ICG Magazine - August 2021 - The TV Issue

ICG MAGAZINE

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iPhones Production Monitors

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600 LIVE! l i v e . i c g 6 0 0 . c o m

pictured: Polly Morgan, ASC, BSC

Contents THE TV ISSUE August 2021 / Vol. 92 No. 07

DEPARTMENTS gear guide ................ 18 first look ................ 26 deep focus ................ 28 on the street ................ 30 exposure ................ 34 production credits ................ 90 stop motion .............. 98

SPECIAL Drag Net ...... 80

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FEATURE 01

LUCK BE A LADY Jean Smart’s dazzling performance as a Vegas comic is given the star treatment by Guild Director of Photography Adam Bricker and his L.A-based camera team.

FEATURE 02 SCHOOL OF ROCK Jaron Presant, ASC, erases the chalkboard and starts anew for the explorative new Apple TV+ series, Mr. Corman.

FEATURE 03 MODERN FAMILY Adrian Peng Correia and his New Yorkbased Guild team ride a funny/scary line between sitcom and episodic drama in the new AMC series Kevin Can F**K Himself.

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56 68

president's letter

The Golden Age This month, we celebrate the television arts. The Golden Age of TV is the term usually associated with live TV of the 1940s and 1950s which means we must be in the Platinum Age today, right? The term: “small screen” no longer has any meaning. From smartphones to home theaters, screens come in all sizes. While multiplex theater screens have shrunk, and the pandemic emptied theaters for over a year, all the distribution lines blurred, and audiences embraced content as never before. Just as importantly, television attracted the highest quality talent – writers, directors, actors, and camera teams. Our members have helped create the highest quality television ever made and the standards continue to rise even as the global pandemic required adapting to new working conditions no one had ever prepared for.

The work highlighted in these pages – however we define television – speaks for itself. As the Delta Variant rages, and anxieties are raised once again, let us find comfort in our past year and a half, during which our members produced exceptional work and provided lasting images for telling important stories. When challenged, we will prevail, and our artists will lead the way.

John Lindley, ASC National President International Cinematographers Guild IATSE Local 600

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24 EMMY NOMINATIONS ®

INCLUDING

OUTSTANDING DR AMA SERIES

OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A SINGLE-CAMERA SERIES (ONE HOUR)

ADRIANO GOLDMAN , ASC, BSC, ABC, “ FAIRYTALE”

“ TV PROGRAM OF THE YEAR .”

AFI HONOREE

WINNER CRITICS CHOICE

BEST DRAMA SERIES

WGA AWARD BEST DRAMA SERIES

FYC.NETFLIX.COM

GOLDEN GLOBE ®

BEST DRAMA SERIES

SAG PGA AWARD AWARD ®

OUTSTANDING ENSEMBLE IN A DRAMA SERIES

BEST DRAMA SERIES

Publisher Teresa Muñoz Executive Editor David Geffner Art Director Wes Driver

STAFF WRITER Pauline Rogers

COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR

Tyler Bourdeau

COPY EDITORS

Peter Bonilla Maureen Kingsley

CONTRIBUTORS

Margot Lester JoJo Whilden, SMPSP Valentina Valentini

ACCOUNTING Glenn Berger Dominique Ibarra

August 2021 vol. 92 no. 07

Local

600

International Cinematographers Guild

IATSE Local 600 NATIONAL PRESIDENT John Lindley, ASC VICE PRESIDENT Dejan Georgevich, ASC 1ST NATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT Christy Fiers 2ND NATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT Baird Steptoe NATIONAL SECRETARY-TREASURER Stephen Wong NATIONAL ASSISTANT SECRETARY-TREASURER Jamie Silverstein NATIONAL SERGEANT-AT-ARMS Deborah Lipman NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Rebecca Rhine ASSOCIATE NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Chaim Kantor

COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE

Spooky Stevens, 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) Ten issues published annually 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 2021, 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: $88.00 of each International Cinematographers Guild member’s annual dues is allocated for an annual subscription to International Cinematographers Guild Magazine.

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REUNITE

AFM 2021 ®

S A N T A N OVEMBER

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Photo by Sara Terry

wide angle

W

hat does television mean to you? Once upon a time, it was a handful of new broadcast shows, always premiering in September, aka return-toschool time. Once upon a time – again – it was waiting for that epic cable series to drop its newest season, which could mean late spring, early summer, or even the middle of January. (I see you, Downton Abbey!) Nowadays, there is no timetable on “small screen” content and virtually no limits on where a once predictable format like the onehour episodic drama (or the half-hour sitcom) will take us.

Even that venerable American institution, Webster’s, offers two separate definitions for “television.” The first is quaint and suitably vague: “an electronic system of transmitting transient images of fixed or moving objects together with sound over a wire or through space by apparatus that converts light and sound into electrical rays...(etc., etc.). The second is more revealing: “programming distributed over the Internet that is designed to be viewed in the same format as broadcast television.”

The same format, maybe, but not the same content. A case in point is our cover story on Hacks (page 38), which the new streaming giant, HBO Max, released in two-episode blocks over five weeks. (The show was renewed for Season 2 after the final, 10th, episode streamed). Set in Vegas (but seamlessly shot in L.A. due to the COVID-19 surge in early 2021), Hacks earned 13 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Cinematography for a Single Camera Series for Adam Bricker (Chef’s Table, American Vandal).

Centered on an aging Vegas comedian (Jean Smart, odds-on favorite for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series) and a young L.A. writer (Hannah Einbinder, Emmy-nominated in the supporting actress category), Hacks redefines half-hour comedy. Gorgeously shot, with equally stunning production design (by IATSE Local 800 Emmy nominee Jon Carlos), Hacks looks like a Scorsese film but makes you laugh like Modern Family. Bricker, working with a skilled union team that included A-Camera/

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Steadicam Operator Joel Marsh; B-Camera Operator Natasha Mullan; and Chief Lighting Technician Chris Faulkner, has helped make Hacks unlike anything else on television – a broadcast/cable/streaming hybrid that seems perfectly in sync with today’s definition of the word.

If Hacks pushes the lines of where TV sits, AMC Networks’ Kevin Can F**K Himself (page 68) erases them. Shot by Adrian Peng Correia (GLOW, Ramy, and The Flight Attendant), this darkly comedic one-hour series (set and shot where no TV show has gone before: Worcester, MA), centers on Allison (Annie Murphy), a sitcom-typical housewife struggling in an unhappy marriage. Kevin’s challenging workflow had Correia and his New York-based team shooting Allison’s scenes with her husband, Kevin (Eric Peterson), in the multicamera setup of classic sitcoms, and then switching to a moody single-camera approach when Allison ventures out. (When the two worlds collide, transitions were done almost exclusively in-camera.)

Correira, who consulted with Emmy-winning/ nominated DP’s Gary Baum, ASC, and Patty Lee, ASC [ICG Magazine.com September 2020], says he “took all this knowledge and information from those masters” and brought it into his photography.

Employing pedestal operator veterans like Mark Schneider and Greg Saccaro helped to, in Correira’s words, “wedge Kevin Can F**K Himself back into the collective consciousness of the genre but still have it feel connected to today.”

Connecting with today’s viewers is where the creator of Mr. Corman (page 56) lives. Writer/Director/ Actor/Executive Producer Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Exposure, page 34) has already won two Emmys in his attempt to redefine television (Outstanding Innovation in Interactive Programming for Create Together in 2020, and Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media - Social TV Experience for HitRECord in 2014), and Mr. Corman marks his third nomination. The new half-hour series from Apple TV+ was shot like a series of short films, with long takes and spare edits. And even though COVID forced the producers to relocate the show to New Zealand, Director of Photography Jaron Presant, ASC, and his L.A.-based team describe it as one of the most fulfilling of their careers.

Focus puller Sarah Brandes says, “There was a glorious harmony that made it an absolute delight to go to work every day,” while Presant shares that, “We pursued a process more akin to prototyping in product design…like a group of creative people exploring their limits and finding a show together.”

Hey, Webster’s – that sounds like a great new definition for…

CONTRIBUTORS

Margot Carmichael Lester School of Rock “As a dyed-in-the-wool process geek, I loved talking to the camera department from Mr. Corman. After interviewing DP Jaron Presant [ASC], Joseph Gordon-Levitt and other Guild crewmembers about the challenges of producing the inaugural season during a global pandemic and on continents halfa-world apart, I was as wowed by their resilience as I was by their chops. Nothing like a global pandemic to showcase creative collaboration and problem-solving!”

JoJo Whilden, SMPSP Modern Family, Stop Motion “I love working in New England in the autumn where the solid New England crews take Halloween very seriously. On Kevin Can F**k Himself we were lucky to shoot in beautiful exterior locations for many of the singlecamera scenes.”

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Cover photo by Jake Giles Netter

David Geffner Executive Editor

Email: david@icgmagazine.com

CORRECTION: We regret omitting the name of Technocrane Operator Michael Buck, from our July 2021 crew box for Lisey’s Story. “Bucky” has been a Local 600 member for 21 years.

18 EMMY NOMINATIONS ®

INCLUDING

O U T S TA N D I N G L I M I T E D S E R I E S OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY STEVEN MEIZLER

WINNER

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS AWARD

MOTION PICTURE, MINISERIES OR PILOT MADE FOR TELEVISION STEVEN MEIZLER

WINNER

2 CRITICS CHOICE AWARDS BEST LIMITED SERIES BEST ACTRESS - ANYA TAYLOR-JOY

WINNER

2 GOLDEN GLOBE AWARDS ®

BEST LIMITED SERIES BEST ACTRESS - ANYA TAYLOR-JOY

“SMART,

LAVISHLY PRODUCED TELEVISION.

Nothing feels haphazard, with cinematographer Steven Meizler filling every frame with period detail.”

THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER

FYC.NETFLIX.COM

GEAR GUIDE

08.2021

MRMC’s Polymotion Chat SYSTEM STARTS AT $3,500 WWW.MRMOCO.COM

MRMC’s Polymotion Chat automated camera-control software provides new tiered access points to Chat Studio and Chat Broadcast. Chat Pro provides camera tracking for one to three cameras, with an option for live events up to national broadcasts. An easy-to-use interface provides support for MRMC and third-party robotic heads (including PTZ cameras) from most vendors, including Sony, Panasonic, BirdDog and more. Chat Studio is aimed at studios, live production and large corporate productions. It provides support for MRC and a range of robotic heads. The system supports from one to six cameras and adds an advanced tracking and framing capability that allows it to track multiple people across multiple cameras. Chat Broadcast is aimed at Tier 1 and Tier 2 broadcasters and adds presenter profiles, advanced integration into studio automation systems, scene recognition, and advanced sequencing for executing predefined camera moves. “Polymotion Chat has improved our workflow and the quality of shots that we can create,” describes Thomas Dragsnes from Oslo Streamingsenter. “Shots look more dynamic, and the amount of adjustment on the PTZ’s from the operators is greatly reduced. We’re impressed with the smooth movement and how well it can automatically track the talent.”

ETC’s Desire Fresnel $2,800 WWW.ETCCONNECT.COM

ETC’s Desire Fresnel uses the Lustr X8 array, bringing subtle nuanced colors to fabrics and skin tones. This is, in large part, because of the deep red LED that’s been added to the mix. Deep red brings an added incandescent-like warmth to your light from the far corners of the visible spectrum. “We were able to precisely adjust the color temperature and achieve exactly the right skin tones we needed, which is always one of the big challenges we encounter with video lighting,” says Lighting Designer Krzysztof Kowalski. ETC has also adjusted how traditional Fresnel lens and lamp work together, making Desire Fresnel bright and efficient through the entire 13–55-degree zoom range. At over 6,100 lumens, this fixture delivers brightness along with high-quality color. The low power draw of 54 lumens per watt and an L70 rating of more than 54,000 hours help reaffirm the longevity of the fixtures. The built-in wireless DMX/RDM capability using City Theatrical’s Multiverse protocol broadcasts ten universes of DMX from a single transmitter. Use ETC’s Set Light App via NFC to configure your fixture even when it’s not powered on, or navigate countless options using the fixture’s intuitive interface.

ETC’s industry-leading support is available 24/7/365, so no matter when you have questions, they will be there to answer the phone.

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THE T V I S S UE

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GEAR GUIDE

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Hive Lighting Super Hornet 575-C $5,999 WWW.HIVELIGHTING.COM

“I recently used Super Hornet 575-C on American Horror Story and found the LED colors (red, amber, lime, cyan, green, blue and sapphire) more sophisticated than the common RGBW,” describes Chief Lighting Technician Christian Epps. “Even though they are made with multiple LED’s in multiple colors, they output as if they’re a single point source, so I get nice, crisp edges, even at fairly short distances between the light and the surface. The edges of shadows don’t have multiple colors.” Epps has used the 575-C to create shadows on walls, the patterns of French doors, and window blinds. “Sometimes I point them directly at the surface or bounce them off of a mirror,” he adds. “We used the Super Hornets to create a moonlight look that was used on faces, costumes, furniture and walls. The seven-color array allowed for a more sophisticated pale blue-green that we could be happy with for the entire episode.” The Super Hornet 575-C can swap between the light quality of a panel, Leko, or concentrated spot in seconds. It boasts DMX, wireless DMX, Bluetooth, and manual control options; is universally compatible with AC power 100-277 V; and can be directly CD-powered by 48-V battery sources. Weighing only five pounds, the fixture head has the output of a 575-W HMI or a 2000-W tungsten, giving the user 700 foot-candles at 3 m (10 ft.).

Filmotechnic USA’s Flight Head 6S RENTAL $1,350 TECH PERSON $815 FOR 10 HOURS WWW.FILMOTECHNIC.COM

Filmotechnic USA equipment is on almost every set, and the company hears what is needed. As such, it is constantly adjusting for the market. Their most recent head, the 6S, has an unlimited 360-degree roll axis with HD-SDI slip ring, a new joystick console, and the latest electronic design. Engineered for silky smooth shots with precise camera control, eliminating vibration and unwanted shakes during rough, fast camera moves is easy. The GPS autohorizon assures a rock-solid horizon in high-G turns. The 6S also offers unmatched flexibility and reliability on a variety of regular and telescoping camera cranes, dollies, camera cars, quad bikes, helicopters, cable cam rigs and other Mitchell-mount platforms. It features an intuitive touch-screen display, a quick-release camera plate, and lens driver interfaces for Canon and Fujinon lenses. The 6S accepts the majority of motion picture and broadcast cameras.

It can be set up in an underslung configuration, in wired or wireless modes. The design allows for the fast mounting of fully rigged cameras without the need for moving any of the accessories. It handles payloads of up to 122 pounds.

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First Things First Cineo Lighting was founded as a technology-forward lighting 1000+ watts of LED power – Cineo was first to develop large company. Innovation drives us to solve the challenges of a scale fixtures with advanced LED spectra: from the Quantum 4x4 fixture to the next generation of full-color Quantum II. complex and changing production environment.

Multi-zone lighting – Cineo invented and patented multi-zone lighting technology with the LB800, designed to deliver 800-watts of kinetic lighting.

Our list of technical “Firsts” includes:

Remote Phosphor – Cineo pioneered remote phosphor technology and developed the industry’s first high-CRI, high output soft lights: the Cineo HS and Maverick series products. High-output LED hard lights – With Cineo’s ReFlex series, the challenges of building focusable, high-output hard lighting was solved by developing our patented immersion cooling technologies: another first.

Quantum II 4x4 Soft Light, 1,600 watts

ReFlex R15 24” Variable CCT Hard Light, 1,500 watts

LB800 2x4 Multi-zone Soft Light, 800 watts

cineolighting.com ©2021 Universal City Studios, LLC. Illustration: Dyna Mendoza

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GEAR GUIDE

ikan PDL-AFP Live Air 2 $299 WWW.IKANCORP.COM

Ikan’s new PDL-AFP Live Air 2 is a wireless follow-focus system that eliminates the need for external D-Tap power. Combining the advantage of REMOTE LIVE and REMOTE AIR, the system enables a single user to wirelessly control focus for a variety of different shooting scenarios. “It’s the easiest PDMOVIE product to set up,” says Brian Kennedy of Kennedy Brothers Productions. “It’s a selfcontained product that uses a proprietary setup. It connects via Bluetooth, creating an independent connection directly between the controller and the monitor. I especially like the automatic calibration; it’s a push of a button to pair them, then push the button twice to calibrate the motor to the lens, and it’s ready to go. It’s designed to work well with handheld rigs, and I like to use it on a gimbal or Steadicam. When you mount a camera on a Steadicam or gimbal, you don’t have access to the lens, and it’s all about balance. So, if you touch the lens at all, it’ll ruin the balance. With this system you focus wirelessly, with no wires to mess up the balance.” The advanced data technology increases the Bluetooth transmission distance by 10 times and PDL-AFP linear control distance up to 328 feet. The motor uses a dual Li42B rechargeable battery, which is easy to recharge and mount into the motor. Both the Live Air controller and motor use the Li42B 3.7-V 600-mAh changeable battery with a running time of up to 6 hours.

