’d love to shoot thrillers and sci-fi, but I don’t get those scripts,” Westergaard reveals. “I don’t know if that’s because women aren’t writing them or because the men who are making them don’t know if women are capable.”

“A dream for me is that it’s just a really open forum,” adds Spera. “Everyone has the opportunity, and we’re all equal, and we’re all up for jobs.”

Both Westergaard and Tran are mothers, which can be challenging for a DP. Union health coverage extends as long as one is working, which makes maternity leave a complicated process; both women said they have been passed over for jobs due to having children. At the ASC awards, in Los Angeles, in February [where Nancy Schreiber, ASC, was the first female cinematographer bestowed with the organization’s prestigious Presidents Award], a common theme was honorees thanking their loved ones for supporting careers that often directed more time to filmmaking than home life.

Tran says one fun part of her Sundance experience was getting to meet a number of other female DPs, both when she spoke at a Canon panel and at a party hosted by Cinematographers XX, a group to which Westergaard and Spera also belong.

“DP’s don’t get to hang out with other DP’s because there’s only one DP on set,” Tran reflects. “I’ve met so many female DP’s since the inception of these different [female cinematographer groups – see sidebar]; it’s a pure joy.”

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TOTALLY REAL? ALMOST. VR at Sundance 2017 enjoys its biggest year yet – with mixed results.

by Michael Chambliss

A deluge of virtual reality experiences blanketed Park City this year much like the heavy snowdrifts that fell throughout the festival. The Sundance Institute’s New Frontier program began gestating experimental VR projects a few years back, and that little seedling has now grown to 34 VR presentations in 2017, twenty of which were documentary and narrative. Sponsored venues

by Jaunt and Oculus (owned by Facebook) added dozens more VR experiences to the mix. When filmmakers would mention projects they were developing, one of the first questions would be, “Is this going to be ‘flat’ or VR?” 80

VR debuts at Sundance this year included L.A.-based Positron's "Voyager," the first cinematic, fullmotion VR chair platform. The eggshape provides a protected enclosed environment, easing viewers who feel uncomfortably exposed wearing VR headsets, while metadata tracks (programmed to the VR content) actuate gentle yaw and pitch motions to alleviate VR’s biggest complaint – discomfort or motion sickness.

Photo Courtesy of Positron

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Virtual reality comes in many flavors – from pure CGI visions like the New Frontier selection Dear Angelica, a dreamlike experience about how we remember those lost loved ones, to 360-degree video offerings like Chasing Coral: The VR Experience, a companion piece to the U.S. Documentary Competition feature of the same name that tracks the unprecedented 2016 coral bleaching event at Lizard Island on the Great Barrier Reef.

Each VR flavor offers a unique experience. Dear Angelica was created using Oculus’ Quill software, which enables digital artists to work completely within the 3D virtual environment, in effect painting in space and time.

As the animation unfolds, sensitive to where the viewer is looking and standing, the sense of depth and distance becomes a whole-body experience. You can walk around and through the art as it forms. If Not Love is a 360-degree video production that takes place in a gay dance club during a shooting. The viewer is trapped in the middle of the confusion and panic along with everyone in the club.

Chasing Coral imparts the feeling of being a scuba diver watching a colorful landscape turn white across time-lapse sequences.

Saschka Unseld, co-founder of the Oculus Story Studio who co-directed the VR experience Through You, along with dancer-filmmaker Lily Baldwin, finds the question “Why VR?” of secondary importance. “The medium defines the boundaries of the storyteller’s tools,” Uniseld reflects. “So I really, really make sure that it uniquely uses what VR can do.”

Through You, shot by Local 600 DP Dagmar WeaverMadsen, is a multi-generational love story told through dance. She says her co-directors wanted the shooting to be a process of exploration, with nothing planned out.

Saschka observes that two years ago, “VR was enmeshed by people trying to establish arbitrary rules: You can’t move the camera and you can’t cut. Through You is part of discovering that maybe those rules don’t really exist.”

“We wanted camera movement to complement the movement of the dancers,” Weaver-Madsen adds. “Of course, this would limit where gear and lighting can go when capturing a 360-degree field of view. So I made different areas of the set have different tones or feelings and pointed out the areas of good lighting. We were lucky there were a lot of windows as we turned the parlor doors into big soft boxes. Because they wanted a theatrical look, it was fine to see the doors as light sources.”

Although the budget was limited, Weaver-Madsen had to constantly move the camera. “It’s become something of a standard practice to put VR camera rigs on rovers,” she continues. “We borrowed one from Radiant Images, but it didn’t have the responsiveness to move experimentally with the actors. It wasn’t like having a camera operator.

“Our low-tech solution,” she continues, “was to put the VR camera rig on a tripod with rolling spreaders. We put down black event carpeting, and Saschka and I wore full black Moray suits. I kept the ISO on the cameras low to lose definition in the shadows. That enabled us to move around on the black areas of the floor like old-school puppeteers.”

In camera motion tests, Weaver-Madsen noticed it was important to pivot the camera, not pan it. One key to camera movement was keeping the spherical assembly from rotating. She also found that maintaining a visual anchor point between shots, i.e., a constant point of visual 82

interest, was important to successfully cutting from shot to shot. Going against conventional wisdom, Through You contains 167 edits. Because the film’s location had architectural details and a brick wall (both are challenging when stitching images), Weaver-Madsen tested different capture systems, eventually settling on the Jaunt ONE VR. Jaunt VR’s advice for their system was to be at least four feet from the talent. But Saschka and Lily wanted to see detail in faces, even if a stitch line started to show.

That would require them to work at two-and-a-half feet away or less. The Jaunt technician helped isolate a stereo pair of cameras, setting the interocular distance between them as close as possible. The images from this stereo pair could then be composited back into the spherical image in post-production, allowing for distances of one foot from subject or less.

“This is narrative, but it’s also dance,” WeaverMadsen observes. “In the beginning, we are a real character who is addressed by the main character in the film. But when she passes though us, we become the memory of love that follows her like a ghost through the dance. When she notices us again, viewers have an emotional response.

No matter how well you capture dance, it’s not as great as having people dance around you. The camera is a very present thing in VR, and it can be used to break the fourth wall as part of the story structure.”

Céline Tricart was the cinematographer on a vastly different kind of VR experience. Under the Canopy, produced by Conservation International and Jaunt VR to raise awareness of the Amazon rainforest, was exhibited at Jaunt’s sponsored venue on Main Street (and was not an official Sundance Selection). The experience is Conservation International’s second VR production. More than 1.8 million people have viewed their first project, Valen’s Reef, since its June 2016 release.

Under the Canopy opens with a shot descending a 200-foot-tall ceiba tree, a journey from open air to rainforest, and then follows Kamanja Panashekung, whose family has lived in the region for generations. Panashekung takes us paddling down a river past three-toed sloths and a giant anaconda, sharing the experience of the intimate relationship between people and nature.

Tricart says the challenging locations could take days to reach. “There was no electricity, so we’d spend two to three hours at the end of the day charging batteries from small generators. It was extremely humid, so we’d find fog behind the lenses and had to warm up the equipment.”

The production worked with a local biologist to get the animal shots, which often depended upon what was lurking around the river. “One day we got a call from a village about a giant anaconda,” Tricart recalls. “We prepared a location and built the cable cam while the biologist went to get the snake. We did as many shots as we could, but snakes are cold-blooded, and when it started to get cold, the snake stopped moving. We had to hold overnight and continue the next day when it warmed up and the snake could move. Then when we were finished, the biologist returned the snake to where he found it. For the shot with the birds, no human could be around. We’d go in early to set up and then take off, leaving the camera running for eight hours.”

Under the Canopy carried three VR camera systems – a cluster of Go-Pros for the drone shots, two Jaunt ONEs

“

The camera is a very present thing in VR, and it can be used to break the fourth wall as part of the story structure.”

– Dagmar Weaver-Madsen

photos by Sara Terry

for main cameras, and a Sony A7s rig for night shots.

“Camera choice would depend upon the type of support we were using,” Tricart continues. “The different systems did not have the same dynamic range or image quality, so putting together the right technology for each shot was a bit frustrating.” Without Internet access or the computer power on location to knit the shots together, the only way to evaluate the work was to pull the SD card and look at one camera on a computer monitor. Like in old-school workflow, the director had to trust the DP was getting the shot.

“Each of the Jaunt ONE’s cameras can be individually set for ISO and shutter speed,” Tricart notes. “And the Auto mode is really good. I calculated the dynamic range of the cameras and then used my light meter to guide the individual setting.”

Creative Director for Jaunt and Director of Under the Canopy Patrick Meegan says that a year ago, a VR experience like this

couldn’t have been done. “Taking last year’s equipment into the rainforest would have been daunting,” he reflects. “The gyrostabilized cable cam rig and the self-contained nature of the cameras were essential to the production. [With the crew] we combined production veterans with young hacker types to crack the nut on the challenges.”

Patrick believes VR is built around a first-person perspective.

“That puts the onus on the experience taking precedence over complex narrative,” he concludes. “VR merges cinema and games, the high media of the last century, so the strongest works will live between both spaces. At first glance, the narrative appears directed. But, the landscape behind that narrative has many areas to explore. Just like reality, behind every closed door is another possibility.”

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Framegrab courtesy of The Weinstein Company

THIS LAND IS OUR LAND

A quartet of Guild-shot films reflects this year’s emphasis on environmental issues.

by David Geffner 84

Wind River, shot by Ben Richardson

Framegrab courtesy of The Sundance Institute

Walking Out shot by Todd McMullen

Was it serendipitous that the Sundance Film Festival experienced one of the heaviest snowfalls in recent memory – some three feet in 36 hours – the same year it debuted a New Climate initiative dedicated to films about the environment?

Certainly walking out of the Eccles Theater after the U.S. premiere of Wind River, a violent drama shot by 2012 Sundance Cinematography Award winner Ben Richardson (Beasts of the Southern Wild) and set on a Native American reservation besieged by snow and gales, didn’t provide much daylight between the white-out conditions Richardson beautifully captured on screen and the challenging walk back to my Park City condo.

Wind River, like the Competition drama Walking Out (shot by Todd McMullen in the harsh Absoraka Mountains), is a fiction tale completely shaped by the natural world. Unlike the documentaries Water & Power: A California Heist, shot by Samuel Painter and Thorsten Thielow, and Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman, co-shot by Buddy Squires, ASC, Sundance Cinematography winner Bob Richman, and Thielow (more on those later), they were not in New Climate. But there’s no doubt Richardson and McMullen had to devise some creative solutions to working in such demanding locations.

In fact, Richardson says one reason he shot ARRIRAW 2.8K was because of the environment and a schedule that allowed little time on set for in-camera manipulation. In the film, Jeremy Renner plays a local U.S. Fish and Wildlife

Service tracker who teams up with a visiting FBI agent (Elizabeth Olsen) to solve a murder where the body is found, bruised and beaten in deep snow, six miles from human contact.

