Fearless Season two of NBC’s hit drama, Manifest, challenges viewers (and the production team) to soar outside their comfort zones. BY PAULINE ROGERS AND WILL HART /
“Manifest is a series that attempts to be both an intimate tale of relationships, dealing with the everyday struggles of contemporary life, as well as a fantastical science-fiction mystery,” explains producer Harvey Waldman. “We follow the lives of different people who have shared the same experience of having gotten on a normal airplane flight, only to discover, upon landing, that five and a half years have passed. But other than some strong turbulence, for those on-board, it was just an ordinary three-hour journey.” While the series is based in realism, elements often veer in different directions depending on the moments. Season
/ PHOTOS BY PETER KRAMER COURTESY OF NBCUNIVERSAL
One became a test run. Guild Director of Photography Tim Norman, who rotated Season One duties with Brad Smith – both men building the look of the template set by Tim Ives, ASC, in the pilot – says “[show creator] Jeff Rake often stressed that the environment should never feel too polished, or staged. It was a very effective approach in making the mysticism that connected the passengers all the more believable.” As Season One concluded, Rake and Executive Producer/Director Joe Chappelle decided to create a “look book” that would help define subsequent seasons. “Our goal
was to give the series a cinematic grandeur without ever losing sight of the emotional underpinnings that drove our character arcs,” Chappelle explains. The visual roadmap was shared with new, rotating cinematographers Sarah Cawley and John Inwood, who shoot Season Two using ALEXA Mini and Panavision lenses. “They each added to the visual vocabulary,” Chappelle continues. “For instance, before shooting the Season Two opener, we were looking for an interesting way to enhance ‘the callings [see below].’ Sarah brought a special camera lens [Lensbaby] that we tried out. Everyone liked the look, so it became part of our visual vocabulary for the rest of the season.”
NEW TECHNOLO GY
45