Atlas Orion Series Silver $89,000 WWW.ATLASLENSCO.COM

A limited-edition run, the Orion Series Silver special-reserve optics offer a distinctly different aesthetic and visual performance, bringing a fresh take on classic anamorphic characteristics. The Silver Edition lenses maintain the modern, mechanically reliable performance of Orion lenses with a vintage feel and modern technology. Precision-adjusted air-space tuning, paired with bold Silver Edition coatings, results in expressive, reactive, yet chromatically refined anamorphic flares, unlike other anamorphics.

“The new Atlas Silver Edition anamorphics are a fabulous addition to the existing Atlas family,” says Newton Thomas Sigel, ASC. “They take distinctive flares of the Orions to a whole other level yet retain the color of their source. The lenses have a beautiful smoothness that cuts well with the original series. Creamy without being soft, in a reasonable size with user-friendly close focus, the Atlas lenses maintain a very natural feel, even with digital capture.” The SE series features a neutral flare characteristic that takes on the color of your light source and provides more flexibility in expressing the desired look. The air spacing between elements has been optimized to provide a different focus fall-off characteristic from standard Orion Series lenses. Each set includes six focal lengths: 32mm/40mm/50mm/65mm/80mm/100mm. Series Silver is limited to 100 sets.

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Aaron Talking digital Morton workflows from down under Cinematographer

moxion.io/news/storytellers-series-aaron-morton/

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GEAR GUIDE

Chapman-Leonard Hybrid V PRICING UNAVAILABLE WWW.CHAPMAN-LEONARD.COM

“It’s agile, innovative and the first ever with electric capabilities,” comments dolly grip Chris Thrasher. “There has not been a dolly that is easier and more effective to use. The Hybrid V battery system is a game-changer for grips across the industry and saves us time on set.”

The Hybrid V battery system gives up to eight hours of continuous use on a single charge. The V Series also features a USB outlet for accessibility for charging mobile devices, such as cell phones and monitors, that can be easily rigged on the dolly. Its strong payload capacity on the arm allows for more options when it comes to mounting smaller crane and jib arms. It can carry payloads up to 700 pounds. The sliding sideboard system with hinged corner boards makes the sideboard change-over and positioning simple and quick. Without removing or changing the board system, the adaptable sliding board allows for a variety of positions.

It also incorporates seat and light pockets, for convenient placement.

As with the other V-Series dollies, the Hybrid V features three types of steering: conventional, crab and round. The float/normal control valve enables continuous up-and-down capabilities of the arm, allowing nonstop movement. The built-in heater supports constant arm speed, even in cold-weather conditions. It also works on both 24.5-in. straight or curved tubular dolly track as well as an 880-mm track.

Teradek Bolt 4K Monitor Module STARTS AT $1,490 WWW.TERADEK.COM

The new Bolt 4K Monitor Module TX is a breakthrough in streamlining and simplifying on-set workflows. The system is complete with built-in wireless camera control and wireless video. Setup is simple. Pairing with any SmallHD Smart 7 monitor is easy. The TX unifies the power source, mounting point, and cabling into a single thinner, lighter assembly.

Teradek’s TX and RX Monitor Modules bring wireless camera control to both SmallHD monitors and the Bolt 4K line of products. Users can now control an ARRI and soon RED Komodo and DSMC2 cameras from up to 750 feet away. 1500foot TX/RX modules for ARRI, RED Komodo and DSMC2 will also be available. The Bolt 4K Monitor Module RX attached to a Smart 7 monitor (equipped with a camera-control license) allows TX users to wirelessly access supported camera functions. This offers easier access to controls, 4Kp30 wireless video, and up to 750 feet of range. Powered by Teradek’s award-winning BB3 chipset, the Bolt 4K Monitor Module TX is fully compatible with the entire Bolt 4K series.

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CINE GEAR EXPO 2 0 2 1

LA EVENT SEPT 23-26

LACC - LOS ANGELES, CA W W W. C I N E G E A R E X P O . C O M

GO AHEAD - EXPERIENCE IT ALL LIVE EVENTS | ON AIR EVENTS | VIRTUAL MARKETPLACE | FILM COMPETITION | MASTER CLASSES THE T V I S S UE

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FIRST LOOK

Cheli Clayton Samaras 1ST ASSISTANT CAMERA

BY PAULINE ROGERS // PHOTO BY AARON EPSTEIN

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Cheli Clayton Samaras grew up in a home without television and movies, so she didn’t know the film business existed – until she was hired to be a “southern belle” at a Kentucky Derby party shoot.

It was there she met the crew of Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous, and, in her words, “could not believe they got paid to travel the world filming!”

Clayton Samaras’ first real entry into the industry was as a craft service assistant on a local movie of the week. Her thinking outside the box (like bringing specialty food for the crew) made an impression. With a camera crew that included three strong women – Celine Hayes, Jacqueline Nivens and Maggie Bates – the goal of being a camera operator seemed readily attainable. “I remember when Celine yelled to me: ‘Cheli, grab the 11-1 case,’” she recalls. “And I just hoisted this large,

to operating. She agreed to work for free as an operator on the job and answer any questions I had. It was a win-win. Bonnie is still one of my dearest friends.”

Clayton Samaras cites several 1st AC’s whose guidance (and tricks) she still uses today. “Carlos Arguello taught me the basics of assisting as well as the importance of kindness. He said, ‘Plant seeds wherever you go.’ Greg Luntzel taught me the importance of the A-camera 1st AC shouldering responsibility. Jay Levy taught me to methodically double-check everything. And Gregor Tavenner taught me to be resourceful, efficient, and confident.”

It was Bill Pope, ASC, who ultimately moved Clayton Samaras up on a series of commercials.

“We met on Bound, which was my first loading

heavy box on my shoulder and brought it to her.

Celine turned to the AD and said, ‘She’s mine for the rest of the show.’”

A trip to San Diego to visit her uncle (an excuse to check out Hollywood) ultimately went sideways after the producer’s son copped a job her PA friend, Susan Carpenter, recommended Clayton Samaras for. When a chance to assist Rick Sobin and Gregor Tavenner, who both were prepping at Panavision Tarzana, came up, she grabbed it.

No money, but a terrific educational opportunity.

However, being Oliver Stone’s “video waitress” was an education of a different kind. Hauling around a huge cart with a monster monitor and cables, then plugging everything in and staying out of Stone’s way, was the job description. “But,” as Clayton Samaras reflects, “it was the first time I began to understand what it was like to be a woman in this industry. I heard things like, ‘Chicks don’t belong in the camera department’ and ‘Why don’t we like women here? Because we put a lot of time and effort into training, and once women have babies, they’re gone. That’s a waste of our time.’”

Clayton Samaras broke that myth, working three movies while pregnant and continuing to balance motherhood with her camera assignments.

And she had fun doing it. On License to Wed, “every time we reloaded the camera, Robin Williams became the voice of my unborn baby. ‘Mama, were you on the A-Camera or B-Camera?’ Or he would see me and my eight-month pregnant belly and say, ‘It’s the Madonna of the camera department.’”

Mentors have also played a big part in Clayton Samaras’ career.

“Bonnie Blake [SOC] has been an invaluable ally,” she shares. “I was asked to work as a focus puller on an early freebie. I knew I didn’t have the skills, but I also knew it would be an invaluable learning opportunity. I had been working as a second for Bonnie, who was looking to move up

job,” she continues. “After several years working on and off with him as a second AC, he called one day saying he was looking for a 1st AC to fill in for several jobs. I pulled out my Rolodex, looking up names, and he said, ‘Cheli, I’m calling you for the job!’”

Clayton Samaras says pulling focus has changed with the Preston becoming more an extension of the AC’s hand. “At first, I’d use it occasionally,” she explains. “But it eventually became more efficient to keep it on, although I still stay close to the camera with my monitor. I need to be near the operator and the scene to stay connected.”

Currently she’s working with Operator Simon Jayes, SOC, whom she met on True Blood. The pair communicate via intercom, talking through a shot without having to use their hands.

“We recently did this fun shot of a boy picking a flower, then a whip pan over 60 feet, to boys taunting him,” she recounts. “The boy runs away, and we’re in another whip pan. It’s not just about the technical, but the dance. I went up to Simon after the shot and said, ‘Can you believe they pay us to do this?’”

One troubling new trend, Clayton Samaras points out, is seeing Guild members skip camera assisting altogether. “Operating seems to be an entry-level position now for the camera department,” she concludes. “But this craft is not just about pointing the camera and getting the eyeline right. It’s understanding how different lens sizes, depths of field, focus and lighting all help tell your story. It’s understanding which head you need to accomplish which shot. It’s the nuts and bolts you learn from the ground up and how to build a solid foundation – things you can’t learn from a YouTube video. You learn it from experience and doing a job – that I’ve been very fortunate and grateful to do for the last 27 years.”

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DEEP FOCUS

Sarah Cawley DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY PHOTO BY PETER KRAMER

Projects shot on film have very different sets than projects shot on digital. Because film is so precious, there is more rehearsal. There are no rolling resets. A film set is more precise in every way; even the 2nd AC must plan where they will go after they slate, because that film is flying through the gate. It’s a joy to work in an environment with that level of concentration. The rest of the world falls away.

It was a long road from indie features to shooting largescale episodic series like Manifest [ICG Magazine April 2020]. But a lot of the same strategies carry over. Prep is crucial, as the time pressure on TV puts you in a crucible.

Every minute counts.

The first few feature films I shot had modest budgets and tight schedules. We had to organize our shooting days very efficiently – block-shoot and limit the lighting turnarounds to get the movie made. It’s the same type of process in largescale TV production.

It’s a real art form to pre-rig a series set with lighting options that will allow me to be creative and responsive on the shooting day. A well-designed pre-rig allows for more spontaneity, not less. The shooting crew arrives, and it’s showtime. Ideally, most of the fixtures are in place, and we are setting levels and color on the dimmer board.

Of course, I’m always on the lookout for beautiful light that is occurring naturally near the set. We have our plan for the shooting day, but if there’s an amazing dusk falling over the horizon, I will create a shot to capture that. One of my favorite things is to grab an unplanned shot with spectacular available light.

I once worked as an architectural lighting designer, so I’m accustomed to reading architectural drawings. That is supremely useful when working with a construction crew and art department and in pre-light. The art department and I will work to include either practical lights or architectural lighting in the set, so there are possibilities in place.

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Such practical sources are often an ideal application for LED ribbons or tubes. Lighting, movement and composition are all opportunities to support the story. Would this character have an antique lamp on the desk in his office? Do the maps on the wall need light to convey the spirit of travel and adventure?

For Season 3 of Manifest, we built a set that took up an entire stage at Silvercup Studios. It was a huge science lab named “Eureka” that housed the remains of Flight 828. The set went all the way to the fire lane, so all lighting had to be built-in. We designed three rows of custom overhead fixtures with Helios Tubes in industrial metal housings for ambient light and placed Helios Tubes in exposed housings to run through the spine of the airplane, which we called Flight 828’s “nervous system.” We used LED ribbon lights in the display case that holds the remains of Noah’s Ark fragments. All of the fixtures I’ve mentioned were visible in the shot.

LED lighting has added so much flexibility to television.

Having the entire set controlled via DMX is a creative advantage. Not only is it beneficial for lighting, but it helps directors, 1st AD’s, production designers – the entire production. I can make stealth adjustments to light level and color without disturbing the set, without gel rattling, and without someone running in with a ladder and a scrim.

When I speak to beginning DP’s, and they ask, “How do you know which lights to use?” I tell them the answer is in the script – and in the budget. Once you look at the specifics of the story, the visuals follow. That’s the part of the challenge that I especially love. How am I going to get the words in the script to show up on the screen? How can we use the frame, movement, light and color to move the story forward? How do you film a person, alone, making a decision? If the budget is tight, your choices are limited, and that can be useful.

It’s an exciting moment in cinematography. Full-frame cameras capture stunning images with so much depth, and the format has inspired lens manufacturers to design new glass – as well as cherishing the vintage glass we all love.

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ON THE STREET

Emmy Winners So, you’re mostly there to network, to see friends you haven’t talked to in a while, or as one winner describes: see “bow ties and sequins.” Then everyone sits down, and the Primetime Emmy Awards begin. As the various categories are called, predictable thoughts race through your mind: “I’m never going to win. It’s just nice to be nominated.” Then the moment happens, as “the Emmy for best cinematography goes to…….” Did I hear right? My name? My show? What do I say? Why did they choose me, choose us?

If you think some version of the above scenario goes through every nominee’s mind, you’re right on track. First, there’s the statuette, then the party, then eventually Emmy takes residence in her proper home – but is that where the benefits end, or does she continue to change lives long after awards night? For our August TV Issue, we asked eight Guild members who have “been there, done that” to describe life after the glam and glitter.

Here’s what they had to say.

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Courtesy of John Simmons, ASC

Dana Gonzales, ASC Fargo (2016) When you get nominated for the first Emmy, you think you will be a winner. Sometimes it happens, but for me, it did not. That actually made the second time easier to deal with and more of a surprise when they called my name. It was totally unexpected and so special. It is a night my wife and I will never forget. And the walk to The Governors Ball right after is so real, as walking with my new Emmy is something I never knew I could achieve.

When you win in a field of the best cinematography, in any year, it is a humbling moment that you know may not ever happen again. It’s that hard and significant.

Courtesy of Dana Gonzales, ASC

Gary Baum, ASC Mike and Molly (2015), Will and Grace

John Simmons, ASC

(2018)

Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, and Dawn (2016) The Emmy statue, in my opinion, is physically the most beautiful of all

When I won my Emmy for a Primetime Multi-

award

multi-camera

Camera Series, Nicky, Ricky, Dicky, and Dawn,

cinematography category is small, but it

I was completely surprised. Two years in a

is extremely competitive. It’s always just

row, I was nominated for a show called Pair

an honor to be nominated by your peers.

of Kings. All of the shows were kid shows,

My first Emmy was Mike and Molly in

and I thought kid shows would never win

2015. We had a huge episode with many

the Emmy. Multi-camera is judged by a blue-

looks, including exteriors. Will and Grace

ribbon panel of cinematographers. And, as we

in 2018 was a Christmas episode. We

know, cinematographers are naturally drawn

had a flashback to 1903 New York City

to moody, dramatic lighting and expressive

via the immigrant museum. All of the sets

camera moves, which kid shows are not known

were new, and the story was fabulous.

for. But the clip I submitted was cinematic and

The original vision was to be black and

dramatic, and it didn’t look anything like four-

white or sepia for the flashback, but I

camera. I think it was the first kid show to win

lobbied hard for a muted palette, which

in my category. The actual award belongs to my

we adopted. It was such a special

entire crew because everything that led to the

episode and one of my most rewarding

win was due to their support. I took my gaffer,

as a cinematographer. The whole crew

Brad Draper, and key grip, Otis Burke, on stage

had so much fun on this one.

with me to accept the award. They deserved it.

statues.

The

Courtesy of Gary Baum, ASC

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ON THE STREET

Donald A. Morgan, ASC Home Improvement (1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 1999), The Ranch (2017, 2019, 2020) I shared my first Emmy with [Guild President Emeritus] George Spiro Dibie, ASC, in 1985 for Mr. Belvedere. We were instrumental in influencing a new look of color and diffusion on a multicamera show. We also broke the mold in that we took a single-camera approach with the lighting – something I continued throughout my career, as I was determined to give actors more freedom to move and create a look that supports the story.