“A key part of capturing these huge white landscapes under changeable skies was accurate white balance,” he continues. “By shooting Raw, I was not locked into a color temperature, nor was I having to make constant changes in the moment. I was able to nudge the white balance at the end of each day for dailies, and also have a great starting point for post.”

Richardson has been developing a single LUT over his last few films that he used on Wind River, which experienced rapidly changing lighting conditions – from bright sun to full cloud cover – throughout any given day. “I used the 85

Framegrab courtesy of The Weinstein Company

SmallHD 702 [1000-nit] monitor that provides a viewable image in bright sunlight,” he adds. “My mantra was to keep the snow at a certain point on the waveform, and that was a safe place to be. I needed a lot of ND [neutral density]!”

The other critical factor of the aesthetic was Richardson’s admitted “obsession” with the Super 35-mm sensor format. “I might have to let that go at some point,” he laughs. “But I love working with the older lenses – I shot this entire movie on Zeiss standard speeds, which, depending on the stop, can go from a fairly poetic rendering to a cleaner, more modern, but still organic feel. But they don’t cover more than Super 35 – some of them barely that – and I love that Arri’s original design [for the ALEXA] was respectful of that legacy.”

Visual poetry is the right term to describe the opening segment of Wind River, which shows a young Native American woman running barefoot through deep snowdrifts in the fading moonlight.

As she reads in voiceover, her character flails desperately onward, in deep physical and emotional torment, to reach an unknown goal.

“As a cinematographer, it was the most visually appealing scene in the script,” Richardson reflects. “We shot night-for-night, and since I knew we would be compositing in a full moon above, I lit with a Moon Box kicking off the snow. The snow was icy hard with this crystal texture, not inviting at all. I wanted the audience to feel how dangerous this location really was.”

Because Wind River’s characters are often trekking (or snowmobiling) through untracked snow, coverage became a serious challenge. Richardson and his first-time director, Taylor Sheridan (who wrote the Oscar-nominated Hell or High Water), reverse-engineered an approach that would limit having to digitally remove footprints in post.

“To capture fresh, untouched snow, we had to move rapidly between multiple camera positions, sometimes pausing the scene to leapfrog the camera to where the characters were headed,” Richardson recounts. “Also, Taylor had described the environment as the ‘apex predator.’ So we made it a point at the end of each 86

“

Wind River, shot by Ben Richardson

We shot nightfor-night, and since I knew we would be compositing in a full moon above, I lit with a Moon Box kicking off the snow.”

– Ben richardson (OPPOSITE PAGE)

Director Marina Zenovich says drones were used on Water & Power: A California Heist to provide the “big picture view.”

scene to literally sprint as far as we could get away from the set for a final, long-lensed, wide take.” (Richardson operated A-camera handheld or on the EasyRig, aided by 1st AC David “DR” Rhineer; Brian Sullivan operated B-camera, helped by 1st AC Kurtiss Burr.)

To keep consistency with the film’s aerials (lensed in a helicopter), Richardson equipped the 2nd-unit team with an Angénieux 45-120–mm zoom. “Typically helicopter shots will use something much wider,” he concludes. “But I felt the long lensing would abstract this vast wilderness and keep the focus on the tiny human scale of the characters. And it worked wonderfully with the snowmobile footage we shot on the ground.”

Nature as the ultimate predator is also a key theme in Walking Out, shot by McMullen in some very remote Montana locations.

The film centers on a divorced father, Cal (White Collar’s Matt Boomer), taking his 14-year-old son, David (Josh Wiggins), out for his first moose kill. McMullen (best known for his work on TV hits like Friday Night Lights, The Newsroom and The Leftovers) says the beginning of the story, as well as flashbacks to Cal’s own father (Bill Pullman) taking him out hunting, were shot on a ranch in Livingston at lower elevations, before the intense winter snowfall.

“We had very short days to shoot, and so we kept our footprint lean and portable; for the record I don’t think there’s a bad camera angle in the whole state of Montana in the winter months,” McMullen recalls. “There was full sun for backlighting and shadows on the mountains for these beautiful wide-frame vistas. However, once we got up at elevation [the film was shot in sequence], we had to keep it simple – two-camera Alexa with G-series anamorphics, and an 11-1 and 3-1 on the B-camera.

“I used a slider for these almost imperceptible moves that kept the frame alive,” he continues. “The first time they see a bear we used a dolly to push into a tight two-shot of their reaction, and then we used a crane to get a nice vista of the beaver pond, which is a key location. But there were days we had to hump the gear in 45 minutes to an hour and shoot in waist-deep snow, which was really challenging.”

One such moment late in the film, after Cal suffers an accidental gunshot wound and David has to carry him out,

required going several miles up a mountainside with gear being brought in by snowmobile.

“We actually wanted to move the camera around David and Cal in this 360 turn, but that meant hiding everything and not impacting the virgin snow around them,” McMullen remembers.

“Plus, we’re in waist-high-deep snow, which makes it so hard to move with a Steadicam, or even handheld. We shot it 180, and they did a beautiful job in Editorial of blending the shots together.”

[McMullen operated A-camera, Reid Russel operated Steadicam, and Logan Schneider operated B-camera.]

Walking Out is about movement and exploration, so McMullen photographed the characters’ ascent moving from frame right to left and their descent frame left to right. “That came into my head while scouting with the directors [Alex and Andrew Smith],” he relates. “And we did our best to be very careful with screen direction, especially with the really wide shots. Working with two directors was great as they both have a very unified vision, and the opportunity to shoot an indie feature in anamorphic, in these big beautiful natural locations, was so different from my work in television.”

Also different was working with a host of animals featured in the story – moose, elk, and, most importantly, several grizzly bears. “Casey Anderson is a wildlife photographer who operates a bear sanctuary [Montana Grizzly Encounter] in Bozeman,” McMullen relates, “and he was able to bring a bear out for closeups or other shots that always make it feel more real. We used that in combination with some green screen, where we would comp in a moose, bear or elk later. Once we brought out a twenty-by green screen and had to increase our micro-crew to get that done.”

McMullen says throughout the shoot he was waiting for that magical frame of “our characters compressed against the aweinspiring Absoraka Mountains, with the light and shadow in perfect alignment,” and father and son walking across the bottom of frame in stark relief,” he states. “I kept looking and looking. And then we found this perfect place, with great access off a road, where I could capture them left-to-right coming down, with huge mountains in the background. And then an airplane flies overhead; David, carrying his father, is just coming back into civilization. It was an awesome image.”

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Water & Power DP Sam Painter says his goal for verite footage (as with this shot of a woman whose well has gone dry from underground pumping on adjacent land) is “always to get out of the way and let the story tell itself. > Photo courtesy of National Geographic

The New Climate feature Water & Power: A California Heist was pitched to director Marina Zenovich as “Chinatown: The Documentary.” Zenovich, who screened a feature documentary about Roman Polanski at Sundance in 2008, normally makes films about people, not issues. “But the historical politics and privatization of water in California were too intriguing to pass up,” she relates. “Visually we wanted to create some mystery – in this mostly parched, sunlit world. Working with [DP’s] Sam [Painter] and Thor [Thielow] was an incredible experience as some of the interviews were pretty tough, and they were right there, sweating through those challenges with me.”

Zenovich says her chosen medium is constantly being pushed to new levels of filmmaking quality. “I’m always flattered when someone compliments the look of this movie,” she adds, “because the bar for documentaries is so high these days. I think the blending of Sam’s interviews and vérité shooting, along with Thorsten’s vérité and original photography, turned out beautifully. We also used drone shots to give the big-picture view of the drought. That, tied together with the amazing graphics Imaginary Forces created about the underground aquifer, helped create this visual statement that water is more precious than gold.”

Painter, who shot the Emmy-winning documentary, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief for director Alex Gibney (Sundance 2015), says his biggest challenge was to “visualize something that’s mostly covered up with dirt and not easy to find.”

He did that, “with iconic imagery of cracked mud and dried-out desert. But also with “vérité footage in trailer parks and people’s homes, where wells had gone bone dry” from underground pumping on adjacent land.

When shooting vérité, Painter says the goal is always to get out of the way and let the story tell itself. “For this project,” he continues, “I went handheld on the [Sony] F55 [in 1080 resolution] and used DSLR lenses, which are small, very lightweight and perfect for Super 35. I mostly used a Canon 17-55–millimeter zoom for which it is easy to pull my own focus. The down side is needing to recheck focus every time you change focal length. But I was riding around in the back of a pickup for long stretches of time, so there wasn’t even room for a big heavy cine lens.”

A challenging interview in a Lost Hills mobile home Painter shot is emblematic of the documentary DP’s predicament – 88

not enough time, equipment, or crew to adequately control the location, so creativity and experience take center stage.

“There’s one light bulb that worked in the living room of that mobile home,” Painter remembers, “and the shot was very wide with no place to hide lights. We had to use a battery-powered light from outside the window, as the sun was dropping and the ambient light inside was running out. That’s never ideal, but it’s part of the game.”

Thielow shot original photography for the recreation of the 1994 Monterey Amendment meeting (that determined the fate of large swatches of California’s underground water supply) with gaffer Simone Perusse (The Hateful Eight, Live by Night). They used heavy shadows and soft, obscured focus, as the meeting was behind closed doors with no public input.

“Marina wanted to see a minimal amount of faces, and have me focus on details and suggestions,” Thielow recounts. “I used the Alexa Mini on the MoVI quite a bit for this one-day shoot. We had a decent equipment package so it felt like a small commercial, but while we had a good plan on specific sequences we wanted to get that day, Marina gave the actors a few key lines from how she imagined the actual meeting and then let them play out the scene.”

Zenovich purposefully embraced a documentary approach to the Monterey Amendment scenes, as she wanted it to feel captured in the moment. “Simone was entirely on board with this approach and had the grips adjust lighting on the fly, moving Jo-Lekos in the background while looking at a wireless monitor,” Thielow adds.

“It was all about capturing visual moments that looked mysterious and kind of noir.”

The New Climate documentary, Rancher Farmer Fisherman, is the most classically shot film in this eco-themed bunch. Stunning aerial photography (some of it from drones) highlights the Montana section, which centers on a Republicanvoting rancher, Dusty Crary, and the alliance he forges with environmentalists to protect private and federal land along the Rocky Mountain Front. Cinematographer Bob Richman, who began his career with the film’s director, Susan Froemke (Beth Alala was co-director), working for the Maysles brothers, recalls a scene he shot (used only in the trailer) that shows Crary branding cattle.

“Capturing landscapes in Montana is not that difficult because

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Rancher, Farmer, Fisherman DP Buddy Squires, ASC says shooting the key harvest scene in Kansas – within feet of the big combine – was, “dirty, noisy and very challenging.” > Photo courtesy of The Discovery Channel

everywhere you look it’s pretty stunning,” Richman smiles. “I pushed toward the Ansel Adams approach, where the sky takes up two-thirds of the frame and the land is the bottom third, which adds to the majesty. And I actually prefer front light to reveal more details on the mountains.”

