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Find it all.
2018
ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS ®
INCLUDING
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY RACHEL MORRISON
THE FIRST WOMAN NOMINATED FOR BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY BY
THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS AND
THE ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES
LOV E I S A K I N D O F S U RV I VA L
[contents]
60 BLACK PANTHER
RACHEL MORRISON, ASC, CLAWS INTO THE DEBUT OF CINEMA’S FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN SUPERHERO.
86 A WRINKLE IN TIME
TOBIAS SCHLIESSLER, ASC, SHOOTS FOR THE STARS WITH AVA DUVERNAY’S BIG-BUDGET ADAPTATION OF THE CLASSIC CHILDREN’S NOVEL.
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74
SEVEN SECONDS DID YARON ORBACH NEED ICE IN HIS VEINS TO SHOOT THIS NEW NETFLIX DRAMA ABOUT POLICE VIOLENCE IN FRIGID JERSEY CITY, NJ?
98
FEAR FACTOR MTV NETWORKS UPS THE ANXIETY LEVEL FOR THE SCARY-MOVIE-VIRAL GENERATION.
50 56
PRINTED MATTER
JOHN EAKIN DESCRIBES HIMSELF AS “AN ARTIST, A CURIOUS EXPLORER AND AN ETERNAL FOE OF THE STATUS QUO.”
BIG PICTURE SPOT
PAIRING THE MASSIVE ALEXA 65 SENSOR WITH LEICA PRIME LENSES…FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER.
DEPARTMENTS
GEAR GUIDE / 16 ON THE STREET / 28 DEPTH OF FIELD / 30 DEEP FOCUS / 34
EXPOSURE / 38 ZOOM-IN / 44 PRODUCTION CREDITS / 106 STOP MOTION / 118 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
9
Photo by Scott Alan Humbert
PRESIDENT’S
LETTER FEB/MAR 2018 • VOL. 89 NO. 02
Steven Poster, ASC National President International Cinematographers Guild IATSE Local 600
#TIME IS NOW I have always made it a goal to include women and people of color on my crews, but that’s hardly been an easy ask. One time (in another country that shall go nameless), I was interviewing potential crewmembers for a project. I mentioned to a man who was applying to be a key grip that it was essential we have some diversity within the ranks. His answer was swift and simple: “I always have diversity on my crews – I have tall ones and short ones!” Whether that’s a light-hearted anecdote or a mocking of an issue that could not be more serious, we’re in the midst of another awards season in Hollywood, with an industry under siege – for all the right reasons. Last fall, issues of workplace abuse, and more recently, wage inequity, have been brought front and center. For the female members of Local 600, the latest hashtag – #TimesUp – holds particular resonance; as an established Guild publicist told me: “Our members don’t just sit in offices…we work on sets where the male-to-female ratio can be as high as 10 to 1. That’s fertile ground for bad behavior – so it’s time’s up indeed!” At the core of this movement is safety, which is the backbone of any union’s mission statement. It’s no secret that the historical trajectory of the camera department has been male-dominated, and the perception that women can’t handle the longer hours, travelling, taking time away from their families, or even keeping up from a physical perspective. Such antiquated and false notions are what this union has been working so hard to reverse through unconscious bias trainings and other “culture altering” education. And make no mistake: Local 600’s culture has been changing. A new infusion of female NEB members, as well as a surge in women (including women of color) in the camera ranks – assistants, loaders, utilities, and operators – has established a new sense of pride that I am ecstatic to see taking place. Even the ranks of female cinematographers, which have been abysmally low for too long, are rising, and those who have already made inroads are reaching new levels in their craft. Obviously, Reed Morano, ASC, who received
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an Emmy in directing last year for The Handmaid’s Tale, and Rachel Morrison, ASC, who became the first woman ever nominated for an Oscar in the Best Cinematography category and earned an ASC nomination for her Sundance hit, Mudbound, are shining examples. Rachel’s public comments on KPCC’s The Frame beautifully encapsulate why gender bias is not only illogical, but bad business (particularly when 2017’s top grossing movies – The Last Jedi, Wonder Woman, and Beauty and the Beast – were all female-centric, and one of them, Wonder Woman, was directed by Patty Jenkins, a Local 600 member and former camera assistant)! “I’ve never understood why there aren’t more female cinematographers,” Rachel told The Frame’s host, John Horn. “This industry is all about empathizing and channeling emotion into visuals. Like it’s everything women do well, so I’ve never understood what was ever seen as a deficiency and why it’s become this complete inequity, statistically speaking.” I’ve also seen changes up close and personal at last year’s Camerimage, where my daughter, a freelance film journalist, was moderating a panel made up of female cinematographers and I was moderating a panel, at the same time, on ACES. I’m proud to say (as a man and a father) that she vastly outdrew me, filling her room with festival attendees, eager to hear from accomplished DP’s who happen to also be women. Are we where we need to be? Not even close. But we have reached a moment where people are speaking up and listening. When a four-time Oscar nominated actress earns one percent of her male co-star’s earnings for reshoots, and that information becomes public (and that male star donates his earnings to charity), that’s progress of a type. When producers like Ryan Murphy, who has employed countless Local 600 camera team members over the years on his many Emmy-winning TV shows, announce they are actively seeking diversity in their productions, in front of and behind the camera, that’s progress of a type. Hashtags continue to abound, but the most important thing for this membership to understand is that it has the Guild’s unwavering support to promote a safe and dignified work environment for everyone. We all need to envision a world where the need to classify a filmmaker by race or gender does not exist. And when race, gender, and pay equality are no longer points of contention, then we have entered that new and better era. Let us all work diligently every day in our respective workplaces and beyond to make that come about.
February/March 2018 vol. 89 no. 02
Publisher Teresa Muñoz Executive Editor David Geffner Art Director Wes Driver ACCOUNTING Glenn Berger Dominique Ibarra COPY EDITORS Peter Bonilla Maureen Kingsley EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Tyler Bourdeau STAFF WRITER Pauline Rogers CONTRIBUTORS Margot Lester Kevin Martin Atsushi Nishijima Elle Schneider Valentina Valentini
INTERNATIONAL CINEMATOGRAPHERS GUILD Local 600 IATSE NATIONAL PRESIDENT Steven Poster, ASC NATIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT Heather Norton 1ST NATIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT Paul Varrieur 2ND NATIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT John Lindley, ASC NATIONAL SECRETARY-TREASURER Eddie Avila NATIONAL ASSISTANT SECRETARY-TREASURER Douglas C. Hart NATIONAL SERGEANT-AT-ARMS Christy Fiers NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Rebecca Rhine
PUBLICATIONS & PUBLICITY COMMITTEE Henri Bollinger, Chair
CIRCULATION OFFICE 7755 Sunset Boulevard Hollywood, CA 90046 Tel: (323) 876-0160 Fax: (323) 878-1180 Email: circulation@icgmagazine.com
ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES WEST COAST & CANADA Rombeau, Inc. Sharon Rombeau Tel: (818) 762 – 6020 Fax: (818) 760 – 0860 Email: sharonrombeau@gmail.com EAST COAST, EUROPE, & ASIA Alan Braden, Inc. Alan Braden Tel: (714) 846 – 7147 Fax: (714) 846 – 8271 Email: alanbradenmedia@gmail.com
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ADVERTISING POLICY: Readers should not assume that any products or services advertised in International Cinematographers Guild Magazine are endorsed by the International Cinematographers Guild. Although the Editorial staff adheres to standard industry practices in requiring advertisers to be “truthful and forthright,” there has been no extensive screening process by either International Cinematographers Guild Magazine or the International Cinematographers Guild. EDITORIAL POLICY: The International Cinematographers Guild neither implicitly nor explicitly endorses opinions or political statements expressed in International Cinematographers Guild Magazine. ICG Magazine considers unsolicited material via email only, provided all submissions are within current Contributor Guideline standards. All published material is subject to editing for length, style and content, with inclusion at the discretion of the Executive Editor and Art Director. Local 600, International Cinematographers Guild, retains all ancillary and expressed rights of content and photos published in ICG Magazine and icgmagazine.com, subject to any negotiated prior arrangement. ICG Magazine regrets that it cannot publish letters to the editor. ICG (ISSN 1527-6007) Published Monthly by The International Cinematographers Guild 7755 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA, 90046, U.S.A. Periodical postage paid at Los Angeles, California. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ICG 7755 Sunset Boulevard Hollywood, California 90046 Copyright 2017, by Local 600, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States and Canada. Entered as Periodical matter, September 30, 1930, at the Post Office at Los Angeles, California, under the act of March 3, 1879. Subscriptions: $92.00 of each International Cinematographers Guild member’s annual dues is allocated for an annual subscription to International Cinematographers Guild Magazine. Non-members may purchase an annual subscription for $48.00 (U.S.), $82.00 (Foreign and Canada) surface mail and $117.00 air mail per year. Single Copy: $4.95 The International Cinematographers Guild Magazine has been published monthly since 1929. International Cinematographers Guild Magazine is a registered trademark.
www.icgmagazine.com www.icg600.com
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TIPS & TRENDS ISSUE
O
ur first combined issue for 2018 – February/March – feels like whatever comes after a “tipping point,” the phrase Malcolm Gladwell famously coined in his 2000 book, which detailed the conditions required for new ideas to spread like “social viruses.” One key to Gladwell’s thesis is the need for different types of people – “connectors,” “mavens,” and “salesmen” – who help drive change across all kinds of social networks. When applied to the entertainment industry that can easily describe bold and influential filmmakers, whose work seems to both reflect and inspire the world around them. Certainly that argument can be made for Local 600 cinematographer Rachel Morrison, ASC, whose recent Oscar nomination for the Sundance hit Mudbound made history as the first nomination of a woman in that category. And a strong case can also be made for director Ava DuVernay, who last year became the first female African-American director to have a film – Selma – nominated for an Oscar. Both women are featured this month – Morrison for shooting the first Marvel superhero movie starring African-Americans, Black Panther (page 56), and DuVernay for directing her first big-budget VFX film, A Wrinkle in Time (page 82), shot by Tobias Schliessler, ASC – in a posttipping-point moment that validates the upheavals this industry has been undergoing. But, the truth is that Morrison and DuVernay have been driving social change for more than a decade. Before she became a fixture at Sundance in 2011, debuting seven indie features in six years, Morrison was nominated for an Emmy (in 2007) for a groundbreaking documentary about high school education in a major urban prison. Fruitvale Station (2013), which marked Morrison’s first film with Black Panther director Ryan Coogler, predated (and helped to drive) a surge in voices battling against police violence toward young African-American men that has (hopefully) reached its own social tipping point. The film Morrison is nominated for, Mudbound, was also nominated for an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for writer/director Dee Rees, making Rees the first African-American woman 14
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nominated in that category. And throughout Morrison’s many daring and timely choices, she’s found the best photographic tools (from Super 16mm to an ARRI Mini with vintage anamorphic lenses) to serve the story in front of the camera; by hiring women in her own department, she’s helped to change the story beyond it. DuVernay, also the subject of this month’s Exposure conversation (page 38), has been equally influential. Fans eager to see her adaptation of A Wrinkle in Time may not remember that DuVernay’s debut feature, I Will Follow (beautifully shot by Guild DP Miguel Bunster), was one of the first movies to include footage from the firstever inauguration of an African-American president. Her Sundance hit Middle of Nowhere (2012), shot by Bradford Young (who would later become the first AfricanAmerican DP nominated for an Oscar, for Arrival), made her the first AfricanAmerican woman to win a Best Directing prize at Sundance, while Selma (also shot by Young) made her the first AfricanAmerican woman to be nominated for a Golden Globe. Last year’s Oscar-nominated feature documentary, 13th (co-shot by Guild Generation NEXT DP Kira Kelly) continues to propel conversation about race relations in America. (Five-time NBA champions, the San Antonio Spurs, recently arranged for a private screening.) To generate a “tipping point” that presages dramatic change, you need people brave enough to be the first of their kind. That’s why this issue – featuring people like Rachel Morrison and Ava DuVernay, Black Panther publicist Carol McConnaughey (Deep Focus, page 34), unit still photographer/photo journalist Karen Ballard, SMPSP (Zoom-In, page 44), color printer John Eakin (Printed Matter, page 48) and commercial cinematographer Max Goldman (Big Picture Spot, page 54) – is truly a source of pride for this magazine and Guild. They’ve been pushing this industry forward, through fearless storytelling, long before the tipping point finally arrived. David Geffner Executive Editor Twitter: @DGeffner Email: david@icgmagazine.com
CONTRIBUTORS
Atsushi Nishijima
(Girl Interrupted, Stop Motion)
“In the beginning [when shooting unit stills for A Wrinkle in Time], I wasn’t used to photographing with the blue screen. But I started to think of the blue as the sky and universe; soon enough I was able to picture what the imaginary world was like hidden behind the blue screen.”
Elle Schneider (A Winter’s Tale)
“As this year’s Oscar nominations show, it’s become more important than ever that our industry embraces stories that reflect the nuances of the world around us, and I’m excited to hear the important conversations that Netflix’s new series, Seven Seconds, will bring to the table. Also, the late Jonathan Demme, a favorite storyteller of mine, leaves an episode of Seven Seconds as the last chapter in his directorial legacy, and I’m eager to see his final work.”
Valentina I. Valentini (1st of Their Kind)
“I was never into superheroes as a kid. But I was into storytelling, and that would often include a princess, a monster and a cape of some sort – not a far cry from the beloved superhero stories reemerging on the screen today. And listening to the storytellers behind the camera of these visual tales is nearly as exciting as the stories themselves – for my article on Black Panther, cinematographer Rachel Morrison, ASC, delivers in spades. Her time as the first woman to shoot a Marvel feature was eye-opening in more ways than one.”
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[depth of field]
RENTAL GUARD THE BATTLE TO STOP RENTAL THEFT BY PAULINE ROGERS
Over the last 15 years, the film and television industry has been plagued with elaborately planned professional thefts that have resulted in the loss of (literally) millions of dollars of high-quality lenses and camera systems. Thieves have broken into camera rental houses; they’ve followed production vehicles (departing from rental houses) and broken into the parked vehicles overnight. They’ve walked right onto a set and snatched up gear, and even been so bold as to pose as producers picking up rental packages. “In one week, several years ago, I remember how the same two guys stole two camera packages in Tel Aviv on a Friday, hit a camera house in Baltimore on Monday and one in Chicago on Wednesday. They had fake passports – the whole nine yards,” reports Harry Box, Local 600 member, and Manager of the Production Equipment Rental Group (PERG). That’s why PERG (a group made up
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of camera and lighting rental houses that is part of the non-profit international trade association ESTA) has decided to act. Box says that by increasing awareness and giving people tools, “we can reach a tipping point where these crimes are no longer so appealing to thieves.” PERG has launched a Web-based theft-alert system/database called RENTAL GUARD (missingequipment.org), which, in the last three years, has tracked over $20 million worth of stolen equipment. A big part of PERG’s effort is to offer resources that will stop unwitting crews from buying stolen gear, which, in a small way, reduces demand – and dissuades theft. Keys that camera teams need to understand in this battle are: equipment theft hurts everyone – cinematographers and productions, and “in ways they may not even be aware of,” Box adds. “Theft obviously hurts the rental companies that support all the productions. It raises insurance rates for productions as
well as suppliers. It removes hard-to-replace equipment from the market; some vintage glass is simply totally irreplaceable.” Box says that RENTAL GUARD makes it harder for thieves to sell stolen gear, and easier to catch re-sellers. “It helps catch the bad guys, but other people are getting caught in the trap, too,” he explains. “We’ve had cases where people wind up furious because they have to return a $10,000 purchase to its rightful owner, and, sadly, that investment is lost. A person sees something for sale online at a price that is too good to be true – and, of course, it is.” The good news in this important fight is that RENTAL GUARD is making a difference. Rental company PC&E’s general manager, Mark Wofford, relates that “my camera department was contacted by a customer who needed a certain lens and seemed to know all the lingo. She said she wasn’t able to come in to fill out the paperwork,
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[depth of field]
so she gave the rental agent the information over the phone. A courier showed up to pick up the lens, and they let the rental go.” The morning the lens was due back, the gear never appeared, and calls to the client proved fruitless, “which seemed to validate our worst fears that the lens had been stolen,” Wofford continues. “We called the police and posted a notice on RENTAL GUARD. The next day we received a call from another rental house that had seen our notification on RENTAL GUARD, saying the lens had been offered to them for sale!” Thankfully, law enforcement assisted in getting the lens returned to PC&E in a timely manner and communicated with local detectives. Dan Toomey, owner of Pro HD Rentals in Burbank, has experienced similarly brazen thievery. “About a year ago, someone came in with his own renter’s insurance and rented about 80 thousand dollars in camera and 60 thousand dollars in lenses,” and never returned it, Toomey recalls. “We put a posting on RENTAL GUARD, which really galvanized the community.” Pro HD received calls from three other rental houses, which spurred police into
action. “They found out the impostor had been bouncing from coast to coast [stealing equipment] and banking on police departments having limited resources,” Toomey adds. “[The thief ] went to Las Vegas and tried to sell the gear, which is where the report on RENTAL GUARD caught up with him.” Similar incidents in other states were tracked to the same individual, and law enforcement officials were able to return the equipment to Pro HD. The case is ongoing with charges pending. PERG’s RENTAL GUARD fliers and online resource help the buyer be “very aware.” And the data gathered through RENTAL GUARD has proved invaluable in recovering over $1.4 million in equipment and spurred law enforcement to take action and make arrests. The RENTAL GUARD fraud alert allows rental houses to share information, allowing companies to sidestep an estimated $1.5 million worth of losses before they could happen. PERG is determined to raise awareness of the problem. They’ve had meetings in major production cities – inviting local law enforcement, insurance representatives, the
studios, rental houses and more. They publish the Digest of Fraud and Theft Prevention Measure – a 33-page manual on rental procedures and physical security. PERG has hosted seminars with security experts and published stories drawing attention to the problem. But PERG’s campaign has not been easy. Selling security in a fast-paced, deadlinedriven industry butts up against prevailing wisdom that insurance will pay for it – so why should anyone care? “That kind of thinking has allowed an epidemic rate of theft to just go on and on,” Box adds. “Insurance underwriters are very concerned. There is a huge unseen cost and work-hours lost due to equipment theft. And the problem is putting stress on rental companies.” PERG’s efforts will only be a success if production crews are more aware, more diligent and get involved. Two minutes of research – logging into RENTAL GUARD – can save time, money, and stop industry theft. “PERG is providing a rallying point for our industry to unite against this damaging problem that impacts all of us,” concludes Box. “No doubt about it.”
SCH_Bennett_ICG.qxp_Layout 1 1/10/18 2:32 PM Page 1
William Bennett ASC
The Car Guy on RHOdium FSNDs
“
Cameras are really sensitive these days. If you want to open the aperture to soften the background you need to use ND filters and they need to be really high quality. On a recent Mitsubishi commercial we shot silver cars driving around in sunlight. It was challenging because there was so much light banging around. We needed a lot of ND.