On Home Improvement, we used five cameras, four pedestals and a jib. I thought it was unique to focus on the jib. We would shoot based on transition shots and shots in positions that were not being done in multi-camera. As technology changed, I had different tools that allowed me to be even more creative. For The Ranch, we used LED’s for our backdrops front and back, also the ambient light and sunlight coming through windows. We were able to use color theory to gain separation. With the Sony F55, we were shooting in 4K, which gave more latitude by pushing the boundaries. Winning the Emmy does create a bit more pressure. But what is especially gratifying is when other DP’s come to my set and ask questions, and then I see their shows Photo by Byron Cohen

take a turn toward change.

M. David Mullen, ASC Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (2019, 2020) We execute so many complex Steadicam moves on Maisel that see 360 degrees; sometimes all I can do is have the electrics screw a LiteMat 4 into the ceiling behind a beam and then follow the actors with a handheld LiteMat 1 to keep some light in their eyes. And sometimes I can’t even do that! But I’m saved over and again by the fact that the sets, costumes and actors all look so good. At times I feel like I am trying to channel the spirit of Geoffrey Unsworth, BSC, in terms of what he achieved in the great [Oscar-winning] film Cabaret – an artful, if contradictory, blend of hazy glamour and gritty realism. I think the reason Maisel is such a good fit for me is that I have such a passion for the romance of classic cinema. But I have to “sneak in” my visual references to those old movies while using a modern camera style and a lot of practical source lighting. I’m glad the Emmy voters have appreciated our efforts.

Courtesy of M. David Mullen, ASC

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Courtesy of Jonathan Freeman, ASC

Jeffrey Jur, ASC Carnivale (2004), Bessie (2015) Being nominated for an Emmy is an amazing acknowledgement from your peers, but winning one is a thrill of a lifetime – it felt like my head was about to explode as they announced the nominees. On the other hand, it always seemed crazy to me that one piece of work is deemed better than all others, which is just silly. Honestly, I just hope the passion I felt during the making of these projects was what stood out for viewers, as it’s wonderful to find shows that speak to your worldview.

I see the Emmy as a bulwark against the doubt and fear one tends to carry throughout one’s career.

[Laughs.] Certainly, it helps get you through some doors and minds that were closed. It’s also so important to understand that you’ve relied on so many other people, all the collaborators and crew that helped get you to that vaunted place.

Jonathan Freeman, ASC

Courtesy of Jeffrey Jur, ASC

Boardwalk Empire (2011, 2012, 2015) I never attended the Emmy Awards the years I won because I was working. But just

Christian La Fountaine, ASC How I Met Your Mother (2006, 2013, 2014)

being nominated was a great honor. There were so many worthy cinematographers who deserved recognition, including my fellow cinematographers on HBO’s

The first time I was nominated for How I

Boardwalk Empire. The quality of television

Met Your Mother, I pretty much thought I

cinematography in the past 20 years has

was there to see one of my friends and

advanced, rivaling feature productions.

colleagues pick up an Emmy. Next thing I

Much of that should be credited to earlier

know, I’m standing next to the presenter,

innovators like HBO, which believed

Neil Patrick Harris, staring out at a sea of

that quality filmmaking requires time

bow ties and sequins! A paralyzing case

and money. Finding the right material

of stage fright came over me, and my

with the right filmmakers was always

throat literally closed, involuntarily. I tried

their mantra. Supporting filmmakers

to thank my father and mentor, George

with more resources than traditional

La Fountaine, ASC, but nothing came

television became a guide for future

out. I was in a stupor as Neil took me

streamers. Because of this, the Emmy

backstage, where I inadvertently stabbed

Awards have become a showcase of these

another winner with the wing-tipped

advancements. The line between television

murder weapon I had just been awarded.

and cinema has blurred and allowed for

[Laughs.] Other than that, it was just

new cinematographers to emerge, which

another ordinary day.

was unlikely 20 years ago.

Courtesy of Christian La Fountaine, ASC

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EXPOSURE

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Joseph Gordon-Levitt WRITER | DIRECTOR | PRODUCER | STAR MR. CORMAN

BY MARGOT CARMICHAEL LESTER // PHOTO BY ANNE MARIE FOX

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EXPOSURE

Ask a multi-hyphenate artist like Joseph Gordon-Levitt – actor-director-producer-writermusician – for the most important element of success, and the answer may be a surprise.

The two-time Emmy winner says the key to excellence is mainly creative collaboration.

“I’ve been in so many creative environments ever since I was a little kid,” shares the San Fernando Valley native, who began as a child actor on such iconic shows as Roseanne, Dark Shadows and Family Ties, “and I’ve seen over and again how good ideas come from unexpected places. I remember oftentimes feeling like I had good ideas, but no one was listening because I was the kid or because I was the actor, and there’s no time to listen to the actor, necessarily, about what you’re going to do with the camera. I don’t blame people for not listening, but now that I get to be a director, I try to have a set where people feel encouraged to contribute their opinions. And I do find that when you keep your ears open, you get a lot of great ideas.”

Welcoming ideas from unexpected places is the hallmark of Gordon-Levitt’s career. His collaborative television shows – HitRECord on TV and Create Together – won Primetime Emmys for Outstanding Creative Achievement (2014) and Outstanding Innovation in Creative Media (2020), with Create Together also receiving a 2021 Emmynominee for Outstanding Interactive Program.

Gordon-Levitt’s latest, the Apple TV+ episodic series Mr. Corman, is further evidence of his desire to create innovative television. He gathered a cast and crew of professionals he’s known and worked with for years and made the most of the camaraderie to produce a series fueled by curiosity, wonder, and gratitude, much like GordonLevitt himself. Longtime ICG Contributor Margot Carmichael Lester talked to Gordon-Levitt from New Zealand, where production relocated during COVID-19, to learn more about the show and the power of creative collaboration.

ICG: What was the inspiration for Mr. Corman, and what aspects of your own experiences are present in the show? There are so many things in my life I’m grateful for; I’m very lucky in so many ways. And I use the word lucky with care and intent, as this industry, especially, has so much to do with luck. I started imagining certain things, like if I hadn’t happened to meet the perfect partner, or if one of my parents weren’t as healthy or reliable, or simply if my foray into show business hadn’t panned out. That sort of formed the [central] character of Josh Corman. In many respects, I’m playing myself. Josh walks like me and talks like me and is from where I grew up. But he hasn’t found

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his special partner; he does have one great parent and he’s a creative musician, but that hasn’t panned out into a career.

And making the central character a gradeschool teacher? Well, I’ve always thought that if I hadn’t been able to earn a living in the arts, teaching is something that’s always inspired me.

I’ve had incredible teachers in my life, and I think it’s a horrendously undervalued profession. If all the attention lavished on actors and performers was instead paid to teachers, we would probably live in a better, healthier society. I wrote this character as a professional musician – an artist at heart – for whom the commerce end didn’t work out, and he’s become a fifth-grade teacher. Josh is a lot like me but different.

Why was DP Jaron Presant, ASC, your choice to shoot the show? Jaron was my first and only choice. I knew that I wanted to do something where I got to play around with filmmaking, and he’s someone I’ve known for almost 20 years. We first met on Brick, Rian Johnson’s first feature [ICG Magazine December 2017], and we got to know each other better on Looper [shot by Steve Yedlin, ASC]. He worked on a bunch of projects with my company, HitRECord; our TV show; and all kinds of short films. Jaron’s excited and inspired to get creative. He’s eager to bend the rules to figure out what’s the most interesting way to tell a story visually. And that was the attitude I wanted.

You write, direct, produce and star in Mr. Corman.

Are you a stronger collaborator because you

take on so many different roles? Collaboration is a lot about empathy, putting yourself in someone else’s shoes, which is what acting is all about. One of the things I’ve practiced my whole life is to try to put myself in someone else’s shoes. When I’m writing, for example, a lot of it has to do with being in the shoes of the actor who will play that role. I’ve been in the position of being an actor reading the script and having to figure out how to get words off the page and out of my mouth. Writing is about understanding acting and directing is much the same. Or editing. I taught myself to edit when I was in my early 20s. I worked with several great editors on this show – Sharidan Williams-Sotelo and Jonathan Robinson – but I also am coming at it from the point of view of having done it myself.

What other traits make for a good collaborator?

To me, it’s about finding the balance between having a plan and being open to deviating from that plan. Knowing when to do that comes down to doing your homework and having a clear mind about what you want. So, when the day comes, and someone suggests a new idea, you’re open to it. The best directors I’ve worked with were open to new ideas that would arrive on the day. Like Rian Johnson. He inspires people to bring their new ideas and listens to everybody. But of course, you also have to be willing to say no. If you just open the process and let anybody decide what we’re going to do, if you’re not direct enough to say, “I hear your idea and I’m glad that you offered it, but that’s not the way we’re going to do this,” then the work will fall apart. People need to move with certainty to do their best work.

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What is the next frontier for small-screen content? What I’m focused on as far as what’s next is trying to get past the shiny object of fame and attention. Online culture has taken a step in the right direction in that everybody now can post a photo or a video or a song or piece of writing or anything they want, online. The problem is that the way the online landscape has been set up creates a certain kind of incentive that has to do with the business models of the dominant platforms.

Can you give some examples? At the beginning of the creative process, you’re trained to think, “What can I do to get the most followers?” as people, myself included, have gotten that dopamine hit over and again. I would hope that what is next is the rise of other platforms that are different, so we can get past this attention economy and get into something that’s focused more on community and collaboration. This is what we work on every day at HitRECord. Patreon is a good example, or Master Class. They are different things, and it’s exciting to see how people are inspired to learn. Let me be clear – there’s lots of amazing art and creativity that goes on the dominant platforms. But I want to get past that academic advertising model.

Do you have an accomplishment as a creator that most people might not know about? Last year during the pandemic I started doing something creative every day. I would go on HitRECord and find something that somebody was doing and jump in on that. I’d take that story that person wrote, and I’d add a new element to it or read it out loud. We made a video every day about these little creative exercises. We ended up taking that moment in time and making a bigger show out of it called Create Together [You Tube Originals]. It was an opportunity to speak extemporaneously about things that I’ve picked up over the years about what it means to be an artist. I’m very proud of that little series.

Many of us are feeling challenged by life these days. How do creative self-expression and collaboration help us get through? My way of coping is getting to be creative and express myself.

When I’m feeling down, my respite has always been writing, singing, or going to record a little thing or whatever – even if it’s not something that I share, or it’s not meant to be a big ambitious work of art.

Just the act of sitting down and focusing on making something – I find almost invariably, I feel better.

There’s more conversation nowadays about how

to feel better and find value, put in terms of mental health or self-care. All of those are different words for describing the same thing. Everybody finds it in their way – for some people it’s athletics, some others it’s cooking or gardening.

So, part of your mission is creative empowerment? I like to help other people find [creativity] in themselves because I think that everybody’s capable of it. You hear a lot about how everybody can be an artist, but what does that mean? What it means these days is that everybody can try to be an influencer, try to get a lot of followers, try to get a lot of likes. I’m concerned about that framework because I think the notion that everybody can be an artist is correct. But what it ends up translating to is: “I can get famous if I get enough followers on a social media platform.” That kind of fame and attention is not necessarily good for your ultimate self-actualization. In my experience, what helps is not the fame, attention or being on that red carpet, or even the level of box office. It’s finding what you love, how you like to express yourself – whether you like to write or draw, make music or act, or point a camera and find a beautiful shot. Whatever it is, you spend your time focused on doing that. That’s what brings us to that place.

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LUCK JEAN SMART’S DAZZLING PERFORMANCE AS A VEGAS COMIC IS GIVEN THE STAR TREATMENT BY GUILD DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY ADAM BRICKER AND HIS L.A-BASED CAMERA TEAM. BY: DAVID GEFFNER // PHOTOS BY: JAKE GILES NETTER & ANNE MARIE FOX

// FRAMEGRABS COURTESY OF: HBO MAX

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From the first frames of HBO Max’s stunning halfhour comedy series Hacks, Co-creator/Writer/ Director/Executive Producer Lucia Aniello and Cocreator/Writer/Director Paul W. Downs, working closely with Director of Photography Adam Bricker and Production Designer Jon Carlos, paint a full picture of iconic Las Vegas comedian Deborah Vance (played by the equally iconic Jean Smart).

The opening oner (sort of a Vegas equivalent of SOC member Jim McConkey’s epic Steadicam journey through New York’s Copacabana in Goodfellas) begins with Joel Marsh’s Steadicam floating behind Vance on stage. The spotlights, rigged high in The Palmetto’s main room, flare into Vance’s eyes, all but obscuring the packed (and devoted) audience. As she wraps up the show (with a dated joke about a love life so pathetic, she may return Melissa Etheridge’s call), Vance moves backstage through a whirlwind of assistants, showgirls, and stagehands, into her dressing room at The Palmetto, where she has performed for 20-plus years.

When the oner ends, the hectic life of a star continues outside – Vance brushing past autograph hounds to a limo (with “LV DIVA 2” plates) and on to a private jet that takes her to a QVC studio taping for a new Deborah Vancebranded product. But when, late in the night, Vance’s plane touches back down in Vegas, and she’s ferried to her desert mansion, we see what’s “behind the candelabra” (the HBO film was a key visual influence for Hacks).

Settling into her bedroom, the Vegas legend transforms into a lonely, aging divorcée – removing her make-up, wig, and sequined gown, and dining with her two Corgis. In a wide, classically proportioned frame, we see her press a button on a remote control, as the opulent room’s electric drapes slowly bring the sequence to black.

“That sequence was written, in detail, into the script,” describes Bricker (American Vandal, Chef ’s Table). “It’s rare to read a pilot so rich with visual storytelling, let alone on page one.” Bricker says he first met with Aniello, Downs, Executive Producer/Writer Jen Statsky, and Executive Producer Morgan Sackett via Zoom – the show was all shot during COVID – and was excited by the many visual influences discussed. “Lucia referenced Judy [shot by Ole Bratt Birkeland, BSC], which has lighting that beautifully reflects the character’s emotional state. As a group, we shared the

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belief that comedies don’t necessarily need to be bright or look a certain way. If something is funny, it’s funny; we don’t need the visuals to underline the joke. Instead, we wanted the cinematography to help convey the emotional journeys of Deborah and Ava” (Hannah Einbinder, playing a young L.A. TV “hack” who becomes Vance’s joke writer), Bricker adds.

“Off what we discussed in that Zoom meeting, I started compiling images we used to develop the look and referenced throughout.”

Aniello, who says Hacks was a bit outside her wheelhouse of “hard comedy,” praises Bricker’s meticulous preparation, including the look book that helped ensure their visual goals meshed. “What I love about Adam’s work is the range of styles,” she explains. “Chef ’s Table is totally different from American Vandal, but they both have a defined look.”

The showrunner, who started out doing online parody videos, says she’s keenly aware of the line between imitation/elevation and trying to give an existing look your own spin. “Adam does the same thing with his cinematography,” she continues. “It’s familiar but different, and that was perfect for this show. We wanted to elevate the comedy, but not be indulgent and just throw in beautiful shots.

Vegas is a crazy place – filled with glamour and glitz on the Strip. But behind the curtain, there’s a huge working base for hospitality and tourism. There’s a shadow world beyond the shows and casinos that offer all kinds of interesting visual choices.”

Even the oner is a visual sleight-of-hand, with the stage portion shot at L.A.’s Wilshire Ebell and the backstage at Paramount Studios (via a seamless VFX stitch). The shot journeys through an array of lighting styles – old Vegas glamour with lens flares and pops off Vance’s gown, pools of cool neon blue light backstage, and a cocoon of vanity lights as she settles down at her make-up table. (Chief Lighting Technician Chris Faulkner employed a range of units – from a vintage xenon spotlight to Astera Titan Tubes and ARRI SkyPanel S60s backstage to Cush LED ribbon built into the dressing room.)

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“THE FRENZY OF ACTIVITY STOPS, AS THIS IS A LONELY PERSON. WE’RE IN WIDE, COMPOSED STILL FRAMES, WITH DEBORAH ALONE IN THE CENTER.” CO-CREATOR/WRITER/DIRECTOR/EXECUTIVE PRODUCER LUCIA ANIELLO

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A-Camera/Steadicam operator Marsh calls the oner his “favorite” in the entire series.

“This was one of the few shots where only one camera was working,” Marsh recounts. (Ava Benjamin Shorr was B-Camera operator on Block 1, Natasha Mullan was B-Camera operator on Blocks 2/3, and Charlie Hoosier Panian was C-Camera throughout.) “It’s one of my greatest pleasures to fine-tune a Steadicam oner; what works, what drags, where can we perfect it.