“The trick,” Richman adds, “is placing the people in this beautiful landscape. What is their connection to the land? How do you show that with gestures, action, or camerawork? I shot an interior scene with [Crary] at his table with his mother talking about his father being killed by a bull, and there are little moments in that two-shot that reveal as much, or more, than the big beautiful exteriors.”

Thielow recalls shooting a two-day pack trip into the mountains with Crary. “We had shot a birthday celebration the night before,” he remembers, “and Dusty asked how we wanted to shoot since they would be on horses. I told him [sound man] Peter Miller and I would also be on horses, with me riding backwards with the MoVI, and everyone there practically fell out of their chairs! I’ve done a lot of shooting on horses, including on the Inca Trail in Peru.

When Peter and I got on the horses, the next morning everyone just went silent and held their breath, waiting for us to fall off. But it worked out great.”

The MoVI, coupled with the lightweight Canon C300, allowed Thielow to shoot long, uninterrupted stretches of the rancher on horseback placed within the changing rural trail. Froemke wanted a smoothness of motion, and the same cinematic language as the rest of the film – shot mostly wide open with clean, solid frames.

“The MoVI is a tool that I’ve embraced for documentary work because it’s easy to quickly put down and switch to a handheld setup, like an Arri Amira with a Cine prime 30mm-105mm that I often use,” Thielow describes. “I like using the Redrock Micro Finger wheel on the MoVI to pull my own focus. I’ll often choose a set of two to three key focal length [prime lenses] that best fit the story and stick to those throughout.”

No doubt some of the most iconic images are from the “Farmer” section, and a fifth-generation Kansan, Justin Knopf, who uses high-tech advances in microbial soil science, no-till and crop rotation to control pests, build soil quality and fight erosion in his large-scale wheat, soy and alfalfa fields. Knopf’s methods 90

reject tradition, in what amounts to a revolutionary leap of faith geared toward long-term stewardship of his land. Buddy Squires, ASC, says Knopf embodies the film’s intent to show mainstream eco-conservation, as per Miriam Horn’s book, which served as the source material.

“Wheat fields at twilight, with big combine harvesters and a salt-of-the-earth farmer are certainly a recipe for iconic American imagery,” Squires shares. “I mainly shot handheld with my Amira, though I also made use of a tripod and a collection of long lenses.

I moved fast and was always ready because Justin was focused on bringing in his harvest, and wasn’t about to wait around for a film crew to get in position for a shot.”

Squires describes the beautifully shot harvest scenes as dirty, noisy and very challenging. “It took the combine 15 minutes to make a full pass, and I would have to calculate where the sun would be as we got to closer to twilight,” he recalls. “They had these huge lumbering machines, and I would run up ahead and get very low, my lens inches from the combine’s path, to capture the scale of the endeavor. Hopping into the combine’s cab with Justin and shooting at 200 frames per second yielded a beautiful ballet of wheat flowing through its blades.

Shooting vérité moments (like jumping down with Knopf into a six-foot deep trench to film his explanation of the science of soil biology or following the farmer’s young son down into the dirt to examine a freshly planted seedling) are where, Squires says, experience meets preparation.

“Documentary filmmaking is like playing jazz,” Squires explains. “You need to have a full command of your instrument and be open to the infinite possibilities of the human condition.

You want to anticipate what might happen, based on a knowledge of your characters and story, but not be limited by preconceptions; if you go looking for one thing to occur, you might miss something else really great right in front of you!

“This film combined intimate character relationships, like Justin passing on the knowledge of no-till farming to his young son, with a broad perspective on conservation and the environment.

Not where, but how these people are connected to the land they love, was the key to a visually compelling story.”

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Production Credits. new technology issue

COMPILED BY TERESA MUÑOZ – AS OF MARCH 1, 2017 ICG Magazine strives to maintain an up-to-date and accurate record of all crew members for the Production Credits section.

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“ALITA: BATTLE ANGE” Dir. of Photography: Bill Pope, ASC Operators: Mark Goellnicht, PK Munson Assistants: Sebastian Vega, Theda Cunningham, Chris Smith, Leslie Frid, Wes Turner Utility: Jack Lewandowski Loader: Amber Rosales Digital Imaging Tech: Robin Charters Still Photographer: Rico Torres “APB” Dir. of Photography: Bart Tau Operators: Marcis Cole, Robert Arnold Assistants: Christian Satrazemis, Eric Arndt, Chris Wittenborn, Ron Ruanphae Camera Uitlity: Elaisa Vargas Digital Imaging Tech: Joe Dare “BONES” SEASON 11 Dir. of Photography: Bobby Altman Operators: Gerry O’Malley Assistants: Steve “Spike” Barnes, Gary Johnson, Maurizio “Nino” Dotto, Larissa Supplitt Steadicam Operator: Gerry O’Malley Loader: Kara Rittenhouse Still Photographer: Dean Hendler, Ron Jaffe “FRESH OFF THE BOAT” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Brandon Mastrippolito Operators: Greg Matthews, Brian Moreno Assistants: Greg Dellerson, Tomoka Izumi-Maronn, Christian Cobb, Steve Whitcomb Camera Utility: Adam Kolkman Still Photographer: Nicole Wilder “LAST MAN STANDING” SEASON 6 Dir. of Photography: Donald A. Morgan, ASC Operators: Marvin Shearer, Randy Baer, Larry Gaudette, Neal Carlos Assistants: Missy Toy-Ozeas, Damian Della Santina, Al Myers Camera Utility: John Weiss, Steve Masias Digital Imaging Tech/Colorist: Doug DeGrazzio Still Photographer: Nicole Wilder, Danny Feld “LIFE IN PIECES” SEASON 2 Dir. of Photography: Mike J. Pepin Operators: Jacob Pinger, Jeremiah Smith Assistants: Chris Workman, Edward Alfred Neilsen, III, Sergei Sorkin, Jay Sharron Camera Utility: Noel Vidal “MODERN FAMILY” SEASON 8 Dir. of Photography: James Bagdonas, ASC Operators: Trey Clinesmith, Toby Tucker Assistants: John Stradling, Michael Bagdonas, Noah Bagdonas, Rebecca Martz Spenser Camera Utility: Gavin Wynn Digital Utility: Corey Gibbons Still Photographer: Nicole Wilder “ORVILLE” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Kramer Morganthau, ASC Operator: Don Davis, George Billinger, Michael Ryan Sharp Assistants: Gregory Irwin, Milan “Miki” Janicin, Steve Wong, Dan Urbain, Bob Heine, Matt Fortlage

Digital Imaging Tech: Ryan Kunkelman Utility: David Stelhorn Digital Loader: Violet Jackson “ROSEWOOD” Dir. of Photography: Michael Stecher Operators: Keith Jordan, Steve Matzinger Assistants: Tommy Lewis, David “Clean” Berryman, Ken Tanaka, Blake Hooks, Gus Bechtold Steadicam Operator: Keith Jordan Still Photographer: Nicole Wilder “SLEEPY HOLLOW” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Bing Sokolsky, ASC, Jan Richter-Friis Operators: Matthew Doll, Michael Gfelner, Brown Cooper Assistants: Justin Deguire, Taylor Case, Tom Nemy, Justin Noel, Tim Risch, Alex Hooper Digital Loader: Oren Malik Utility: Erik Olsen “SPEECHLESS” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Rhet Bear Operators: Jaxon Woods, Patrick McGinley Assistants: Blair Rogers, Peter DePhilippis, David Erickson, Suzy Dietz Camera Utilty: Brittany Meadows Still Photographer: Nicole Wilder “STAR” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Rodney Taylor Operators: Brian Freesh, Chris Squires Assistants: Daniel Turek, Adam Castro, Bodie Orman, Kyle Simmons Loader: Caitlin Trost Utility: Trent Walker “THE CARMICHAEL SHOW” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: George Mooradian, ASC Operators: Marvin Shearer, Ron Hirshman, David Dechant, Kris Konde, SOC, Gary Allen Assistant: Veronica Davidson Camera Utility: Kate Steinhebel, Selvyn Price, Connor Heck Video Controller: Keith Anderson Still Photographer: Chris Haston “THE LAST MAN ON EARTH” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Carl Herse Operators: Jeff Bollman, Brian Sowell Assistants: Mark Legaspi, Barry Elmore, Emily Zenk, Devon Hoff-Weekes Camera Utility: Clayton Daily “THE MICK” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Craig Kief Operators: Brad Richard, Dave Linstrom, Derek Carver Assistants: Jarrod Oswald, Joe Solari, Richard Avalon, Aaron Tichenor, Michele McKinley, Sharla Cipicchio, Caleb Einhorn Camera Utility: Aaron Biller, Katie Detemple Still Photographer: John. P. Fleenor “THIS IS US” SEASON 2 Dir. of Photography: Yasu Tanida Operators: James Takata, Miguel Pask Assistants: Sean O’Shea, Rich Floyd, Brian Wells, Arturo Rojas Steadicam Operator: James Takata Steadicam Assistatn: Sean O’Shea Digital Loader: Mike Gentile Still Photographer: Ron Batzdorff ABC STUDIOS “AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE” Dir. of Photography: Andrew Rawson Operators: Dan Ayers, Tim Walker,

Lisa Stacilauskas Assistants: Max Neal, Eric Guthrie, Joseph Torres, Jr., Elizabeth Algieri, Mark Colicci, Robert Gilpin Steadicam Operator: Dan Ayers Digital Utility: Val Sklar Digital Loader: Jaswinder Bedi Still Photographer: Byron Cohen “GREY’S ANATOMY” SEASON 13 Dir. of Photography: Herb Davis Operators: Fred Ianonne, Steve Ullman Assistants: Nick McLean, Forrest Thurman, Chris Johnson, Marte Post Steadicam Operator: Steve Ullman Steadicam Assistant: Forrest Thurman Still Photographer: Adam Taylor, Nicole Wilder ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY Dir. of Photography: Fred Iannone Operators: Leslie Morris, Joe Antczak, Kenny Brown, Frank Perl, Eric Fletcher Assistants: Phil Shanahan, Lisa Bonaccorso, Bob Heine, Wendy Finn “HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Michael Price Operators: Joe Broderick, John Hankhamer, Scott Boettle Assistants: Heather Lea LeRoy, Vanessa Morehouse, Darrel Herrington Drew Han, Scott Birnkrant, Mark Sasabuchi, Summer Marsh Digital Imaging Tech: Andrew Osborne Digital Utility: Andrew Hays Still Photographer: Nicole Wilder DOUBLE UP UNIT Dir. of Photography: Joe Broderick Operators: Victor Macias, Andrea Rossotto Assistants: Mark Sasabuchi, Mike Rush “JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE” Lighting Director: Christian Hibbard Operator: Randy Gomez, Parker Bartlett, Ritch Kenney, Kris Wilson, Garret Hurt, Marc Hunter, Mike Malone Camera Utility: Scott Spiegel, Travis Wilson, Randy Pulley Video Controller: Guy Jones Still Photographer: Danny Feld, Karen Neal, Michael Desmond, Adam Larkey 2ND UNIT Dir. of Photography: Jimmy Lindsey “SCANDAL” SEASON 6 Dir. of Photography: Oliver Bokelberg, ASC, Daryn Okada, ASC Operators: Steve Fracol, SOC, Bill Boatman Assistants: Jon Zarkos, Anthony Schultz, Jorge Pallares, Hannah Levin Steadicam Operator: Steve Fracol, SOC Steadicam Assistant: Jon Zarkos Digital Utility: George Montejano, III Digital Imaging Tech: Andrew Lemon Still Photographer: Mitchell Haddad, Nicole Wilder “THE CATCH” SEASON 2 Dir. of Photography: Ross Riege Operators: Stephen Collins, Patrik Thelander Assistants: Bianca Bahena, Chris Sloan, Greg Dellerson, Terry Wolcott Digital Utility: Chris de la Riva Digital Loader: Earl Fulcher Still Photographer: Nicole Wilder

Production Credits.