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Watch the interview at https://vimeo.com/247202364
FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
31
PHOTO COURTESY OF ROSALIND JARRETT SEPULVEDA / SCREEN ACTORS GUILD AWARDS
[on the street]
NOTES FROM THE RED CARPET
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THE RED CARPET IS DOWN (OKAY, SOMETIMES IT’S BLACK AND YELLOW LIKE FOR THE BEE MOVIE, OR BLUE FOR STAR TREK, BUT IT’S “RED” JUST THE SAME); AND IT DOESN’T ALWAYS RUN IN A STRAIGHT LINE – WHICH CAN BE DISORIENTING. THE STANCHIONS ARE UP, AND SO ARE THE PHOTOGRAPHERS ON STEPLADDERS, THE VIDEO CREWS JOCKEYING FOR POSITION, AND THE LINES OF REPORTERS ALL SHOUTING FOR YOUR CLIENT’S ATTENTION. IN SHORT, THIS WORLD IS CHAOS, AND THE PUBLICIST (OR “TALENT HANDLER,” IF YOU WILL) IS IN THE THICK OF WHAT CAN BE AN OVERWHELMING BUT KEY PART OF OUR INDUSTRY. THERE ARE CERTAIN GIVENS WORKING THE RED CARPET. ONE IS TO NEVER BE STAR-STRUCK. ALWAYS TEAM WITH THE EVENT COORDINATOR TO HELP MAKE THINGS RUN SMOOTHLY. NEVER HESITATE. ALWAYS BE FOCUSED ON JOB NUMBER ONE, WHICH IS GETTING YOUR CLIENTS THE BEST POSSIBLE COVERAGE AND AVOIDING A MISHAP THAT COULD BOOMERANG AROUND THE GLOBE VIA SOCIAL MEDIA. BEING IN THE THICK OF AWARDS SEASON, ICG STAFFERS WANTED TO REACH OUT TO LOCAL 600 MEMBERS WHO HAVE WORKED RED CARPETS – EVERYTHING FROM THE OSCARS, GRAMMYS, AND EMMYS TO MAJOR HOLLYWOOD PREMIERES – AND FIND OUT HOW TO GET FROM ONE END TO THE OTHER WITHOUT LETTING THE CHAOS IMPEDE ON THE CRAFT. THE ON THE CARPET TIPS WE ASSEMBLED ARE BOTH LOGICAL AND SURPRISING. SO WHAT’S THE ONE WE HEARD FROM VIRTUALLY EVERY GUILD PUBLICIST? “NEVER CHEW GUM! YOU ALMOST ALWAYS END UP ON CAMERA.” GABRIELA ZAPATA: Arrive early, and ask reporters if they are interested in speaking with your clients. This way you don’t have to do the awkward ask in front of your clients. Never let your clients see your conversations with producers – have them when [your clients] are busy in interviews. GREG GRUSBY: Have a visual noting the talent’s name and credit from the project and make sure the press/photo pool can snap a photo of it. This way, there’s less of a chance your talent will be misidentified or, equally bad, have their name misspelled in a published piece or on Getty images. Sometimes I simply create a full-screen graphic on my iPhone with this information, which I can flash to journalists and photogs so they get all of the information correct. LINDA BROWN: Always prep the line before you walk! The assumption is that the talent will walk the whole line, and if press are waiting for your talent, and you cut them off to go into the event claiming that “they are running late,” your talent suffers the wrath along with you. There’s nothing worse than watching a publicist try to talk crews into talking to their talent on the red carpet as their talent approaches. Avoid the inevitable “no thank you” that your client actually sees. ELIZABETH BAKER: Have a little emergency kit – oil blotters, Kleenex, a sewing kit, stuff like that. I’ve used mine dozens of times. Include a
Sharpie and a card or envelope to write on in case your talent isn’t well known. RICK MARKOVITZ: It’s important to respect the time spent by the media in arriving early and cooperating with the set-up plans. One of the worst situations is telling the assembled media that the big-name star promised in the media alerts is not going to be walking the red carpet after all. The best thing to do is stick with a simple story that it was “beyond your control,” and you didn’t know until just now. RACHEL WALKER: This may sound so obvious but it’s crazy how often it happens. If you’re ever helping walk talent who don’t have their own publicists, make sure to never leave them hanging. Few things on a carpet are more awkward than talent standing around confused, not knowing where to go or what to do. NGOC NGUYEN: Know that your final destination is not the end of the red carpet but [the talents’] seats inside the theater. You should know exactly where those seats are before you start the carpet, because, once you finish, it will be chaos getting into the theater. Sometimes talent will also be part of the introduction, so by the time you try to walk them to their seats, it will be pitch black. Know where they are sitting ahead of time so you can easily find it. JANET WAINWRIGHT: You are not the star. You
are not the star’s friend. It is crucial to know your star’s likes and dislikes. You are there to facilitate a smooth experience and garner positive attention for the person to whom you have been assigned. You’re also a cop and an orchestrator. Deal firmly with anyone who is too pushy or inappropriate, while still appearing friendly and accommodating. Your primary purpose is to get your charge through the line and create a positive outcome. You are a professional. Act like it. ELIZABETH BAKER: Attempt to stay out of the frame. That’s an acquired skill. Denise Godoy: Keep your makeup and clothes simple yet elegant. You need to work. You’ll want to look good but working is the priority. If the carpet isn’t covered and the event is daytime, bring sunglasses so you can see properly. I always wear a cross body bag so I can access my phone, printed off lists, badges, etc. Remember you need to be hands free! Gabriela Zapata: Be aware of standing behind broadcast interviews; you’re likely in the background and on camera. Megan Wasserman: Be polite – you don’t want to be recorded being rude. And, for heaven’s sake – wear comfortable shoes! Rick Markovitz: Always smile! You never know when you’ll be caught on camera.
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CAROL MCCONNAUGHEY PHOTO BY NICOLA GOODE/SMPSP
Publicity is a multifaceted craft/art that is defined by salesmanship; a keen understanding of your product; and strong, creative ideas with a hook that will spark public awareness − especially when executed with originality and a modicum of chutzpah.
Production publicity requires a specialized skill-set tagged to a unique working environment, be that a micro-budget indie drama or a summer tent-pole extravaganza packed with eye-popping action and marquee actors.
The film set is collaboration at its best. The Unit Publicist is the storyteller of that process, with a bird’s-eye view to the wealth of crafts working behind-the-scenes, as well as the talent working in front of the camera. It’s incumbent upon the publicist to identify every worthwhile asset to share about this collective creative endeavor.
One of my most satisfying experiences has been the 10-plus years on the core team that built up The Fast and the Furious
franchise. What began as a modestly budgeted story chronicling the exploits of East L.A. street racers has become a multi-billion-dollar global franchise, which reinvents itself with genre-crossing action while maintaining its character-driven story.
The shifting focus of publicity from traditional to digital platforms has been a game-changer. The Fast and the Furious
franchise already had a robust social media presence, so Universal Pictures opted to double-down and maximize its efforts to expand the film’s digital footprint with The Fate of the Furious. It was groundbreaking in the sense that content normally held back for theatrical or DVD release was released during production (on a weekly basis) via the film’s social media accounts. Universal’s innovative digital strategy established itself as the go-to platform for all relevant information surrounding the film.
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CAROL MCCONNAUGHEY ON SET WITH FAST & FURIOUS STAR VIN DIESEL / PHOTO COUTRESY OF GILES KEYTE
During Fate of the Furious, still photographer Matt Kennedy, long-time Fast EPK/DP/Camera Operator Brian
Dzyak [SOC] and I worked hard to pinpoint fresh content throughout the 10-week shoot. Those weekly missives coupled with a social-media-savvy cast also posting on their personal feeds gave fans unprecedented access; it lifted the shroud of secrecy surrounding the filmmaking process of a high-profile feature. The beauty of it all was that each of these vignettes was on message and perfectly positioned the next chapter in the saga.
The flip side of instantaneous unfettered access to thousands of people is, well, instantaneous unfettered access to
thousands of people! Unauthorized set photos or amateur video filmed from a street corner can oftentimes derail a filmmaker’s desire to preview their creative vision as a fully formed experience. Oftentimes, videos or stills are posted on fan sites or personal accounts within hours.
What surprised me about Black Panther was that most of the fans out there, regardless of ethnicity, know the Wakandan
prince and his superhero alter ego from the comics. There are history and reverence for what Jack Kirby and Stan Lee created; their revolutionary spirit remains, yet it is seamlessly threaded within the Marvel universe of fast-paced action and multilayered storylines that satisfy longtime comic fans and new film audiences.
Marvel Studios is protective of its material and rightfully so, with a rabid fan base that goes into a frenzy of speculation
with the smallest morsel of information. So, when an active social presence isn’t at the forefront of your production publicity plan, like with Panther, nothing gets key press outlets invested in your project more than embedding them with on-set experiences.
That means providing media access to [co-writer/director] Ryan Coogler and the cast as they are immersed
in this fantastic world – whether it’s seeing [lead] Chadwick Boseman’s intense focus as he prepares to film a scene, laying eyes on the astounding production design or learning the signature Black Panther fight move from the superhero himself, the impressions are indelible when seen firsthand and translate into priceless publicity.
Even as distribution models continue to change with the proliferation of next-generation players like Netflix, Hulu and Amazon Studios, the publicity game is upping the ante as well by harnessing both digital and traditional platforms in innovative new ways.
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CINE GEAR EXPO 2018 LOS ANGELES MAY 31 - JUNE 3, 2018 EXHIBITS: JUNE 1-2 THE STUDIOS AT PARAMOUNT HOLLYWOOD, CA
2018
FOR FULL DETAILS GO TO: WWW.CINEGEAREXPO.COM
EXHIBITS • SEMINARS • DEMONSTRATIONS • FILM SERIES COMPETITION NEW PRODUCT INTRODUCTIONS • TECHNICAL AWARDS • NETWORKING • SPECIAL EVENTS
AVA
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DUVERNAY
WHILE AVA DUVERNAY’S RISE TO HIGH-PROFILE FILMMAKER MAY SEEM RAPID, IT WASN’T THE CULMINATION OF ANY LONG-TERM PLAN. DUVERNAY BEGAN HER CAREER IN NEWS JOURNALISM AT CBS, COVERING THE O. J. SIMPSON TRIAL, AND THEN LATER STARTED HER PUBLIC RELATIONS FIRM. FROM THERE, SHE LAUNCHED A CAREER BEHIND THE CAMERA WITH THE DOCUMENTARY THIS IS THE LIFE, FOLLOWED BY THE ULTRA-LOW-BUDGET INDIE I WILL FOLLOW. IT WAS HER SECOND FEATURE, MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, THAT BROUGHT DUVERNAY PROMINENCE, BECOMING THE FIRST AFRICAN-AMERICAN WOMAN TO WIN DIRECTING HONORS AT SUNDANCE. CONTINUING HER “FIRSTS,” WITH SELMA SHE WAS THE FIRST BLACK FEMALE DIRECTOR TO HAVE A BEST PICTURE NOMINATION AT THE OSCARS AND THE GOLDEN GLOBES; THE ACADEMY AGAIN CITED HER ACCOMPLISHMENTS IN 2016, WHEN THE NETFLIX-PRODUCED FILM 13TH WAS NOMINATED FOR BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE.
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BY KEVIN H. MARTIN PHOTO BY ATSUSHI NISHIJIMA
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@@ DUVERNAY’S LEAP INTO BIG-BUDGET FILMMAKING WITH WALT DISNEY PICTURES’ A WRINKLE IN TIME (PAGE 86) IS NOTEWORTHY TO SOME OWING JUST TO HER BEING A WOMAN OF COLOR, FOR WHOM SUCH OPPORTUNITIES ARE DECIDEDLY RARE. BUT A MORE INTERESTING CONSIDERATION IS THAT DUVERNAY TURNED DOWN MARVEL’S BLACK PANTHER (PAGE 56); DIRECTING AN ADAPTATION OF MADELEINE L’ENGLE’S BELOVED CHILDREN’S NOVEL WAS NOT SO MUCH ABOUT SIZE AND SCOPE (ALTHOUGH THE VFX-HEAVY FAMILY FILM HAS PLENTY OF BOTH), BUT THE POTENTIAL TO EXPLORE CHALLENGING NEW CHARACTERS. KEVIN MARTIN SPOKE WITH DUVERNAY ABOUT WORLD-BUILDING FOR HER FIRST MAJOR VFX PROJECT, AND THE ELUSIVE TRUTHS SHE’S ALWAYS CHASING IN CINEMATIC STORYTELLING. ICG: I read that Disney enticed you to make A Wrinkle in Time with the offer – or challenge – of world-building for various exotic planetary locales. That’s a creative option outside most mainstream and indie filmmaking. Ava DuVernay: Principally for me, the interior story of this girl, Meg, is what I found most appealing. The world-building aspect was an incredible addition to how I could further the exploration of the interiority of the character, so it was really about how these various worlds could illuminate and define aspects of her personal journey. I tried to play with that, how these unusual exteriors worked on her and what was going on within her. That was a real joy for me, one that never waned in any way. The book was published in the early 1960’s. What sort of issues arose in making the story relevant to contemporary audiences? My writer, Jennifer Lee, and I delved deeply into the source material. We tried to extract what bits were still robust enough to work for a contemporary adventure, separating those from what aspects would lay more dormant. Part of the problem is that this book has been pillaged for ideas by the film industry for decades, which you can see when looking
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at the various Marvel films, Interstellar and countless others that use notions similar to the author’s tesseract [used in the book to traverse space and time]. It sounds similar to the problem David Lynch faced with Dune – significant elements of the novel had been exploited in Star Wars and other genre films before his adaptation. Yes, just like that. So we had to decide how much had already been seen elsewhere that might not seem fresh to audiences. What pieces were at the heart of the story, and then how could they be reimagined in ways to make that feel new? The book’s climax has our girl confronting a [disembodied] brain, and while we still wanted a confrontation, I knew from the beginning it just wasn’t going to look anything like that [laughs]. Keeping what was important, but updating the style, is what we tried to do throughout. We’ll see how that worked out! This was your first time working with [cinematographer] Tobias Schliessler[ASC]. How did that come about? I knew Tobias from when he had shot Dreamgirls, a film for which I was the publicist. Since my regular cinematographer, Bradford Young, was doing
Star Wars [Solo], I immediately thought of Tobias. I felt he was the one cinematographer, out of all those films I publicized, who had a determined delicacy in the way he approached the work; that is to say, I found him to be a gentleman on set. And he had accumulated this incredible breadth of experience, doing multiple projects with directors as diverse as Bill Condon and Peter Berg. I’m familiar with both, and you couldn’t find two people further apart in personality and aesthetics. If Tobias could do handheld vérité while still delivering a big-movie look for Berg, then go off and deliver very polished-looking material for Condon, then I knew he could work with me, and as it turned out, we had a great time together. How did you go about developing all these fantastic vistas? Was the division of labor between art department, camera, and visual effects determined early on? During preproduction, I carved out an hour or so every day for brainstorming sessions with all of our key players. We’d be free to talk concepts and kick notions around. It became a very nourishing time of day that everybody looked forward to, with all of us sitting around a table and being totally free with our thoughts.
VICTOR HAMMER ON CINEMATOGRAPHY
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My advice to those starting out is learn the technical side first! Know the cameras inside and out. On set you can’t think about the technical stuff at all—its got to be intuitive. Once you learn the tools, then you can be artistic about it. Its OK to start at the bottom and if you work hard with your eye on the prize, and you really want it, you’ll get it. To this day, I am still happy that people hire me, it’s just wonderful.
ver.com
CAMERA | LIGHTING | LED | VIDEO | AUDIO | BROADCAST | RIGGING | AV
Victor Hammer loves, loves, loves cinematography. With a solid resume of hit features and television series, he’s never jaded and never short on the infectious enthusiasm he brings to the set. And he is thrilled to be in his ninth season shooting the amazingly successful NCIS: Los Angeles. Giving true meaning to the word action, Hammer propels each day on set with his personal brand of never ceasing energy. Watch the interview at ver.com/victorhammer
VER Camera Prep facilities: LOS ANGELES | NEW YORK | CHICAGO | NEW ORLEANS | ATLANTA | MIAMI
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It wasn’t about technical planning at all, just pure creativity, involving visual effects and production design, of course, but also previs and costume, along with hair and makeup. It wasn’t a traditional way to do the work, but it created a very familial atmosphere that spurred creative collaboration and really helped us to integrate our concepts as fully as possible. With so much of the story revolving around action on different planets, did you end up restricting your visual proclivities to stay with what was determined up front? There’s a real freedom when it comes to visual effects today, and with excellent support from my visual effects supervisor, Rich McBride, and visual effects producers [Tamara Watts Kent and Sean Santiago], we could deliver on concepts that took us far beyond anything that could be achieved during live-action shooting. Months after we wrapped, we were devising and integrating at least three major world-building initiatives. This was with the studio’s support, which is necessary as there was an expense involved. But once we saw these possibilities, it helped us all along toward what the film is now. I found it the opposite of restrictive, actually; it was very malleable and a beautiful way to work. So it isn’t the film you initially imagined? It doesn’t look the way I thought it would – it looks better! During my learning curve on visual effects, finding out what was possible, my thought initially was that there would be a number of restrictions, but this team is formidable and able to not just provide new ideas, but support for and the ability to execute those new ideas, while at the same time taking them further and further. You started in broadcast news. How did your career evolve into where you’re at today? I didn’t ever intend to appear on camera back then; I thought I’d be covering the big stories of the day as a producer. Now I feel I am still covering events, just in a different way. 13th is an exploration of history that speaks to the
present moment in a way that is significant to me. Next year I’m doing a project on the Central Park Five, and that’s a narrative fivepart series. With your move into dramatic features, specifically Selma, there was some criticism that you were only trying to be true to the spirit of history rather than the specifics. In rewriting that script, it was my intent to show things from the perspective of the black people in Selma. The script I had gotten was from the President’s perspective. People took exception to how that was changed, but everything in that film is taken from people who were really there. People talked about what it felt like, and what it meant to them. So I think whether it is 13th or Selma, it still is really about the eye of the beholder, and how you experience this moment. How each of us deals with the present-day reality of things is vastly different. It can involve tricky details to present materials about what’s true and what’s not, or what’s accurate and what’s not. What was in my Selma was not considered accurate – from LBJ’s perspective. Does that mean it isn’t right, or true? We are storytellers, so we pick and choose from events and recollections. That’s not just me, that’s Errol Morris, Michael Moore, [Davis] Guggenheim and [other noted documentarians], determining which parts of the story they relate to and what they hope to say. There are gray areas you get into when exploring that space, so keeping your eye on getting to the so-called truth is the goal. We’ve heard time and again at this magazine how a scarcity of directors and cinematographers who are women and/or people of color makes them feel like lone voices in the wilderness. Does this create the need to hit it out of the park every time you’re at bat? I know there are repercussions for my work that would be vastly different from that of my white male counterparts. If a film of mine fails at the box office, I know that I wouldn’t be getting multiple opportunities to continue making films … yet I can give you
nine examples of male directors who did not have their career impacted by a major failure. I know you can come up with these same examples too, the ones who deliver a bomb and then two weeks later they are already signed on for another big film! There isn’t that safety net for woman filmmakers, let alone a woman of color. To answer your question, yes, it is always in my mind somewhere, but I try to keep myself sane by not letting it be top-of-mind. Plus, I am not limited to making features, and I’m comfortable with that. I enjoy the mix of doing long-form TV as well as films. It’s probably smart to stay as diversified as possible. [Laughs.] That seems wise, given the paucity of opportunity – a filmmaker like Kasi Lemmons demonstrated her skill with Eve’s Bayou, yet her adaptation of The Caveman’s Valentine, beautifully shot by Amy Vincent [ASC] and very well-told cinematically, barely moved the needle. With examples like that one, it shows just how much of a challenge it is just to keep putting one foot in front of the other and achieve a certain level with your work, because you know on the other side of that wall there isn’t an open door for some of us. Thinking ahead or fixating on accolades or access that might arise from the work is not a practical way to think for women or people of color in this industry at this time. I try to divorce myself from anything that comes after, precisely because of examples like that one. How about affording additional opportunities for women of color behind the camera? We keep trying to give more opportunities to those who might not otherwise get that chance. But in addition to hard work and getting breaks, it has to be about all of our journeys and taking joy from that journey. For example, while in scoring sessions for Wrinkle, I was listening to this big piece of music from our composer and thinking, “Wow. How exactly did I get here again?” The steps were hardly a traditional progression, but I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
“THERE ISN’T THAT SAFETY NET [TO FAIL AND WORK AGAIN] FOR FEMALE FILMMAKERS, LET ALONE A WOMAN OF COLOR.” 42
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KAREN BALLARD From Saddam Hussein to James Bond, President Obama to Jack Reacher, photojournalist and Local 600 still photographer Karen Ballard, SMPSP, has captured a wide array of characters in her long and diverse career. Ballard began shooting in high school and was highly influenced by the storytelling photographic essays in her hometown newspaper, The Louisville Courier-Journal. She went on to shoot for
her college newspaper at The University of Kentucky, and several internships later (including The Washington Post and The White House), and upon graduation, she landed a staff job at The Washington Times. But Ballard says it was a single week assisting for Mary Ellen Mark early in her career that initiated an interest in movie stills and behind-thescenes documentary work. “Throughout college, I fluctuated
between art school and journalism,” Ballard describes, “so meeting [Mary Ellen Mark] and understanding her work, gave me a sense of combining the two [disciplines] through the lens of a movie set.” Ballard’s next encounter with set photography was in 1998 during the rollout for Saving Private Ryan. “I was assigned to photograph Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, and Stephen Ambrose in separate five-