When we finally land and see Deborah’s face for the first time, you could feel it on set, this is her.

The whole show falls into place after that.”

Aniello adds that “from the opening joke, we understand this is a woman who is lost in time with her onstage material but is supremely professional in her preparation. The backstage part of the shot was influenced by the Lady Gaga documentary Gaga: Five Foot Two, where we see how much work goes into being a performer.

The flip side is when we enter Deborah’s home, the camera undergoes a big shift to mirror her emotional state. The frenzy of activity stops, as this is a lonely person. We’re in wide, composed still frames, with Deborah alone in the center.”

Hacks’ character-driven camera language continues with the introduction of Ava, who, desperate to salvage a career undone by a Twitter missive, meets with her agent, Jimmy (co-creator Paul W. Downs), in his L.A. high-rise office. Jimmy, who is also Deborah’s agent, wants to revive both careers by having Ava become Vance’s joke writer – a plan the star knows nothing about. Aniello says the deliberate use of camera movement was discussed in her first meeting with Bricker. “Ava is also lonely, and

floating in space, albeit with more energy in the camera than with Deborah,” Aniello explains.

“Neither can connect with anyone else in their lives, until they come together – then we’re cramped and in close, as they duke it out like they’ve never done with anyone else.”

Bricker says the Ava scenes in Jimmy’s office were scheduled to avoid direct sun. “Ava’s in cold shadow, and the panoramic view of the Hills is awash in warm sunlight. I wanted to play with the idea of this idyllic Los Angeles sunshine and the Hollywood dream it represents. By keeping Ava in diffused, colder, almost overcast daylight, with the warmth of the sun in the deep background, it underscores how the life and career she wants are just out of reach.”

The scene in Jimmy’s office “was one of several Lucia anticipated wanting to ‘crossshoot’ [using multiple cameras over both actors’ shoulders to allow for performance continuity],” Bricker adds. “An approach that absolutely served the story but was our biggest technical challenge.”

Cross-shooting was made even more difficult by the location’s abundance of windows and chrome. As Marsh admits: “When you come to set and see that much glass, you take a few deep breaths and prepare. Framing coverage with three Panavision Millennium DXL’s fully kitted and trying not to see each other was also tough. But, in some ways, three sets of eyes are better than one, and communicating with the other operators makes for fewer mistakes. A light touch went a long way – going from sticks to handheld was a subconscious change that carried a lot of weight.”

Bricker relied heavily on Faulkner, and Key Grips Aaron Stinde and Randy Garcia, who

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designed a lighting rig that created a soft top light and was skirted to avoid reflections.

Faulkner says, “We built a book light into the drop ceiling that was lit from off-frame with two ETC LED Lekos and a K5600 800W JoLeko. This provided enough intensity and color variability to compete with the daylight of the set.” B-Camera Operator Mullan reaffirms grip and electric played a huge part. “We would get out of one reflection and quickly into another.

And Randy and Aaron were so patient, working to find a solution,” she recalls. “Joel and I often joked about linking arms and operating in synchronicity. With the cross-shooting, there were times we’d be asked to push-in during a shot [over headsets] and the only way to achieve it was to push into the other camera, maybe step on someone’s foot, or scrape a head, which, thankfully, had us all laughing after.”

Cross-shooting was also used in Deborah and Ava’s “showdown” scenes, including the end of the pilot when Ava visits the star in her formal Vegas living room. Feigning deference, the younger woman is soon rudely exposed

by Vance as an “entitled Internet one-off,” and that’s when sparks fly. “We knew what we wanted it to look like – Behind the Candelabra was a big influence for how we approached Deborah’s home,” Bricker notes. “I loved how they lit their interior spaces – dramatic bright windows covered in sheer drapery that held just enough detail. It had a naturalistic yet vintage feel that was a perfect fit for Deborah Vance.

“In this crucial scene, our challenge was to cross-shoot and allow Deborah and Ava to shine, without sacrificing our filmic look,”

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Bricker continues. “Jon Carlos designed the living room with a trio of symmetrical windows, and Lucia blocked Ava and Deborah against the center window so that they shared a key light we could see on camera. We mixed hard light skipping off the floor and soft light bouncing through the sheers to give the light authenticity. The far windows provide the characters with natural edge lights. I love how it turned out, and cross-shooting or not, wouldn’t change a thing about the lighting.”

Faulkner adds that “the soft light comes from a 60-foot ShowRig softbox that had eight ARRI S360 SkyPanels, and the hard light comes from five 20K Mole Fresnels rigged on an I-beam with two more 20K’s on stands. It’s a lot of light, and to balance it out we had to bring up the ambience from behind cameras with two 12-by-12-foot book lights stuffed with ARRI S60 SkyPanels. ” Carlos built 3D models for many sets, virtually “walking Bricker” through the rooms over Zoom meetings. The designer, who has Emmy and ADG nominations for Westworld [ICG Magazine October 2016], says everything begins with a plan.

“The relation of space to light sources, cross-angles, and camera openings is paramount, and the plan will show what works and what doesn’t before you get into the cake decoration of detail,” he explains. Carlos says he knew the plan for Deborah’s house would utilize enfilade, an architectural concept of having rooms and doorways lined up with each other.

“On the long axis of the Living Room, the

room starts with the mirror over Deborah’s fireplace; crossing along the window wall, the doorway opening to the hallway lines up with the opening to her office across, complete with its own mirror over a fireplace. So, from end to end, it’s a hall of mirrors reflecting into infinity,” he continues. “Adam could shoot from the office into the living room and back again and shoot enfilade from the living room through another hallway into [Vance’s assistant] Marcus’ office, or on slight diagonals from the living room to the dining room and front door – and the plan showed all these available sightlines. Like me, Adam is naturally inclined toward formal symmetry, so it was a great match.”

Carlos says his goal, particularly with the added limitations of shooting under COVID, was to create sets that offered many portals and openings to cross-shoot without cameras seeing each other. “For example, the many doors in Deborah’s dressing room all served specific purposes – fictitiously assigned as bathrooms or stagehand side doors,” he adds, “even if the viewer might never see what was behind them.

That grounded everything for me, giving the doors a purposeful placement for story – but also helped with the speed and efficiency to create a pretty picture during COVID.” Aniello gives the example of early meetings with other designers “who wanted to run with the line where Ava says Deborah lives in a ‘Cheesecake Factory.’ Everyone else [besides Jon Carlos] thought ‘gaudy and over-the-top,’ but that’s how Ava sees Deb’s home. The reality is that this woman has excellent taste, and

ANIELLO PRAISES BRICKER’S ABILITY TO “VISUALLY ELEVATE THE COMEDY.” LOOKS RANGED FROM NIGHTIME ON THE VEGAS STRIP TO DESATURATED NEW ENGLAND, WHEN AVA (HANNAH EINBINDER, BELOW) RETURNS TO HER CHILDHOOD HOME.

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her money, which is a part of her emotional armor, is used for that indulgence. Everything in Deborah’s life is purposeful and goes to character, and the entire art department, from Jon to [Art Director] James [Bolenbaugh] to [Set Decorator] Ellen [Dorros] understood that.”

Creating Hacks’ many “pretty pictures,” perhaps most clearly expressed in Episode 2, when Deborah’s onstage act takes on a rainbow effect, were aided by a close partnership with Panavision Technical Marketing Manager Guy McVicker. Bricker, who has shot on RED his whole career, paired the MONSTRO sensor on the DXL2 with Panavision’s Primo 70 largeformat lens series, customized by McVicker in a process the DP describes as “creative and rewarding.”

“I would send Guy clips from Behind the Candelabra and Judy, and he would tweak the internals of the Primo 70s to emulate those references,” Bricker recounts. “Shooting on vintage glass can be impractical on a TV schedule, but Guy helped us capture the look we wanted while reaping the benefits of modern-day optics. He would bring the adjusted glass out of the lab for Lucia and me to test, and then we’d give notes to refine the ‘recipe.’ Guy was the one who suggested we modify the glass to create a rainbow flare for that moment of Deborah on stage. The process is so cool because you end up with a set of lenses unique to your show.”

McVicker says he boosted the flare signature “far beyond the typical characteristics of the P70. The color and texture were also altered to allow Adam and

Lucia to work with warmer, bolder tones and depart from the cooler blue flare these lenses traditionally deliver.” Due to COVID, and the need for on-set ventilation, practical smoke and atmosphere were limited, “so veiling glare was increased, and in the right scenarios, the appearance of atmosphere in the air could be manifested without the need for practical haze,” McVicker continues. “Softer highlights were induced as well, as a much smoother skin tone was created. And this was all done without impacting overall contrast or the saturation level of colors. We were able to navigate around the threat of ghosting.”

Shane Reed, founder and senior colorist, Mom&Pop, says he built three main show LUT’s to define and differentiate Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Vance’s stage environments. “The overall visual tone is played as a drama with portraits instead of comedic caricature,” Reed details. “From there, each environment gets unique and consistent visual signatures. Vegas is warm and golden, while L.A. is cooler than usually portrayed, and where the highlights are warm, Ava is just out of reach of that light.

Deborah’s stage scenes are rich and opulent with deep saturated textures. The DXL2 ended up in a lovely Kodak 5219 printed to 2383 space, while also protecting for an HDR and Dolby Vision finish.”

One of Hacks’ many visual triumphs was shooting L.A. for Vegas, with the production only visiting Sin City for three days (owing to the pandemic’s West Coast surge in December and January). B-roll, shot by Camera Operator Charlie Panian, helped, in Bricker’s words, “round out” many scenes with iconic Vegas exteriors, while key moments, including Ava’s

“SHOOTING ON VINTAGE GLASS CAN BE IMPRACTICAL ON A TV SCHEDULE, BUT GUY [MCVICKER] HELPED US CAPTURE THE LOOK WE WANTED WHILE REAPING THE BENEFITS OF MODERN-DAY OPTICS.” DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY ADAM BRICKER

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THIS PAGE/OPPOSITE: FOR A KEY SCENE FROM EPISODE 7, WHEN 15 CHARACTERS GATHER IN VANCE’S DINING ROOM, B-CAMERA OPERATOR NATASHA MULLAN (FAR RIGHT, BELOW) SAYS HAVING FOUR CAMERAS “ALLOWED US TO GET REAL-TIME, HONEST REACTIONS. WE OFTEN USED THE SAME FOCAL LENGTH AND DISTANCES FOR WIDES, TWO-SHOTS, AND SINGLES THROUGHOUT THE SEASON, CREATING A FAMILIARITY WHEN CAPTURING A PARTICULAR SIZED SHOT.”

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ecstasy-fueled night on the Strip with George (Jeff Ward), a fling she meets in the casino, and Deborah’s daughter, DJ (Kaitlin Olson), who impulsively gets married at a drive-through chapel, were captured on site.

“There’s a scene where Deborah does an impromptu comedy routine on an open-air tour bus, which required a mix of footage from Vegas and L.A.,” Bricker remembers. “We shot the bus in a parking lot at Paramount with large blue screens that we moved around on lifts. We didn’t want to rely on stock footage, so the VFX team in Vegas shot background plates to match the Strip as it would be seen from the upper deck of the bus. On the Paramount lot we rotated the bus so that Deborah was beautifully backlit by the sun and then matched the time of day and traffic patterns with the VFX team. It was a tall order, and Shane’s color correction really pulled that sequence together.”

Reed says he paid special attention to get the “Vegas for Vegas” background plates to match the “L.A. for Vegas” foreground action. “Everyone at each step of the way did an excellent job planning lighting and matching angles,” Reed shares, “so when it came through color, we had a great starting point. A little extra elbow grease and attention to detail helped sell the physicality of those scenes.”

Aniello says the Vegas-shot scenes act as “connective tissue” to tie together so many key moments. “Exteriors that weren’t stock shots of Vegas but were in the style of the show were especially important,” she relates.

“Like in the pilot, when Deborah’s Maybach goes down the Strip and the fountains go off behind her – Charlie was able to shoot that in the style of the sequence. The scenes with Ava on the Strip with George were must-haves in Vegas.”

Marsh adds that Vegas marked the final week of Hacks’ production, “so the energy was celebratory,” he recalls. “I love the Ava and George scenes because we decided early on the night would be shot on Steadicam, and it’s the only time we indulged in that stylized, dreamy feeling. The final shot of principal photography was Ava and George under the twinkling lights, and it’s great because we get to see Vegas as more glamorous than trashy.

The best thing about the Vegas-shot scenes was that they made the L.A. material feel so genuine.”

Like all great comedies, Hacks derives laughs from deep emotional chasms. As Deborah and Ava’s relationship evolves, and the show builds to some starkly hilarious climaxes, the visuals mirror those changes. A dinner scene from Episode 7, where some 15 characters are gathered in Deborah’s dining room for DJ’s “35th” birthday party, begins to highlight those challenges for the creative team. Marsh remembers attacking the scene with a time-honored strategy, “getting our wide shots first, moving in for mediums, and then spraying down the tight shots. But it was daunting. In setting up close-ups, we operators would move a candlestick on the table to be able to see our character’s face, and as soon as you did, that candle would be in someone else’s shot. It felt like a 2000-piece jigsaw puzzle that became magical once all the pieces fit.”

To move quickly around the set, Faulkner and Garcia created overhead lighting where ceiling panels could be removed and replaced with softboxes, which were lifted and raised by chain motors. “The goal in my mind was to create beautiful soft light over the table with a dramatic fall-off to the walls – moody and suspenseful, as the tension builds, but still naturalistic,” Bricker explains.

Mullan remembers that camera and lighting “were intertwined during each shot.

Tension developed between DJ and Deb, that, although they were on opposite ends of the table, became palpable,” Mullan recalls. “And having four cameras allowed us to get realtime, honest reactions to that tension. We often used the same focal length and distances for wides, two-shots, and singles throughout the season, creating a familiarity when capturing a particular sized shot.”

Hacks’ biggest visual surprise is saved for the end when Ava travels back east for her father’s funeral – the reason she can’t be present for Deborah’s swan song. The scenes, shot in L.A. but set near Boston, are denuded of color – simple, unadorned and unlike anything that’s come before. Aniello says, “We wanted it to look authentic to the place, but not like ‘Let’s

just do a color grade for cool and cold Boston.’

It’s a place where Ava, in her own words, says she felt ‘very lonely.’ And the camera and color reflect that. When Deborah shows up at the funeral, she’s a ray of light.”

Faulkner recalls “bouncing a lot of light into the set off the white backing with ARRI SkyPanel S360s on low cranks, and ARRI SkyPanel S60s on rolling turtles. Inside Ava’s bedroom it was mainly book-lighting DMG Mini Mixes and Astera Titan and Helios Tubes,” he adds.

Carlos says the scenes were a “culmination of design” that defined each character.

“The formalism in Deborah’s Vegas mansion reflected her generation’s desire for balance and symmetry, and the moment you add in an element that doesn’t fit – blocking, set decoration, color – it draws even more attention to that formalism,” the designer concludes. “Nothing in Ava’s world is in balance – her L.A. townhouse filled with boxes, her Vegas hotel room, and her childhood room in that final episode are completely asymmetrical, with the last example revealing the origins of this character. Putting those opposing forces together visually supported each woman’s journey, as the roles subtly shift, with one life becoming messy and the other stabilized.”

Mullan calls the frames in Ava’s childhood bedroom among her favorites. “I loved the soft moments between the two characters,” she says. “The bedroom scene in the last episode was so beautiful – we merely had to be a fly on the wall and ensure we were incredibly quiet in our camera movements. Every beat Jean and Hannah gave was mesmerizing and essential to capture.”

Bricker says those hometown scenes were about “world creation” and why Ava originally ran away to Los Angeles, and then ultimately Las Vegas. “We leaned into the opposite of all that sunshine and hard light and reveled in this overcast, muted daylight,” he shares. “Ava’s hometown looks the way it looks because we approached it from a story perspective. It’s an encapsulation of what Lucia, Paul and Jen empowered us to do all along – letting the cinematography reflect, even on a subconscious level, the emotions of the narrative – and that’s a great feeling.”

