Sony: Tell me about your shows and what equipment you’re using. Michael Price: Trophy Wife is my third project with the Sony F55 cameras. I’m currently on a pilot with the F55s, and then shooting two other projects till July. You could say I’ve fallen in love with these cameras.
What’s the pilot you’re doing now? It’s called The Mason Twins, produced by ABC Television for NBC. Trophy Wife is an ABC Television series for ABC. In fact, this was the first time we were able to use the F55 cameras with ABC Television. They had never used them before. We showed them footage and the workflow and they were sold.
What lens package are you using?
We carry two pairs of lightweight ARRI/Fujinon Alura zoom lenses, the 15.5-45 T2.8 and the 30-80 T2.8, and a pair of Angenieux Optimo 12:1 24-290 T2.8 zooms. These days, production is really pushing for 11 hours to be the new 12 hour day and 3 cameras are becoming the new single camera show. It’s gotten so much more fast-paced in the last several years that we’ve added a third camera to stay ahead.
Do you use prime lenses?
No, I haven’t used primes for quite some time. We started using the new short zooms for Steadicam and handheld, but the Aluras are so well made and the picture so beautiful, they’ve become our primary lenses. We want the audience to feel like they’re a part of our ensemble cast, and the short zooms get the cameras closer to the actors. In close quarters, there’s a real difference in the composition when the front of a big zoom lens is a foot and a half from the film plane. The last time I used primes for episodic was about a dozen years ago on Gilmore Girls and within a week, we switched to the ARRI/ ZEISS Variable Primes, which were the only short zooms available at the time. Because it’s TV, you just don’t have time to change prime lenses, and with the low light sensitivity of the F55, the wide f-stops of a prime aren’t as important as they once were.
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In fact, this was the first time we were able to use the F55 cameras with ABC Television. They had never used them before. We showed them footage and the workflow and they were sold.
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