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SELF-PORTRAIT BY KAREN BALLARD/SMPSP
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“I READ THE LIGHT, READ AND UNDERSTAND THE MOOD OF THE SUBJECT – AND REALLY, REALLY LOOK.” minute hotel-portrait situations,” she recalls. “No pressure for a young photographer, right?” Ballard was handed the press kit and was “in awe of the stills shot by David James [SMPSP]. My conversation and photo shoot with Steven [Spielberg] was kind of funny. I said: ‘let’s not talk about your incredible film; let’s talk about the stills!’” Fast-forward seven years when Spielberg was looking for a photojournalist to do the stills on Munich, and Ballard, who was coincidentally putting feelers out for movie work, was recommended. Based on her portfolio, which included major post-9/11 stories for Time and Newsweek, including General Tommy Franks landing in Baghdad after the fall of the city, she got the job. “The first day of shooting [on Munich] was a night shoot,” Ballard remembers. “It was a huge action sequence with bombs going off, car chases, et cetera. I remember walking up to Steven and saying, ‘Sir, if there is any kind of special shot you need me to do, just let me know….’ and, without skipping a beat, he said, ‘Karen, just do what you do.’ He then said, ‘Get in there!’ and motioned me right toward the cameras.” Ballard says having Munich as her first movie job “was incredible on so many levels,” including, “just before we wrapped, the movie poster was brought to set featuring my shot of actor Eric Bana that Steven had in mind – that was thrilling.” Since then, Ballard has shot stills on a range of features, including Quantum of Solace, Jack Reacher and last year’s Patriots Day. Her background as a photojournalist and working under pressure-cooker situations fits easily within the intense atmosphere of a film set. “There are similarities to both disciplines,” she observes. “Landing in far-away locations on a moment’s notice and being ready to go with the necessary gear, the ability to work long hours, and still sustain the attention span
to react at any given moment to what unfolds in front of you. Perhaps most importantly: being as invisible and sensitive to the subject as possible.” What were some of those photojournalistic experiences that shaped Ballard’s library of knowledge? Her initial foray into combining journalism and production work came when, in 2003, she spent six weeks traveling between the Persian Gulf and being embedded in Afghanistan photographing members of the U.S. Armed Forces for Jerry Bruckheimer’s TV show, Profiles from the Frontlines. Other assignments included multiple trips to Iraq and Afghanistan for various news publications. “The last one culminated in my being the pool photographer for the arraignment of Iraq’s deposed dictator, Saddam Hussein,” she recalls. “My pictures of Saddam being marched into the courtroom in chains, and his wild-eyed finger pointing right after he learned he was no longer the President of Iraq ran worldwide. While I have had many high-profile assignments, both in journalism and in the film industry, that one definitely qualified as a nail-biter.” In fact, as Ballard drove to the airport to leave Baghdad, praying her media bus didn’t hit an I.E.D., she had somewhat of an epiphany: “I didn’t set out to become a war photographer,” Ballard shares. “But 9/11 changed everything, and a number of my generation of photojournalists were becoming combat photographers. I began to question that trajectory.” Although movie and TV stills now occupy most of Ballard’s time, she still takes special photojournalism assignments or documentary book projects. She has shot five Presidential Inaugurations, with the high point being Barack Obama’s swearing-in ceremony in 2009. Ballard was chosen by the producers of the Official Inaugural Book to take the center-stand position reserved for The White
House to capture the historic moment. “That was by far one of the most exciting experiences of my life, and I am so grateful to have been there and been asked to do that shoot,” she says with a broad smile. Traveling abroad remains integral to Ballard’s work, and Africa has been one of her favorite locations. Photographing a Samburu rite-of-passage ceremony in remote Northern Kenya (page 43), where young male warriors graduate to junior elders, was a case of right time, right place. “These ceremonies occur once every 12 years, and this just happened to be going on the weekend I was traveling with a journalist friend to check on a medical clinic she started 25 years earlier,” she explains. “It was truly one of those magical days as a photographer, where I was completely immersed in their story and sharing in this personal ritual.” Whether she is working on a film or television series, covering news, or doing her own personal work, Ballard attacks the job the same way. “I read the light, read and understand the mood of the subject – and really, really look,” she offers. “I’m talking about being perceptive, fully engaged in the subject at hand, and knowing what’s in my periphery.” For Ballard, that means concentrating in an almost visceral way for that special split second when it all comes together – composition, light, moment, all for the goal of telling – and selling – the story. “When that happens, not only can it be powerful, but it’s done the job,” she concludes. “The imagery engages the viewer, and in some cases, you’ve made a lasting impact. To truly be able to reveal the character of a story – that’s what I’m after.” More examples of Ballard’s work can be seen at: www.karenballard.com
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PHOTO COURTESY OF ANDREW ROG / BACKGROUND IMAGES BY STEPHEN VAUGHAN
PRINTED MATTER MASTER PRINTER JOHN EAKIN (FILM SOLUTIONS) DESCRIBES HIMSELF AS “AN ARTIST, A CURIOUS EXPLORER AND AN ETERNAL FOE OF THE STATUS QUO.” – GUILD MEMBERS AND PHOTO EDITORS WOULDN’T HAVE IT ANY OTHER WAY. BY
PAULINE ROGERS
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PHOTO BY NEAL PRESTON
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PHOTO BY NEAL PRESTON
What makes a compelling print is based on choices. “On first viewing of any image, we have a gestalt — an immediate impression followed by more careful scrutiny and exploration,” Eakin details. “Together, image content and image structure create the impact and relationship with the viewer and what they’re seeing. Enhancing and tuning image structure – chroma [color] and contrast are where the choices are made in printing. Oh, and paper choice. All must be approached with careful consideration and deliberateness.” As Eakin tells it, printing today is both the same as and different from the days of film. “The essence of photography is seeing,” he adds. “It’s perception, instinct, and contemplation that take precedence – not tools. When photography was invented, painters voiced protests about the new tools. Similar complaints are occasionally heard
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regarding digital photography from those who learned with film. Ultimately, it’s important to recognize that it’s not about the tools we use to create our art.” Of course, there are broad differences between chemical and digital processes. In darkroom printing, Eakin relates, “there was a rhythm of hand waving called ‘dodging’ or ‘burning’ that had to be recreated for multiple prints. Today, digital manipulation has made accuracy a given.” There is also speed of production, which has its advantages as well as challenges. “It’s a double-edged sword,” he continues. “The desire for quickness has created considerable pressure regarding client expectations. Excellent printing entails a host of decisions and could never be as fast as just pressing a button or two. The ubiquity of Photoshop and relatively inexpensive printers has created the false impression that anyone
can knock out prints, for just about any purpose, in 15 minutes. While possibly true for certain images, it’s also clear that it is easy to lose what’s really important in a deserving image.” It’s Eakin’s mastery of Photoshop and the discipline that he brings to his work that make the difference. “It’s true, I have a black belt in Photoshop, and it’s an apt analogy,” he says. “One is easily seduced by the piano, thinking a meandering melody is genius. The same is true with Photoshop. I would never settle for the easy tweaks and adjustments that require little consideration or skill,” he says. “The techniques I use on each image,” Eakin continues, “have come from time I spent with one Dan Margulis [acknowledged as the most authoritative voice in the colorcorrection and enhancement field], without whose instruction I would fall into the
(TOP) SKYFALL PHOTO BY FRANÇOIS DUHAMEL/SMPSP (BOTTOM) LUCY PHOTO BY JESSICA FORDE/SMPSP
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“THE ESSENCE OF PHOTOGRAPHY IS SEEING; IT’S PERCEPTION, INSTINCT AND CONTEMPLATION THAT TAKE PRECEDENCE – NOT TOOLS.” mediocre. The essence of every image in Photoshop is found in the channels. The ability to deftly manipulate the elements within them is key to making an image go beyond adequate to making it really sing.” Eakin also continues to explore new processes to create wonderful prints. A prime example is his work with rock and roll photographer Neal Preston. “After I showed him some platinum prints that I had someone in San Francisco make, he called the guy up just to pick his brain on the process,” Preston recalls. “When I dragged John to a talk that my friend Brian May from the band Queen gave regarding stereoscopic photography, he loved it.” When Preston wanted to do something different with a shot of Stevie Nicks he shot in 1981, Eakin came up with what Preston calls “the coolest thing I’ve ever seen.” Eakin had been working for the better part of the previous year perfecting a process he originated and calls “digital pigment emulsion lift.” “It’s reminiscent of the Polaroid Transfer, which was discovered in the 1960s by way of happy accident,” he explains. “On seeing this image of Neal’s, I knew immediately it was a perfect subject for that process.” Likewise when Fox Photo Editor Bill Mona wanted “something different” for Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. “I was tasked with creating a pitch portfolio for our publicity team to present to press,” Mona recalls. “Since vintage photographs played such an important role in the film’s story, we wanted to create a tactile piece that paid tribute to the look and feel of old photographs and the time period.” Mona sent Eakin several files from the film to see what would work best when converting the original color images to black and white. “I’d been looking at all the images through shooting and understood the feeling of the period,” Eakin explains. “I had a clear grasp of how we wanted the finished prints to be experienced. The adjustments to each image, the paper choice and, finally, the very fortunate find of the metal boxes made for an outstanding completion to the project.” Mona
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says the end product “was amazing, and the press were quite impressed with the images and presentation. It was truly a team effort.” The team effort Eakin creates with photographers was on full display with Guild Unit Stills’ François Duhamel, SMPSP, on Skyfall. “To get the shot required François’ creating it as a setup since the motion camera was focused elsewhere,” Eakin recounts. “François’ composition was very strong, as was the lighting by [Skyfall DP] Roger Deakins, ASC, which was just perfect.” Duhamel says he “totally trusts” Eakin, “because John knows his tools better than I ever can, and it’s always better to trust whoever is making his/her living at what he/ she does. I will stick to my shutter speed and my f-stop, over-exposing here and underexposing there, staying as truthful as possible to what my director of photography and his/ her director are aiming for. John will read [that intent] properly and knowingly when looking at one of my digital files. He’ll give me a better ‘rendering’ because he took the time to know me, and because of his encyclopedic knowledge of the tools at his disposal – something I do not have.” Eakin calls it his “good fortune” to be at a shop where he can enjoy creative partnerships, such as when Kimberley French, SMPSP, had an exhibit from The Revenant at the Taschen Gallery three days before the 2016 Oscars. French, who is based in Vancouver, Canada, had to fly down to meet with a printer that Taschen had arranged. “Little did I know that it was John,” she recalls, “who has the capability of printing large. (The largest prints at the exhibit were seven feet wide.) And to my delight, when I arrived at the lab, John had already printed half of the exhibit, and the prints were stunning, perfect, ready for framing to show at the gallery.” Photo editor Mick Mayhew says that Eakin creates confidence for the studio’s publicity department. “Printing is an art and some printers are better than others; John is an artist and master printer. The thing that impresses me most about John is that he never stops learning. He’s not doing his job using the skills he learned 20 years ago; he’s always
adding fresh new ideas to his skill-set. That’s the guy we want printing our stuff.” In March of 2016 Eakin was engaged in printing Michael Muller’s “Sharks” project, which became a Taschen Gallery installation and book publication the following month. Eakin had been working on different techniques within the emulsion lift process, and “saw that Michael’s shark images created a perfect echo between the underwater subject and treatment. What started as experimentation resulted in some fine one-ofa-kind pieces, and Michael was very pleased.” Muller, whose entertainment work includes many Marvel films, dove to ocean depths around the world with a 1200-watt strobe lighting rig for his shark images, which are geared toward aiding conservation efforts for the predator. Muller says he’s always looking for new ways to show his work that’s outside the box. So “when John approached me about this new process he was working on,” he recalls, “it didn’t take but a moment to realize the potential of them as pieces of art. Like paintings, each piece is one of a kind and unique unto itself.” Eakin reflects that when an artist makes a print, he or she considers the images very carefully. “You decide what’s really important – saturation (if color), contrast and tonal relationships, lines, and how they live through the surface of the perfectly chosen paper,” he explains. “You have another way to share something of yourself that is valuable with the world.” This expert printer has sustained a handful of mantras over his many years in the industry. They include: “Pay attention.” “If what you’re doing isn’t working, try something else.” “If what you’re doing is working, try something else.” Such artistic redlines have made photographers trust Eakin to get the best out of their work. Or, as Jessica Forde, SMPSP (whose unit photos for Lucy were sent to Eakin via Universal for retouching) concludes: “When the project needs an extra kick, John dives into the flesh of the photographer’s project and also flies far ahead. He’s really…passionate.”
PHOTOS BY MICHAEL MULLER
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BIG PICTURE SPOT WHAT’S MORE FUN THAN SHOOTING A HIGH-END COMMERCIAL SPOT WITH DAVID BECKHAM ROARING ON A MOTORCYCLE THROUGH THE EUROPEAN COUNTRYSIDE? MAYBE PAIRING THE MASSIVE ALEXA 65 SENSOR WITH LEICA PRIME LENSES … FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER. BY
MARGOT CARMICHAEL LESTER
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HOW BEST TO FURTHER LEVERAGE THE POPULARITY AND GOOD LOOKS OF INTERNATIONAL FOOTBALL STAR (AND STYLE MAVEN) DAVID BECKHAM IN A COMMERCIAL SPOT? FOR FRENCH MEN’S-CARE BRAND BIOTHERM, THE ANSWER WAS HAVING BECKHAM CRUISE THE WELSH COUNTRYSIDE ON A RADICAL MOTORBIKE, AND HEIGHTEN THE DRAMA BY SHOOTING IN BLACK AND WHITE.
LOCAL 600 CINEMATOGRAPHER MAX GOLDMAN (WHO IS BASED IN NEW YORK CITY AND WHOSE RECENT SPOTS INCLUDE NIKE’S STUNNING KYRIE VS. QUESTLOVE AND APPLE’S IPHONE 7 SPOT) SHOT ON THE ARRI ALEXA 65 USING NEW LEICA THALIA PRIMES – ONE OF THE FEW LARGEFORMAT LENSES ON THE MARKET THAT FULLY COVER THE CAMERA’S OPEN GATE. MARGOT CARMICHAEL LESTER CAUGHT UP WITH GOLDMAN TO FIND OUT JUST HOW FUN THIS PROJECT WAS AND HOW TO OVERCOME ANY INHERENT CHALLENGES OF TAKING SUCH A BIG-FORMAT SYSTEM ONTO THE OPEN ROAD. What made you say yes to this project? Max Goldman: The main reason I decided to work on this project was the director – Anthony Mandler – with whom I’ve worked for many years. He always pushes me to capture the most sophisticated images possible. He believes in the power of cinema and is willing to back up my ideas and let me take risks with the cinematography. Is it fair to say commercials lend themselves to exciting new visual journeys? Definitely. Commercial clients and directors I work for are always pushing me to experiment visually. They want the imagery to make you stop and look. The world is filled with average images bombarding us every day. I believe most brands want their images to stand out from the rest. This way we will pay attention and engage. Did you get much direction from the brand and agency creative teams? Almost none! They wanted to make something with a level of art to it and really let us do whatever we wanted. They trusted us, and they were very happy with what we delivered. Oftentimes the clients will have a few small thoughts about the imagery. But most of the time, they’ve seen my reel so they know what kind of work I do.
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The type of commercials I do rarely have actors or dialogue – they’re always led by the camera. This allows a certain freedom to discover. The director sets the scene and then the camera is free to search for the most interesting way to capture it. I try to react emotionally to a scene – let my instincts guide me. It’s all about the lens choice, camera movement and light. Let’s talk about your innovative choice to pair the ALEXA with the Thalias. Our goal was to make sure the countryside in Wales felt overwhelmingly vast to emphasize the idea of a lone man on a motorbike traversing the land. The ALEXA 65 gave us the right feeling of scale. We were only interested in the two types of shots, the first was seeing the motorbike as a tiny speck within a massive wide shot. We could really push the width of these frames, as the seemingly infinite resolution of the ALEXA 65 resolved even the smallest detail. The second type of shot was the exact opposite – remaining on a wide lens but moving in very close to the subject. This wide-and-tight framing made David look like a giant filling the frame. We weren’t interested in anything else in between. Did the large-format sensor help or hinder this particular approach? I would say that the size of the ALEXA 65’s sensor gave us another tool to help us pursue our desire for scale and scope. The large-format chip allowed us to give depth to shots that normally have infinite depth of field. Even in the wide frames, you could see the background going soft. The focus would be at 40 feet, and the background would
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be slightly soft. This was another great way to see scale and have the ability to direct the audience’s eye within a wide frame. It allows both scope and intimacy – a combination that could not have been achieved with any other digital camera. Why choose the Leica Thalia Primes? I was drawn to the Leicas because I had read that the glass was modeled after some of the Leica M-mount still lenses, and I love to use my M lenses on my still camera. They have some of the best fall-over I have ever seen. They’re sharp where you want them and soft where you want the fall-off. So when I heard about the Thalias, I got really excited. And pairing them with the ALEXA 65? They were great, but they were actually a little too clean and clinical for my tastes. But that’s coming from someone who loves the imperfection of vintage lenses! The Leicas are great lenses, and they have their place – I just like my optics a little bit dirty. To combat this cleanliness, I had to shoot every shot wide open. I also softened the lenses with a variety of Tiffen filters depending on the shot. Did the combination create any special challenges for you and the crew? I pushed the entire production to use the ALEXA 65–Thalia combination, and the biggest challenge was getting everyone on set to realize the aesthetic value of this camera and lens combination. To the untrained eye, it can be difficult to see the effect of the large chip. It can be especially challenging when you are viewing the image
the key to a long career as a cinematographer, and you must consistently evolve. Anyone can pick up an ALEXA and make a decent image. But like any creative tool, it needs to be pushed to the limit to get interesting results. It’s always important to try new formats and new lenses, to find new fresh technical approaches to every project.
“WHEN I SHOOT BLACK AND WHITE, I FEEL LIKE THE APPROACH IS MORE AKIN TO THAT OF A SCULPTOR. YOU HAVE ONLY TWO CHOICES: SHADOW OR LIGHT.” MAX GOLDMAN outside on a 17-inch VTR monitor! But I knew this was going be an issue, and I talked the DIT into acquiring a large 4K monitor that he rigged in his van. This giant monitor was the best way to combat anyone’s fears about the camera. Viewing the imagery on it was a game changer. You could really feel how robust the image was! Once everyone could see all the infinite detail and the incredible fall-off, they were very excited about the camera and lenses. The demo gave us all a boost of energy. We felt like we were breaking new ground, and it united the team. This may be the first time this equipment has been used together. Why is it important for DP’s to experiment and innovate? Innovation and experimentation are the only ways to make personal imagery. I want my images to have unique signatures. Images are like children; they should reflect your personality. Every time I pick up a camera and a lens, I’m trying to break the format. I’m looking for that happy accident – making an image that’s on the verge of what looks like a mistake. Would you say experimentation lengthens a DP’s career? Yes, I feel that experimenting is
What prompted you to shoot this spot in black and white? I don’t think people realize how much additional depth and shape color photography gives the imagery. Without those additional depth cues, you really have to work hard to shape the black-and-white image. When I shoot black and white, I feel like the approach is more akin to that of a sculptor. You have only two choices: shadow or light. There are gray tones in the middle for detail, but it’s where you find the highlights and the darks that really gives the image that threedimensional quality. How would you characterize the way you used black and white in this spot? I like my black-and-white images to be on the moodier side – dark but with detail in the lower mid tones and controlled highlights. If you look at the exposures of the great still photographer Sebastião Salgado, he uses the mood in the clouds to create drama. For this spot, I became obsessed with the clouds in Wales. Fortunately, on our shoot days we got lucky. We wanted a dark, moody sky, and the weather truly cooperated. I exposed for the sky and dug out the lower mid tones later in telecine. It is always a little scary for a director to see a dark image as we are shooting. But Anthony comes from a stills background, and he trusted me to expose the best image. The ALEXA 65 has incredible range without ever getting noisy, so I knew I could dig out the lower mid tones in post to give us that Salgado look. Any advice for an emerging generation of commercial DP’s? I always try to have an innocent outlook on every new shoot, almost like it was my first shoot ever. Then you can embrace the challenges that come your way and enjoy the challenge of something you have never done before.