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LOCAL 600 CREW Director of Photography Adam Bricker A-Camera Operator/Steadicam Joel Marsh A-Camera 1st AC Nina Pilar Portillok A-Camera 2nd AC Mariela Ferrer B-Camera Operator Natasha Mullan Benjamin Shorr B-Camera 1st AC Jamiel VanOver B-Camera 2nd AC Laura Difiglio C-Camera Operator Charlie Panian C-Camera 1st AC Andrew Pauling C-Camera 2nd AC Paulina Bryant DIT Tyler Goeckner-Zoeller Digital Utility Sarah Beagle Newman Still Photographers Anne Marie Fox Jake Giles Netter

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BRICKER (ABOVE USING ARTEMIS APP WITH ANIELLO) SAYS “LUCIA, PAUL AND JEN EMPOWERED US TO LET THE CINEMATOGRAPHY REFLECT, EVEN ON A SUBCONSCIOUS LEVEL, THE EMOTIONS OF THE NARRATIVE – AND THAT’S A GREAT FEELING.” THE T V I S S UE 55

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JARON PRESANT, ASC, ERASES THE CHALKBOARD AND STARTS ANEW FOR THE EXPLORATIVE NEW APPLE TV+ SERIES, MR. CORMAN. BY: MARGOT CARMICHAEL LESTER // L.A. STILLS BY ANNE MARIE FOX // FRAMEGRABS & NZ STILLS COURTESY OF APPLE TV+

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The word community gets bandied about a lot when talking about production crews. Groups of people with different skills and talents unite behind a shared mission to produce a body of work. It’s how business gets done. But sometimes you come across a crew that shares a set of fundamental beliefs, concepts and attitudes that takes the idea of community to a different level.

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Spend a few minutes talking to the Guild crew on Mr. Corman, a new series from Apple TV+ and writer/director/producer/star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and that bond is immediately apparent. Director of Photography Jaron Presant, ASC, describes Gordon-Levitt as a “fantastically creative person who elicits the most from those around him.” Presant, a longtime friend and collaborator, adds that “Joe creates a world where those around him become creatively invested, and when that happens it allows everyone to grow and learn. The result is truly empowering.”

Director of Photography Alex Vendler, who shot VFX plates and 2nd Unit in L.A., sums it up this way: “Collective strength is all we have.

We don’t want to let people down with whom we’ve had long-term relationships. Trust builds because we believe in each other. I don’t always know what Jaron’s up to, but if he says he needs this, we’ll do it and see why later. He and Joe are at the top of their games, which gives you more excitement. You bring all you’ve got because you feel it’s going to be important.”

That shared commitment was put to the test when Mr. Corman shut down three weeks in due to COVID-19, later relocating from Los Angeles to New Zealand to restart under safer conditions.

“If I had to point a finger at something I thought we were very successful at, it would be group participation,” offers A-camera operator Dale Myrand, SOC, who was one of the few L.A.-based Guild members able to relocate to New Zealand. “Everyone from both crews, L.A. and Wellington, bought into helping us find the best way to tell Joe’s story. I had

as good a support team as I have ever had – intelligent, motivated and engaged. I suspect most everyone walked away at the end of the day feeling as though they had been directly involved with the product.”

L.A.-based focus-puller Sarah Brandes [ICG Magazine January 2021] agrees. “There was a glorious harmony that made it an absolute delight to go to work every day. After the shutdown, we all kept in pretty close contact with one another. The show inevitably moved to a distant location, and as sad as we were to see it go, we were happy to see it continue. It was nice for those of us who stayed behind to believe it was because of our valiant efforts that it was able to continue.”

Mr. Corman is designed to look like a series of short films, tracing the life of Josh Corman (Gordon-Levitt), a musician who ended up becoming a fifth-grade teacher. GordonLevitt says he and Presant worked closely on developing the grammar for the camera work.

“I was interested in the kind of intimacy that can come from having fewer cuts,” GordonLevitt shares. “So, we said, ‘Let’s figure out what we can do with the camera to intuitively follow the action of the scene and make the audience feel like they’re sitting in the room with us.” Long takes are one of its hallmarks.

To ensure the camera moves reinforced Josh’s mental state, Presant and Gordon-Levitt identified the salient beats of his emotional journey. “While we would design shots that arose from those concepts, we also maintained those designs in a state of plural-potentiality for as long as possible, knowing they could shift and change,” Presant notes. “And leaving

them flexible to take new shape and develop alongside the performances. The ability for it to feel imperfect – in the way a person in the space would – worked to remove the artifice of the camera as an objective observer.”

That goal meant having camera operators who connected deeply with the story and characters. Or as Presant describes: “In a way, we were finding another member of the cast because how they would respond and feel to the actors was immensely important.”

Myrand was on A-cam and Mark Moore [SOC] shot Steadicam. As noted, Myrand moved with the show to New Zealand, and Bevan Crothers joined as splinter DP. “With the approach we took – a kind of conscious lens – the camera is following in time with the actor,” Gordon-Levitt adds. “So, Dale was a valuable contributor to the entire process.”

Presant chose ALEXA Mini LF’s for the camera’s functionality and specific attributes of the sensor – latitude quality of the photosites, and quality of the data downstream – and Zeiss Ultra Primes, detuned slightly by Guy McVicker at Panavision to add a slight color aberration. They used a Steadicam in L.A. and a Ronin in New Zealand.

“The look of our show came much more from the image pipeline we built,” Presant expounds, “which took those sensor values and mapped them to the desired response. For Mr. Corman, that was generally contact-printed film, but I adjusted the peak of the highlights to allow for certain characteristics I wanted

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DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY ALEX VENDLER, WHO SHOT VFX PLATES AND 2ND UNIT IN L.A., SAYS GORDON-LEVITT (L) AND PRESANT (R) “ARE AT THE TOP OF THEIR GAMES, WHICH GIVES YOU MORE EXCITEMENT. YOU BRING ALL YOU’VE GOT BECAUSE YOU FEEL IT’S GOING TO BE IMPORTANT.”

in the HDR, namely a general highlight rolloff with a nominal punch-through for peak highlights.”

Presant also modified the roll-off to allow for the very darkest blacks to converge on a clean zero point. “The very specific design of the show LUT formed the basis of the look, and then we coupled it with film grain and halation algorithms to give everything a much more organic feel,” he continues. “We are in the very early days of a move toward computational photography, and we have to look at our cameras more as data acquisition device. Just one step in a process rather than the source of our look and feel. The image pipeline as a whole is the true source of our image design.”

To help Myrand be a key part of the action, Brandes focused on the maneuverability of the camera build. “I incorporated his needs for operating, i.e., adjustability of the eyepiece, and lightweight motors on the passenger side of the camera,” she offers. “Every piece was tested for ease of weight and functionality, eliminating anything that would impede the lightest possible build.”

Not every handheld image was shot handheld. Presant created an algorithm to add true handheld motion onto stable images,

which Eric Cameron at Fotokem ported into the dailies process in NextLab and the final grade in Resolve. Presant, who Vendler says is one of the most tech-savvy DP’s he’s ever worked with, started with tracking handheld shots and incorporated on-set operation to finesse parallax. This enabled him to manipulate the amount of handheld in post and ramp within shots. “The ability to fine-tune that motion was integral to some of the shots we were designing,” Presant says.

Each day would begin with a rehearsal from a shot design Presant and Gordon-Levitt had developed, and then they would adjust as each beat evolved. Presant used an Artemis Prime digital finder to capture a rough version of each beat so they could look at it together and “discuss it, adjust it, break it, change it, finetune it,” he recounts. “It became a process of way-finding where our initial idea blossomed into something new and better, often shifting what the actors were doing and then shifting what I would do with the camera. Doing this quietly, in a space where an exchange of ideas could happen, allowed us to push ideas back and forth between not only Joe and me but the actors and our operators.”

“On the rare occasion that they couldn’t

figure out the best way to approach the scene, I would offer a suggestion,” Myrand recalls.

“Sometimes they incorporated my idea directly, and sometimes they took it and then it morphed into something even better.”

Production Designer Meghan Rogers, who worked on Gordon-Levitt’s feature directorial debut, Don John (2013), was also a key creative partner. As Presant observes: “L.A. has this tendency towards moments of pure beauty amongst all of this mundane city life, and we wanted to build the show around the beauty within the mundane.” Rogers adds: “One of the best parts of designing this show was the opportunity to explore some of the dynamically different places that people live in a sprawling city like Los Angeles. Collaborating with Joe and Jaron to find the visual voice of the city was fun and creatively rewarding.”

For Corman’s day job as a teacher, Rogers says the trio looked for “mundane locations in the San Fernando Valley, with washed-out colors affected by the heat and relentless sun – a color palette of pale lavenders and peaches at dawn through the spectrum of polluted beiges during the heat of the afternoon with

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ABOVE/OPPOSITE: A-CAMERA OPERATOR DALE MYRAND, SOC, SAYS “EVERYONE FROM BOTH CREWS, L.A. AND WELLINGTON, BOUGHT INTO HELPING US FIND THE BEST WAY TO TELL JOE’S STORY...MOST EVERYONE WALKED AWAY AT THE END OF THE DAY FEELING AS THOUGH THEY HAD BEEN DIRECTLY INVOLVED WITH THE PRODUCT.”

the blinding blowout with the sun.”

Nightlife and jaunts into the world of musicians and artists occurred on the Eastside, in Echo Park and the Warehouse District, where the color palette transitioned to jewel tones and saturated colors to create an almost magical after-hours environment, first featured in the opening episode.

“We shot inside and out of this club, using a bit of everything from SkyPanels to Astera Titans to LED Lustr Source 4’s to Chauvet LED to Par cans,” recalls Chief Lighting Technician Manny Tapia. “One cool thing we did was construct retrofitted housings for four S-60 SkyPanels that my rigging team mounted on separate Wacker lights. Those played in the shot and were able to give us on-camera color, and we were able to make them any color we wanted.”

For the fantasy sequences, Presant and Gordon-Levitt wanted to avoid slick effects. To create a more low-fidelity feel, they decided the camera wouldn’t pan or tilt, which maximized the pop-up picture-book feel of the composite environment. “Our grip department, led by Sam Strain, and especially our dolly grips Hamish McIntyre and Melissa Ririnui, had their work cut out for them,” Presant describes. “We

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embraced a 2.5-dimensional world – not true reality in terms of the spaces – and moving the camera in limited ways, accentuated that in the final composite.” Presant and VFX Supervisor Stan Alley collaborated on storyboarding all the sequences and doing previs on the more demanding ones.

Mr. Corman was also an opportunity for Presant to expand his use of an XY lighting system, which allowed for precision matching of the light color of lights on the set. He first used the system on Rampage but was limited at the time to SkyPanels and L-series Fresnels using a look-up from XY to HSI. “We now have a whole array of options,” he shares. “My friend, Steve Yedlin [ASC], developed a process by which we can drive non-XY configured lights in an XY fashion as well as a calculator that allows for calculations on XY coordinates.

Because of all this, Mr. Corman was the first show I’ve run completely in XY for every fixture.”

Presant says the montage Josh imagines while stuck in his childhood room in Episode 108 “defined everything exciting to me about the show – the process of lighting with XY, of imaging algorithms, the creative investment of everyone on the team, and all for the telling of

a wonderfully emotional moment that lets the actors shine.”

The work was driven off the practicals and the daylight based on real daytime XY values. Shots ranged from simple ones with Gordon-Levitt and Presant alone in a room, to an elaborate 360-degree rotation that required three operators doing hand-offs with a 30foot bungee rig and the Ronin on the bottom with handheld motion added later. “It was one of those very special days on set,” Present remembers. “I’m smiling just thinking about it. It’s something I’m very proud of, both for my work, but, more importantly, for the integration of everyone’s work.”

The extensive use of XY was also good news for Colorist Phil Beckner, who calls the system “extremely helpful when trying to match shots within a scene that are intended to take place concurrently but were shot on different days halfway around the world from one another. It also was great for color consistency for setups that we visit often in multiple episodes, like Josh’s apartment.”

One example of that is in Episode 2 when Josh is having a panic attack and thinks he

hears something outside. He opens the door and light floods the room. As his eyes adjust, he sees nothing and returns to pacing around the room.

The long sequence was captured on a set in New Zealand based on the actual L.A. location. When Vendler was shooting plates of the apartment complex, he also took XY readings of the light used to recreate the ambiance.

As Presant recalls: “Stan called me when they first started doing the composites because he was shocked at how seamlessly they dropped in together. When color is lined up, our brains recognize the continuity and then write off most other discontinuities. As a result, the deep control of color is a very powerful tool in imaging.”

Such results were also on display in a fight sequence in Episode 105 in which the actors morph into fantastical superheroes. It was one of the most challenging scenes of the season, involving two units on two continents working in two passes because of actor availability.

The sequence began in New Zealand to make sure eyeline marks were the correct height for specific actors. That metadata was transferred to the L.A. team covering green screen.

“We had a very high-quality stunt previs to get a complete rendering of the action,”

Vendler explains, “which was matched back with real people. Jaron and Joe were watching the takes as we built them.” “All of the lighting was driven by XY with very specific notes on lights, direction and ratios,” Presant adds.

“Everything was matched multiple times in New Zealand and notes sent to the L.A. unit.

Camera angles were matched with camera moves being solely on one side of the equation – so the move would be in L.A. or New Zealand and the other side would be static with the elements composited into it. Because the lighting was a direct match, everything linked up seamlessly.”

As Vendler adds: “When you’re thoughtful and treat VFX like any other part of your creative process, you maximize the returns and make something as special as every performance and every emotional moment we love about cinema.”

Color workflow on the series started with a timeline provided by Park Road Post. Media was relinked at Fotokem and Beckner would do the first pass of color before collaborating with Presant in real-time in SDR using ClearView Flex. The pipeline was then switched to HDR for another pass, and then uploaded to Moxion for another review by Presant.

Beckner addressed notes, then packaged and sent the timeline to Park Road, where Editor Rob Gordon applied finishing touches. Finally, it was sent to Colorist Damian McDonnell for final review and adjustments with GordonLevitt.

Apple TV+, which has allowed filmmakers to soar with similar results in shows like Dickinson [ICG Magazine January 2020], Little America [ICG Magazine September 2020], and For All Mankind [ICG Magazine October 2019], helped Mr. Corman embody the promise of creative investment in people and gear to set a new standard for innovation and collaboration. The show that emerges from this blend of human intuition aand technological innovation is both otherworldly and familiar – out there in a way that feels good.

“We pursued a process on Mr. Corman much more akin to prototyping in product design,” Presant concludes. “Our way-finding in a collaborative environment created a world where everyone became creatively invested.

There wasn’t a feeling of executing a show – more like a group of creative people exploring their limits and finding a show together. It was a massively rewarding process, not only for myself but for everyone on the crew.”

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GORDON-LEVITT (L) SAYS HE AND PRESANT (R) WORKED CLOSELY ON DEVELOPING THE GRAMMAR FOR THE CAMERA WORK. “I WAS INTERESTED IN THE KIND OF INTIMACY THAT CAN COME FROM HAVING FEWER CUTS,” GORDON-LEVITT SHARES. “LET’S FIGURE OUT WHAT WE CAN DO WITH THE CAMERA TO MAKE THE AUDIENCE FEEL LIKE THEY’RE SITTING IN THE ROOM WITH US.”

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LOCAL 600 CREW Director of Photography Jason Presant, ASC Alex Vendler (VFX Plates & 2nd Unit Los Angeles) A-Camera Operator Dale Myrand, SOC A-Camera 1st AC Sarah Brandes A-Camera 2nd AC Alicia Pharris B-Camera Operator/Steadicam Mark Moore, SOC B-Camera 1st AC Wade Whitley B-Camera 2nd AC Garrett Hanson Loader Dane Brehm Utility Laura Spoutz Still Photographer Anne Marie Fox Publicist Spooky Stevens THE T V I S S UE

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M O D E R N

ADRIAN PENG CORREIA AND HIS NEW YORK-BASED GUILD TEAM RIDE A FUNNY/SCARY LINE BETWEEN SITCOM AND EPISODIC DRAMA IN THE NEW AMC SERIES KEVIN CAN F**K HIMSELF. BY: VALENTINA VALENTINI // PHOTOS BY: JOJO WHILDEN, SMPSP

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About three years ago, Guild DP Adrian Peng Correia was going to participate on a panel for his work on Netflix’s second season of GLOW. Also on the panel was Matthew Libatique, ASC, and Gary Baum, ASC. Correia showed up at the theater early and took a seat at the bar when in walked Baum. “I always thought Will and Grace looked incredible,” recounts Correia, referring to Baum’s dozens of seasons on the Emmy-winning sitcom, first as camera operator and then as DP. “I’ve always respected the format and was fascinated by the technique, especially because I didn’t know how the hell they did it.”