20TH CENTURY FOX “24: LEGACY” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Jeff Mygatt Operators: Greg Bubb, Dave Drzewiecki Assistants: Butch Pierson, Steve Magrath, Scott Forte, Ryan Abrams Loader: Matt Evans Digital Utility: Mary-Margaret Porter Still Photographer: Guy D’Alema

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AFN PRODUCTIONS-TELEPICTURES “THE REAL” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Earl Woody, Matt Ford Operators: David Kanehann, Kevin Michel, Marc Stump Steadicam Operator: Will Demeritt Camera Utility: James Magdalin, Henry Vereen, John Markese Jib Arm Operator: Jim Cirrito Video Controller: Gary Lord Still Photographer: Erica Parise ATLANTIC 2.1 ENTERTAINMENT “HOMELAND” SEASON 6 Dir. of Photography: David Klein, ASC, Giorgio Scali Operators: Rick Davidson, Jonathan Beck Assistants: Dominik Mainl, Courtney J. Bridgers, Wesley Hodges, Andy Hamilton Steadicam Operator: Rick Davidson Steadicam Assistant: Dominik Mainl Digital Utility: Corey Licameli Still Photographer: Jo Jo Whilden A VERY GOOD PRODUCTION, INC. & WAD PRODUCTIONS “THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW” Lighting Director: Tom Beck Ped Operator: David Weeks, Paul Wileman, Tim O’Neil Hand Held Operator: Chip Fraser Jib Operator: David Rhea Steadicam Operator: Donovan Gilbuena Video Control: James Moran Head Utility: Craig “Zzo” Marazzo Utilities: Arlo Gilbuena, Wally Lancaster BEACHWOOD SERVICES “DAYS OF OUR LIVES” Dir. of Photography: Mark Levin, Ted Polmanski Operators: John Sizemore, Mark Warshaw, Vickie Walker, Michael J. Denton Camera Utility: Steve Clark, Steve Bagdadi

Production Credits.

BLUE CAT PRODUCTIONS “OZARK” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Ben Kutchins Operators: Ben Semanoff, Ari Issler, Danny Eckler Assistants: Liam Sinnott, Justin Cooley, Brandon Dauzat, Jamie Pair, Jackson McDonald, John Hoffler Loader: Taylor Seaman Still Photographer: Eliza Morse

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BONANZA “THE ORIGINALS” SEASON 4 Dir. of Photography: Roger Chingirian, Kurt Jones Operators: Ian Forsyth, Brian Davis Assistants: Matt Brewer, Billy Mueller, Uly Domalaon, Trevor White Steadicam Operator: Ian Forsyth Digital Imaging Tech: Dustin Diamond Utility: Andy Lee “THE VAMPIRE DIARIES” SEASON 8 Dir. of Photography: Darren Genet, Michael Karasick Operators: Geoff Shotz, Pierre O’Halloran Assistants: Colin Duran, Nichole Castro, Ryan Weisen, Kelly Poor Steadicam Operator: Geoff Shotz Digital Imaging Tech: Eric Henson Digital Utility: Anna-Marie Aloia CBS “2 BROKE GIRLS” SEASON 6 Dir. of Photography: Christian La Fountaine, ASC

Operators: George La Fountaine, Brian Sweeney, Chris Wilcox, Kevin Haggerty, SOC Assistants: Jeff Johnson, Brian Lynch, Jeff Roth, David Colclasure, Craig La Fountaine Digital Imaging Tech: Ryne Niner Video Controller: Andy Dickerman Camera Utility: Chris Todd, Vicki Beck “BULL” Dir. of Photography: Derick Underschultz, John Aronson Operators: Phil Oetiker, Eri Aronoff Assistants: Chris Trova, Roman Lukiw, Soren Nash, Mike Lobb Steadicam Operator: Eli Aronoff Digital Imaging Tech: Gabe Kolodny Loader: Trevor Wolfson, Carlos Barbot “DOUBT” Dir. of Photography: Alex Nepomniaschy, ASC Operators: Chris Squires, Bonnie Blake Assistants: Stefan Tarzan, Simon Jarvis, Scott Martinez, Chris Garland Steadicam Operator: Chris Squires Loader: Lauro Avila “ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT” Dir. of Photography: Kurt Braun Operators: Jaimie Cantrell, James B. Patrick, Daniel Diaz, Marcus Glasgow, Ed Sartori, Henry Zinman, Tom Van Otteren, Bob Cambi, Rodney McMahon, Anthony Salerno Camera Utility: Terry Ahern Video Controller: Mike Doyle, Peter Stendal “HAWAII FIVE-O” SEASON 7 Dir. of Photography: Michael Martinez, Krishna Rao Operators: Greg Lundsgaard, Jim Jost, Ruben Carillo Assistants: Rick Brock, Brian Matsamura, Jeff Pelton, Kanoa Dahlin, Mike Prioste, Caleb Lucero, Warner Wacha, Will Wacha Digital Imaging Tech: Scott Mason Loader: Ezekiel Hanohano Digital Utility: Ryan Charlton-Halweg, Brandon Ho “JANE THE VIRGIN” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Lowell Peterson, ASC, Joe Gallo Operators: Rory Knepp, Paul Planette Assistants: John Flinn, IV, Peter Norkus, John Pouncey, Don Burton Utility: Jai Corria Still Photographer: Ron Jaffe “MAN WITH A PLAN” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Gary Baum Operators: Glen Shimada, Travers Hill, Lance Billitzer, Ed Fine Assistants: Adrian Licciardi, Jeff Goldenberg, Alec Elizondo, Meggins Moore, Jason Herring Utility: Adan Torres, Richard Fine Digital Imaging Tech: Derek Lantz Video Controller: John O’Brien “NCIS” SEASON 14 Dir. of Photography: William Webb, ASC Operators: Christos Bitsakos, George Loomis Assistants: Chad Erickson, James Troost, Nathan Lopez, Helen Tadesse Still Photographer: Adam Taylor “NCIS: LOS ANGELES” SEASON 8 Dir. of Photography: Victor Hammer

Operators: Terence Nightingall, Tim Beavers Assistants: Keith Banks, Richie Hughes, Peter Caronia, Jacqueline Nivens Steadicam Operator: Terence Nightingall, Tim Beavers Steadicam Assistants: Keith Banks, Richie Hughes Digital Imaging Tech: John Mills Digital Utility: Trevor Beeler Still Photographer: Ron Jaffe “NCIS: NEW ORLEANS” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Gordon Lonsdale, ASC Operators: Greg Morris, Vincent Bearden, Jerry Jacobs Assistants: Peter Roome, Brouke Franklin, Jeff Taylor, Toni Weick, Dave Edwards, Sienna Pinderhughes Steadicam Operator: Vincent Bearden Digital Loader: Christian Wells Still Photographer: Sam Lothridge “SCORPION” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Ken Glassing, Fernando Arguelles Operators: Paul Theriault, Wally Sweeterman Assistants: Scott Ronnow, John Paul Rodriguez, Chris Mack, Tim Sheridan, Digital Imaging Tech: Greg Gabrio Utility: Tyler Ernst Still Photographer: Ron Jaffe “SUPERIOR DONUTS” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Gary Baum Operarors: Glen Shimada, Travers Hill, Lance Bilitzer, Edward Fine Assistants: Adrian Licciardi, Jeff Goldenberg, Alec Elizondo, Clint Palmer, Jason Herring Jib Operator: Brian Gunter Jib Tech: Terry Gunter Utility: Sean Askins, Daniel Lorenze Digital Imaging Tech: Derek Lantz Video Controller: John O’Brien “THE GREAT INDOORS” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Patti Lee Operators: Mark Davison, Cary McCrystal, Robert Guernsey, Ed Fine Assistants: Adrian Licciardi, Vito De Palma, Alec Elizondo, Lisa Anderson, Clint Palmer Digital Imaging Tech: T Brett Feeney Digital Utility: Alicia Brauns, Selvyn Price Video Controllers: Stu Wesolik, Ed Moore, Pete Stendal “THE INSIDER” SEASON 13 Dir. of Photography: Kurt Braun Operators: Jaimie Cantrell, James B. Patrick, Daniel Diaz, Marcus Glasgow, Ed Sartori, Henry Zinman, Tom Van Otteren, Bob Cambi, Rodney McMahon, Anthony Salerno Camera Utility: Terry Ahern Video Controller: Mike Doyle, Peter Stendal “THE TALK” SEASON 7 Lighting Director: Marisa Davis Ped Operators: Art Taylor, Mark Gonzales, Ed Stebler Hand Held Operators: Ron Barnes, Kevin Michel Jeff Johnson Jib Operator: Randy Gomez Head Utility: Charlie Fernandez Utility: Steve Deaver, Doug Bain, Mike Bushner, Joe Zuccaro, Robert Cade Video Controller: Richard Strock Still Photographer: Ron Jaffe

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CHORRI PERROS PRODUCTIONS LLC “BALLERS” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Anthony Hardwick Operators: B.J. McDonnell, Gary Hatfield Assistants: Ryo Kinno, Darby Newman, Trevor Caroll-Coe, Tim Luke Steadicam Operator: B.J. McDonnell Loader: Maya Morgan Digital Utility: Max Frew Still Photography: Jeff Daly COLUMBIA “TOSH.0” SEASON 9 STAGE CREW Operator: Jason Cochard Camera Utility: Benjamin Steeples, Kyle Kimbriel, Roger Cohen FIELD CREW Dir. of Photography: Andrew Huebscher Operator: Jason Cochard Assistants: Benjamin Steeples, Kyle Kimbriel, Roger Cohen, Delfina Garfias CONACO “CONAN”SEASON 7 Operator: Ted Ashton, Nick Kober, Kosta Krstic, James Palczewski, Bart Ping, Seth Saint Vincent