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RACHEL MORRISON, ASC, CLAWS INTO THE CINEMATIC DEBUT OF THE HISTORY-MAKING AFRICAN-AMERICAN SUPERHEROÂ BLACK PANTHER. BY VALENTINA VALENTINI UNIT STILLS BY MATT KENNEDY 62
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IT'S ONLY WITH SOME HYPERBOLE THAT ONE CAN SAY THE LEVEL OF ANTICIPATION FOR WRITER/ DIRECTOR RYAN COOGLER’S NEW SUPERHERO FEATURE, BLACK PANTHER, IS EXTREMELY HIGH, AND WHY NOT? THE FILM INCLUDES A BEVY OF “FIRST EVER.” STARTING WITH THE SOURCE MATERIAL – MARVEL COMIC’S THE BLACK PANTHER, CREATED BY STAN LEE AND JACK KIRBY IN 1966, WAS THE FIRST-EVER AFRICAN-AMERICAN SUPERHERO IN MAINSTREAM AMERICAN COMICS. THE BLACK PANTHER (THE TITLE PRECEDED THE FOUNDING OF THE BLACK PANTHER POLITICAL PARTY AND, ACCORDING TO CO-FOUNDER LEE, REFERS TO AN EARLIER PULP HERO WHO UTILIZED A FELINE PROTECTOR) WAS ALSO THE FIRST TRUE GRAPHIC NOVEL MARVEL HAD EVER DONE, WITH “PANTHER’S RAGE” RUNNING 13 CONSECUTIVE ISSUES. FINALLY, COOGLER’S TAKE ON THE ICONIC MAN FROM WAKANDA (RELEASED THIS MONTH BY WALT DISNEY PICTURES) MARKS THE FIRST-EVER FEATURE IN THE FAMED MARVEL CINEMATIC UNIVERSE (MCU) THAT WAS SHOT BY A FEMALE CINEMATOGRAPHER, LOCAL 600’S OWN RACHEL MORRISON, ASC.
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IN PREPARATION FOR SHOOTING PANTHER, MORRISON (ICG JANUARY 2018, REPLAY) remarks that “so often movies with
“BEING AN AFRICAN SUPERHERO FROM A PLACE WHERE CULTURE COMES FIRST [HAD TO BE] THE CENTRAL CONFLICT OF THE FILM.” DIRECTOR RYAN COOGLER
great scope lack a sense of humanity and intimacy,” adding that her goal photographically was to meld these macro and micro worlds. Morrison’s 31-year-old director (who also wrote the screenplay with Joe Robert Cole) says, “It was mostly luck” that Panther ended up in his hands. The project spent 15 years in development and wound through several directors and stars, including Wesley Snipes, John Singleton and Ava DuVernay. The elite cast includes Chadwick Boseman (King T’Challa/Black Panther) who played the role in Captain America: Civil War (2016), Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong’o, Forrest Whitaker, and Angela Bassett. Coogler, whose indie debut Fruitvale Station (also shot by Morrison) won dozens of film festival awards, describes Panther as a complex character fit for our times. The basic story – T’Challa, after the death of his father, the King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced African nation to take his rightful place as king – encompasses ripped-from-the-headlines topics like racial politics and globalization, making Panther’s world, as Coogler puts it, “very dense.” Such density also made the story difficult to realize in the limited format of an action franchise. Coogler says that aside from the “big three” – Batman, Superman, Spiderman – superhero movies need to first earn their stripes at the box office. “You don’t get a Black Panther without a Guardians of the Galaxy or an Ant-Man, and certainly not without a Blade or Hancock,” he states, referencing other comic-to-screen efforts with African-American protagonists. “A studio like Marvel,” he continues, “with [president] Kevin [Feige] and [head of physical production] Victoria [Alonso], as well as [parent company] Disney, are aggressive in pushing cultural boundaries. So [Black Panther] had to fall in with the right minds” to ever find its way to Coogler. Along with Morrison, the director brought on production designer Hannah Beachler and composer Ludwig Goransson, who both worked on Coogler’s previous features, Fruitvale Station and Creed, and Jordan, who starred in both. “[Marvel] was familiar with their work,” Coogler adds, “so it wasn’t a hard campaign [to get them hired]. These are all really talented people, and I would think the studio would be [happy] to hire a Rachel Morrison on any movie, aside from the work she’s done with me.” Morrison feels it’s a testament to Coogler, Marvel and Alonso, who’s been an advocate for diversity in hiring. “When I met her,” Morrison recounts, “she said, ‘You don’t know how long I’ve been waiting for you,’ which is really a great way to meet a studio executive. And then she said something like, ‘Now don’t fuck it up!’”
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“WHEN I FIRST MET GAFFER DAN CORNWALL, I JOKED THAT I WAS LUCKY TO HAVE HAD A COUPLE ARRI SKYPANELS ON ALL OF MUDBOUND. ON PANTHER, DAN PROBABLY USED 100 SKYPANELS FOR A SINGLE SET.” RACHEL MORRISON, ASC
BLACK PANTHER’S STORY INCLUDES DEEP DIVES into jungles, high-speed
trains through precious mines, bombastic fight scenes and the venerable battle to save the world. But at its heart, it’s still a story about family: hence the combination of epic and intimacy. In fact, Coogler says that “being an African superhero from a place where culture comes first [had to be] the central conflict of the film. Those elements are just as, if not more, important than the scope. It’s challenging, but it’s also what sets us apart from more typical superhero movies.” With that in mind, Coogler and Morrison studied a range of sources – Ron Fricke’s non-narrative documentary Baraka, Coppola’s The Godfather, even David Attenborough’s Planet Earth. “Our starting point was Ryan wanting to make a drama that existed in a larger world, a story that would resonate and have humanity at its core,” she shares. Morrison cites the movie’s Warrior Falls and the Astral Plain dream sequences as prime examples. “We wanted the scenes to feel epic in a Planet Earth kind of way,” she continues. “But ultimately it had to be the story of one man – T’Challa – facing his fears, rising to the challenge, and coping with the death of his father – all very personal and intimate emotions. We didn’t want the spectacle to overshadow the humanity.” Both director and DP prefer using a “subjective camera” to emphasize the character’s perspective, an approach that runs counter to the multiple-camera world of action films. “More cameras mean more angles to sell the best punch or car flip,” Morrison continues. “But that can also mean sacrificing eyelines that convey emotional connectivity. Also, the multiple angles can often lead to a frantic style of editing that loses the experiential nature of a single point of view.”
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The cinematographer says it was critical that the audience always knew whose story was being told. “And, honestly, if there were more hours in the day,” she smiles, “Ryan and I would probably have shot the bulk of this movie single camera – just so we could always maintain a close eyeline when we wanted to, and both lead and follow T’Challa [or the dominant character in any given scene] through his world.” Fruitvale Station was shot on Super 16mm, and both Coogler and Morrison wanted to shoot film for Black Panther; Morrison created the most intricate camera test she’d ever done – eight cameras in total, four on top and four on bottom mashed together on dollies in order to get the closest possible parallax. “I tested IMAX, 5-perf 65mm, 35mm spherical, 35mm anamorphic, ARRI 65, ALEXA XT spherical, ALEXA XT anamorphic and the RED Weapon,” she recounts. “[Mar vel’s] explanation for [ultimately shooting digitally] wasn’t about the extra cost or the processing [for film]. It was the fact that when you change a VFX shot on film, you need to locate the original negative to re-scan, and it would slow down their post pipeline, which is often down to the wire.” (Morrison ended up using opengate ALEXA XTs at 3.4K with Panavision Primo primes and some Primo zooms.)
IN COMPARING HER INDIE FILM RÉSUMÉ – The Sound of My Voice, Cake and
Dope among them – to Black Panther, Morrison says that “they all had unique challenges, but generally I was putting out the same fires. I’d have the same size lighting package and was dealing with roughly the same size crew. I knew how that machine operated. Going up to [Black Panther] without a middle ground was
intimidating.” Some “firsts” for Morrison on Panther included using the wide and free-ranging stabilized gimbal, Oculus (which she could never afford on past indie shoots), on a 50foot Technocrane. “We tried not to use it in a showy way that felt more stylized than subjective,” Morrison shares. “But there were rare occasions, such as Killmonger taking over the throne, where we chose to start upside-down and then spin 360 in shot, something I would probably never have tried on anything other than a superhero film!” The DP also never had a dedicated fixtures department on a feature, and working with Production Designer Beachler and Gaffer Dan Cornwall (who teamed with cinematographer Ben Davis, BSC, on Marvel’s 2017 hit, Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2), she maximized the step-up in scale for various scenes throughout the movie. “When I first met Dan, I joked that I was lucky to have had a couple ARRI SkyPanels on all of Mudbound,” Morrison recounts. “On Panther, Dan probably used 100 SkyPanels for a single set.” In fact, Cornwall worked every day in prep with lighting console programmer Elton James to draw lighting plots in 3D to provide Morrison with virtual tours of the set. “Our rigging gaffer, Tom Fendley, and his team did an amazing job of following these plans and preparing sets in advance for our walk-throughs,” Cornwall explains. “Our fixtures foreman Phil Abeyta and our data and control team – ‘The Nerd Herd’ – gave us amazing control over the set, which allowed us to be fast and efficient.” Examples include scenes with the Royal Talon Fighter, for which Beachler’s set design included extensive lighting built into the floor, ceilings and walls. “These days much of this is done with LED lite ribbon and other LED technology,” Morrison describes. “So, before Phil [Abeyta] and his team began
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prepping the built-ins, I would discuss with Ryan the basic lighting scheme and make a plan for what could be straight daylight or daylight/tungsten versus full RGB.” For the casino set, which included a massive single-take shot, Morrison worked closely with Beachler to build as much of the lighting into the set as possible. “In that example,” Morrison continues, “we worked more with incandescent fixtures and practical filaments that were all wired into a light console manned by Elton James, who’s a genius on the board. To have so much control that we could make as-needed [lighting] changes on the day was something I’ve never had on any of my other films.”
HAVING RECENTLY COME OFF THE SUNDANCE HIT, MUDBOUND, which also
had a large African-American cast, Morrison says there are no shortcuts to correctly exposing varying skin tones, dark, light, or anything in-between. “There’s a massive range to every complexion and the best thing one can do as a DP is to do a lighting study of each of your main characters during HMU test,” she offers, “and try your best to understand what each set of challenges are and also what quality and direction of light tends to ‘shine.’” Bringing forth a visual sheen was actually one of Morrison’s greatest challenges when it came to lighting Panther’s suit – at night. The suit worn for the character’s debut in Captain America: Civil War was a matte black – fine for that film’s many daytime scenes. But as the DP explains, “knowing how much night work there would be in the script, I spoke extensively with [Costume Designer] Ruth Carter about what we could do to add some sheen to this new suit. We did extensive testing and landed in a body suit that was almost a metallic silver that would pick up light beneath the weave of the suit, as well as a less matte finish and more silver details to pick up the light at night.” Fans of the original comic book will no doubt single out one spectacular location in Black Panther – the vibranium mine – where Coogler and Morrison were able to draw from a full complement of resources – interactive lighting, VFX and live-action
camerawork unlike anything they’d done before. (In the story, a meteorite made of a vibration-absorbing mineral has crashed in Wakanda, and is unearthed. Assuming outsiders would exploit his planet for the valuable resource, T’Challa, like his father and other Panther kings before, conceals his country from the outside world.) The mine, which holds the precious meteoric ore with energy-manipulating abilities, was almost entirely a CG environment. That meant an interactive element was required to light a fast-moving train (within the mine) that would be animated in post. All the light sources needed to chase and create shadows as if the train were passing by –achieved by calculating how many feet-per-second the train would travel and inputting that result into the chase James created from the lighting board. Shadows of an oncoming headlight were also needed, so Rigging Key Kent Baker and his team fashioned a battery-operated highspeed train headlight on a trolley mounted to a truss. “Both the chase and trolley could be set up to 60 miles per hour,” Cornwall recounts. “Once we shot the headlight effect, the truss could be motored up and out of the set so we could continue with our scenes that did not include this effect.” VFX Supervisor Geoffrey Baumann was integral to the scene. Like Morrison, this was Baumann’s first time helming a department for a franchise, having previously worked with Marvel as second unit or plate supervisor and before that on the facility side with Digital Domain. Baumann and Morrison needed a lighting environment for the two actors in full CG suits that represented what the final CG world would look like with regard to the train and track. “The emphasis for me was that we could augment and replace the environment, but we still needed lights in the correct place,” Baumann explains. “We used practical fixtures in the floor and big lights that came up to the sides of the tracks that we called ‘stabilizers.’ Once we replaced those [in VFX], we would still have the correct light hitting our actors’ faces, and coming from the correct direction at the temperature and intensity that Rachel wanted. The build was critical because we needed all that intricate
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“I DO THINK WE MANAGED TO CREATE SOMETHING THAT FEELS EPIC ON SOME LEVEL BUT REALLY IS ABOUT MANKIND AND ALL OF OUR FLAWS, DREAMS, DESIRES, PAIN AND LOVE.” RACHEL MORRISON, ASC
DIRECTOR RYAN COOGLER, RACHEL MORRISON, ASC, 1ST AD LISA SATRIANO
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LOCAL 600 CREW MAIN UNIT Director of Photography Rachel Morrison, ASC A-Camera Operator/Steadicam P. Scott Sakamoto, SOC A-Camera 1st AC Zoran Veselic A-Camera 2nd AC Craig Bauer B-Camera Operator Tom Lappin B-Camera 1st AC Alessandro Di Meo Andrew Hoehn B-Camera 2nd AC Dwight C. Campbell C-Camera Operator Ross Sebek C-Camera 1st AC Adam Castro C-Camera 2nd AC Mike Fisher Zachary C. Junquera
lighting on their faces and standing pieces, but also on the train headlight flying through.” The vibranium mine was a VFX-heavy set, but Black Panther on the whole was much more grounded in reality than many other films in the Marvel Universe. “Movies like Guardians of the Galaxy are set in space, so they have many sets that are full CG [360 blue screen],” Morrison describes. “You couple that with CG characters like Groot or Rocket and you end up with a lot of previs and Simulcam [which allows camera operators to see roughly where the virtual characters would be]. “Ryan and I did just roughly two weeks of VCAM [virtual camerawork] before the shoot,” she continues, “where we could use wireless controllers to explore our sets and record videos and stills of what they would
Additional 2nd AC Saul McSween Paul E. Woods DIT Nicholas Kay
A-Camera 2nd AC Jamie Pair B-Camera Operator Sarah Levy, SOC
Loader Zach Holloran Technocrane Operator Michael H. Howell Technocrane Tech Henry Schroeder Oculus Operator Kenny J. Rivenbark Still Photographer Matt Kennedy Publicist Carol McConnaughey ADDITIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY Dir. of Photography Rachel Morrison, ASC A-Camera Operator Jason Ellson, SOC
hypothetically look like finished. That way I could say to the operators later, ‘If you point at the blue screen in that direction, it’s a backlit waterfall, and if you point there, you can see the massive drop-off,’ et cetera.” Panther also had a large amount of set builds, like the Hall of Kings, where the only CG elements were set extensions, and as with scenes with the Tribal Council, expanding the world outside the windows. For Morrison, it was more like shooting a traditional film, “because you had a real sense of space and a general base from which to light,” she reflects. In the end, Morrison found Panther’s CG component “much more intuitive,” than initially expected. She notes that not all VFX-heavy films approach their CG the same way, “but it does seem to come down to solid communication and a good dose of
A-Camera 1st AC Mateo Bourdieu
B-Camera 1st AC Nino Neuboeck B-Camera 2nd AC Matt Jackson C-Camera Operator Greg Magidow C-Camera 1st AC Manning Tillman C-Camera 2nd AC Justin Cooley DIT Joe Elrom DIT Utility Alex Buhlig Loader Lauren Cummings
common sense,” she observes. “As long as we were all on the same page, from Hannah’s designs through Ryan’s direction and my cinematography, to Baumann’s work in post, then everything melds together seamlessly in a photorealistic way.” The Local 600 shooter says she’s always been up for a new challenge and feels “really fortunate” she was given the opportunity to delve into very unfamiliar territory. “I do think we managed to create something that feels epic on some level but really is about mankind and all of our flaws, dreams, desires, pain and love,” she concludes. “My hope is that we also manage to make people think on a global level – how do we treat one another and what can we do to take better care of our neighbors, near and far? If Black Panther succeeds in being a superhero film with a global message, that’s really a first!”
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DID YARON ORBACH NEED ICE IN HIS VEINS TO SHOOT THE NEW NETFLIX DRAMA, SEVEN SECONDS ? 76
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BY ELLE SCHNEIDER PHOTOS BY JOJO WHILDEN/SMPSP FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
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SET IN A JERSEY CITY COMMUNITY REELING AFTER AN AFRICAN-AMERICAN TEEN IS CRITICALLY INJURED BY A WHITE POLICE OFFICER, SEVEN SECONDS IS NOT YOUR AVERAGE TV SHOW. YARON ORBACH, THE CINEMATOGRAPHER TASKED WITH BRINGING THE COMPLEX WORLD TO LIFE, KNEW IT RIGHT AWAY. “IT FELT LIKE THIS WAS SO RELEVANT WHEN WE WERE ON THE SET,” SAYS ORBACH OF THE TONE WHILE SHOOTING. “IT GIVES IT ANOTHER LAYER WHEN YOU’RE CAPTURING SOMETHING THAT IS IN THE NEWS AROUND YOU.”
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WITH REGINA KING, RUSSELL HORNSBY, CLARE-HOPE ASHITEY, AND BEAU KNAPP HEADING UP A LARGE AND ACCLAIMED CAST, the timely story focuses on two parallel
narratives – the white police officers’ and the black community’s – as each deals, separately and together, with the months-long legal process following the incident. “Through these characters’ stories, it does touch on the injustices and social unbalance that people are really experiencing,” Orbach adds. The Netflix series takes some of its inspiration from the opening scene of the Russian action film The Major – a car accident on a winter road where a chid is killed. That chilly Moscow suburb is transposed to a gritty, snow-covered Jersey City community, where showrunner Veena Sud, creator of the critically acclaimed series The Killing, lived decades ago and felt was an authentic backdrop for the heartbreaking story. Shooting on location was a key part of the show’s vérité look – with only two or three days of each ten-day episode spent on sound stages – but it wasn’t always easy. While The Killing had a rain “theme” to the visual language, Seven Seconds takes place in the snow. “It starts in the deep winter and finishes in the early spring, but for most of the show it’s just this cold world,” Orbach describes. So given the warmer-than-average winter, Seven Seconds had to, at times, truck in ice. Episode 3 director Jon Amiel [ICG September 2017 Exposure]describes having to use “fake snow” for continuity and to maintain a look of a “brutally cold New Jersey.” Also, the Jersey City of Sud’s memory has since been gentrified, so Production used New York neighborhoods, like Mount Vernon, Yonkers, and the Bronx, to double for a grittier, bygone world. That footage was anchored by B-roll and other shots in Jersey City proper. To Orbach, the locations represent a kind of “mirror” to the socioeconomic level of where the show’s characters are living. In both the black and white working-class communities depicted on the show, “no one’s doing very well; it’s not an affluent America, on either side,” he shares. Each story, which intersects with the other at different points throughout the series, was shot with matching aesthetics, to show that both communities inhabit the same world and space, even when their paths diverge. Sud elaborates, noting that: "the naturalism of Seven Seconds was born out of the aspiration that the audience should not have distance from the characters,
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from the moments of agony and terror and desperate love and crises of faith each and every one is going through. The story is not a spectacle but an experience. Through our ‘poetic documentary’ look, we hope to keep the audience on the front lines of this American tragedy.” Orbach adds that, “working on location is always a bonus because you have that texture around you all the time. The naturalism of the show is helped along by all of the streetlights we used; and if one streetlight was broken, or a different color than the other one, I kept it.” A-Camera/Steadicam Operator Phil Martinez, SOC, echoes the idea of what available light and scenery brought to the aesthetic. “A lot of the stuff that we did with the police cars, and the nighttime exterior with the police, feels different than any other cop show.” A fan of available light and strategically placed practicals, Orbach strives to create “a minimalistic, moody” look, with limited sources, like a window, a desk lamp, or a streetlight. “You kind of light for that and you let everything fall away,” he explains. “It’s more about moving the camera around the existing lights to get the best angle, as opposed to moving the light around the actors.” Limiting lights on sets to practical or available sources also helps to remove physical boundaries to the actors’ performances, he adds. “Because the camera is handheld or on Steadicam,” Orbach continues, “we can end up following them and landing in the best place. That freedom ends up giving much stronger scenes.” Amiel says Orbach is a “delight” for a director to work with because of the minimal amount of fuss and muss. “All of those selfconscious shots of light blasting in through scenic smoke and other such DP affectations are absent,” the director notes. “Yaron loves to use simply what’s there.” He also praises Orbach’s ability to underplay beauty in his lighting. “You don’t look at his scenes and go, ‘Oh my God, look how beautifully that’s lit!’ You look at the characters you want to see and feel the mood that you need to feel for the scene. Plus, I get the maximum amount of time with my actors on set because Yaron’s taken the minimum [amount of time] necessary. He’s immensely decisive. As soon as you call cut, they’re back on the set tweaking light, and I love that.”