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Correia, who has amassed many stylized dramedy credits over the last few years, including GLOW, Ramy and The Flight Attendant, had never shot a true “sitcom.” So, he was thrilled when he got the call to meet with the filmmakers behind AMC Network’s Kevin Can F**K Himself, the story of a beleaguered sitcom wife, Allison McRoberts (Annie Murphy) who leaves her high-key-lit living room after serving her husband his fifth beer and second bowl of chips and heads into the kitchen, where she experiences an epiphany. Created by firsttimer Valerie Armstrong and set in Worcester, MA, the story is told in an unusual fashion, switching back and forth between multicamera sitcom and single-camera drama.

Armstrong, who’d worked in several writers’ rooms before her meet-and-greet with AMC executives, which turned into a pitch meeting for Kevin Can F**K Himself, says she always envisioned the format switch as being “much more than just a gimmick, or something that sounded good in a logline.” With veteran

Craig DiGregorio brought in as showrunner, Armstrong says the visual approach was one of the most interesting aspects of the project.

“What looks like a bright, funny, multi-cam sitcom, when you get up close, I imagine that the single-camera version of that show is a lot bleaker and darker,” she adds. “I love the idea that they’re the same world, just two different views.”

Kevin Can F**K Himself first geared up to shoot in late 2019, with Lynn Shelton set to direct the pilot, Oz Rodriguez the finale, and Anna Dokoza and a few other directors tagteaming the remainder. Then the pandemic hit, and then Shelton tragically passed away.

The two-time-Emmy-nominated actress and director, who had just come off the hit HBO show Little Fires Everywhere, died suddenly from an undiagnosed blood disorder, leaving a massive void in the creative community and AMC scrambling to figure out if the show should or could move forward. “The world was different in January 2020,” reflects Rodriguez,

who’s made a name for himself directing SNL’s digital shorts, “and after Lynn passed, it was just awful circumstances. A few months later, AMC wanted to try it again as they believed in the project. Lynn had done an amazing amount of prep work, so we had something to start with. Sets had been built and the lighting grid for the multi-cam segments had been considered; some of the crew had already been hired.”

Those crew members included Guild DP John Inwwod, ASC (Girls5eva, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), who was set to shoot for Shelton but was unable to accommodate the new schedule. When Correia and Rodriguez came on board, the director says he was keenly aware of reflecting Shelton’s previous input. (In her honor, they named the street that Allison lives on “Shelton Street.”) Because of COVID-19 safety restrictions, Production wanted to keep the number of different people coming on set to a minimum, so Rodriguez directed the first two episodes, and Dokoza directed the rest.

CREATOR VALERIE ARMSTRONG (BELOW WITH ERIC PETERSON) SAYS ABOUT USING BOTH A MULIT-CAM AND SINGLE CAMERA PERSPECTIVE, “I LOVE THE IDEA THAT THEY’RE THE SAME WORLD, JUST TWO DIFFERENT VIEWS.”

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While the series is centered on Allison, the character of Patty (Mary Hollis Inboden) is introduced into the single-cam world in the pilot, creating a connective tissue between both women, and establishing an intimacy that will flourish as the season progresses.

As Dokoza describes of Correia: “Adrian is cerebral, so talking to him about character development was a delight. Many of his peers are mainly just technical, but he likes to get into the drive and motivation of each character. And we spent hours talking about that.”

Those discussions were mutually beneficial for the complex structure of the series. For example, although we’ve seen Patty in single cam in the pilot, no episode has begun outside of Allison’s single-cam perspective until Episode 3, which starts with Patty’s perspective in single-cam. (Dokoza calls the episode “Patty’s Pilot.”) It’s also the first time the show aligns the two characters as something indicative of what women go through in that environment.

“The handoff [from Allison to Patty] implies a connection that grows over the season,” Correia explains. “They’re different people who

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armor themselves in different ways. For Allison, who buries everything, it’s her suppression of self. For Patty, it’s all external – make-up, hair, demeanor, the smoking, and the wardrobe.

Every moment she is battle-ready.”

Correia says the framing and lighting become “mirrors in many ways for their connected experience. Allison doesn’t share frames and shots in the same way with Patty that she does with others. Even in the context of performance they change – the vulnerabilities, the unstable and ludicrous, the unethical and manic play between them in our frames. It’s not just the concept of the frame as a shot but as a proscenium for performance between Allison and Patty, the shared experience of these women in similar situations coping in different ways.”

Writing the script, especially the pilot, Armstrong wanted to communicate all the potential of the format switch, not just emotionally or narratively, but also visually.

Within the first few transitions, when Allison goes from the living room into the kitchen or upstairs, Armstrong made sure to describe that

the house looked a lot dingier and darker than it looked in multi-cam, like stains on the ceiling that wouldn’t show up in multi-cam. “Adrian, and every department, took that and ran with it,” Armstrong notes.

Correia calls the transitions from multi-cam to single-cam, and vice versa, “challenging.”

Almost all of it was done in-camera, paying close attention to actors’ movements and their interactivity with the set – curtains, doorways, and stairs – requiring the entire crew to carefully plan what moments play where, since they would need to match the different camera and lighting formats based on hand-offs with doors or other entrances and exits.

“It was all about finding the thin line between the two worlds,” Correia adds. “By managing our contrast ratios and how we played our highlights, we could build-in some stylistic connective tissue between the multiand single-cam worlds, while still holding to the idea of lighting a more traditional sitcom.

Highlights that almost burn aren’t as typical in multi-cam, but with our extremes in highlights and shadow in single-cam, I wanted something

of the world to connect in our use of exposure.

“The debate all season was, ‘How deep is the divide between the two worlds in light, shadow, color, texture and contrast?’ he continues. “It was something we always kept an eye on, from how dark to play the environments, to how much dust and dirt was visible, to the cracks we could see in the paint. It was a collective vision over all departments to make sure that the center would hold, visually speaking.”

To create two worlds within one universe, both shot in a converted warehouse in Randolph, MA, Correia used two Sony VENICE cameras paired with Cooke Optics S7/i fullframe lenses for Allison’s single-cam world.

The multi-cam sitcom world was shot with four Sony F55s – two as the wings on pedestal cameras operated by soap and sitcom veterans Mark Schneider and Greg Saccaro – paired with Fujinon and Canon Zooms. Baum had recommended the F55 as his go-to, and Correia wanted a similar imager for the single-cam, choosing the VENICE for its full-frame sensor

and advanced color science. Armstrong, continually generous with her visual aids throughout, had put a line in the script describing the light as never really reaching into the house, which, of course, sent Correia and his crew down a Baroque path full of Caravaggio-type lighting.

“It was counterintuitive at times,” smiles Chief Lighting Technician Jesse Goldberg, whose résumé includes I Care a Lot, Bleed for This, and The Polka King. “Oftentimes you want to put a nice highlight in the background, but we had to fight that instinct initially, and then it became just part of our everyday language. Early on, we talked about visually [distinguishing between] the two worlds, from the high-key, bright world of [multi-cam], where you can see every square inch of everything and it’s all totally in focus, to then pushing as far as we could in the other direction when we are alone with Allison. Even on sunny days, it would still be kind of dreary and bleak in the house.”

For the multi-cam world, Goldberg, along with Key Grip Bill Weberg, used 18 Tungsten Pars with medium lenses bouncing into a

custom-built 30-foot beadboard, with an adjustable bottomer to provide the even front light that, Goldberg emphasizes, is essential to achieving the sitcom look. They rigged the entire set with SkyPanels – 120s, 60s, and 30s – with DoP Snapbags with 50-degree soft grids to make sure each character could have a backlight or edge, depending on the blocking of each scene. For sun, they used ARRI T12s and T5s with different levels of CTO and diffusion depending on the time of day and time of year.

“In the single-cam world,” Goldberg adds, “we often keyed Allison or Patty with SkyPanel S60s and LiteMats with various hard grids.

We tried to never use a fill light to help drive home the contrasting look from multi-cam.

We also deployed Astera Helios throughout our single-cam world to add hits of color or exposure for depth. Nearly everything was wirelessly controlled with RatPac Cintenna controls at the lighting console by our programmer, Gordon Manson. This not only helped with the speed of adjustments but also helped make social distancing possible while filming during COVID.”

ALTHOUGH THE SERIES CENTERS ON ALLISON, PATTY (MARY HOLLIS INBODEN BELOW) IS INTRODUCED INTO THE SINGLECAM WORLD IN THE PILOT, CREATING AS, CORREIA DESCRIBES, “A CONNECTIVE TISSUE BETWEEN BOTH WOMEN.”

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Creating a show that makes fun of sitcoms – or at least comments on the genre in a pejorative way – while also really shooting a sitcom is challenging for any camera crew to navigate. But when you have Guild veterans on set who’ve made careers on shows like Guiding Light and Murphy Brown (Schneider), and All My Children and As the World Turns (Saccaro), how does that sit with them?

“First of all,” shares Saccaro, in his thick New York accent, “as the camera operator you don’t care what the scene is, you want to do a good job. If you start picking or choosing or saying you don’t like what they’re doing with the show, you’re never going to work. Let me tell you something: doing a wing camera operating

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job on a sitcom that’s made for film – as in film lighting, film lens, focus is tough because the lighting is different – all you’re concentrating on is, ‘Am I going to do a great job today?’ And that’s what I tried to do.

“Roger Christiansen was the camera coordinator for the multi-cam,” Saccaro continues, “and we had done the Murphy Brown reboot together. But Roger lets me do my thing.

It didn’t bother me that they were kind of putting down the multi-cam actor or producers or show, because the shows I worked on were a pleasure to shoot. Do you like my work? You do?

Then we’re all happy and the check was cashed.”

Shannon Madden, Correia’s A-Camera operator in single-cam (and one of the four

operators on multi-cam days), worked at not bringing attention to the camera and letting the characters take the lead. “There’s not a lot of movement [in the single-cam world],” says Madden, who’s been mentored by Correia over the last few years on Ramy and The Flight Attendant. “I’d let the characters walk around without following them too much, which meant that I’d have to be kind of bold, trying not to move the camera but also get right to the edge.

It was very much about letting the characters live in this world. We had a lot of dolly shots, and we had Steadicam [by Joel San Juan] for walk-and-talks, but mostly, Adrian didn’t want to bring any attention to the camera.”

For the first two episodes, Correia had

Madden operate with a “Deakins approach” – a lot of wide-angle close-ups and lower close-ups. “I don’t think we went past a 50 millimeter for the first two episodes with Oz,” Madden adds. “And then with Anna, whose episodes were focused on Allison and Patty’s connections, we would frame as two-shots with a longer lens.”

Long before the show began, back in that bar with Baum, Correia had asked all the questions he could. Multi-cam sitcoms intrigued him – how they maintained contrast, their ability to light faces over such a large area, the planning and prep that goes into shooting each scene, the number of pages covered in a day, the choreography, and the

free-form jazz of it all. So, when he got Kevin Can F**K Himself, Baum was the first person he called. The next was Patti Lee, ASC, known for her work on The Bernie Mac Show, the Mad About You reboot, and Whitney [ICG Magazine. com September 2020].

“I took all this knowledge and information from these masters and brought it into my photography,” Correia describes. “We could have done something highly stylized like The Big Bang Theory or Will and Grace, or something just a bit more grounded and textured, like Bob Hearts Abishola [shot by Lee]. But we decided to go with a more traditional approach. Especially with the nature of [Production Designer] Tony Fanning’s sets, which hearken back to shows

like All in the Family, Everybody Loves Raymond and Frasier.”

Correia says he always loved how “Roseanne felt so texturally cohesive. The work felt lived-in and tactile while still holding to the conventions of the style at the time,” he concludes. “I wanted to try and wedge Kevin Can F**K Himself back into the collective consciousness of the genre but still have it feel connected to today. I was hoping that we could hit enough of the touchstones photographically that cultural osmosis would help do some of the heavy lifting with the audience. I also wanted to honor those shows because I do think this form of cinematography has always been underrated.”

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LOCAL 600 CREW Director of Photography Adrian Peng Correia A-Camera Operator Shannon Madden A-Camera 1st AC Greg Wimer A-Camera 2nd AC Dean Egan B-Camera Operator/Steadicam Joel San Juan, SOC B-Camera 1st AC Jamie Fitzpatrick B-Camera 2nd AC Matt Hedges C-Camera Operator Katherine Castro C-Camera 1st AC Dan Mason C-Camera 2nd AC Tom Bellotti Digital Utility Anni Abbruzzese Loader Audrey Stevens Still Photographer JoJo Whilden, SMPSP MULTICAMERA Ped Operators Greg Saccaro Mark Schneider Ped Camera Utilities Michael Joyce Charles Kempf Jim Tomlinson DIT Matt Dorris

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SHANNON MADDEN (ABOVE RIGHT), A-CAMERA OPERATOR IN SINGLE-CAM (AND ONE OF THE FOUR OPERATORS ON MULTI-CAM DAYS), WORKED AT NOT BRINGING ATTENTION TO THE CAMERA. “I’D LET THE CHARACTERS WALK AROUND WITHOUT FOLLOWING THEM TOO MUCH, WHICH MEANT THAT I’D HAVE TO BE KIND OF BOLD, TRYING NOT TO MOVE...BUT ALSO GET RIGHT TO THE EDGE.” THE T V I S S UE 79

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DRAG N E T The procedural drama has roots dating back to the dawn of network television – so how have its most famous practitioners kept it relevant and thriving?

by Pauline Rogers

DRAGNET

TV audiences old enough to remember that fabled horn intro – “dum-de-dumdum” – and Sgt. Joe Friday’s crisp monotone voiceover announcing each new episode of Dragnet throughout the 1950s (and then again in the late 1960s when the show was rebooted), or the dispatcher’s voice in Officers Pete Malloy and Jim Reed’s LAPD cruiser urging, “1-Adam-12, 1-Adam-12…” in that 1968 series (co-created by Dragnet creator Jack Webb), know the procedural crime drama has been around for as long as broadcast television itself.

As one of the genre’s most prolific practitioners, Dick Wolf, explained in a 2005 interview on NPR’s Fresh Air, “The procedural does away with the personal lives of the characters so that you can tell the story with a beginning, middle and end. It’s an efficient way to deal with complicated issues.

The first half is a murder mystery, and the second half is a moral mystery.”

Shows such as Perry Mason, Ironside, Columbo, and The Rockford Files, along with OG’s Dragnet and Adam-12, were all early examples of a genre featuring self-contained dramas that were introduced, formulated, and resolved in less than an hour – allowing viewers to tune in at any point in the season without having watched previous episodes. But many will remember it was September 13, 1990, when television audiences first heard the sound effect of a jail cell locking, surrounded by Mike Post’s indelible score for Law and Order, that the template for the procedural franchise truly began.

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LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME: “THE STUFF THAT DREAMS ARE MADE OF” / PHOTO BY VIRGINIA SHERWOOD / NBC

Law and Order (1990 to 2010), created by former copywriter Wolf, became the foundation for six offshoots (Criminal Intent, Trial by Jury, LA, True Crime, Special Victims Unit, Organized Crime, and two future series, Hate Crimes and For the Defense) with more than 1000 episodes aired to date. The series began on film, with Geoff Erb, ASC, and Ernest Dickerson, ASC, as its visual pioneers. As Constantine Makris, ASC, who shot 150-plus episodes and directed more than 100 of them, recalls: “Series television was relatively new in New York, and there weren’t too many shows shooting there.” The mandate that is still in place today, Makris adds, “was that the camera was also a character. The audience had to feel like they were in the scene with the actors – and there was never an establishing shot. We brought the audience directly into the next scene with a smash cut, [the jail cell] sound effect, and a title card explaining where we were.”

William Klayer, who began gaffing the show in Season 6, and then started lensing tandem units in 2001 before eventually taking over as sole DP in Season 18, says the scripts were wallto-wall dialogue with no establishing shots, or transitional montages between scenes. “It was just people talking,” Klayer recounts, “and we’d

have to remind new directors at times that if the actors didn’t start speaking right on ‘action’ the footage could end up on the editing floor.”