Head Utility: Chris Savage Utilities: Baron Johnson, Johs Gwit CRANETOWN MEDIA “SHE’S GOTTA HAVE IT” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Daniel Patterson Operators: Christine Ng Assistants: Pierson Robinson, Andrew Brinkman, Alec Nickel, Mabel Haugen Santos Steadicam Operator: Brandon Sumner, Technocrane Tech: Sebastian Almeida Libra Head Tech: Kevin Kasarda, Sean Folk Loader: Michelle Clementine Still Photographer: David Lee “TEACHERS” SEASON 2 Dir. of Photography: Brian Burgoyne Operators: Tim Gillis, Abby Linne Assistants: Sharla Cipicchio, Ian T. Barbella, Evey Franceschini, Arthur Zajac Digital Imaging Tech: Nathan Saks “THE RANCH” Dir. of Photography: Donald A. Morgan, ASC Operator: Brian Armstrong, Randy Baer, Robert Guernsey, Michelle Crenshaw Assistants: Chris Hinojosa, Missy Toy, Vito DePalma, Meggins Moore, Al Myers Camera Utility: Justin Metoyer, Don Davis Digital Imaging Tech/Video Controller: Von Thomas Still Photographer: Greg Gayne CRACKLE “SPORTS JEOPARDY!” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Jeff Engel Operators: Mike Tribble, Jeff Shuster,

David Irete, Ray Reynolds, Diane L. Farrell, SOC Jim Arm Operator: Mark Hunter, Steve Simmons Video Controller: Gary Taillon Head Utility: Fortino Marquez Utility: Ray Thompson Still Photographer: Carol Kaelson CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, INC. “CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM” SEASON 9 Dir. of Photography: Patrick Stewart Operators: Phil Miller, Parker Tolifson, Houman Forough, SOC Assistants: Joseph Keppler, Tiffany Aug, Palmer Anderson, Aaron Tichenor Loader: Rachael Wiederhoeft DAKOTA PICTURES “HOOD ADJACENT” Dir. of Photography: James Markham Hall, Jr Operator: Stephen Coleman Assistants: Wylie Bryant, Armando Munoz Steadicam Operator: Troy Miller Digital Imaging Tech: Brian Winikoff EYE PRODUCTIONS, INC. “BLUE BLOODS” SEASON 7 Dir. of Photography: Gene Engels Operators: Jim McConkey, Jack Donnelly, Perris Mayhew Assistants: Geoffrey Frost, Martin Peterson, Justin Whitacre, Jake Stahlman, Kellon Innocent, Yvonne Vairma Steadicam Operators: Jim McConkey, Perris Mayhew Digital Imaging Tech: Ryan Heide Dailies DIT: Steve Calalang “ELEMENTARY” SEASON 5 Dir. of Photography: Ron Fortunato, ASC, Tom Houghton, ASC

Production Credits.

CENTRAL PRODUCTIONS “HAMPTON DEVILLE” Dir. of Photography: Christophe Lanzenberg Operator: Will Dearborn, Jess Hass Assistants: Sharla Cipicchio, Ian T. Barbella, Evey Southern Steadicam Operator: Jess Jass Steadicam Assistant: Ian T. Barbella Digital Imaging Tech: Elhanan Matos Camera Utility: Sooz Edie Still Photographer: Ali Goldstein

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Operators: Alan Mehlbrech, Jeremy Weishaar Assistants: Kate Larose, Jason Cleary, Charlie Foerschner, Kyle Blackman Loader: Tricia Mears, Patrick O’Shea Steadicam Operator: Alan Mehlbrech Still Photographer: Thomas Concordia, Cara Howe, Michael Parmelee, Christopher Saunders “MACGYVER” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Gabriel Beristain, ASC, BSC, Peter Levy, ASC, ACS Operators: Mark Moore, Al “Tiko” Pavoni, Paul Krumper Assistants: Al Cohen, Kate Roberson, Trevor Blake Rios, Stefan Vino-Figueroa, Mike Torino, Danny Vanzura Steadicam Operator: Mark Moore Steadicam Assistant: Al Cohen Digital Imaging Tech: Greg VandZyck Digital Utility: Melissa Porter Still Photographer: Guy D’Alema “MADAM SECRETARY” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Learan Kahanov Operators: Jamie Silverstein, Peter Vietro-Hannum Assistants: Heather Norton, Jamie Fitzpatrick, Anthony DeRose, Damon LeMay Loaders: Christopher Patrikis, Peter Staubs Steadicam Operator: Peter Vietro-Hannum Digital Imaging Tech: Keith Putnam Still Photographer: Sarah Shatz, Christopher Saunders FEEL GOOD FILMS “UNTOUCHABLE” Dir. of Photography: Stuart Dryburgh Operator: Ben Semanoff Assistants: Stanley Fernandez, Michael Leonard, Chris Eng, Leon Sanginiti, Jr. Digital Imaging Tech: Chandler Tucker Loader: Jim McCann Still Photographer: David Lee Publicist: Amy Johnson

Production Credits.

FERRYOCYANIDE INC. “FIRST REFORMED” Dir. of Photography: Alexander Dynan Operator: Dan Sharnoff Assistants: Jim Hair, Marc Loforte Digital Imaging Tech: Michael Maiatico Loader: Tommy Scoggins Still Photographer: K.C. Bailey

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FOGTEETH PRODUCTIONS, LLC “BRIGHT” Dir. of Photography: Roberto Schaefer, ASC, AMC Operators: Chris Duskin, Eric Zimmerman Assistants: David Seekins, Olivia Montano, Todd Schlopy, John Holmes, Harrison Reynolds, Chuck Katz, Megan Morris Digital Imaging Tech: Dane Brehm Digital Utility: Richard Dabbs Loader: Lance Hashida VFX Array Assistant: Mik Klimchak, Kevin Potter, Dustin Whittlesey Still Photography: Matt Kennedy Publicist: Cid Swank FTP “BLACK-ISH” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Rob Sweeney Operator: Jens Piotrowski, Brian T. Pitts Assistants: Art Martin, Lou Demarco, Tiffani Stephenson, Tony Muller Steadicam Operator: Jens Piotrowski Steadicam Assistant: Art Martin

Digital Loader: Josh Schnose Digital Utility: Pablo Jara Still Photographer: Scott Everett White, Adam Taylor, John P. Fleenor FX “FEUD” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Nelson Cragg Operators: Andrew Mitchell, SOC, Brice Reid, Jesse M. Feldman Assistants: Penny Sprague, Ben Perry, David Leb, Betty Chow, Toby White, Vanessa Ward Steadicam Operator: Andrew Mitchell, SOC Digital Imaging Tech: Justin Steptoe Camera Utility: Jared Wilson Digital Utility: Aidan Ostrogovich 2ND UNIT Dir. of Photography: Jesse M. Feld GO2 Z, LLC PRODUCTIONS “Z NATION” SEASON 2 Dir. of Photography: Alex Yellen Operators: Federico Verardi Assistants: Coty James, Shaun Springer, Nick Kelling, Kyle Petijean Digital Loader: Nicole Heigh GOOD FILM PRODUCTIONS “LABYRINTH AKA: 187” Dir. of Photography: Monica Lenczewska Operators: Jacques Jouffret, Richard Coy Aune Assistants: Michael Weldon, Bob Hall, Kirk Bloom, Jonathan Clark Steadicam Operator: Jacques Jouffret Steadicam Assitant: Michael Weldon Loader: Kristen Correll Still Photographer: Suzanne Tenner Publicist: Ernie Malikga GOOD SCONES, LLC “HAPPY ANNIVERSARY” Dir. of Photography: Nicholas Wiesnet Operator: Jeffrey Powers Assistants: Thomas Arsenault, Paulina Bryant, Loie Russell-Templeton Digital Imaging Tech: Benjamin Crump Still Photographer: Robb Rosenfeld HBO “VEEP” SEASON 6 Dir. of Photography: David MIller Operators: Bo Webb, Josh Williamson, Johnny Martin Assistants: Mark Figueroa, Aaron Bowen, Maryan Zurek, Tony Martin, Greg Kurtz, Will Evans, Chris Garland Digital Loader: Rachel Mangum Digital Utility: Luigi Ventura Still Photographer: Justin Lubin, Colleen Hay HORIZON PRODUCTIONS “ANIMAL KINGDOM” SEASON 2 Dir. of Photography: Loren Yaconelli Operators: Simon Jayes, Brooks Robinson Assistants: Ray Milazzo, Patrick Bensimmon, Blake Collins, Kristen Laube Steadicam Operator: Simon Jayes Steadicam Assistant: Ray Milazzo Digital Imaging Tech: Jefferson Fugitt Digital Utility: Mike Prior “GAMERS GUIDE” Dir. of Photography: Thomas T. Eckelberry Operators: Brian Gunter, Mike Denton, Bob McCall, Cory Gunter Utility: Terry Gunter, Ryan Eckelberry Video Controller: Tim Gamble Still Photographer: Nicole Wilder

“LIV AND MADDIE” Dir. of Photography: Thomas T. Eckelberry Operators: Ken Herst, Thomas Dougherty, Jack Chisolm, Pete Wilson Utility: Adan Torres, Angelica Giangregorio Video Controller: Keith Anderson Still Photographer: Nicole Wilder “STUCK IN THE MIDDLE” SEASON 2 Dir. of Photography: Suki Medencevic, ASC Operators: Benjamin Spek, Radan Popovic Assistants: Bill Coss, Salvatore Coniglio, Chris Friebus, Angela Ortner Steadicam Operator: Benjamin Spek Steadicam Assistant: Bill Coss Digital Imaging Tech: Scott Resnick Digital Utility: Baird Steptoe “WALK THE PRANK” SEASON 2 Dir. of Photography: Anthony Palmieri Operators: Garrett Benson, Kevin Celi, Gerry Marzocco Assistants: George Hesse, Ryan Mhor, Toby White, Manning Tillman, Keith Rash Robo Operators: Donny Anderson, Jaime Mejia BTS Operator: Jeff Feller HUDSON STREET PRODUCTIONS “LOPEZ” SEASON 2 Dir. of Photography: Jeffrey Waldron Operators: Michael Levin, Ilan Levin Assistants: Jorge Devotto, James Barela, Jule Fontana, Chase Azimi Digital Imaging Tech: Mike Perez Still Photographer: Dale Berman, Mike Yarish IT’S A LAUGH PRODUCTIONS, INC. “K.C UNDERCOVER” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Joseph W. Calloway Operators: Brian Gunter, Larry Blumenthal, Deborah O’Brien, Cory Gunter Camera Utility: Glen Broadus, Jr., Selvyn Price Video Controller: Nichelle Montgomery JMX, LLC “UNTITLED LOUIS C.K. STANDUP SPECIAL” Dir. of Photography: Paul Koestner Operators: Dominic Desantis, Tom Inskeep, Dennis Boni, Jim Hall, Sheila Smith, Gary Grieg Assistants: Christopher Horne, Jonny Meyer, Alex Guckert, Janice Min, Mike Panczenko Digital Utilty: Jason Hochrein KNIGHT TAKES KING PRODUCTIONS, LLC “HOUSE OF CARDS” SEASON 5 Dir. of Photography: David Dunlap, Timothy Norman Operators: Gary Jay, Erin Henning Assistants: Ian Axilrod, Nicholas Hahan, Vanessa Morrison, Christopher Gleaton Loader: Anna Jay Still Photographer: Nathaniel Bell, David Giesbrecht LADY PRISON PRODUCTIONS “ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK” SEASON 5 Dir. of Photography: Ludovic Littee Operators: William Gillis, Julian Delacruz Assistants: Scott Tinsley, Michelle Sun, Blake Alcantara, Justin Mancuso, Michael Swearingen Digital Imaging Tech: Matthew Selkirk Loader: Joshua Waterman Still Photographer: JoJo Whilden, Cara Howe LIONSGATE “CASUAL” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Jason Oldak Operators: Brian Outland, Deian Scott Vaughs Assistants: John Ruiz, Evan Willhelm, Brian Freeman, Jaohanna Cerati Digital Imaging Tech: Jane Fleck

MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT “AGENTS OF SHIELD” SEASON 4 Dir. of Photography: Feliks Parnell, Allan Westbrook Operators: Kyle Jewell, Bill Brummond Assistants: Coby Garfield, Josh Larsen, Derek Hackett, Tim Cobb Steadicam Operator: Bill Brummond Steadicam Assistant: Josh Larsen Digital Imaging Tech: Ryan Degrazzio Digital Utility: Josh Novak Remote Head Operator: Clay Platner Still Photographer: Kelsey McNeil 2ND UNIT Dir. of Photography: Kyle Jewell Operators: Operators: Tony Cutrono, Miguel Pask MESQUITE PRODUCTIONS, INC. “THE LAST TYCOON” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Danny Moder Operators: Kim Marks, Jason Ellson Assistants: Jason Garcia, Jan Ruona, Kirk Bloom, David O’Brien Steadicam Operator: Jason Ellson Loader: Brandon Butierrez Digital Utility: Carl Lammi MOLLY’S GAME LTD. “MOLLY’S GAME” NY UNIT Dir. of Photography: Charlotte Christensen

Operator: Greg Saccaro, Julian Delacruz Assistants: Glenn Kaplan, Aurelia Winborn, Eve Strickman, Jan Burgess, Aurelia Winborn, Dan Sheats Digital Imaging Tech: Ted Viola, Kevin Kasarda Still Photographer: Linda Kallerus MTV “TEEN WOLF” SEASON 6 Dir. of Photography: Dave Daniel Operators: Dominic Bartolone, Todd Barron Assistants: Lee Jordan, Gavin Alcott, Sarah Galley, Marshall Rao Steadicam Operator: Dominic Bartolone Steadicam Assistant: Lee Jordan Digital Imaging Tech: Aaron Picot Loader: Jeremy Hill Still Photographer: Scott Everett White NAVY ST. PRODUCTIONS “KINGDOM” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Sidney Sidell Operator: Chris Murphy, Chris Cuevas Assistants: Mike Vejar, Naomi Villanueva, Mark Strasburg, EJ Misisco, David Seekins, Dan Coscina, Dawn Nakamura, Joey O’Donnell, Jose De Los Angeles, Ryan Pilon Loader: Spencer Swetz Digital Utility: Sean Kehoe Still Photographer: Jusin Lubin NBC “CHICAGO FIRE” SEASON 5 Dir. of Photography: Jay Crothers Operators: Jack Messitt, Billy Nielsen Assistants: Melvina Rapozo, Hunter Whalen, Zach Gannaway, Gary Malouf Digital Loader: J’mm Love Digital Utility: Amy Tomlinson Still Photographer: Elizabeth Morris

2ND UNIT Dir. of Photography: Billy Nielsen “CHICAGO MED” SEASON 2 Dir. of Photography: Lex du Pont, ASC Operators: Scott Steele, Faires Anderson Sekiya, Joseph Fitzgerald Assistants: George Olson, Laura Difiglio, Keith Huffmeier, Sam Knapp, Jason H. Bonner, Patrick Dooley Steadicam Operator: Faires Anderson Sekiya Loader: Joey Richardson Utility: Michael Olson Still Photographer: Elizabeth Sisson “CHICAGO PD” SEASON 4 Dir. of Photography: Rohn Schmidt Operators: James Zucal, Will Eichler, Seth Thomas Assistants: John Young, Don Carlson, David Wightman, Jamison Acker, Phillip Walter, Bing Liu Digital Utilty: Corinne Anderson, Nick Wilson Steadicam Operator: Will Eichler Loader: Kyle Belousek Digital Utility: Nick Wilson, Michael Gleeson Additional Unit Dir. of Photography: James Zucal “SNL” Dir. of Photography: Blake McClure Operator: Andy Kugler, John Clemens Assistants: Ken Walter, Nick Medrud, Jon Sandin, Scott Miller NBC UNIVERSAL TELEVISION “GYPSY” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Bobby Bukowski Operators: Matthew Pebler, Michael Fuchs Assistants: Zach Rubin, Johnny Sousa,

Production Credits.

LONG ROAD HOME PRODUCTIONS, LLC “THERE’S JOHNNY” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Benjamin Kasulke Operator: Marc Carter, Eric Schilling Assistant: Jacquiline Stahl, Giselle Gonzalez, Stephen Taylor-Wehr, Otis Sherman Digital Imaging Tech: Kevin Britton Still Photographer: Lisa Rose

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Andrew Juhl, Stephen McBride, Michael DeRario Loader: Robert Wrase Still Photographer: Alison Rosa,Cara Howe, Christopher Saunders “STRANGER THINGS” SEASON 2 Dir. of Photography: Timothy Ives Operator: Bob Gorelick, SOC, Jeff Crumbley, SOC Assistants: Julie Donovan, Jason Lancour, Angela Holford, Nelson Moncada Steadicam Operator: Bob Gorelick, SOC Loader: Laura Mattingly Camera Utility: Kevin Wilson Still Photographer: Jackson Lee Davis Publicist: Denise Godoy

Production Credits.

“SUPERSTORE” SEASON 2 Dir. of Photography: Jay Hunter Operators: Sarah Levy, Adam Tash, Hassan Abdul-Wahid Assistants: Jason Zakrzewski, Brandon Margulies, Eric Jenkinson, Ryan Sullivan, Sean Mennie, Keith Moore Loader: Matthew Goodwin

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“UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: John Inwood Operator: Jeff Dutemple, Douglas Pellegrino Assistants: Doug Foote, Cai Hall, Eric Schwager, Caroline Ibarra, J. Eric Camp Digital Imaging Tech: Rachael Doughty, Julia Leach Still Photographer: Eric Liebowitz NETFLIX “ATYPICAL” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Joe Kessler Operators: Greg Daniels, Jacob Avignone Assistants: Peter Lee, Mark Connolly, Gaston Richmond, Brandon Szajner Camera Utility: Ryan Simpson Digital Imaging Tech: Mauricio Gutierrez Still Photographer: Eddy Chen NICKELODEON “THUNDERMANS” SEASON 4 Dir. of Photography: Wayne Kennan Operators: Keith White, Vickie Walker, Dave Forrest, Pete Wilson Utility: Brian Lynch, Selvyn Price Video Controller: Stuewe Prudden Still Photographer: Dale Berman

NORTHERN ENTERTAINMENT PRODUCTIONS “MIDNIGHT TEXAS” SEASON 1 Operators: Lawrence “Doc” Karman, Adam Santelli Assistants: Aileen Taylor, Gabe Pfeiffer, Jeff Lamm, John Hamilton Steadicam Operator: Lawrence “Doc” Karman Steadicam Assistant: Aileen Taylor Digital Imaging Tech: Lane Luper Camera Utlity: Taylor Hilburn OPEN 4 BUSINESS “GRIMM” SEASON 6 Dir. of Photography: Ross Berryman, ASC, ACS, Eliot Rockett Operators: Tim Spencer, Mike McEveety Assistants: Wili Estrada, Jerry Turner, Patrick LaValley, Danielle Eddington Steadicam Operator: Tim Spencer Steadicam Assistant: Patrick LaValley Loader: Nate Goodman Camera Utility: Thomas Oliver PICROW “TRANSPARENT” SEASON 4 Dir. of Photography: Jim Frohna Operator: DJ Harder, Shelly Gurzi Assistants: Zoe Van Brunt, Faith Brewer, John Roney, Daisy Smith Steadicam Operator: Jessica Lopez Loader: Peter Brunet Still Photographer: Jennifer Clasen PREACH PRODUCTIONS “GREENLEAF”SEASON 2 Dir. of Photography: Francis Kenny, ASC Operators: Paul Varrieur, SOC, Tim Fabrizio Assistants: Larry Gianneschi, IV, Steven Latham, Louis Smith, Nick Gianneschi Steadicam Operator: Tim Fabrizio Loader: Kelsey Symons Digital Utility: George Zelasko Still Photographer: Guy D’Alema PRODCO., INC. “BABY DADDY”SEASON 6 Dir. of Photography: Paul Maibaum , ASC Operators: Keeth Lawrence, Dave Levisohn, Stephen Jones, Richard Price Assistants: Brian Lynch, Steve Masias Digital Imaging Tech: Rick Dungan Camera Utility: Brad Traver PROFILER PRODUCTIONS/ LIONSGATE “MANIFESTO”

Dir. of Photography: Zachary Galler Operator: J. Christopher Campbell, Michael Watson Assistants: Justin DeGuire, Brandon Dauzat, Taylor Case, Sterling Wiggins Loader: Bess Johnson Digital Utility: Trey Volpe REDHAWK PRODUCTIONS, III, LLC “FARGO AKA PLANET WYH” Dir. of Photography: Dana Gonzales Operator: Mitch Dubin, George Billinger Assistants: Peter Geraghty, Craig Grossmueller, Paul Tilden, Nigel Nally Digital Imaging Tech: Chris Cavanaugh Digital Utility: Scott O’Neil SAN VICENTE PRODUCTIONS, INC. “THE BLACKLIST: REDEMPTION” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Eric Moynier Operators: Gregor Tavenner, Carlos Guerra Assistants: John Oliveri, Andrew Smith, Cornelia Klapper, Jonathan Monk Steadicam Operator: Carlos Guerra Digital Imaging Tech: Michael Maiatico Loader: Carrie Wills SCREEN GEMS PRODUCTIONS “CADAVER” Operators: Scott Lebeda, Tom Fitzgerald Assistants: Dan Mason, Nolan Ball, Roy Knauf, John McCarthy Steadicam Operator: Matthew Doll Loader: Tom Bellotti Still Photographer: Claire Folger Publicist: Scott Levine SOLDADO MOVIE, LLC “SOLDADO” Dir. of Photography: Dariusz Wolski, ASC Operator: James Goldman Assistants: Willam Coe, Dan Ming, Robert McMahan, Dorian Blanco, Xander Paul Digital Imaging Tech: Ryan Nguyen Loader: Cosmo Wolski Still Photographer: Richard Foreman Publicist: Wolf Schneider SONY PICTURES “BLOODLINE”SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Jaime Reynoso, AMC Operators: Mike O’Shea, Brian Nordheim Assistants: Anthony Zibelli, April Ruane Crowley, Marvin Lee,