“THROUGH OUR ‘POETIC DOCUMENTARY’ LOOK, WE HOPE TO KEEP THE AUDIENCE ON THE FRONT LINES OF THIS AMERICAN TRAGEDY.” YARON ORBACH
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“THE CARE WHICH [ORBACH] TAKES TO CRAFT CHARACTER, STORY, AND EMOTION WITH MINIMAL LIGHT AND MAXIMUM POETRY IS A WONDERFUL THING TO BEHOLD.” SHOWRUNNER VEENA SUD
THE “POETIC DOCUMENTARY” LOOK ORBACH CREATED FOR SEVEN SECONDS – minimal
lighting paired with a lingering handheld or Steadicam camera – was inspired, in part, by A Prophet and Rust and Bone, two films from French director and DP team Jacques Audiard and Stéphane Fontaine, which Orbach discussed early on with co-EP and pilot director Gavin O’Connor. “They use a lot of handheld camera following actors and characters as they’re walking through a space,” Orbach describes. “You – the audience and the cameras – are seeing things at the same time as the characters.” Shot on RED DRAGON in 4K, Orbach and his team added to the docu-style feel by crafting a “Super 16mm light” look in camera, ultimately settling to shoot the whole show on 1600 ASA. The goal was a “base of digital grain” to enhance the tone of the piece. “It’s not so heavy that you’ll get distracted, but it’s definitely alive,” Orbach explains. “Like in darker scenes, on the wall, you feel the noise is a bit alive.” Orbach composed for a 2.0 aspect ratio, and shot on his favorite Cooke S4 lenses. He and the camera crew praise Sud for giving them the freedom to take risks on complex shots. “Even though we had two cameras, we mostly shot one camera,” he elaborates. “I would say that the A-camera worked at least 70 percent of the time,” thanks, in part, to Sud’s vision of intimacy with the characters on screen. “We did a lot of oners, following cast, and when they stopped, maybe there’s a little pivot, and it becomes a little piece of coverage. But we were doing quite a bit of one shots following with actors, and it ends up being a whole scene.” “You would start to expect a cut, but instead
it felt like you were just living in the moment with these people,” adds Martinez. “There’s a good scene with Regina King and [Zackary Momoh, who plays] her brother-in-law in the show, where it’s just the two sides of a Steadicam shot. The two characters are having an argument, and the way that they let it emotionally play out in front of the camera without distracting the audience with thirty cuts in once scene is really nice.” Amiel says “one of the choices that we made throughout the series was not to use dreadful, boring wide shots to establish spaces but rather to establish them with the characters. So rather than a wide shot of a room with an actor looking into it, we walk into the room with the actor. So the audience is sort of coming to it with the character.” In keeping with the vérité feel, Orbach explains, “we really approached it to basically let the audience have a breath and decide where they want to look, not always cut to where they need to be looking, and a lot of that came from [Sud].” Sud’s precise and diligent planning set the tone for the visual depth and language of the series. Her preparation with the cast – which included real-life police ride-alongs – and attention to detail, “from wardrobe to the props to the world to the walls,” according to Orbach, made her a “collaborator at the highest level,” focused on maintaining the authenticity of the world the team worked to create. “It was a pure joy to work with someone who was coming from such a visual place,” he continues. “You’re empowered to take risks because you have a showrunner and directors who are encouraging that.”
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SEVEN SECONDS BOASTS AN ALL-STAR LINEUP OF DIRECTORS, INCLUDING Gavin
O’Conner; Ed Bianchi; Ernest Dickerson, ASC; Daniel Attias; Tanya Hamilton; and Amiel. It was also the final project for the late Jonathan Demme, who helmed Episode 2. “I felt really fortunate that I had a few weeks to soak up this wonderful man,” Orbach says of Demme. “It was an experience I won’t ever forget.” Of the team assembled by Sud of new and previous collaborators, Orbach says, “it was probably the best batch of directors I’ve ever worked with on a show.” Orbach says Hamilton, most known for the Sundance feature Night Catches Us, “came with a really fresh, indie feel,” while veteran Bianchi “has a beautiful eye.” Working with a DPturned-director like Dickerson, Orbach says, “there’s a shorthand, and they’re coming from such a visual place.” For the Episode 3 collaboration with Amiel, Orbach’s camera team tackled a daunting fourminute oner following a police raid. “It was one of our most ambitious shots, and it ended up working really great with a lot of practice. We got it in take four or five,” Orbach recounts. Martinez, who operated the shot handheld, says it became about “using wide lenses in close, and having to be inside, really in there with [the police officers]. The idea of wide lenses close to people instead of those removed, long lenses backed away from everything” appealed to Martinez, who praises the performers’ work and intensity for the long, multiple takes. As noted, Orbach’s meticulous planning and gear-light shooting style made oners a visual signature of the series. “Whenever people try to always plan these 360-degree or 280-degree shots, there tend to be a lot of a problems,” observes Martinez, “and we were really able to pull off a number of them in Seven Seconds, which was a lot of fun.” Orbach credits Martinez, with whom he’s worked for years, alongside regular A-camera 1st AC Waris Supanpong and B-camera 1st AC Rebecca Heller, for the ability to achieve the many oners. “Phil has such great instincts,” Orbach states, “be it handheld or Steadicam. That really allowed us to grab so many of the scenes in this fluid one-shot approach.” Sud is equally effusive about what her cinematographer brought to the project. "Working with Yaron is to work with a true artist,” she shares. “He has a storyteller’s mind
and eye and is deeply intuitive and emotional in his imagery. The care which he takes to craft character, story, and emotion with minimal light and maximum poetry is a wonderful thing to behold.” So is, according to Amiel, Netflix’s handsoff approach to the show, allowing for shots like the Episode 3 oner (and other long scenes) to be covered in such a striking way. “In many other circumstances, I would have encountered resistance,” the director states, “or at least the insistence I still shoot coverage − which is the very last thing I wanted to do, having come up with what I felt was a tremendously visceral and immersive visual strategy for the scene.” Amiel concludes that, “to work in that way generated excitement in both cast and crew because we all knew we were going out on a limb. One bad fake punch and we knew we’d have to do the whole shot again.” He says the excitement generated by working without a net “was not only felt that day on the set, but for the duration,” of the series. “And, unfortunately, those are the kinds of risks that network television, on the whole, is not often willing to take.”
LOCAL 600 CREW Director of Photography Yaron Orbach A-Camera Operator Philip J. Martinez, SOC A-Camera 1st AC Waris Supanpong A-Camera 2nd AC Nicalena Iovino B-Camera Operator Arthur African B-Camera 1st AC Rebecca Heller B-Camera 2nd AC Jennifer Leavitt DIT Tiffany Armour-Tejada Loaders Peter Perlman Josh Pressgrove Corey Licameli Still Photographer JoJo Whilden, SMPSP
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TOBIAS SCHLIESSLER, ASC, SHOOTS FOR THE STARS WITH AVA DUVERNAY’S BIG-BUDGET ADAPTATION OF THE CLASSIC CHILDREN’S NOVEL A WRINKLE IN TIME. BY KEVIN H. MARTIN / PHOTOS BY ATSUSHI NISHIJIMA FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
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MADELEINE L’ENGLE’S NOVEL A WRINKLE IN TIME HAS ENTRANCED GENERATIONS OF CHILDREN SINCE ITS DEBUT IN 1962 AND TURNED THE OBSCURE MATHEMATICAL TERM “TESSERACT” INTO A LIFELONG EQUATION WITH THE FANTASTIC. A TVMOVIE OF THE NEWBERRY AWARD-WINNING BOOK IN 2003 FAILED TO MEET THE HIGH EXPECTATIONS OF ITS READERSHIP, SO THIS LATEST FEATURE INCARNATION, FROM THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY, CARRIES HUGE EXPECTATIONS.
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THE STORY FOLLOWS THE TRAVAILS OF YOUNG MEG MURRY (STORM REID), WHO, WITH MENTORSHIP FROM A TRIO OF UNUSUAL LADIES, MRS. WHATSIT, MRS. WHO AND MRS. WHICH (PLAYED RESPECTIVELY BY REESE WITHERSPOON, MINDY KALING, AND OPRAH WINFREY), FINDS HERSELF ABLE TO LEAP THROUGH SPACE AND TIME, EVENTUALLY ENCOUNTERING HER FATHER ALEX (CHRIS PINE) AS WELL AS A MALEVOLENT ENTITY THAT THREATENS TO IMPERIL EVERYTHING.
OSCAR-, EMMY- AND GOLDEN GLOBENOMINATED FILMMAKER Ava DuVernay
(Exposure, page 36) was brought on as director, and when her regular cinematographer; Bradford Young, ASC, was unavailable, she hired Tobias Schliessler, ASC, to lens the project. Schliessler, who most recently shot Beauty and the Beast for Disney, calls DuVernay’s past features “striking pieces of work. I thought Selma was amazing, and one of her first, Middle of Nowhere, is just beautifully done,” he notes. “I was very excited to collaborate with Ava and be part of her team.” VFX supervisor Rich McBride, whose team created valuable previs for DuVernay, says coming in very early in the process was a big advantage. “It meant modernizing things somewhat while still retaining the themes,” McBride shares. “I had strong memories from reading the book as a kid, mainly of her travel through the universe and the flying creature. But upon rereading, the latter felt very dated. When I sat down with Ava to get her take on the film, one of the first things she said was that we needed to rethink the flying creature, and I thought, ‘I’m in!’” DuVernay, who had never done a VFXheavy feature before, saw the importance of McBride’s contributions (in previs and design) and she understood the specific elements he would need from the live-action units. “It was different from her usual methodology,” he continues, “and Ava wanted more flexibility, so part of the challenge for us was figuring out
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how to give her that, and then building it into our VFX processes.” Translating the novel’s visual concepts was also a challenge for Production Designer Naomi Shohan, who notes, “the book was written in a very different world than the one we live in now. The kind of paranoia it reflects is Cold War-based, and the story unfolds in a world where everyone is Caucasian. It was also a time when visual effects were done with puppets, miniatures, and matte paintings, and iconic [pop culture] visuals came from TV and magazines. “The challenge, when Ava brought the team together,” Shohan continues, “was to recreate the beats and emotional sweep of the story, but translated into the context of our world now, with all its tensions, aspirations, and technological advances. We wanted to create images that would be iconic, and to do that we needed to find a visual language for each of the different emotions embodied by the planets on our characters’ journeys.” During the many round-table creative discussions DuVernay called (with all department heads present), Shohan provided visual references for the myriad ways each locale could be conceptualized. Through revision, research and the occasional “lightning-bolt inspiration” from these discussions, the look of each planet gradually emerged. “Once we had a solution Ava loved,” Shohan adds, “we digitally modeled the interactive parts of the set, and further
developed illustrations for the larger environments. These assets were then handed off to previs to animate and further explore.” DIT Maninder “Indy” Saini worked with Schliessler during prep to create a base CDL. Saini used ARRI’s standard K1S1 LUT in combination with CDL’s on set. “The monitor feed on the camera was a non-color processed LogC signal,” Saini reports. “I used Pomfort’s LiveGrade Pro coupled with IS Mini LUT boxes to create looks live, adjusting the CDL to craft whatever look Tobias was going for in the given scene, matching [additional cameras] to the A-camera look. We would back-up the ARRIRAW data on set, and then send mags to dailies house EC3, [which] would create and distribute dailies. Tobias and I would go through calibrated iPads with the previous day’s work in the tent to see if everything was tracking properly; our awesome dailies colorist, Adrian DeLude, was great about following up with me.” Saini describes her DIT tent as a very dynamic locale. “There was always a lot of creative and technical discussion going on between Tobias, VFX, the gaffer, the key grip and myself,” she reveals. “I originally had a custom 4-foot-by-4-foot floppy tent – black on the inside for darkness and white on the outside to help keep it cool – made by L.A. Rag House, that attached to my cart for speed, so I could roll from place to place. Shortly after we started filming, they made a new custom 5-foot-by-5-foot floppy for all the people who needed to be inside!”
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“THE DIFFICULTY WAS HOW TO DEPICT EVIL WITHOUT ANTHROPOMORPHIZING. HOW DO YOU MAKE SOMETHING EVIL WITHOUT GIVING IT A FACE?” PRODUCTION DESIGNER NAOMI SHOHAN
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SCHLIESSLER OPTED TO SHOOT SPHERICALLY ON ARRI ALEXA XTS, WITH AN OPEN GATE to give VFX
the flexibility to adjust the frame if necessary. The DP used Leica Summilux primes, as well as Fujinon Premier zooms in the 18-to-85mm and 24-to180mm ranges. He says having three child actors translated into short days, “so we always shot with at least two cameras, and sometimes even had to cross-shoot. With the multi-camera approach, my operators often had to recompose the frame during a take and make creative decisions on the fly,” he adds. “A-camera operator Lucas Bielan and B-camera/ Steadicam operator Kirk R. Gardner were fantastic. And my first AC’s, Paul Santoni and Keith Davis, did a miraculous job of always holding focus.” In fact, Bielan recalls how DuVernay wanted to make a Disney film without any kid-movie clichés attached. “Basically that translated into our thinking outside of the box storywise, and visually too, through non-linear compositions,” he explains. “We had a lot of fun coming up with frames that made the audience feel a bit uneasy, showing how a young girl could feel misunderstood, and her perspective about entering adulthood.” Because, as Bielan rightly observes, “previs is a guide, not a map,” Wrinkle’s operators played a creative role. “Things happen in the real world that previs can’t take into consideration,” Bielan adds, “such as the talent and director’s having different ideas about blocking. Ideas happen during rehearsals, and you want to present them to the director; she implements them or many times modifies them to her liking.” Reflecting on how Earth, in the novel, is a “grey and dark world,” decidedly at odds with bright and sunny Los Angeles, Schliessler used composition and lenses, with unbalanced angles, and very shallow depth of field, to express that sense of foreboding. “When we travel to the first planet, Uriel,” Schliessler notes, “we wanted a strong visual change and shot all those scenes with wide-angle lenses and high F-stops – between F16 and F22 – to achieve a very high depth of field, which helped create a more supernatural feel to the New Zealand location.” For an exciting chase sequence on the planet Camazotz, shot in the redwoods of Northern California, where Schliessler says, “the whole forest becomes a kind of monster chasing our leads,” Key Grip Kurt Grossi set up a Spydercam cable rig to get a fast-moving shot through a narrow ravine and over fallen trees, spanning close to three hundred feet. “It’s my favorite Cable Cam shot I’ve done so far,” Schliessler states. “We also employed the Artemis Maxima, a lightweight, three-axis electronically stabilized gimbal that Lucas [Bielan] operated mainly handheld with the Easyrig. We also mounted it on a short pipe that our stunt coordinator, Stephen Pope, and myself held on either side with the camera facing backward at our actors, with everybody sprinting full out over rough terrain, as Lucas operated the camera
with remote wheels off to the side. It’s fun to use a piece of equipment like the Artemis Maxima that helps gets shots we could not achieve any other way.” Schliessler says the approach reminded him of his early indie days. “Back then, we couldn’t afford Steadicam,” he reflects, “so I’d under-sling the camera on a pipe, then, with another operator, walk it along, taking the shock out of the movement with our arms. But now I have the luxury of using these lightweight stabilized heads, which gives you far more options.”
SHOHAN SAYS SHE WORKED HARD TO IMPLEMENT DUVERNAY’S DECREE that each planetary world
Meg visits carry an emotional weight, as well as a clear visual distinction. “It’s like a musical score,” she observes. “You want to vary these codings into an emotional flow that will carry the audience through the film. For example, Orion, the cloudy planet, is a study in apprehension. Its exterior is grey and misty, and our characters must navigate it on pathways balanced in air. Once inside the ‘cave of the happy medium,’ the atmosphere is aglow in amber light shed by enormous teetering crystals. Meg must slide down [each crystal], shifting her balance so that it meets the next in a deep downward spiral to meet the medium himself.” The production designer says Camazotz was the most challenging planet to design for, because it (the entire planet is “it”) is evil itself. “The difficulty,” she notes, “which was the subject of many roundtable discussions, was how to depict evil without anthropomorphizing. How do you make something evil without giving it a face?” In the novel, Camazotz is rendered as a series of discrete environments. The planet tries to draw the children in by threat, and then by seduction (a Kodachrome-esque suburb and beach) that proves way off the mark. “Finally ‘it’ abandons all pretense,” Shohan describes, “and the children drop into a trio of monochromatic abstractions of increasing dreadfulness. In the book, the ‘it’ is represented as a pink brain on a pedestal, inside a dome, with the designation ‘Somewhere in Camazotz – Central Intelligence.’ When Ava said no to that, everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief,” she laughs. “Instead we put Meg inside ‘it’s’ intelligence, engulfed in a concoction of synapses, dark matter, tumors, bone cells – something like the interior of an enormous, distorted cosmic brain.” For this circular room set, Schliessler used hundreds of SunRay LEDs to pour backlight through thousands of two-and-one-half-inch holes, creating a moiré effect on the walls. “Gaffer Len Levine was tremendous with lighting solutions, and lighting console programmer Joshua D. Thatcher was also incredibly helpful,” the DP informs. “I had Josh set up his dimmer board next to the DIT tent, so we could change the color and density of the lights during a
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take, if necessary. It was like being able to paint, since I could ask for a bit of purple or pink, and he would just deliver that. I relied heavily on the creative input from Len and Josh on all lighting decisions.” A lack of large stage space (during a very busy production period in Los Angeles) forced the art department to build some sets up to the ceiling, making for limited access to lighting fixtures in the grid. “We often had to use remotely controlled moving lights rather than rigged fixtures,” Schliessler explains. “On some sets, up to eighty percent of our illumination utilized theatrical R/C controlled lights that Len called ‘movers.’ For example, on the happy-medium cave set on Orion, we used Clay Paky Scenius fixtures for the sharp-patterned, focusable lights and Martin MAC Q uantum Wash fixtures for colored washes. Josh’s tremendous expertise in controlling the R/C lights made him so valuable, I would never let him leave my side!” The set for when Meg meets up with her father on Camazotz resembled an endless tunnel of diminishing cubes, with the cubes measuring about 20-feet-by-20-feet, and going back about 100 feet in an all-white environment. “The art department gave us about six inches of space between every cube,
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and we used Color Force 72 LED lighting strips, which allowed us to change the space into any desired color configuration,” Schliessler explains. “The Color Force 72 fixtures are powerful; I used them for lightning flashes on the It’s liar set and for fast intensity and color changes needed during a slow-motion sequence when Meg is tessering back to Earth.” Schliessler says his partnership with McBride was unusually close, given the number of environments that were, for the most part, CG created. For example, the Orion planet was originally part of the New Zealand shoot but changed to an entire stage set at the last moment. “The CG background plates were not finished when we started shooting that scene,” Schliessler remembers, “and I relied heavily on Rich’s understanding of what it was going to look like, which would dictate how I would light the actors. Rich would always be right next to me in the DIT tent, collaborating on all lighting decisions to make sure the transition from real sets to the CG world would be as invisible as possible. For every VFX shot, I first discussed with Rich where the light source in the scene was coming from. What is the color temperature, and how strong is the light? I often came to
him for help to adjust a background plate to accommodate my lighting needs.”
ONE OF THE NOVEL’S MOST ENDURING AND APPEALING NOTIONS involves “tessering,” which permits the children to travel almost instantaneously between planets. McBride says his team looked at a lot of movies to see everything else that had been done, “while knowing we needed to develop something that fit Ava’s emerging aesthetic,” he recalls. “Ava is very much about emotional weight, and I kept communicating that to my artists and the other teams; we always had to be mindful of the emotional engagement of our imagery. There were a lot of iterations on the conceptual side, plus moving tests to let us figure out how to create the tesseract.” To depict space-warping, most productions – from the original Star Wars to Stargate and Sphere – have embraced a deeply subjective z-axis approach; but, since DuVernay’s focus was about her character’s response to the “experience of tessering,” use of POV shots were limited. “Most of the time we’re watching Meg struggling to deal with going through the passage,” McBride adds. “It is part of her
journey as a character – so that emotional aspect had to be there in the effect. There is a moment toward the end when it turns more subjective, which is a great payoff when Meg realizes where she has gone and what she has done and become.” Schliessler’s contributions to that big moment included using a pair of Robomoco motion-controlled arms (dubbed Lois and Diana), with one holding his lighting and the other carrying the actress. “The light, which represented a single strong source, had to move around her super-fast,” he explains, “[which was] necessary because we were shooting high-speed with Phantom cameras. I augmented that with SkyPanels and Color Force 72’s that changed color and intensity.” That rig also saw action for a sequence on Uriel, when the kids climb onto a flying creature. “The Robomoco arms gave a sense of flight and a floating motion,” McBride recalls, “but it was tricky to give the kids a fun experience during filming. We embellished in post by giving additional ‘float’ for the kids and getting more dramatic with camera moves, replacing the actors with digital doubles.” McBride managed colorspace issues between the various vendors by using CDL’s from the live action as a baseline. “A couple
of times after shooting wrapped, we did DI sessions with Ava and [supervising digital colorist Mitch Paulson] at EFilm to get an idea of where the scenes might go in terms of color,” he shares. “That became a reference for our artists. Also, [because] when you shoot out in the real world [you] deal with lighting and weather changes, they also had to address smaller fixes on a shot-by-shot basis.” More substantive changes came about during post as DuVernay uncovered a need to make narrative alterations. “Ava really embraced the options we brought to support those evolving story points,” McBride concludes. “Sometimes it was just adjusting the timing, but then we also extracted characters from where they had been shot and composited them into different environments, which meant a lot of finessing to ensure they fit into that new setting. A lot of the success of that related to how far we could manipulate the plate photography.” The Wrinkle in Time crew succeeded in providing their director with what Schliessler describes as an “open canvas” to further her creative impulses. “Ava welcomed all of the visual possibilities we brought to her,” he offers. “She not only embraced [those new ideas] but elevated them to another level.”