Klayer goes on to note that during Law & Order’s first decade, “the police-halves of the scripts were all short scenes. A two-page cop scene was long in those days and there was an edict for directors to try to do any scene one-and-a-half pages / three characters or less, as a single take.

In my mind this is one of the things that made early Law and Order such addictive television.”

While the camera as “another character in the room,” approach did yield some of the best handheld work ever done in television (to this day), it had, according to Klayer, become a “bit of a handcuff,” when he took over in Season 18. New showrunner Fred Berner got permission from Dick Wolf to change up the visual language, and Klayer worked with director Alan Coulter on a new look. What didn’t necessarily change was the broad range of characters that passed through. Or as Klayer adds, “by consciously avoiding personal storylines with the main characters, the show avoided the cultural traps of gender bias. It was always ‘put the characters in a room and give them different and equally valuable opinions.’”

Law and Order: Special Victims Unit

continued that approach, attacking current issues for the time and, again, featuring a cast that reflected a broad spectrum of humanity.

“Like Law and Order, SVU has been a vehicle for showing off New York City,” describes A-Camera operator Jonathan Herron, who has worked on 200-plus episodes, including some as DP and director. “Background actors are chosen to represent a cross-section of what everyday New Yorkers look like. We design shots and blocking to take advantage of extras and locations to give a realistic depiction of New York’s unique grittiness.”

Many on the New York-based camera team have been with the franchise for more than 20 years. This is a plus because they know the city, know the shows, and can easily adapt when the franchise’s famous crossovers bring actors from other shows together in a different but familiar environment. But recently, Wolf and team decided to break away from the single episode procedural. “When I got the call to do Organized Crime, the first thing I heard is, ‘We want to do something different, an arc, interesting and dark,’” says Jim Denault, ASC. One of Denault’s favorite shots (besides the stills shot of him lying on the ground with his viewfinder) is when Stabler is investigating a

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“WE’D HAVE TO REMIND NEW DIRECTORS AT TIMES THAT IF THE ACTORS DIDN’T START SPEAKING RIGHT ON ‘ACTION’ THE FOOTAGE COULD END UP ON THE EDITING FLOOR.” WILLIAM KLAYER ON LAW AND ORDER’S ORIGINS

shell casing beneath the Wonder Wheel. “We used a low-angle prism to put the point of view at ground level, to see Chris Meloni in the foreground with the Wonder Wheel looming up behind him. Anything we can do to create bold graphic compositions, the kinds of angles you would see drawn in a graphic novel.”

Another Wolf franchise, sometimes called “One Chicago” (Fire, P.D., Med, and Justice), also on NBC, incorporates more personal character development. Reza Tabrizi, who began as an operator, moved up to director, and is now executive producer of the franchise, says, “TV cinematographers play a key role in maintaining a consistent voice throughout the episodes while keeping the story going. With Chicago Fire, this reliance is plainly visible, considering the large ensemble and incidents in each episode, and the tonal shift between drama, action, and comedy. Lisa Wiegand, ASC [who also set the tone for Chicago Justice], has excelled in the past decade. Her knowledge of lighting and camera, alongside her attention to the story, while maintaining a joyful environment on set, have contributed to the show’s success.”

Tabrizi goes on to note that “there has always been a sense of inclusivity with Lisa’s crews since I started working with her 15 years ago. This has made it possible for so many professionals to grow and reach their potential within the shows.”

Each episode brings different challenges, but Tabrizi says his favorite was from one he directed: “A Steadicam oner from Season 7, Episode 9,” he explains. “It follows one of our characters [Joe Cruz] looking for his wife, who is a victim of a highway pile-up accident involving over 30 vehicles. The shot involved all 12 cast members, 60 extras, cars on fire, and more. The team effort to pull this off was amazing. A-Camera/Steadicam operator Will

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Eichler [SOC] has a great sense of timing and did a beautiful dance with the whole cast and extras, with the help of A-Camera Dolly Grip Christian Hins.”

When James Zucal, who has operated or shot more than 100 episodes, started the Chicago P.D. spin-off, production stuck to the style Fire had established – handheld, wide-angle close-ups, and ample use of compact zooms to accentuate story moments. “But that began to change,” Zucal recounts. “We are a location-centric show, which means we are always shooting in parts of the city that no other show gets to see. We can get creative in these abandoned factories and warehouses using color contrast, chiaroscuro lighting, and extreme camera angles to emphasize the police work. We use Steadicam, often mixed with a handheld, wideangle, close-up feel. We’re taking chances with the lighting style as the seasons progress.”

Zucal says he and the Local 600 Chicago team are always excited when Supervising Director Eriq Lasalle comes in. “He pushes for Steadicam oners, which are not really in the vernacular of Chicago P.D.,” Zucal adds. “For his final episode, he pushed for a Steadicam oner that encompassed a highly choreographed dance with the actors moving in and out of frame, switching seats between lateral pans, and following operator Victor Macias, only to step in and out of frame. Most people thought we had done extensive visual effects work.”

Chicago Med has a completely different look that Lex DuPont, ASC, who has shot more than 100 episodes, describes as “pulse-pounding pandemonium.” Of Wolf ’s three Chicago shows, Med is the most character-driven, featuring an army of background extras in the ER. It’s interior-driven, with the main set 100 feet long and over 50 feet wide, six rooms on each side, all with glass walls. “And small rooms!”

DuPont shares. “Not all glass is gimbaled, so there is always a give and take with the sound department. That’s where our Chicago camera

crew shines. With three cameras, it’s a lot of personnel, and on numerous occasions we had to find replacements on a moment’s notice – and we are rarely disappointed.”

Unlike P.D. and Fire, Med has been known to take their story out of Chicago. “And that can be fun,” DuPont adds. “One episode goes to Florida, where one of our actors drops the ashes of his friend in the ocean, and we had VFX turn the flat Florida coast into Hawaii. Another featured a drone shot filmed at the real hospital. The drone dropped, starting on the Chicago skyline, and revealing the hospital’s central atrium.

We then matched the speed of the drone on the set and continued the shot into a medium of our actors. VFX paired the shots, and it was seamless.”

When Wolf Productions came to Tari Segal, with its newest franchise, FBI, she learned it would be pushing the visuals to reflect a broadbased community. “I had always known them to be a company that championed women and diversity before it was popular to do so,” Segal explains. “The audience might not be used to seeing a woman or a Muslim in a lead role as an FBI agent, but the producers have used the show to reflect the diversity in the Bureau. It’s important to share different points of view when telling the story because it expands the experience for the audience.”

“My first AC, Lee Vickery, has always been a great supporter of talent regardless of race or sex,” Segal continues. “He brought on some amazing crews from all backgrounds – New York delivers in that way. I also love working with a female line producer, UPM, locations manager, and production supervisor. It wasn’t planned, and it also wasn’t approached as if we were checking the diversity box. It just happened because Wolf Films likes to hire people they know and promotes from within.”

That diverse pool of talent has been key in

THIS PAGE: FOR THE NEW REBOOT OF CSI: VEGAS, DARREN GENET, ASC SAYS, “PRODUCTION HAS EMPHASIZED THESE VISUALS AND ENCOURAGES US TO PUSH IT, IN HOW WE CAPTURE THE TECH, WHICH IS ANOTHER CHARACTER IN THE STORY.” / PHOTOS BY SONJA FLEMMING/CBS

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REZA TABRIZI, WHO HAS SERVED AS OPERATOR, DIRECTOR, AND NOW EP OF THE ONE CHICAGO FRANCHISE, PRAISES LIZA WIEGAND, ASC, WHO SET THE LOOK FOR CHICAGO FIRE (ABOVE), AND CHICAGO JUSTICE, AND WHOSE “SENSE OF INCLUSIVITY HAS MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR SO MANY PROFESSIONALS TO REACH THEIR POTENTIAL.” / PHOTOS BY MATT DINERSTEIN / NBCUNIVERSAL

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“WE WERE THE FIRST TO USE GOPROS IN A PROFESSIONAL PRODUCTION, PLACING THEM IN DANGEROUS CAMERA POSITIONS WHERE THE OPERATOR’S SAFETY WOULD BE COMPROMISED.” VICTOR HAMMER, NCIS: LOS ANGELES

several high-pressure moments.

“The run of the show requires a particular approach that traditionally includes zoom lenses, fast lighting, shooting from the hip – and keeping up with an impossible post schedule,” Segal adds. “There are times when you are shooting material that will air in two days. To break tradition, I set up the show with a single-camera approach, using less obvious backlights and eye lights and primes to give a more intimate feel to the characters. The backdoor pilot for Most Wanted set up the new series in the same mode.” The backdoor pilot for Most Wanted set up the new series in the same mode.” [Recently, FBI: International began shooting in Budapest, with cinematographer Attila Szalay at the helm.]

In the fall of 2003, another franchise was born. NCIS, created by Donald P. Bellisario and Don McGill, began as a backdoor pilot from the TV show JAG and quickly took on a life of its own, birthing NCIS: Los Angeles and NCIS: New Orleans, with NCIS: Hawai’i just beginning to shoot. As of May 2021, 849 Episodes of the NCIS franchise have aired.

William Webb, ASC, may hold the record for a DP working the same show, having shot the pilot and every episode of NCIS to date. Webb’s first discussions with Bellisario were about taking the new Navy-based procedural far away from JAG, which was monochromatic. “At first, it was quite a challenge,” Webb admits. “We were shooting 35mm film and he wanted color, so we used a color enhancer. He wanted energy, so we had three cameras and three directions. We shot tons of footage – there were 1400 cuts in the first show.”

It took a few years for NCIS to find its visual signature, which today is more classically oriented. The biggest change was the switch to digital in Season 7, which Webb says he “kind of protested.” But, when he got his hands on the Millennium (the show now shoots ALEXA Minis), “I realized we could bring new ideas to

the table,” Webb adds. “We could go on location much more. VFX would take out palm trees or put in the Washington Monument.”

No location was more exciting than shooting inside the White House, with Michelle Obama in the scene. “I’m so proud of this crew,” Webb shares. “We constantly push the limits, and they’re always right there. People like Billy Baker, who has been our key grip since JAG; Chad Erickson, who started as a loader and is now B-Camera operator; James Troost, who started as a loader and is A-Camera focus puller/Steadicam operator; 2nd AC Yusuf Edmonds, and loaders Anna Ferrarie and Helen Tadesse, the latter of whom started as a second and is training as a focus puller; A-Camera First AC Nate Lopez, and veterans like Greg Collier, whom I got through Gordon Lonsdale, ASC, from Bones. They’re all fantastic.”

The first spinoff in the series, NCIS: Los Angeles, was always meant to be stand-alone.

And, from the outset, Victor Hammer, says he’s tried to make Los Angeles a big part of the story. “Normally, shooting in L.A. means you’re standing in for other places,” Hammer explains. “But this is one time when you don’t have to avoid palm trees. The sun, too, becomes a character.” Another visual unique to NCIS: Los Angeles is Hammer’s eagerness to use small cameras like GoPros and the Canon SLR’s.

“We’ve embraced [small cameras] to go where no camera has gone before,” Hammer laughs. “We were the first to use GoPros in a professional production, placing them in dangerous camera positions where the operator’s safety would be compromised. We shot an action scene with a Sony SLR at 200 millimeters, with autofocus holding the actor running towards the camera, and it cut well with the ALEXA.” While NCIS: New Orleans held to the franchise’s theme, most everything else

changed. “We wanted movement, we wanted the city, and we wanted to keep the show on its feet,” describes Gordon Lonsdale, ASC (who shot 111 episodes and directed nine), of his conversations with Co-executive Directing Producer Jim Hayman. “It had to feel like New Orleans. So, we added atmosphere whenever we could and pushed the color of the city in the camera and through Victoria Paul’s set designs.”

Scouting took on a whole new intensity.

“The staging of scenes was done in such a way it took in as much of the city as possible,” Lonsdale adds. “Many times, that corresponded with where I’d like the sun to be. We often found ourselves making three moves a day from one part of the city to another.”

Having his crew reflect the city of New Orleans was also important for Lonsdale. “We had women and people of color and were able to bring in interns, train them and get them into the Union. Local 600 was a godsend for those who were members and not getting enough hours. Our crew, counting myself, numbered 18, and that’s not including our three dolly grips, which I considered a part of the camera crew.

They all, thankfully, received insurance and benefits because they came into Local 600.”

Matt Bosack, Jan Nash and Christopher Silber, executive producers of the newest show in the franchise, NCIS: Hawai’i – are keen to tell anyone listening that “for the first time in franchise history, the leader of a new NCIS team is a woman. We are thrilled Vanessa Lachey took the role because she brings authenticity and authority to it that we believe will resonate with our viewers. We are also so grateful to shoot in a place like Hawaii, where there is a dedicated and stellar talent pool to draw from, both in front of and behind the camera.”

Excited isn’t a strong enough word for Director of Photography Yasu Tanida [ICG Magazine February/March 2019], who designed the show’s sets and look (which he will be handing over to Alison Kelly and Kurt Jones).

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“LES TOMITA IS NOT ONLY THE BEST IN HAWAI’I BUT ONE OF THE BEST KEY GRIPS, PERIOD. THE EFFICIENCY OF HIS CAR RIGS IS SOMETHING I WISH I COULD BRING WITH ME TO EVERY FUTURE PRODUCTION.” YASU TANIDA, NCIS – HAWAI’I

“Along with Production Designer Andrew Bernard and a great local crew, we came up with a two-story bullpen at Diamond Head Studios,” Tanida enthuses. “While Construction was building, I would walk around and think about situations that might unfold – and where LED lights, can lights, and practicals would work. I mentioned to the DP’s it might be important what you turn off more than turn on.”

Tanida’s second challenge was lenses.

Director Larry Teng wanted anamorphic, so the pair went to Panavision and selected the T-series for their technical versatility and sharpness – and their smooth pairing with the ALEXA Mini. “This show was going to be shot in humid conditions, under hot weather, in the rain, in rough terrain, and for eight months, so I knew the camera department needed a set of lenses that wouldn’t break down,” Tanida adds.

The ability to draw on the deep local knowledge of a Hawai’i-based Union crew fueled Tanida’s imagination. “Our gaffer, Ishmail Hills, started as an electrician on Lost and has worked his way up the ladder,” he continues.

“Rigging Gaffer Zach Kim and Best Boy Lukas Seno are great at inputting the detailed lighting and ordering equipment. Key Grip Les Tomita is not only the best in Hawai’i but one of the best key grips, period. The efficiency of his car rigs is something I wish I could bring with me to every future production.”

During the pilot, Tanida says he leaned on A-Camera 1st Tony Nagy and his crew “because of the large amount of water work. All three camera teams were ready to go when needed and were very knowledgeable with shooting in jungles, beaches, and mountain terrain.”

And the results show, with the pilot taking place inside Pearl Harbor Naval Base, in a

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Blackhawk helicopter, a C-17 airplane, and a 40-foot Coast Guard utility boat. NCIS: Hawai’i checks off everything that is important to capture a procedural adventure in 2021.

Procedural fans may wonder: what about the legendary CSI franchise, born October 6, 2000, as CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, with spin-offs CSI: New York, CSI: Miami, and CSI: Cyber? Although the franchise ended in 2015, a reboot of the original CSI is now shooting, with the same cast and added (diverse) faces in front of the camera. Christian Sebaldt, ASC, who shot 74 episodes, recalls how, “Michael Barrett [ASC] shot the beginnings of the series.

What fascinated me most was the lighting of a high-tech lab and the technology in front of the camera that was used to solve the unsolvable.

That is a big part of what kept the audiences, and our talented crews, like 1st AC Gary Muller (249 episodes), A-Camera Tim Beavers (166 episodes), and Nikhil Paniz on B camera (149 episodes) so fascinated. And they generously taught this neophyte how to shoot and fall in love with capturing the show.

“It was – and is – a true procedural, with a twist,” Sebaldt adds. “I remember one episode where an HD camera had been set up in a greenhouse where two people had a conversation. No dialog. Just picture.

The conversation happened to take place near leaves. By magnifying the image, [lead investigator Gil] Grissom was able to translate the vibration of the leaves into an audio signal and create the dialog. Finding ways to capture these ‘clues’ was amazing.”