“DR KEN” SEASON 2 Dir. of Photography: Wayne Kennan Operators: Ron Hirschman, David Dougherty, Vernon Kifer, Candy Edwards Assistants: Marianne Franco Camera Utility: Brad Traver, Doug Minges Digital Imaging Tech: Dave DeMore Video Controller: Keith Anderson Still Photographer: Nicole Wilder “JEOPARDY!” SEASON 33 Dir. of Photography: Jeff Engel Operators: Diane L. Farrell, SOC, Ray Reynolds, Mike Tribble, Jeff Shuster, L. David Irete Jib Arm Operator: Marc Hunter Head Utility: Tino Marquez Camera Utility: Ray Thompson Video Controller: Gary Taillon Still Photographer: Carol Kaelson “KEVIN CAN WAIT” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Bill Berner Operators: Alain Onesto, Jimmy O’Donnell, Mark Renaudin, Miguel Armstrong Assistants: Deborah Lipman Camera Utility: Richard Hyman, Craig Haft Video Controller: David Satin “THE GOLDBERGS” SEASON 4 Dir. of Photography: Jason Blount Operators: Scott Browner, Kris Denton Assistants: Tracy Davey, Nate Havens, Gary Webster, Jen Bell-Price Digital Imaging Tech: Kevin Mills

Digital Utility: Dishan Herath Still Photographer: Nicole Wilder, Adam Taylor “WHEEL OF FORTUNE” SEASON 34 Dir. of Photography: Jeff Engel Operators: Diane L. Farrell, SOC, Ray Reynolds, Jeff Schuster, Ray Gonzales, Steve Simmons, L. David Irete, Mike Corwin Camera Utility: Ray Thompson Head Utility: Tino Marquez Video Controller: Gary Taillon Jib Arm Operator: Randy Gomez, Sr. Still Photographer: Carol Kaelson SKYDANCE TELEVISION “TEN DAYS IN THE VALLEY” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Edward Pei, ASC Operators: Andy Graham, Rob Carlson Assistants: James Sprattley, Maryan Zurek, James Dunham, Jim Gavin Steadicam Operator: Rob Carlson Loader: Jared Wilson Digital Utility: Peter Pei Technocrane Operator: Chris Mayhugh Remote Head Operator: Jay Sheveck Still Photographer: Alice Hall STALWART FILMS, LLC “FEAR THE WALKING DEAD” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Scott Peck, Chris Lavasseur Operator: Craig Cockerill Assistant: Ray Dier, Victor Enriquez Digital Imaging Tech: Conrad Radzik Still Photographer: Michael Desmond Publicist: Diane Slattery “TURN” SEASON 4 Dir. of Photography: Marvin Rush, ASC

Operators: George Pattison, Jim Contner Assistants: Liz Heslep, Sean Sutphin, Shawn Mutchler, Eric Eaton Still Photographer: Antony Platt STARZ “COUNTERPART” SEASON ONE Dir. of Photography: Martin Ruhe, Luc Montpellier Operators: Andy Shuttleworth, Jonathan Bruno Assistants: Dennis Seawright, Beaudine Credle, Dale White, Charlie Murphy Loader: Dustin Keller Still Photographer: Nicole Wilder 2ND UNIT Dir. of Photography: Martin Ruhe, Luc Montpellier Operators: Dominic Napolitano Assistants: Chuck Whelan, Mike Cahoon Digital Utility: Danny Park TESSERACT PRODUCTIONS “A WRINKLE IN TIME” Dir. of Photography: Tobias Schliessler, ASC Operators: Lucas Bielan, Kirk Gardner Assistants: Paul Santoni, Keith Davis, Dan Schroer, Melissa Fisher Steadicam Operator: Kirk Gardner Digital Imaging Tech: Indy Saini Hydrascope Operator: Steven Miller Remote Head Tech/Operators: Nino Defranco, Chris Defranco Still Photographer: Atsushi Nishijima, Mitch Haddad (Portrait) Publicist: Ellene Miles TNT “THE LAST SHIP” SEASON 4 Dir. of Photography: Chris Baffa, ASC, Peter Kowalski Operators: Bud Kremp, SOC, Chris Duskin

Production Credits.

Willem Van Vark Steadicam Operator: Mike O’Shea Loader: Wade Ferrari Utility: Ian Hernand Still Photographer: Saeed Adyani

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mole.com Assistants: Michael D. Alvarez, , Roger Spain, Steve Pazanti, Haydn Pazanti Steadicam Operator: Bud Kremp, SOC Digitual Utility: George Ballenger Utility: Zac Prange TVM “QUEEN OF THE SOUTH” SEASON 2 Operator: Aaron Schuh, Abe Martinez Assistants: Matt King, Kris Hardy, Paul Armstrong, Ryan Patterson, Scott Reese, Noe Medrano Steadicam Operator: Aaron Schuh Steadicam Assistant: Matt King Loader: Matt Aines Utility: Kyle Novak

Production Credits.

2ND UNIT Dir. of Photography: Abe Martinez Operator: David Wilson Assistants: Jordan Jones, Robert Rendon, William DiCenso, Sam Pearcy Loader: Shannon Cooke Utility: Dick Saunders

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ULTIMO FILMS, INC. “MAGIC CAMP” Dir. of Photography: Theo Van De Sande, ASC Operators: Henry Tirl, SOC, Steve Adcock Assistants: Tommy Tieche, Paul Janossy, Eric Amundsen, Daniel Taylor Steadicam Operator: Henry Tirl, SOC Steadicam Assistant: Tommy Tiecem Digital Imaging Tech: Bobby Maruvada Digital Utility: Whitney Jones Still Photographer: Justina Mintz Publicist: Spooky Stevens UNIVERSAL “BROOKLYN NINE-NINE” SEASON 4 Dir. of Photography: Giovani Lampassi Operators: Phillip Mastrella, Rick Page, Jon Purdy Assistants: Jamie Stephens, Bill Gerardo, Lauren Gadd, Dustin Miler, Will Schmidt Loader: Nick Gilbert Digital Utility: Rochelle Brown Still Photographer: John P. Fleenor “CHICAGO JUSTICE” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Lisa Wiegand, ASC Operator: Tari Segal, Jessica Lopez, SOC Assistants: Luis Fowler, Matt Rozek, Stephanie Dufford, Matt Feasley Steadicam Operator: Jessica Lopez, SOC

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Loader: Drew Fulton Digital Utility: Ryan Schuck Still Photographer: Parrish Lewis “HAPPY” PILOT Dir. of Photography: Gonzalo Amat Operators: David Isern, Christopher Raymond Assistants: Cory Stambler, Olga Abramson, Benedict Baldauff, Ian Schneider Camera Utility: Daniel Cardenas Loader: David Ross Still Photographer: Peter Kramer “LAW & ORDER-SVU”SEASON 18 Dir. of Photography: Michael Green Operators: Jonathan Herron, Mike Latino Assistants: Christopher Del Sordo, Matthew Balzarini, Emily Dumbrill, Sara Boardman Steadicam Operator: Jonathan Herron Camera Utility: Christopher Marlow Loader: Justin Zverin “MARLON” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: Antar Abderrahman Operators: Vince Singletary, Brian Sweeney, Jeff Miller, Kevin Haggerty Assistants: Jeff Johnson, John Weiss, Lisa Anderson Digital Imaging Tech: T. Brett Feeney Camera Utility: Selvyn Price, Lance Mitchell Video Controller: Ed Moore WARNER BROS. “BLINDSPOT” SEASON 2 Dir. of Photography: Dave Tuttman, David Johnson Operators: Andrew Priestley, Pyare Fortunato, Peter Ramos Assistants: Lee Vickery, John Romer, Marcos Rodriguez-Quijano, Nicknaz Tavakolian, Kyle Clark, Kjerstin Rossi Steadicam Operator: Pyare Fortunato Steadicam Assistant: John Romer Digital Imaging Tech: Jeff Cirbes, Chloe Walker “GOTHAM” SEASON 3 Dir. of Photography: Christopher Norr, Crescenzo Notarile, ASC, AIC Operators: Gerard Sava, Al Pierce, SOC Assistants: Braden Belmonte, Gavin Fernandez, George Tur, James Schlittenhart, Grace Preller Chambers Steadicam Operator: Gerard Sava Steadicam Assistant: Braden Belmonte Digital Imaging Tech: Dan Brosnan Loader: Samantha Panger

12154 Montague St. Pacoima, CA 91331 USA “LETHAL WEAPON” SEASON 1 Dir. of Photography: David Moxness, ASC, CSC, Andy Strahorn Operators: Michael Brian Hart, Eric Roizman Assistants: James Rydings, Kaoru Ishizuka, Lauren Soriano, Kelsey Castellitto Digital Utility: Alex Gadberry Digital Imaging Tech: Mike DeGrazzio Technocrane Operator: Nico Bally, Nazariy Hatak, Joseph Rodmell Remote Head Operator: Jay Sheveck Still Photographer: Adam Taylor 2ND UNIT Dir. of Photography: Ian Seabrook Assistants: David William McDonald, Loren Elkins “LITTLE BIG SHOTS” SEASON 5 Lighting Designer: Kieran Healy Video Controller: Chris Gray Ped Operators: Greg Smith, Helena Jackson, Keith Hobelman, Kary D’Alessandro, John Bromberek Hand Held Operators: Danny Webb, Ed Horton, Dylan Sanford, Derek Hernandez, Allen Marriweather Techno Jib Operators: Keith Dicker, David Eastwood, Brian Reason, Alex Hernandez Steadicam Operator: David Kannehan Remote Head: Alex Hernandez, Derek Hernandez Utility: Jon Zucarro, Byron Blades, Sean Woodside, Robert Cade, Dustin Stephenss, Delvin Careathers, Joe Algandar “MAJOR CRIMES SEASON 5” Dir. of Photography: David A. Harp, Kenneth Zunder, ASC Operators: Chris Hood, Tim Roarke, Duane Mieliwocki Assistants: Matt Guiza, Randy Shanofsky, Dan Squires, Adam Tsang, Russ Miller, Veronica Bouza Digital Imaging Tech: Evin Grant “MOM” SEASON 4 Dir. of Photography: Steven V. Silver, ASC Operators: Cary McCrystal, Jamie Hitchcock, Larry Gaudette, Candy Edwards Assistants: John Graham, Nigel Stewart, Damian Della Santina, Mark Johnson, Benjamin Steeples Camera Utility: Alicia Brauns, Andrew Pauling Digital Imaging Tech: Robert Zeigler