LOCAL 600 CREW Director of Photography Tobias Schliessler, ASC A-Camera Operator Lukas Bielan A-Camera 1st AC Paul Santoni A-Camera 2nd AC Dan Schroer B-Camera Operator/Steadicam Kirk Gardner B-Camera 1st AC Keith Davis B-Camera 2nd AC Melissa Fisher C-Camera Operator Splinter Unit Dir. of Photography Dino Parks DIT Maninder “Indy” Saini Loader Farisai Kambarami Still Photographer Atsushi Nishijima Publicist Ellene Miles
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NIGHT MTV NETWORKS UPS THE ANXIETY LEVEL FOR THE SCARY-MOVIEVIRAL GENERATION, IN A REFRESH OF THE OG (OVERTLY GROSS) REALITY SHOW FEAR FACTOR, WHICH FIRST PREMIERED IN 2001. BY PAULINE ROGERS PHOTOS BY SCOTT EVERETT WHITE
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A LONG MEMORY MAY BE REQUIRED TO RECALL ONE OF NETWORK TV’S VERY FIRST REALITY HITS, in which everyday people
volunteered to confront their worst fears for cash in what often became a gross-out fest of disgusting eats, nasty slimy stuff, creepy crawlers, and dark places with who-knowswhat lurking inside. The question at the heart of Fear Factor (which originated as a Dutch TV show called Now or Never and was renamed by NBC for American audiences in 2001, cancelled in 2006, revived by NBC again in 2011 and cancelled again one year later, only to be rebooted once again in its current incarnation by MTV Networks), has always been: what fears will a person attempt
to conquer for money? “Sometimes the fear is physical, like heights or drowning, and sometimes it’s psychological, like being in the dark with gators or having their smartphone blended to dust,” explains Executive Producer/ Show runner Anthony Carbone. “After lots of screaming, tears and laughter, one team walks off with fifty thousand dollars. With the show now on MTV and hosted by [rapper/actor] Ludacris, it is young and edgy, tapping into the new fears and anxieties that all millennials face.” According to Carbone, the show actually plays out backward. Challenge producers brainstorm ideas in pre-production
to determine what the “scary movie generation” fears today. “How can we play with claustrophobia in a fun, unique way?” Carbone says. “Can we get tarantulas in bulk, and, if so, what can we do with them?” Once the challenges are approved, the location department tries to find places around Los Angeles that have atmosphere and allow the show to do their challenge properly, safely, and within budget. The art department then designs what the set will look like. Since, as Lighting Director Adam Wilson says, FF is essentially a “road show,” each challenge is in a different location. “It’s a big job,” Carbone states. “They have to figure out things like: Do we want
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spiders inside a dark cave? How big of a coffin do we have to build to bury two people alive? How do we dress the hoarder house filled with rats?” Troubleshooting potential challenges can get interesting. For this coming season, FF buried contestants in cement, and the perfect blend of cement needed to be figured out, “which took weeks,” Carbone laughs. “Often adjustments need to be made along the way.” Once the challenge is locked in and safety accounted for, director J. Rupert Thompson draws his plot to calculate how many cameras he will need to cover the challenge – typically a minimum of six and sometimes up to 30. “The biggest challenge of Fear Factor for the camera department is dealing with the locations, the gear and the little day-to-day issues that happen on every set,” comments lead 1st AC Jay Stamm. “Gear-wise, we use eight brand-new Sony PXW-Z450 cameras, three Sony F55’s, a Sony a7SII on a MōVI M15, and an Osmos Plus. Most days we use six or seven Z450’s, two F55’s, and the MōVI system.” There are only four AC’s on Fear Factor – so prep is a big challenge, especially for a stunt in a short time. The show also features a POV camera department that works with ten Toshiba Ice Cubes used with Egripment Hotheads, 25 Sony X3000s, 10 GoPros and five specialty IR GoPros, two Bradley Robo (pan-and-tilt) cams, “and, occasionally, we use up to four Panasonic HE130 Robo cams in IR mode and five Marshall surveillance cams, also in IR mode,” Stamm adds. “We have everything from Condor lifts, helicopters, boats, motorcycles with side cars, camera cars, Jimmy Jibs, Akela cranes, a Shotover and more,” adds Lead Operator Scott Farquharson.
ALL OF THE ABOVE ADD UP TO A BIG ASK FOR A GUILD CAMERA TEAM to tackle each day, and
union members say they love it. In fact, each team member has memories of challenges that resonate. “Most of the show is based on creating and shooting the incredible and unbelievable,” offers operator Megan Drew. “Some of my favorite days have involved a crazy ride in a helicopter or watching a car or small aircraft being lowered above me from the bottom of a water tank. “I get to do some of the underwater shooting this season, so I have had so much fun marrying the cadence and routine of regular shooting
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with not having a walkie on all day and having my director calling shots from the underwater speaker in the tank,” she describes. The water shots often veer toward the highly creative in both camera and lighting. “We all seem to remember the stunt where contestants’ heads were placed in Plexiglas helmets,” Farquharson recounts. “They would have to push a lever to divert sand into one another’s helmet. Adam Wilson did some wonderfully creative lighting on this one.” “Normally, we have what we call a ‘road package’ – basic standard lighting gear because we tend to have low ceilings and cramped areas,” Wilson elaborates. “We’re pushing these twothird chip cameras wide open, so often all we need is Mini Lekos or LED Hive lights. This year’s network theme is ‘moody,’ so the lighting accentuates the fears. When the size and scope of a stunt warrants it, I will bring in the latest in lighting technology along with a programmer, to achieve the more subtle effect.” Wilson recalls an earlier episode where the standard package stayed on the truck and he got to be inventive. “We were in the basement of an old industrial building in Eagle Rock,” he remembers “The contestants had to run in and go to a computer, type in a code, get a bug with their mouth and run out. All the cameras were
“A STUNT THAT TAKES A WEEK TO PREP AND SHOOT ON A FEATURE, OR DAYS ON A TV SERIES, IS CONCEIVED, REHEARSED, AND CAPTURED IN A DAY – OR LESS. THAT’S BECAUSE WE HAVE THE MOST INVENTIVE AND CREATIVE CAMERA PEOPLE IN THE INDUSTRY.” LEAD OPERATOR SCOTT FARQUHARSON
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running around – with only one entrance, low ceilings, and all concrete. How were we going to get lights and people in? “When money is on the line, contestants are coming in full bore,” Wilson continues. “We all had to prepare for, and light for, the unexpected. They might run into a corner you don’t want them to go to, so my gaffers, Kenny Cooper and Matt Clifford, and I decided to go old school. We went with CRT monitors and pushed static through them and put them in key places to light the action. For the rest of the environment, we took practical bulbs wired to the ceiling and set flicker boxes, going for that horror-movie feel.” Confined places with difficult camera setups are always uppermost in the crew’s minds. Just ask Tracy Shreve about the time this season she had to lie on the floor inside a blackened room with an infrared camera. “I couldn’t see a thing except through a tiny black-and-white eyepiece,” Shreve recalls. “One of our critters decided to get a little up close and personal and scared the hell out of me! I couldn’t stop shaking, and it impacted the shot. It completely took me by surprise, so there was that to process in addition to the actual experience. Five minutes before, I had no idea on that stunt that fear ‘would’ be a factor for me!”
AT THE OTHER END OF THE SPECTRUM from
Shreve’s cramped room are the show’s big air shots, needed for contestant reactions. Aerial Camera Operator Hans Bjerno describes Fear Factor as being shot more like a “live sporting event” than a typical TV show or feature. “The director calls the show over open mike, just like with a bike race or a football game, and he does an amazing job orchestrating all the different cameras,” Bjerno relates. The high-flying camera pro, says his helicopter, rigged with Shotover [a gyro-stabilized open platform system] is in constant motion. “We circle at high speed
and change altitudes to make the background spin,” Bjerno adds. “We shoot air-to-air as the contestants repel from a stunt helicopter and jump into a lake. We also shoot air-to-air with [the contestants] hanging on huge inflated balls below the helicopter. It’s just a really fun show.” A recent stunt in North L.A. County involved a semi-truck loaded with pyrotechnic devices driving in circles around the tarmac. A helicopter carrying contestants (as well as a Guild camera operator) landed on top of the moving semi. The contestants then got out of the helicopter and had to climb down a ladder and enter the trailer. They then had to solve a puzzle, climb back up the ladder to the roof of the trailer, and re-enter the helicopter. Operator John Armstrong recounts how there were also “camera operators in a second helicopter, on top of the trailer, inside the trailer, in a camera truck driving behind the semi, in a side-hack driving next to the semi, and on the ground shooting with a 40-by lens.” “Two of the cameras – Sony F55s – recorded at 120 frames per second for slow motion, and the remaining stunt cameras were shooting at 23.98 frames per second but with a 1/250th shutter speed to create a frenetic action look,” Farquharson relays. To get contestant POV shots, there were a dozen GoPros inside the hero helicopter, on the contestants’ helmets, inside the semi-trailer, and on the puzzle itself. Some of the cameras had remote pan-and-tilt controls. While the stunt was being performed, three or more camera operators were filming on the ground in real time, as the host and the other contestants watched and commented on their rivals’ performance. When the actual challenge ended, the crew did a reset and filmed the semi again, thundering down the tarmac without any contestants or camera operator inside. Then Pyro set off a blast and debris and flames shot out of the back of the trailer. The “gag” was that the contestants had to
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complete the challenge and solve the puzzle before the ticking time bomb went off. “Last season,” remembers operator Buddy Baab, “I was on a side hack motorcycle and my shot was following the picture car, which was being driven by a blindfolded driver. “Rupert wanted the camera as close to the road as possible, so we underslung it on a Mitchell mount. I had to lie on my stomach and operate that way. Because it was underslung, I couldn’t get to the focus or iris rings. So, we had to take out ND to shoot at an f16, guess the focal length, and hope for the best. Although my knuckles were inches from the ground, I was tied to the side hack, and it never felt unsafe.” As operator Derth Adams adds, the main challenge for the Guild camera crew is to “figure out a way to execute the exact shot that Rupert wants, while also dealing with the unpredictability of a stunt performed by non-professionals, and maintaining situational awareness. As operators, we play an active role in our own safety, working with the stunt team to try to identify and mitigate the potential risks.”
SINCE THE “THRILL FACTOR” ON FEAR FACTOR IS SO INCREDIBLY HIGH, safety is, as Carbone relates, “truly our number-one priority. We don’t do anything that we ever feel is unsafe. Ever. We test every stunt again and again, and of course, we also have one of the top stunt teams in the business, Stunts Unlimited,
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headed by Pat Romano.” They also have a risk consultant, Paul Holehouse, to make sure it all comes together safely for everyone. “A typical stunt day begins with a mandatory 6 a.m. safety meeting on set by the AD and an explanation by the challenge producer of the game and what to expect,” Holehouse explains. “This is followed by the stunt coordinator detailing what safety controls will be in place and how that pertains to the helicopters, cranes and moving vehicles being used.” Holehouse then observes the stunt tests, followed by coordination with the production AD, who is the central command voice for action and cut, which are relayed to the crew. “All department heads are asked for their input and we discuss any last-minute changes,” Holehouse adds. Key department safety meetings discuss camera placement, safety harnesses, weather issues, locations and referrals to safety bulletins from the daily call sheet. “The art department and special effects build set pieces for the games and, because of their production experience, are always looking for safety hazards and are able to design safety padding in the building process.” A perfect example was a “blind driver” sequence. “The camera position was protected with a special effects/stunt rigged k-rail, modified steel stop and engine disconnect,” Holehouse explains. “The car hit the k-rail, and our camera operator never flinched as she was properly harnessed and walked away – thanks to a stunt driver in the cab, camera
placement, stunt coordinator in follow vehicle, special effects and challenge team all working together.” “We do not put crew members in harm’s way,” Carbone states adamantly. “That often means the director needs to figure out creative ways of capturing the challenge. If we need a shot, but a cameraperson can’t safely get it, we’ll use Sony Action Cameras or remote-controlled pan-and-tilts instead.” Farquharson points out that Fear Factor is doing things “no other camera crew does on television – or in features. A stunt that might take a week to prep and shoot on a feature, and even days on a television series, is often conceived, rehearsed, and captured in a day – or less. That’s because we have the most inventive and creative camera people in the industry.” “We tend to get the best of the best on this show,” Carbone concludes. “No two challenges are alike, and every day is different. So, we need smart, talented people who know how to roll with the punches, while being fearless at the same time. [ Just remember], for every crazy thing you see a contestant do, on the other side of the TV screen is a crew of people experiencing the same thing. Sometimes in the air on a helicopter, sometimes in a room filled with snakes, sometimes on the side of a speeding truck. We could not capture the show in such a visceral, engaging way if not for the efforts, talents and fearlessness of our Local 600 crew.”
LOCAL 600 CREW MAIN UNIT Lighting Director Adam Wilson Lead Camera Operators Clay Harrison Scott Farquharson Operators Derth Adams John Armstrong Buddy Baab Tim Baker Megan Drew Tracy Shreve Suzie Weis Aerial Camera Operator Hans Bjerno
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PRODUCTION CREDITS COMPILED BY TERESA MUÑOZ – AS OF JANUARY 23, 2018 ICG Magazine strives to maintain an up-to-date and accurate record of all crew members for the Production Credits section. In order for us to continue to provide this service, your input is of the utmost importance. You are our only source of information. Please take note of the following requests. They will allow us to better serve you. Please provide up-to-date and complete crew information (including Still Photographers, Publicists, Additional Units, etc.). Please note 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 address to Teresa Muñoz at teresa@icgmagazine.com
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20TH CENTURY FOX “EMPIRE” SEASON 4 Director of Photography: Paul M. Sommers Operators: Joe Williams, Barnaby Shapiro Assistants: Betsy Peoples, Shannon DeWolfe, Andy Borham, Uriah Kalahiki Loader: Torey Lenart Utility: Amanda Kopec Still Photographer: Chuck Hodes “FRESH OFF THE BOAT” SEASON 4 Director of Photography: Brandon Mastrippolito Operators: Greg Matthews, Brian Morena Assistants: Ray Dier, Tomi Izumi, Christian Cobb, Steve Whitcomb Camera Utility: Adam Kolkman “LIFE IN PIECES” SEASON 3 Director of Photography: Mike J. Pepin Operators: Jacob Pinger, Jeremiah Smith Assistants: Chris Workman, Edward Alfred Nielsen, III, Sergei Sorokin, Jason Sharron Camera Utility: Noel Vidal Still Photographer: Ron Jaffe “THE MICK” SEASON 2 Director of Photography: Alan Caudillo Operators: Joel Schwartz, April Kelley, Kris Krosskove Assistants: Chad Rivetti, Chris Flurry, Roger Wall, Matt Gaumer, Aaron Tichenor, Chris de la Riva Steadicam Operator: Kris Krosskove Steadicam Assistant: Chad Rivetti
“THIS IS US” SEASON 2 Director of Photography: Yasu Tanida Operators: James Takata, Beau Chaput Assistants: Sean O’Shea, Rich Floyd, Brian Wells, Jeff Stewart Steadicam Operator: James Takata Steadicam Assistant: Sean O’Shea Loader: Mike “Mad Dog” Gentile Still Photogapher: Ron Batzdorff ABC STUDIOS “AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE” SEASON 2 Director of Photography: Andrew Rawson Operators: Rich Davis, Tim Walker, Lisa Stacilauskas Assistants: Max Neal, Robert Gilpin, Joe Torres, Elizabeth Algieri, Mark Colicci, Jaswinder Bedi Digital Loader: Leslie Puckett Digital Utility: Steve Rommevaux “CODE BLACK” SEASON 3 Director of Photography: Spencer Combs Operators: Jason LeBlanc, Mike Sharp, Brian Garbellini Assistants: Jon Sharpe, Stephen Franklin, Jim Thibo, Yusef Edmonds, Bill Marti, Tim McCarthy Digital Loader: Joe Pacella Still Photographer: Ron Jaffe “CRIMINAL MINDS” SEASON 13 Director of Photography: Greg St. Johns Operators: Darcy Spires, Mike Walsh Assistants: Keith Peters, Tim Roe, Todd Durboraw, Robert Forrest Steadicam Operator: Mike Walsh Steadicam Assistant: Keith Peters Utility: Jacob Kuljis