With CSI: Vegas in full swing, and Directors of Photography Thomas Camarda

and Darren Genet, ASC, at the helm, forensic investigators Grissom and Sara Sidle are back, but working with a new team that “reflects today’s workforce,” Genet says. “The show has refreshed the lab with the latest in technology,” adds Camarda. “Machines that used to be the size of a refrigerator are now the size of a laptop or even smaller. That said, there are also a lot of screens, both large and small, so the challenge is to keep that aspect of the show looking interesting.”

Genet says the tech is used to drive the story. “Production has emphasized these visuals and encourages us to push it, in how we capture the tech, which is another character in the story.” Capture gear reflects that new tech push, the 6K Sony VENICE paired with largeformat Zeiss Supreme and Supreme Radiance prime lenses, as well as Fujinon Premista zooms, with a close focus of only two feet.

“It’s the camera package needed to support this new lab, which offers a diverse range of everything from small moves in tight quarters to expansive shots in the bulkhead of a plane and challenging opportunities for depth and interesting angles in rooms composed mostly of glass windows,” Genet concludes.

Directors of Photography like Tanida, Genet, and Camarada are just the latest links in a chain for a genre that has stretched back more than a half-century. The procedural drama has been around a long time, and while undergoing many permutations, looks as healthy as ever. Or Makris describes: “What Dick Wolf began with Law and Order was truly unprecedented in television history – the overwhelming number of incredibly successful and long-lasting procedurals, which are viewed weekly to this day.”

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PRODUCTION CREDITS COMPILED BY TERESA MUÑOZ The input of Local 600 members is of the utmost importance, and we rely on our membership as the prime (and often the only) source of information in compiling this section. In order for us to continue to provide this service, we ask that Guild members submitting information take note of the following requests: Please provide up-to-date and complete crew information (including that the deadline for the Production Credits is on the first of the preceding cover month (excluding weekends & holidays).

Submit your jobs online by visiting: www.icg600.com/MY600/Report-Your-Job Any questions regarding the Production Credits should be addressed to Teresa Muñoz at teresa@icgmagazine.com 90

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First Man / Photo by Daniel McFadden

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DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: RICK PAGE OPERATORS: PHIL MASTRELLA, LAUREN GADD, MARQUES SMITH, SOC ASSISTANTS: JAY LEVY, NICK CUTWAY, ESTHER WOODWORTH, JENNIFER LAI, GRACE THOMAS, RIKKI JONES DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: NICK GILBERT DIGITAL UTILITY: CHRIS GRIGGS

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: SPENCER SHWETZ

“SINGLE DRUNK FEMALE” SEASON 1 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ADAM SILVER OPERATORS: BEAU CHAPUT, JOSIAH MORGAN

NOT PICTURED: DP - MICHAEL MCDONOUGH ASC, BSC PHOTO BY: HOPPER STONE

PARAMOUNT PICTURES “BLACK SNOW”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: PEDRO LUQUE OPERATOR: QUENELL JONES ASSISTANTS: CHERYN PARK, BRETT ROEDEL, AMANDA HEBBLETHWAITE CAMERA UTILITY: CATARINA MENDEZ DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ZACHARY SAINZ

PATCH BAY PRODUCTIONS, LLC

“THE BAD WITCH AKA GOSSIP GIRL REBOOT” SEASON 1 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: CRILLE FORSBERG OPERATORS: ROD CALARCO, ROBERT PAGLIARO ASSISTANTS: MARC HILLYGUS, CAMERON SIZEMORE, CHRISTOPHER CAFARO DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: CHLOE WALKER LOADERS: RYAN HADDON, CHRISTINA CARMODY STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: KAROLINA WOJTASIK

PEACOCK

ASSISTANTS: ROBERTO DELGADO, CAIT RODIEK,

“BUST DOWN” SEASON 1

WARREN BRACE, GRACE PRELLER CHAMBERS

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ERIC BRANCO

STEADICAM OPERATOR: JOSIAH MORGAN

OPERATORS: EMILY MICHELLE GONZALES,

CAMERA LOADER: ERIKA BOND

MICHELLE CLEMENTINE, PAT SHAHABIAN

DIGITAL UTILITY: ASHLEY HEDGES

ASSISTANTS: JOE GUNAWAN, MINMIN TSAI, JEANNA KIM, NICK MENIO, ALEX CAMERON,

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AUGUST 2021 PRODUCTION CREDITS

SETH CRAVEN LOADER: ANDREW FLORIO DIGITAL UTILITY: ANTHONY HWANG

POPI, INC.

“LOST CITY OF D”

SONY

“JEOPARDY!” SEASON 36 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JEFF ENGEL OPERATORS: DIANE L. FARRELL, SOC, MIKE TRIBBLE, JEFF SCHUSTER,

Custom Wireless Solutions & Preston Control

L. DAVID IRETE

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JONATHAN SELA

JIB ARM OPERATOR: MARC HUNTER

OPERATORS: SASHA PROCTOR, COY AUNE,

HEAD UTILITY: TINO MARQUEZ

REMI TOURNOIS

CAMERA UTILITY: RAY THOMPSON

ASSISTANTS: JIMMY JENSEN, STEPHEN EARLY,

VIDEO CONTROLLER: GARY TAILLON

DAVID LOURIE, TRISTAN CHAVEZ, LAUREN GENTRY

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: CAROL KAELSON

STEADICAM OPERATOR: SASHA PROCTOR DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: MATTHEW LOVE PUBLICIST: GABRIELA GUTENTAG EPK/BEHIND-THE-SCENES: JACK KNEY

POSSIBLE PRODUCTIONS “BILLIONS” SEASON 6

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: GIORGIO SCALI, ASC, BRAD SMITH OPERATORS: JONATHAN BECK, JENNIE JEDDRY ASSISTANTS: CAI HALL, LEONARDO GOMEZ, II, PATRICK BRACEY, SEAN MCNAMARA LOADERS: DONALD GAMBLE, LYNSEY WATSON, AARON CHAMPAGNE, EVAN BREEN

“WHEEL OF FORTUNE” SEASON 37 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JEFF ENGEL OPERATORS: DIANE L. FARRELL, SOC, L.DAVID IRETE, RAY GONZALES, MIKE TRIBBLE CAMERA UTILITY: RAY THOMPSON HEAD UTILITY: TINO MARQUEZ VIDEO CONTROLLER: GARY TAILLON JIB ARM OPERATOR: MARC HUNTER STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: CAROL KAELSON

STALWART PRODUCTIONS “61ST STREET” SEASON 2

STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: PAUL SCHIRALDI,

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: GLENN BROWN,

JEFF NEUMANN

ABE MARTINEZ

REDO ASKEW, LLC

Los Angeles | Atlanta www.RFFILM.com

OPERATORS: CHRIS CUEVAS, PARRISH LEWIS, SCOTT THIELE

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: MATTHEW DORRIS

ASSISTANTS: CHRIS WITTENBORN, HUNTER WHALEN,

DIGITAL UTILITY: ANNE ABBRUZZESE

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: LEARAN KAHANOV

ERIC ARNDT, SHANNON DEWOLFE

LOADER: AUDREY STEVENS

OPERATOR: SHANNON MADDEN

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: PAUL SCHILENS

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: SEACIA PAVAO

ASSISTANTS: RICHARD MARTIN, NICALENA IOVINO,

DIGITAL UTILITIES: MIKKI DICK, CHRIS SUMMERS

KELLON INNOCENT, FAE WEICHSEL

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: JAMES WASHINGTON

“CLERKS III”

STEADICAM OPERATOR: JESSE SANCHEZ-STRAUSS DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JUSTIN HARTOUGH

SALT SPRING MEDIA, INC. “LIFE & BETH” SEASON 1

“FEAR THE WALKING DEAD” SEASON 7 DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: FERNANDO ARGÜELLES, ASC, AEC, JAN RICHTER-FRIIS OPERATORS: CRAIG COCKERILL, KRIS HARDY

UNIVERSAL NETWORK TELEVISION “LAW & ORDER SVU” SEASON 23

OPERATORS: JONATHAN HERRON, JAMIE SILVERSTEIN ASSISTANTS: CHRIS DEL SORDO, MATTHEW BALZARINI, BRIAN LYNCH CAMERA UTILITY: GIANNI CARSON

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JONATHAN FURMANSKI

ASSISTANTS: MARK BOYLE, SAM PEARCY,

OPERATORS: DEBORAH BROZINA,

LOUIS WATT, DON HOWE

MATTHEW FLEISHMANN

STEADICAM OPERATOR: CRAIG COCKERILL

ASSISTANTS: TIMOTHY TROTMAN, CAROLYN PENDER,

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JAMIE METZGER

ZACHARY GRACE, ALEX DUBOIS

LOADER: JASON HEAD

OPERATORS: DOUG DURANT, GEORGE TUR

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: LOIC DE LAME

DIGITAL UTILITIES: ASHLEY BJORKMAN, JOHN GRUBB

ASSISTANTS: ELIZABETH SINGER, JELANI WILSON,

LOADERS: CHARLOTTE SKUTCH, ANDREW DAILEY

TECHNOCRANE OPERATOR: JOE DATRI

JAY KIDD

STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: MARCUS PRICE,

TECHNOCRANE TECH: RYAN CROCI

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: PETER SYMONOWICZ

SCOTT MCDERMOTT

REMOTE HEAD TECH/OPERATOR: JOE DATRI STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: LOUIS SMITH

SHIRLEY PRODUCTIONS “WHAT IF?”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ANDREI BOWDEN SCHWARTZ OPERATORS: BRIAN OSMOND, AILEEN TAYLOR

PUBLICIST: SHARA STORCH

THE FILM COMMUNITY “SPACE ODDITY”

UPTOWN LOCALS, INC.

“A THOUSAND AND ONE”

WARNER BROS

“ALL AMERICAN” SEASON 3 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: NIKHIL PANIZ OPERATORS: ERIC LAUDADIO, DANIEL WURSCHL ASSISTANTS: JON LINDSAY, BLAKE COLLINS,

ASSISTANTS: AMANDA ROTZLER, JASON CIANELLA,

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ALAR KIVILO

EMILY DEBLASI, KEVIN GALLOWAY

GREG DELLERSON, JESSICA PINNS

OPERATOR: MONTY ROWAN

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: CURTIS ABBOTT

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: URBAN OLSSON

ASSISTANTS: JASON BRIGNOLA, MARTIN LUCERO

LOADER: RAFFAELE DILULLO

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: DANA STARBARD

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: TONY RIVETTI

SNEAK PREVIEW PRODUCTIONS “THE PRANK”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MATHEW RUDENBERG OPERATOR: NATHAN CONANT ASSISTANTS: BRAD WILDER, MATTHEW BOREK, AARON BRENNER, MILANA Q BURDETTE, MEGAN EDINGER STEADICAM OPERATOR: NATHAN CONANT DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: STEPHANIE BUSTOS

“BOB HEARTS ABISHOLA” SEASON 2 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: PATTI LEE, ASC OPERATORS: MARK

TURNER CENTER NORTH, INC. “JULIA” SEASON 1

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ERIC MOYNIER OPERATORS: GERARD SAVA, PIERRE COLONNA ASSISTANTS: BRADEN BELMONTE, JAMIESON FITZPATRICK, KIMBERLY HERMAN, MATTHEW HEDGES

DAVISON, CHRIS HINOJOSA, JON PURDY, MICHELLE CRENSHAW ASSISTANTS: JEFF JOHNSON, VITO DE PALMA, MARIANNE FRANCO, ADAN TORRES, LISA ANDERSON, ALICIA BRAUNS, LANCE MITCHELL, JORDAN HRISTOV VIDEO CONTROLLER: JOHN O’BRIEN DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: T. BRETT FEENEY STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: MICHAEL YARISH PUBLICISTS: KATHLEEN TANJI, MARC KLEIN

AUGUST 2021 PRODUCTION CREDITS

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COMMERCIALS

“B POSITIVE” SEASON 1 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: GARY BAUM, ASC OPERATORS: ALEC ELIZONDO, TRAVERS HILL, LANCE BILLITZER, EDDIE FINE ASSISTANTS: ADRIAN LICCIARDI, MICHELE MCKINLEY, JEFF ROTH, CLINT PALMER, JASON HERRING

1ST AVE MACHINE “WHATSAPP”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BEN GOODMAN

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: DEREK LANTZ

OPERATOR: JONATHAN GOLDFISHER

VIDEO CONTROLLER: JOHN O’BRIEN

ASSISTANTS: JOE CHEUNG, DANIEL WORLOCK,

UTILITIES: RICHARD FINE, DAN LORENZE

“SHINING VALE” SEASON 1 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: SUKI MEDENCEVIC, ASC ASSISTANTS: MARK STRASBURG, DAVID BERRYMAN DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: CARMEN DEL TORO

FRAMESTORE PICTURES “GEICO”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ERIC TREML ASSISTANTS: MICHAEL ASHE, DAISY SMITH DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JAMES STROSAHL

GARTNER

“US CELLULAR”

TIM UNGER

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ERIC ZIMMERMAN

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JOHANNA SALO

ASSISTANTS: RICHARD AVALON, JOE SOLARI

40 ACRES

“COIN CLOUD”

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: CALVIN REIBMAN

HUNGRYMAN

“NJM INSURANCE”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: KAI SAUL

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: STOEPS LANGENSTEINER

OPERATOR: GABOR KOVER

OPERATOR: CHRIS BOTTOMS

ASSISTANTS: NICOLAS MARTIN, CHRISTOPHER GREEN,

ASSISTANTS: ROBERT LAU, THOMAS GRECO,

DERRICK DAWKINS

MATTHEW CIANFRANI

LOADERS: MANNY GARCIA, JERON BLACK

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: TYLER ISAACSON

ASSEMBLY

SHOOT COLLECTIVE

PATRICK BENSIMMON, KIRSTEN LAUBE

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JOSEPH DESALVO

STEADICAM OPERATOR: REID RUSSELL

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ROB HAUER

OPERATOR: CHRIS BOTTOMS

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JEFFERSON FUGITT

ASSISTANTS: ROBERTO BALLESTEROS, DANNY LUCIO

ASSISTANTS: ALAN WOLFE, PAUL COLANGELO,

LOADER: GOBE HIRATA

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JON MCARDLE

GREG MCMAHON

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: RON JAFFE

WARNER HORIZONTAL SCRIPTED “ANIMAL KINGDOM” SEASON 6

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ANTHONY VIETRO OPERATORS: REID RUSSELL, BROOKS ROBINSON ASSISTANTS: DAVE EGERSTROM, ERIC GUTHRIE,

“FLUZONE”

DIGITAL UTILITY: SONIA BARRIENTOS STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: EDDY CHEN

BISCUIT FILMWORKS “NISSAN”

WEED ROAD PICTURES “MEET CUTE”

OPERATORS: TANNER CARLSON, STEVEN PAUL

“PUBLIX”

WAR

“POKEMON, TRAINER” DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: GARRETT O’BRIEN

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ERIC SCHMIDT

ASSISTANTS: ERICK AGUILAR, ANGELO GENTILE

ASSISTANTS: LILA BYALL, GAVIN GROSSI

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ISAAC GUY

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JOHN SPELLMAN

ASSISTANTS: GEOFFREY STORTS, LOGAN HALL, AJ STRAUMAN-SCOTT, JONATHAN PERALTA

FLORENCE

STEADICAM OPERATOR: TANNER CARLSON

“AMERICAN EXPRESS”

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ANDREW PISANO

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BRIAN LANNIN ASSISTANT: VANESSA WARD DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ANDY CORDOS

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MOXION 23 NAB 4 NETFLIX 13, 17 PANASONIC 5 RF FILM, INC. 95 TERADEK 2&3 TIFF 99

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AUGUST 2021 PRODUCTION CREDITS

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STOP MOTION

JoJo Whilden, SMPSP Kevin Can F**K Himself started principal photography in Massachusetts the first week of October 2020, and it was my first job back after six months of the COVID-19 shutdown.

While we were not required to quarantine on location, Production, cast, and crew created a safe bubble, and everyone was grateful to be back at work. This image, from one of my favorite episodes, shows our two leading ladies, played

by Annie Murphy and Mary Hollis Inboden, taking a sketchy yet meaningful road trip to New Hampshire. Even though they were rarely seen smiling on camera, Annie and Mary had a great rapport and were often sharing a laugh between takes.

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