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“OCEAN’S EIGHT” Dir. of Photography: Eigil Bryld Operators: Duane Manwiller, Mark Schmidt Assistants: Craig Pressgrove, Bradley Grant Victoria K. Warren, Suren Karapetyan, Pedro Corcega, Marc Loforte Steadicam Operator: Mark Schmidt Steadica Assitant: Bradley Grant Digital Imaging Tech: Bjorn Jackson Loader: Holly McCarthy Libra Head Tech: Pierson Silver Still Photographer: Barry Wetcher, David Lee Publicist: Julie Kuehndorf “SUPERGIRL” SEASON 2 Dir. of Photography: David Stockton, ASC, Jeff Mygatt Operators: Tom Schnaidt, Joel Schwartz Assistants: Dennis Seawright, Dale White, Bruce De Aragon, Trevor Coe Digital Utility: Brooke Mygatt Digital Imaging Tech: Mike DeGrazzio 2ND UNIT Assistants: Scott Birnkrant, Keith Moore “THE BIG BANG THEORY” 10 Dir. of Photography: Steven V. SIlver, ASC Operators: John Dechene, Richard Price, SOC, Jamie Hitchcock, Brian Armstrong Assistants: Nigel Stewart, Chris Hinojosa, Steve Lund, Meggins Moore, Benjamin Steeples Camera Utility: Colin Brown, Jeannette Hjorth Video Controller: John O’Brien Digital Imaging Tech: Robert Zeigler “THE MIDDLE” SEASON 8 Dir. of Photography: Blake T. Evans Operator: John Joyce, SOC, Bret Harding Assistants: Jefferson T. Jones, Bryan Haigh,

Nathan Crum, Emily Goodwin Steadicam Operator: John Joyce, SOC Steadicam Assistant: Jefferson T. Jones Loader: Suzy Dietz WASHINGTON SQUARE FILMS, INC. “THE PRIVATE LIFE OF A MODERN WOMAN” Dir. of Photography: Lawrence McConkey Assistants: Anthony Cappello, Gus Limberis Jonathan Henry Digital Imaging Tech: Ted Viola Still Photographer: Mary Cybulski WOODBRIDGE “BETTER CALL SAUL” SEASON 3 Dir of Photography: Marshall Adams, ASC Operators: Paul Donachie, Matt Credle Assistants: Chris Norris, Rob Magnano, Rob Salviotti, Cheryl Barnard Steadicam Operator: Paul Donachie Digital Loader: Bryan Jones Digital Utility: Claudio Banks Still Photographer: Michelle Short WYLIE PRODUCTIONS, INC. “CAN YOU EVER FORGIVE ME?” Dir. of Photography: Brandon Trost Operator: John “Buzz” Moyer Assistants: Timothy Metivier, Graham Burt Digital Imaging Tech: Matthew Selkirk Loader: Brian Lynch Still Photographer: Mary Cybulski

COMMERCIALS ART & SCIENCES “SMIRNOFF” Dir. of Photography: Autum Durald Assistants: Ethan McDonald, Veronica Bouza Digital Imaging Tech: Mike Kowalczyk A WHITE LABEL PRODUCT “MAYBELLINE” Dir. of Photography: Tristan Sheridan Assistants: John Clemens, Scott Miller Digital Imaging Tech: Othmar Dickbauer BISCUIT “PIZZA HUT” Dir. of Photography: John Skotchdopole Assistants: Andrew Hallbach, Laura Goldberg, Megin Morris Digital Imaging Tech: Kevin Zanit Technocrane Operator: Christian Hurley CMS “DELTA” Dir. of Photography: Ricardo Sarmiento Operator: Charles Beyer Assistants: Tony Ponti, Mitch Malpica, Alyssa Longchamp, Sam Elliott ELEMENT “BOSE” Dir. of Photography: Joe Lavallee FURLINED “NG” Dir. of Photography: Max Goldman Assistants: Ethan McDonald, Chase Chesnutt, Erica McKee Digital Utility: Daniel Satinoff

Production Credits.

Video Controller: Kevin Fraust Still Photographer: Ron Jaffe

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STATION “GLAD” Dir. of Photography: Kip Bogdahn Assistants: Ethan McDonald, Ryan Brown Steadicam Operator: Bela Trutz Digital Imaging Tech: Kevin Zanit STEAM MOTION AND SOUND “WAITRESS PROMO” Dir. of Photography: Josh Kaszewski Operator: Scott Butler, Pat Minietta Assistants: Christian Carmody, Carolyn Pender, Eric Lichtenstein, Rachel Adkins Digital Imaging Tech: Paul Schilens STINK LLC “SAMSUNG Q” Dir. of Photography: Max Goldman Assistants: Walter Rodriguez, Kyle Repka Digital Imaging Tech: Dave Berman Technocrane Operator: Paul Goroff STUN CREATIVE “DETOUR PROMO” Dir. of Photography: Eric Haase Operator: John Connor, Michael Merriman, Jamie Sterba Assistants: Ethan McDonald, Stephen MacDougall Digital Imaging Tech: Jesse Cain Camera Utility: Ryan Prouty

HUNGRY MAN “FELIX” Dir. of Photography: Scott Henriksen Operator: Chris Moseley Assistants: JD Murray, Bob Settlemire, Lucas Deans, Nate Cummings Digital Imaging Tech: Zac Sandberg “LIDL” Dir. of Photography: James Gardner Assistants: Chris Horne, Mike Panczenko Digital Imaging Tech: John Vallon Phantom Tech: Ian Edwards

Production Credits.

LULU PRODUCTIONS, INC. “CARMAX YAFI 2017” Dir. of Photography: Kevin Emmons Assistants: Christopher Horne, Mike Panczenko Digital Imaging Tech: John Vallon

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MJZ “OLIVE GARDEN” Dir. of Photography: Irv Blitz Assistants: Dave June, Josh Ramos Digital Imaging Tech: Jason Helgren O POSITIVE “SNICKERS” Dir. of Photography: Mauro Fiore Lead Camera Tech: Cameron Barnett Operator: Robert De Angelis, Bill Marchese, Matt Baker, Rob Vuona, Steve McDonagh Assistants: Mark Reid, Sebastian Sokolski, Rob Pittman, Lucas Deans, Ethan McDonald, Andrew Porras, Jordan Martin, Candice Marais “BMW AKA BUFFALO WILD WINGS” Dir. of Photography: Sebastian Pfaffenbichler Operator: Jason La Fargo Assistants: Adam Cowan, Greg Benitez, Roxanne Stephens Digital Imaging Tech: Michael Kellogg

RADICAL MEDIA “MILLER LITE” Dir. of Photography: Max Goldman Assistants: Ethan McDonald, Paul Saunders Digital Imaging Tech: Erica McKee Phantom Tech: Brannon Brown “NATIONWIDE” Dir. of Photography: Jeff Cutter Assistants: Daniel Hanych, Seth Peschansky Digital Imaging Tech: John Spellman “REALTOR.COM” Dir. of Photography: Eric Schmidt Operator: John Pingry Assistants: Lila Byall, Kira Hernandez, Noah Glazer Steadicam Operator: Chris Cunningham Digital Imaging Tech: John Spellman, Dane Brehm RSA FILMS “WILD TURKEY WISKEY” Dir. of Photography: Paul Cameron Operator: Joseph Arena Assistants: Joe Martinez, Thomas Barrios, Doug Price, Robert Campbell Steadicam Operator: Joseph Arena Steadicam Assistant: Joe Martinez Digital Imaging Tech: Mark Reilly RAUCOUS CONTENT “MOTO” Dir. of Photography: Fred Elmes Assistants: Steve Search, Katie Waalkes Digital Imaging Tech: Paul Schilens Libra Head Tech: Jason Cortazzo SMUGGLER “AUTOZONE/DURALAST” Dir. of Photography: Nigel Bluck Jib Arm Operator: Michael Monar Assistants: Patrick Borowiak, Christian Shonts, Monica Barrios, JG Gribble Steadicam Operator: Matt Doll Digital Imaging Tech: Jason Johnson Remote Head Tech: Charlie Anderson

SUPREME “NHL” Dir. of Photography: Samuel Bayer Assistants: Garret Curtis, Jeremy Cannon Digital Imaging Tech: Michael Borenstein TOOL OF NORTH AMERICA “US CELLULAR” Dir. of Photography: Pablo Berron Assistants: Ethan McDonald, Ryan Brown Digital Imaging Tech: Francesco Sauta “WALMART” Dir. of Photography: Matthias Koenigswieser Assistants: Shaun Mayor, Robby Hart, Marcus Del Negro Steadicam Operator: Benjamin Verhulst Digital Imaging Tech: Michael Borenstein Utility: Tim Bower WASHINGTON SQUARE “SPECTRUM” Dir. of Photography: Eric Schmidt Operator: John Pingry Assistants: Lila Byall, Ethan McDonald, John Scivoletto, Kira Hernandez Digital Imaging Tech: John Spellman WAVE FILMS “HOME DEPOT INFOMERCIAL” Dir. of Photography: Mark Thomas Assistants: Chris Lymberis Digital Imaging Tech: Jeremy Ball

Crew Photo: Stars

(L to R) TOP ROW- Brian Freesh, SOC – A Cam/Steadi Op, Jamie Marlowe – C Cam 1st AC, Nick Cannon Digital Utility, Rodney Taylor, ASC – DP, Andy Fisher – C Cam Op, Zsolt Hasarti – C CAM 2nd AC, Trent Walker –Digital Loader, Kyle Simmons – B Cam 2nd AC BOTTOM ROW - Chris Flurry – B Cam 1st AC, Dan Turek – A Cam 1st AC, Chris Squires – B Cam Op, Bodie Scott-Orman – A Cam 2nd AC Not pictured- Frank Godwin, Adam Castro, Warren Brace, Aaron Willis and Caitlin Trost / Photograph by Carin Baer

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ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES WEST COAST & CANADA

ROMBEAU INC. Sharon Rombeau Tel: (818) 762-6020 Fax: (818) 760-0860 Email: sharonrombeau@gmail.com

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ALAN BRADEN INC. Alan Braden Tel: (714) 846-7147 Fax: (714) 846-8271 Email: alanbradenmedia@gmail.com

Production Credits.

COMPANY PAGE AJA 67 Adorama 15 ARRI 35 Backstage Equipment 98 Bandpro 25 Chapman Leonard 57 Cinemoves 9 Cooke Optics 17 Creative Solutions LA/NY 27 CW Sonderoptic 107 Deluxe 31 Digital Sputnik 37 Filmotechnic 89 Fujinon 11 Glidecam 91 IDX 95 Jaunt 13 Jem Lighting 102 K5600 97 Kino Flo 99 Mole Richardson 100 NAB 4 Offhollywood 59 Paralinx 108 Panasonic 7 Red 33 Rosco 29 Samy’s Cinema Works 65 Schneider Optics 101 Technicolor 21 Teradek 2, 3 Tilta 19 VER Camera Facilities 5

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Stop Motion. new technology Issue

JoJo Whilden One of the reasons I like being a still photographer is the opportunity we have to shoot in both the most glamorous and grittiest locations. The Oyster Bar, in New York City, is hands down one of the most beautiful restaurants on the planet, and it’s an interesting visual that our main character (called “Prairie” at this point in the story) is blind and cannot see the location’s stunning interior (as she is being seduced by Jason Isaacs’ character, Dr. Hunter “Hap” Percy). The OA was a special series to work on for many reasons, including a trip to Cuba (!), but mostly because the creators of the series were also the director (Zal Batmanglij) and the lead actress (Brit Marling), both of whom were very close to the material and believed in the storytelling process.

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