“FOR THE PEOPLE” SEASON 1 Director of Photography: Alan Caso Operators: Stephen Collins, Cybel Martin, Jamie Sterba Assistants: Bianca Bahena, Darby Newman, Carlos Lopez-Calleja, Chris Sloan, Tim Luke, Matt Williams Digital Imaging Tech: Earl Fulcher Utility: Lauro Avila Still Photographer: Nicole Wilder “GREY’S ANATOMY” SEASON 14 Director of Photography: Herb Davis Operators: Fred Iannone, Steve Ullman Assistants: Nick McLean, Forrest Thurman, Chris Johnson, Lisa Bonaccorso “HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER” SEASON 4 Director of Photography: Michael Price, ASC Operators: Joe Broderick, John Hankammer, Scott Boettle Assistants: Heather Lea-LeRoy, Vanessa Morehouse, Darrell Herrington, Drew Han, Mark Sasabuchi, Michael Stampler Digital Imaging Tech: Andrew Osborne Digital Utility: Wil Sterner “JANE THE VIRGIN” SEASON 4 Directors of Photography: Lowell Peterson, ASC, Joe Gallo Operators: Rory Knepp, Paul Plannette Assistants: John Flinn, IV, Veronica Bouza, John Pouncey, Don Burton Utility: Morgan Jenkins Steadicam Operator: Rory Knepp Steadicam Assistant: John Flinn, IV Still Photographers: Lisa Rose, Michael Desmond, Ron Jaffe
“JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!” SEASON 16 Lighting Director: Christian Hibbard Operators: Randy Gomez, Parker Bartlett, Kris Wilson, Garrett Hurt, Marc Hunter, Mike Malone Camera Utilities: Charles Fernandez, Scott Spiegel, Travis Wilson, David Fernandez, Adam Barker Video Controller: Guy Jones Still Photographers: Karen Neal, Michael Desmond 2ND UNIT Director of Photography: Jimmy Lindsey “KEVIN (PROBABLY) SAVES THE WORLD” SEASON 1 Operators: Steve Fracol, Michael Gfelner, Bob Scott Assistants: Ian Campbell, Joe Thomas, Thomas Nemy, Christina Fiers, Sherri Leger-Fowler, Nelson Moncada Loader: Erin Strickland Digital Utility: Darrell Lane Still Photographer: Guy D’Alema “SCANDAL” SEASON 7 Directors of Photography: Oliver Bokelberg, ASC, Daryn Okada, ASC Operators: Ron Baldwin, Bill Boatman Assistants: Jon Zarkos, Jorge Pallares, Anthony Schultz, Hannah Levin Digital Imaging Tech: Andrew Lemon Utility: George Montejano, III Still Photographer: Mitchell Haddad AFN PRODUCTIONS-TELEPICTURES “THE REAL” SEASON 4 Lighting Director/Director of Photography: Earl Woody Operators: Kevin Michel, David Kanehann,
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“THE RESIDENT” SEASON 1 Director of Photography: John Brawley Operators: Mark Karavite, Dave Drzewiecki, Jessica Lopez Assistants: Kris Hardy, John Metcalfe, Mark Boyle, Oren Malik, Sebastian Boada, Austin Taylor Loader: Trey Volpe Digital Utility: Amanda Gianneschi Still Photographer: Guy D’Alema
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mole.com Steve Russell, Bob Berkowitz Steadicam Operator: Will Demeritt Camera Utilities: James Magdalin, Henry Vereen, John Markese Jib Arm Operator: Jim Cirrito Video Controller: Jeff Messenger
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“UNTITLED GREY’S ANATOMY SPINOFF” SEASON 1 Directors of Photography: Paul Maibaum, ASC, David Miller, ASC Operators: Steve Clancy, Heather Brown Assistants: Jon Sharpe, Dave Egerstrom, Stephen Franklin, Kyle Sauer, Mike Cahoon Steadicam Operator: Steve Clancy Steadicam Assistant: Jon Sharpe Loaders: Kyle Sauer, Sarah Lankford Digital Loader: Jonnie Mentzer AMAZON/PICROW STREAMING INC. “TOO OLD TO DIE YOUNG” SEASON 1 Director of Photography: Darius Khondji, ASC Operators: Andy Shuttleworth, R. Michael Merriman Assistants: Faith Brewer, Wade Whitley, Gayle Hilary, Kelly Mitchell Digital Imaging Tech: Dan Skinner Loader: Jake LaGuardia Camera Utility: Ben Brady Still Photographer: Scott Garfield AMC “DIETLAND” SEASON 1 Director of Photography: Alison Kelly Operators: Chris Hayes, Alan Mehlbrech, SOC Assistants: Tom Greco, Rob Koch, Pete Keeling, Keitt, James McEvoy, Rob Muia Digital Imaging Tech: Dan Skinner Loader: Trevor Barcus Steadicam Operator: Alan Mehlbrech, SOC Still Photographers: Patrick Harbron, Nicole Rivelli A VERY GOOD PRODUCTION, INC. & WAD PRODUCTIONS “THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW” SEASON 15 Lighting Director: Tom Beck Ped Operators: David Weeks, Paul Wileman, Tim O’Neill Hand Held Operator: Chip Fraser Jib Operator: David Rhea Steadicam Operator: Donovan Gilbuena Video Controller: James Moran Head Utility: Craig “Zzo” Marazzo Utilities: Arlo Gilbuena, Wally Lancaster, Diego Avalos
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BEACH BUM PRODUCTIONS, INC. “THE BEACH BUM” Director of Photography: Benoit Debie Operator: Mike McGowan, SOC Assistant: Billy Wells Loader: Sean Lunski Still Photographer: Atsushi Nishijima BEACHWOOD SERVICES “DAYS OF OUR LIVES” SEASON 52 Directors of Photography: Mark Levin, Ted Polmanski Operators: John Sizemore, Mark Warshaw, Vickie Walker, Michael J. Denton, Steve Clark Utilities: Steve Bagdadi, Gary Cypher Video Controller: Alexis Dellar Hanson BELLADONNA PRODUCTIONS, INC. “THE WOLF HOUR” Director of Photography: Khalid Mohtaseb Operator: David Isern Assistants: Tom Atwell, Zachary Grace, Nolan Maloney Digital Imaging Tech: Ryan Winsor Still Photographer: Alison Rosa BLUEGRASS “BIRD BOX” Director of Photography: Sal Totino Operators: Roberto De Angelis, Michael Jones Assistants: EJ Misisco, Sean Kisch, David Seekins, Roxanne Stephens, Andrae Crawford, Sara Galley Loader: Torey Lenart Steadicam Operator: Roberto De Angelis Steadicam Assistant: EJ Misisco Digital Imaging Tech: Francesco Sauta Digital Loader: George Ballenger Still Photographer: Merrick Morton Publicist: Will Casey BONANZA, INC “THE ORIGINALS” SEASON 5 Directors of Photography: Roger Chingirian, John Smith Operators: Ian Forsyth, Brian Davis Assistants: Matt Brewer, Kyler Dennis, Uly Domalaon, Andy Lee Steadicam Operator: Ian Forsyth Utility: Jesse Eagle Digital Imaging Tech: Billy Mueller CBS “BULL” SEASON 2 Directors of Photography: Derick Underschultz, John Aronson Operators: Oliver Cary, Eli Aronoff
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Assistants: Cris Trova, Roman Lukiw, Soren Nash, Mike Lobb, Michael Lobb, Elizabeth Cavanagh, Trevor Wolfson Steadicam Operator: Eli Aronoff Steadicam Assistant: Roman Lukiw Digital Imaging Tech: Gabe Kolodny Camera Utilities: Wyatt Maker, Peter Staubs Still Photographers: David Russell, Phil Caruso, David Giesbrecht, Eric Liebowitz, Giovanni Rufino, JoJo Whilden “CRAZY EX-GIRLFRIEND” SEASON 3 Director of Photography: Todd Dos Reis, ASC Operators: Ian Dodd, Richard Crow Assistants: Eric Dyson, Megan Morris, Joel Perkal, Eric Wheeler Steadicam Operator: Richard Crow Digital Imaging Tech: Sam McConville Utility: Andres Raygoza Still Photographers: Ron Jaffe, Lisa Rose “ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT” SEASON 37 Lighting Designer: Darren Langer Director of Photography: Kurt Braun Operators: Jaimie Cantrell, James B. Patrick, Allen Voss, Ed Sartori, Henry Zinman, Bob Campi, Rodney McMahon, Anthony Salerno Camera Utility: Terry Ahern Video Controllers: Mike Doyle, Peter Stendal “MAN WITH A PLAN” SEASON 2 Director of Photography: Gary Baum, ASC Operators: Glenn Shimada, Travers Hill, Lance Billitzer, Ed Fine Assistants: Adrian Licciardi, Jeff Goldenberg, Alec Elizondo, Clint Palmer, Jason Herring Utilities: Danny Lorenze, Sean Askins Digital Imaging Tech: Derek Lantz Video Controller: John O’Brien “NCIS” SEASON 15 Director of Photography: William Webb, ASC Operators: Gregory Paul Collier, George Loomis Assistants: Chad Erickson, James Troost, Nathan Lopez, Helen Tadesse, Anna Ferrarie “NCIS: LOS ANGELES” SEASON 9 Director of Photography: Victor Hammer Operators: Terence Nightingall, Tim Beavers Assistants: Keith Banks, Richie Hughes, Peter Caronia, Jacqueline Nivens Steadicam Operators: Terence Nightingall, Tim Beavers Steadicam Assistants: Keith Banks, Richie Hughes
“NCIS: NEW ORLEANS” SEASON 4 Director of Photography: Gordon Lonsdale, ASC Operators: Jerry Jacob, Tony Politis, Vincent Bearden Assistants: Peter Roome, Brouke Franklin, Jeff Taylor, Toni Weick, Dave Edwards, Sienna Pinderhughes Steadicam Operator: Vincent Bearden Digital Loader: Christian Wells Digital Utility: Kolby Heid Still Photographer: Sam Lothridge “SCORPION” SEASON 4 Directors of Photography: Ken Glassing, Fernando Arguelles Operators: Paul Theriault, Chris Taylor Assistants: Scott Ronnow, John Paul Rodriguez, Chris Mack, Tim Sheridan Digital Imaging Tech: Greg Gabrio Utility: Tyler Ernst Technocrane Operator: Chris Mayhugh Technocrane Tech: Colin Michael West Remote Head Tech/Operator: Jay Sheveck Still Photographer: Ron Jaffe Publicist: Kathleen Tanji “SEAL TEAM” SEASON 1 Director of Photography: J. Michael Muro Operators: Alan Jacoby, Dominic Bartolone Assistants: Alex Scott, Andrew Degnan, Arturo Rojas, Gary Bevans, Scott O’Neil Steadicam Operator: Dominic Bartolone Loader: Tim Balcomb Digital Imaging Tech: Raul Riveros Still Photographer: Ron Jaffe “THE GOOD COP” SEASON 1 Director of Photography: Eric Moynier Operators: Larry McConkey, Pierre Colonna Assistants: Anthony Cappello, Stephen Kozlowski, Marc Loforte, Rob Wrase
Digital Imaging Tech: Charlie Anderson Still Photographer: Michele K. Short
Digital Imaging Techs: Mike Kellogg, Nate Kalushner
“THE GOOD FIGHT” SEASON 2 Director of Photography: Timothy Guinness Operators: William Hays, Chris Scarafile Assistants: Rene Crout, David Baron, Ian Schneider, Cameron Sizemore Loaders: Tommy Scoggins, Sancheev Ravichandran Still Photographer: Annette Brown
COLUMBIA “TOSH.0” SEASON 10 STAGE CREW Operator: Jason Cochard Camera Utilities: Benjamin Steeples, Kyle Kimbriel, Roger Cohen
“THE INSIDER” SEASON 14 Director of Photography: Kurt Braun Operators: Jaimie Cantrell, James B. Patrick, Ed Sartori, Henry Zinman, Tom Van Otteren, Bob Campi, Rodney McMahon, Anthony Salerno Camera Utility: Terry Ahern Video Controllers: Mike Doyle, Peter Stendal “THE TALK” SEASON 8 Lighting Director: Marisa Davis Ped Operators: Art Taylor, Mark Gonzales, Ed Staebler Hand Held Operators: Ron Barnes, Kevin Michel, Jeff Johnson Jib Operator: Randy Gomez Head Utility: Charlie Fernandez Utilities: Mike Bushner, Doug Bain, Dean Frizzel, Bill Greiner, Jon Zuccaro Video Controller: Richard Strock Still Photographer: Ron Jaffe CMS “MY NEXT GUEST NEEDS NO INTRODUCTION WITH DAVID LETTERMAN” Director of Photography: Declan Quinn, ASC Operators: DJ Harder, Nic Restrepo, Shana Hagan, Jeremiah Pitman, Dylan Sanford, Matthew Baker Assistants: Baird Steptoe, Steve Wong, Ken Bender, Bryan DeLorenzo, Penny Sprague, Laura Goldberg, Noah Glazer
FIELD CREW Director of Photography: Andrew Huebscher Operator: Jason Cochard Assistants: Benjamin Steeples, Kyle Kimbriel, Roger Cohen, Delfina Garfias CONACO “CONAN” SEASON 8 Operators: Ted Ashton, Nick Kober, Kosta Krstic, James Palczewski, Bart Ping, Seth Saint Vincent Head Utility: Chris Savage Utilities: Baron Johnson, Josh Gwilt CRANETOWN “THE IRISHMAN” Director of Photography: Rodrigo Prieto, ASC Operator: Scott Sakamoto, SOC Assistants: Trevor Loomis, Ethan Borsuk, Tony Coan, Brendan Russell Digital Imaging Tech: Matthew Selkirk Loaders: Ross Citrin, Carolyn Wills Still Photographer: Niko Tavernise “THE RANCH” SEASON 3 Director of Photography: Donald A. Morgan, ASC Operators: Brian Armstrong, Randy Baer, Chris Hinojosa, Robert Guernsey, Michelle Crenshaw Assistants: Missy Toy, Vito De Palma, Adan Torres, Al Myers Camera Utilities: Don Davis, Justin Metoyer, Erinn Bell, Richard Woodard
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Digital Imaging Tech: John Mills Digital Utility: Trevor Beeler Still Photographer: Ron Jaffe Publicist: Kathleen Tanji
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DIT/Video Controller: Rick Dungan Still Photographer: Greg Gayne CROSSFACE, LLC “GOOD AKA FISTFUL OF DIRT” Director of Photography: Alex Zabe Operators: Raul Rosado Maldonado, Mobolaji Olaoniye Assistants: Juli Silver Taracido, Brendaliz Negron Colon Digital Imaging Tech: Alex Ramirez DESIGNATED 1 LTD “DESIGNATED SURVIVOR” SEASON 2 Director of Photography: Jeff Mygatt EYE PRODUCTIONS, INC. “BLUE BLOODS” SEASON 8 Director of Photography: Gene Engels Operators: Stephen Consentino, Patrick Quinn Assistants: Geoffrey Frost, Michael Grantland, Justin Whitacre, Jacob Stahlman, Martin Peterson Digital Imaging Techs: Steven Calalang, Ryan Heide Loaders: John Keeler, Josh Pressgrove Still Photographers: Christopher Saunders, Craig Blankenborn, Cara Howe, David Russell
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“ELEMENTARY” SEASON 6 Directors of Photography: Thomas Houghton, ASC, Ron Fortunato Operators: Carlos Guerra, Jeremy Weishaar Assistants: Kate Larose, Jason Cleary, Charlie Foerschner, Kyle Blackman Loaders: Dylan Endyke, Patrick O’Shea, Ryan Haddon Still Photographers: Christopher Saunders, Elizabeth Fisher, Cara Howe, Wally McGrady, Michael Parmelee
“MADAM SECRETARY” SEASON 4 Director of Photography: Learan Kahanov Operators: Jamie Silverstein, Peter Vietro-Hannum Assistants: Heather Norton, Jamie Fitzpatrick, Amanda Rotzler, Damon LeMay Digital Imaging Tech: Keith Putnam Loaders: Zakiya Lucas-Murray, Christopher Patrikis FREEFORM “THE FOSTERS” SEASON 5 Director of Photography: Kees Van Oostrum, ASC Operators: Aaron Schuh, Michael May, Geoff Haley Assistants: Carlos Doerr, Tammy Fouts, Brett Peters, Nathan Lewis, Nicholas Neino Steadicam Operators: Aaron Schuh, Geoff Haley Steadicam Assistant: Carlos Doerr Utility: Duncan Robertson Loader: Daniel Benny Bailey
Digital Imaging Tech: Chris Cavanaugh Digital Utility: Natt Vinyuwonge HORIZONTAL PRODUCTIONS, INC. “ANDI MACK” SEASON 2 Director of Photography: Matthew Williams Operator: Scott Hoffman Assistants: John Williams, David Rhineer, Kurtis Burr, Nick Nebeker Steadicam Operator: Scott Hoffman Steadicam Assistant: John Williams Digital Imaging Tech: Sean McAllister “ANIMAL KINDGOM” SEASON 3 Director of Photography: Loren Yaconelli Operators: Scott Dropkin, Brooks Robinson Assistants: Ray Milazzo, Patrick Bensimmon, Blake Collins, Kirten Laube Steadicam Operator: Scott Dropkin Steadicam Assistant: Ray Milazzo Digital Imaging Tech: Jefferson Fugitt Digital Utility: Gabe Hirata Still Photographer: Eddy Chen
FRONTRUNNER PRODUCTIONS, INC. “THE FRONT RUNNER” Director of Photography: Eric Steelberg, ASC Operators: Matt Moriarty, Cale Finot, Bo Webb Assistants: Sebastian Vega, John Hoffler, Jack Lewandowski, Dan McKee Film Loader: Nicole Turegano Still Photographer: Frank Masi Publicist: David Linck
“STUCK IN THE MIDDLE” SEASON 3 Director of Photography: Suki Medencevic, ASC Operators: Eric Fletcher, Luke Cormack Assistants: James Barela, Sal Coniglio, Luis Gomez, Angela Ortner Steadicam Operator: Eric Fletcher Steadicam Assistant: James Barela Digital Imaging Tech: Scott Resnick Digital Utility: Elise Martin
FX PRODUCTIONS “LEGION” SEASON 2 Directors of Photography: Dana Gonzales, Erik Messerschmidt, Polly Morgan Operators: Mitch Dubin, John Connor Assistants: Dave Edsall, Jason Alegre, Dean Morin, Chris Burket
HTF PRODUCTIONS, INC. “HIT THE FLOOR” SEASON 4 Director of Photography: Walt Lloyd, ASC Operators: Gary Camp, Anthony Gutierrez, Henry Cline Assistants: Kyril Cvetkov, Eric Amundsen, Mark Reilly, Steve Marshall, Marcus Mentzer,
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JAX MEDIA “NOBODIES” SEASON 2 Director of Photography: Sylvain D’Hautcourt Operators: Reid Russell, Michael Ropert Assistants: Zsolt Kadar, Marco Bartkowiak, Leigh Rathner, Adam Newell Steadicam Operator: Reid Russell Digital Loader: Austin Swenson Still Photographer: Lisa Rose KNIGHT TAKES KING PRODUCTIONS, LLC “HOUSE OF CARDS” SEASON 6 Directors of Photography: David Dunlap, Timothy Norman Operators: Gary Jay, Erin Henning Assistants: Ian Axilrod, Nicholas Hahn, Vanessa Morrison, Michael Panczenko Loader: Anna Jay Still Photographer: David Giesbrecht LADY PRISON PRODUCTIONS, INC. “ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK” SEASON 6 Director of Photography: Ludovic Littee Operators: Scott Tinsley, Denny Kortze Assistants: Beka Venezia, Justin Mancuso, Rebecca Arndt, James Daly, Maxwell Sloan Steadicam Operator: Denny Kortze Digital Imaging Techs: Ted Viola, Matthew Selkirk Loader: Joshua Waterman Still Photographers: JoJo Whilden, Cara Howe LAVENDER FIELDS FORESTER, INC. “VULTURE CLUB” Director of Photography: Drew Daniels
Assistants: Rebecca Rajadnya, Tsyen Shen Digital Imaging Tech: Jaime Chapin Still Photographer: Walter Thomson LD ENTERTAINMENT “DOG DAYS” Director of Photography: Frank Barrera Operators: Jagjote Dhillon, Karina Silva, Collin Davis Assistants: Cheli Clayton Samaras, Clayton Daily, Harrison Reynolds, Colleen Lindl, Jay Levy Digital Imaging Tech: Dane Brehm Digital Utility: Richard Fine MARVEL ENTERTAINMENT “AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.” SEASON 5 Directors of Photography: Feliks Parnell, Allan Westbrook Operators: Kyle Jewell, Bill Brummond Assistants: Coby Garfield, Josh Larsen, Derek Hackett, Tim Cobb Steadicam Operator: Bill Brummond Steadicam Assistant: Josh Larsen Digital Imaging Tech: Ryan Degrazzio Digital Utility: Josh Novak Remote Head Operator: Clay Platner Still Photographers: Kelsey McNeal, Ron Jaffe 2ND UNIT Director of Photography: Kyle Jewell Operators: Tony Cutrono, Miguel Pask “IRON FIST AKA KICK” SEASON 2 Director of Photography: Niels Alpert Operators: Jon Beattie, Frank Larson Assistants: Andrew Juhl, Christopher Wiezorek, Yale Gropman, Daniel Pfeifer Loaders: Adam DeRezendes, Andy Hensler
“RUNAWAYS” SEASON 1 Director of Photography: David Stockton Operators: Michael Stumpf, Allen Easton, SOC, Michael Frediani, SOC Assistants: Dennis Seawright, Dale White, Nick Infield, Trevor Carroll-Coe, Chuck Whelan, Matt Fisher Steadicam Operator: Michael Stumpf Loader: Shannon Cook Camera Utility: Seth Sherman Still Photographer: Jessica Brooks MINDWINTER PICTURES “BEN IS BACK” Director of Photography: Stuart Dryburgh Operator: Michael Fuchs Assistants: Stanley Fernandez, Johnny Sousa, Christopher Eng, Michael DeRario Loader: Ronald Wrase Still Photographer: Mark Schafer MINIM “ATLANTA” SEASON 2 Director of Photography: Christian Sprenger Operators: Jarrett Morgan, Chris Fenner Assistants: Justin Watson, Jackson McDonald, Aaron Willis, Callie Moore Digital Imaging Tech: Chris Hoyle Camera Utility: Sherry Day Still Photographer: Guy D’Alema NBC “BROOKLYN NINE-NINE” SEASON 5 Director of Photography: Giovani Lampassi Operators: Phil Mastrella, Rick Page, Lauren Gadd Assistants: Jamie Stephens, Rochelle Brown, Bill Gerardo, William Schmidt, Dustin Miller Loader: Nick Gilbert Digital Utility: Chris Carlson
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“CHICAGO FIRE” SEASON 6 Director of Photography: Jayson Crothers Operators: Rob Stenger, William R. Nielsen Assistants: Melvina Rapozo, Zach Gannaway, Brian Romano, Gary Malouf Digital Loader: J’mme Love Digital Utility: Nathan D. Sullivan Still Photographer: Elizabeth Morris 2ND UNIT Director of Photography: William R. Nielsen
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“CHICAGO MED” SEASON 3 Director of Photography: Lex duPont, ASC Operators: Scott Steele, Faires Anderson Sekiya, Joseph Fitzgerald Assistants: George Olson, Laura Difiglio, Keith Hueffmeier, Sam Knapp, Jason H. Bonner, Patrick Dooley Loader: Joey Richardson Utility: Matt Brown Still Photographer: Elizabeth Sisson “CHICAGO PD” SEASON 5 Director of Photography: Rohn Schmidt Operators: James Zucal, Will Eichler, Seth Thomas Assistants: John Young, Don Carlson, David “YT” Wightman, Jamison Acker, Phillip Walter, Kyle Belousek Steadicam Operator: William Eichler Digital Loader: Nicholas Wilson Digital Utilities: Michael Gleeson, Marion Tucker 2ND UNIT Director of Photography: James Zucal “LAW & ORDER: SVU” SEASON 19 Director of Photography: Michael Green Operators: Jonathan Herron, Michael Latino Assistants: Christopher Del Sordo, Matthew Balzarini, Emily Dumbrill, Justin Zverin, Thomas Cioccio Steadicam Operator: Jonathan Herron Loaders: Jason Raswant, Brianna Morrison Digital Utility: Brianna Morrison Still Photographers: Myles Aronowitz, Michael Parmelee, Sarah Shatz “RISE” SEASON 1 Director of Photography: Tim Bellen Operators: Peter Nolan, Jennie Jeddry, Jonathan Beck Assistants: Scott Koenigsberg, Alex S. Bellen, Dean Martinez, Elizabeth Casinelli, Joe Metzger, Jonathan Monk
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Digital Imaging Tech: Paul Schilens Loaders: James Abamont, Jay Kidd Still Photographer: Peter Kramer
Loader: Marie Morrell Digital Loader: Tyler Bastianson Still Photographer: Kyle Kaplan
“SUPERSTORE” SEASON 3 Director of Photography: Jay Hunter Operators: Adam Tash, Hassan Abdul-Wahid, Danny Nichols Assistants: Jason Zakrzewski, Brandon Margulies, Eric Jenkinson, Ryan Sullivan, Sean Mennie, Rikki Alarian Jones Digital Imaging Tech: Paul Maletich Loader: Estefania Garcia
OLIVE AVENUE PRODUCTIONS, LLC “CASTLE ROCK” SEASON 1 Directors of Photography: Jeff Greeley, Richard Rutkowski Operators: Chris Jones, Laela Kilbourn Assistants: Timothy Metivier, Robert Bullard, Christian Hollyer, Timothy Sweeney Digital Imaging Tech: Gabe Kolodny Loaders: David Kilgore, Leonard Mazzone Still Photographers: Talia Krohmal, Claire Folger, Seacia Pavao, Dana Starbard
“WILL & GRACE” SEASON 9 Director of Photography: Gary Baum, ASC Operators: Glenn Shimada, Travers Hill, Lance Billitzer, Ed Fine Assistants: Adrian Licciardi, Jeff Goldenberg, Alec Elizondo, Clint Palmer, Jason Herring Utilities: Danny Lorenze, Sean Askins Digital Imaging Tech: Derek Lantz Video Controller: Stuart Wesolik Still Photographer: Chris Haston NETFLIX “BEST WORST WEEKEND EVER” SEASON 1 Director of Photography: Bradford Lipson Operators: Ben Spek, SOC, Jeffrey Wilkins, Tammy Fouts Assistants: Ryo Kinno, Michael D. Alvarez, Naomi Villanueva, Symon Mink, Trevor CarrollCoe, Summer Marsh, Ryan Kelly, Thomas Miner Steadicam Operator: Ben Spek, SOC Steadicam Assistant: Ryo Kinno Digital Imaging Tech: Lance Hashida Digital Utility: Steven Lipson “GLOW” SEASON 2 Director of Photography: Adrian Peng Correia Operators: Jason Oldak, Ross Coscia Assistants: Anne Carson, Zoe Van Brunt, Kathryn Begle, Dan Urbain Steadicam Operator: Ross Coscia Loader: Peter Brunet Digital Utility: Amanda Hamaday Still Photographer: Erica Parise NEW LINE CINEMA “SHAFT” Director of Photography: Larry Blanford Operators: Chris Duskin, J. Christopher Campbell, SOC Assistants: Max Junquera, Ryan Weisen, Sterling Wiggins, Dwight Campbell Steadicam Operator: J. Christopher Campbell, SOC
PACIFIC 2.1 ENTERTAINMENT “HOMELAND” SEASON 7 Directors of Photography: David Klein, ASC, Giorgio Scali Operators: Rick Davidson, Mikael “Kale” Bonsignore Assistants: Dominik Mainl, Courtney Bridgers, Elizabeth Silver, Eric Eaton Steadicam Operator: Rick Davidson Steadicam Assistants: Dominik Mainl, Courtney Bridgers Utility: Danny Caporaletti PARAMOUNT “THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE” SEASON 1 Director of Photography: Michael Fimognari Operators: James Reid, Brian Osmond Assistants: Troy Wagner, Greg Williams, Griffin Maccan, Chris Morales Steadicam Operator: James Reid Digital Imaging Tech: Giovanni Carranza Loader: Ben Eades Digital Utility: Rodrigo Melgarejo PICROW “JUST ADD MAGIC SPINOFF” SEASON 1 Director of Photography: Mark Doering-Powell Operators: Paul Sanchez, David Hirshmann Assistants: Robert Shierer, Michael Kleiman, Paul Janossy, Dan Taylor, Andrew Oliver Still Photographer: Jessica Brooks POSSIBLE PRODUCTIONS, INC. “ESCAPE AT DANNEMORA” Operators: Craig Haagensen, Matthew Pebler Assistants: Eric Swanek, James Madrid, Michael Guthrie, Samatha Silver Digital Imaging Tech: Luke Taylor Loaders: Brittany Jelinski, Tyler Swanek
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SIDE STREET ENTERTAINMENT “PORTLANDIA” SEASON 8 Director of Photography: Joe Meade Operators: Simon Miya, Tyson Wisbrock, Sam Naiman Assistants: Cameron Carey, Danielle Carroll, Peggy Knoebel Loader: Justen Hundley “JEOPARDY!” SEASON 34 Director of Photography: Jeff Engel Operators: Diane L. Farrell, SOC, Mike Tribble, Jeff Schuster, L. David Irete Jib Arm Operator: Marc Hunter Head Utility: Tino Marquez Camera Utility: Ray Thompson Video Controller: Gary Taillon Still Photographer: Carol Kaelson “THE GOLDBERGS” SEASON 5 Director of Photography: Jason Blount Operators: Scott Browner, Kris Denton Assistants: Tracy Davey, Nate Havens, Gary Webster, Jen Bell-Price Digital Imaging Tech: Kevin Mills Digital Utility: Dilshan Herath Still Photographers: Nicole Wilder, Adam Taylor
“TIMELESS” SEASON 2 Director’s of Photography: Jimmy Lindsey, Nate Goodman Operators: Stefan von Bjorn, Peter Mercurio Assistants: Matthew King, Thomas Tieche, Billy Dicenso, Jon Kurt Steadicam Operator: Stefan von Bjorn Digital Utility: Shannon Cook Still Photographer: Justin Lubin “WHEEL OF FORTUNE” SEASON 35 Director of Photography: Jeff Engel Operators: Diane L. Farrell, SOC, Jeff Schuster, Ray Gonzales, Steve Simmons, L. David Irete, Mike Corwin Camera Utility: Ray Thompson Head Utility: Tino Marquez Video Controller: Gary Taillon Jib Arm Operator: Randy Gomez, Sr. Still Photographer: Carol Kaelson “THE WALKING DEAD” SEASON 8 Directors of Photography: Stephen Campbell, Paul Varrieur Operators: Deke Keener, Steve Andrich Assistants: David Galbraith, Matt Horn, Austin Blythe, Robert Veliky Steadicam Operator: Deke Keener Steadicam Assistant: David Galbraith Loader: Daniel Irons Camera Utility: Gabriel Salazar Still Photographer: Gene Page Publicist: Brandee Brooks STARZ POWER PRODUCTIONS, LLC “POWER” SEASON 5 Directors of Photography: Mauricio Rubinstein, Hernan Otano Operators: Aaron Medick, Scott Maguire Assistants: Michael Garofalo, Julien Zeitouni,
Rodrigo Millan Garce, Carlos Barbot Camera Utility: Alivia Borab Digital Imaging Tech: Douglas Horton Loaders: Justin LeBlanc, Kaih Wong Still Photographers: Myles Aronowitz, Abbot Genser, Cara Howe, Christopher Saunders, Paul Schiraldi TV LAND “TEACHERS” SEASON 3 Director of Photography: Tim Gillis Operator: Abby Linne Assistants: Sharla Cipicchio, Evey Franceschini, Evan Wilhelm, Andy Kennedy-Derkay Loader: Nathan Saks Still Photographer: Dale Berman TVM PRODUCTIONS, INC. “QUEEN OF THE SOUTH” SEASON 3 Director of Photography: Abe Martinez Operators: Garrett Benson, Jeff Cunningham, Janine Sides Assistants: Kris Hardy, Brandon Margulies, Paul Armstrong, John Metcalfe, William Dicenso, Noe Medrano, Scott Reese Steadicam Operator: Garrett Benson Steadicam Assistant: Kris Hardy Loader: Matt Aines Utility: Kyle Novak “THE AMERICANS” SEASON 6 Director of Photography: Brad Smith Operators: Gabor Kover, Afton Grant Assistants: Rory Hanrahan, Elizabeth Singer, Sean Souza, Nick Koda Loader: Sebastian Iervolino “UNSOLVED” SEASON 1 Director of Photography: Sidney Sidell, ASC Operators: Joseph Arena, Brooks Robinson
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PP21 PRODUCTIONS, INC. “BLACK LIGHTNING” SEASON 1 Directors of Photography: Scott Peck, Eduardo Mayen Operators: Brian Nordheim, Bob Newcomb Assistants: Anthony Zibelli, Alan Newcomb, Nelson Moncada, Catherine Greene Steadicam Operator: Brian Nordheim Steadicam Assistant: Anthony Zibelli Digital Imaging Tech: Justin Warren Camera Utility: Alfredo Santiago
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“LUCIFER” SEASON 3 Directors of Photography: Christian Sebaldt, ASC, Tom Camarda Operators: Kenny Brown, Eric Laudadio Assistants: Ryan Pilon, Nathan Crum, Rob Magnano, Jason Kinney Digital Imaging Tech: John Reyes Digital Utility: Bryce Marraro Still Photographers: Ron Jaffe, John P. Fleenor, Michael Desmond “MACGYVER” SEASON 2 Directors of Photography: Gabriel Beristain, ASC, Mike Martinez Operators: Mark Moore, Greg Faysash, Paul Krumper Assistants: Al Cohen, Kate Roberson, Trevor Rios, Stefan Vino-Figueroa, Mike Torino, Danny Vanzura Steadicam Operator: Mark Moore Digital Imaging Tech: Greg VanZyck Digital Utility: Anna-Marie Aloia Publicist: Kathleen Tanji “MOM” SEASON 5 Director of Photography: Steven V. Silver, ASC Operators: Cary McCrystal, Jamie Hitchcock, Larry Gaudette, Candy Edwards Assistants: Meggins Moore, Nigel Stewart, Damian Della Santina, Mark Johnson, Benjamin Steeples Camera Utilities: Alicia Brauns, Andrew Pauling Video Controller: Kevin Faust Digital Imaging Tech: Robert “Bob Z” Zeigler Publicist: Kathleen Tanji
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Assistants: Kevin Potter, Patrick Bensimmon, Paul Tilden, Kirsten Laube Steadicam Operator: Joseph Arena Loader: Brandon Gutierrez Digital Utility: Casey Muldoon Still Photographer: Isabella Vosmikova UNIVERSAL TELEVISION “CHAMPIONS” SEASON 1 Director of Photography: Charles Papert Operators: Nick Franco, Patrik Thelander Assistants: Seth Kotok, Craig Jennette, Jeff Saldin, Lani Wasserman Loader: Tyson Banks Digital Utility: Jenise Whitehead WARNER BROS. “BLINDSPOT” SEASON 3 Directors of Photography: Andrew Priestley, Jon Delgado Operators: Pyare Fortunato, Peter Ramos, John Romer Assistants: Andrew Smith, Aleksandr Allen, Liz Singer, Christian Bright, Kyle Clark, Deborah Fastuca Steadicam Operator: Pyare Fortunato Digital Imaging Techs: Chloe Walker, Jeff Cirbes Loaders: Kjerstin Rossi, Brian Grant Still Photographers: Phil Caruso, Elizabeth Fisher, Zach Dilgard, David Giesbrecht, Linda Kallerus, Eric Liebowitz, Jeff Neuman, Barbara Nitke, Christopher Saunders, Peter Zimmern “FAMOUS IN LOVE” SEASON 2 Director of Photography: Larry Reibman Operators: Craig Fikse, Brian Bernstein, Hilton Goring Assistants: David Dowell, Gretchen Hatz, Rocio Meda, Robin Bursey Digital Imaging Tech: Calvin Reibman
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Camera Utility: Robert Ruelas “GOTHAM” SEASON 4 Director of Photography: Crescenzo Notarile, ASC, Scott Kevan Operators: Alan Pierce, James Gucciardo, Gerard Sava Assistants: Braden Belmonte, George Tur, Gavin Fernandez, Maria Gonzales, Brendan Russell, James Schlittenhart Digital Imaging Techs: Ted Viola, Rob Strait Loaders: Ken Martell, Austin Restrepo Still Photographers: Elizabeth Fisher, Cara Howe, Jeff Neumann, Nicole Rivelli, Christopher Saunders, JoJo Whilden “LETHAL WEAPON” SEASON 2 Directors of Photography: David “Mox” Moxness, ASC, Andy Strahorn Operators: Victor Macias, Robert Givens Assistants: James Rydings, Kaoru “Q” Ishizuka, Troy Blischok, Kelsey Castellitto Digital Imaging Tech: Mike DeGrazzio Digital Utility: Spencer Shwetz Technocrane Operators: Colin Michael West, Chad Eshbaugh Remote Head Tech/Operator: Jay Sheveck Still Photographer: Ron Jaffe “LIVING BIBLICALLY” SEASON 1 Director of Photography: Patti Lee Operators: Mark Davison, Brian Sweeney, Jeff Miller, Jon Purdy Assistants: Jeff Roth, Jeff Johnson, John Weiss, Marianne Franco, Lisa Anderson Utilities: Lance Mitchell, Jordan Hristov Digital Imaging Tech: T. Brett Feeney Video Controller: Ed Moore
“THE BIG BANG THEORY” SEASON 11 Director of Photography: Steven V. Silver, ASC Operators: John Dechene, Richard Price, SOC, Jamie Hitchcock, Brain Armstrong Assistants: Nigel Stewart, Chris Hinojosa, Steve Lund, Meggins Moore, Benjamin Steeples Camera Utilities: Colin Brown, Jeannette Hjorth Video Controller: John O’Brien Digital Imaging Tech: Robert Zeigler Publicist: Kathleen Tanji “THE MIDDLE” SEASON 9 Director of Photography: Blake T. Evans Operators: John Joyce, Bret Harding Assistants: Jefferson T. Jones, Roger Spain, Bryan Haigh, Suzy Dietz Steadicam Operator: John Joyce Steadicam Assistant: Jefferson T. Jones Loader: Richard Kent WOODBRIDGE PRODUCTIONS “KEVIN CAN WAIT” SEASON 2 Director of Photography: Bernard Berner Operators: Alain Onesto, Miguel Armstrong, Jimmy O’Donnell, Mark Renaudin Digital Imaging Tech: Dave Satin Loader: Shaun Joye Digital Utilities: Craig Haft, Richard Hyman, Deborah Lipman Still Photographers: Jeffrey Neira, David Russell, JoJo Whilden
COMMERCIALS ABOVE + BEYOND FILMS “CHLA” Director of Photography: Greg Daniels Assistants: David Auerbach, Brandon Szajner Digital Imaging Tech: Sean Goller ARTS & SCIENCES “FOX SPORTS” Director of Photography: Bryan Newman Assistants: Ethan McDonald, Paul Saunders, Arthur Zajac Digital Imaging Tech: Erica McKee Movi Operator: David Anglin Scorpio Tech: George Dana
“MASTERCARD DOCUMENTARY” Director of Photography: Hunter Baker Assistants: Kali Riley, Ken Thompson, Alexander Dubois Digital Imaging Tech: David Berman BIG BLOCK “ESPN/YOUTUBE” Director of Photography: Mark Plummer Operator: Tucker Korte Assistants: Bob Smathers, Scott Kassenoff, Sherri Miranda, Scott Beckley BISCUIT “KFC” Director of Photography: Lasse FrankJohannessen Operator: Michael Merriman Assistants: Daniel Ferrell, Niranjan Martin, Noah Glazer Digital Imaging Tech: Mark Wilenkin BLACK LABEL CONTENT “ENVELOPE” Director of Photography: Autumn Durald Operator: Vincent Foeillet Assistants: Ethan McDonald, Garret Curtis, Marcus Del Negro Digital Imaging Tech: Joe Hedge B-REEL FILMS “FOOD LION” Director of Photography: Rob Hauer Assistants: Tiffany Aug, Josh Vandermeer Digital Imaging Tech: Raffaele Vesco
“KOOL AID” Director of Photography: Rob Hauer Assistants: Tiffany Aug, Josh Vandermeer Digital Imaging Tech: Raffaele Vesco
Operator: Scott Buckler Assistants: Brett Walters, Nate McGarigal Digital Imaging Tech: Tyler Isaacson Head Tech: Al Rodgers
CAVIAR “JACK IN THE BOX” Director of Photography: Lyle Vincent Operator: Paul Bode Assistants: Doug Durant, Rob Lau, Ryan Nocella Digital Imaging Tech: Bjorn Jackson Still Photographer: Jon Pack
“ZEGNA SUITS” Director of Photography: Edu Grau Assistants: Nicholas Martin, Alan Certeza Steadicam Operator: Mark Meyers, Steadicam Assistant: Aaron Gambel Digital Imaging Tech: Jesse Tyler
CENTRAL FILM NORTH “TECATE” Director of Photography: Federico Cantini Operators: Owen Smith, Cedric Martin Assistants: Salvaore Coniglio, Brian Legrady Nino Dotto, Alvaro Navarro, David Mun Steadicam Operator: Cedric Martin Steadicam Assistant: Brian Legrady Digital Imaging Tech: Michael Borenstein CMS “BILTMORE-TECH SCOUT” Director of Photography: Rob Hauer Assistant: Tadesse Bantiweson Digital Imaging Tech: Jason Johnson “LATITUDE FINANCIAL” Director of Photography: William Rexer Operators: Todd Armitage, James Callanan Assistants: Adam Miller, Steve Search, Ben Spaner, Jeffrey Taylor, Nate McGarigal Digital Imaging Tech: Mariusz Cichon “THE COSMOPOLITAN OF LAS VEGAS” Director of Photography: Pete Konczal
COMMUNITY FILMS “NJ LOTTERY” Director of Photography: Igor Martinovic Assistants: Rick Gioia, Jordan Levie Digital Imaging Tech: Rob Cauble FREENJOY “TKS” Director of Photography: Starr Whitesides Assistants: Matt Blea, Brandon Sajner Digital Imaging Tech: Michael Borenstein Phatom Operator: Patrick McGraw Technodolly Operator: Ron Tatham Technodolly Tech: Clay Platner GENTLEMAN SCHOLAR “DELL” Director of Photography: Martin Ahlgren Assistants: Rick Gioia, Jordan Levie Digital Imaging Tech: George Robert Morse GIFTED YOUTH “GARDEIN” Director of Photography: Joe Meade Assistants: Lucas Deans, Adam Newell Digital Imaging Tech: Michael Langford
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BELIEVE MEDIA “MASTERCARD” Director of Photography: Mathieu Plainfosse Assistants: Kevin Walter, Scott Miller Digital Imaging Tech: Kazim Karaismailoglu
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“LINCOLN” Director of Photography: Andrew Wheeler Operator: Benjamin Kitchens Assistants: Rob Horwitz, Sebastien Thibeau, Joe DiBartolomeo Digital Imaging Tech: Lanlin Wong Technocrane Operator: Phil Hallford Remote Head Tech: Jay Sheveck IMPERIAL WOODPECKER “AT&T” Director of Photography: Nigel Bluck Operator: Jac Fitzgerald Assistants: Chris Slany, Noah Glazer, Lucas Deans, Adam Newell Digital Imaging Tech: Mike Kellogg MELLOW MEDIA “CHEVROLET TRAVERSE” Director of Photography: Stefan von Borbely Assistants: Micah Bisagni, Kymm Swank Digital Imaging Tech: Paul Brady
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PELLINORE PRODUCTIONS “DIRECT TV” Director of Photography: Eric Schmidt Assistants: Ethan McDonald, Garret Curtis, Greg Kurtz Digital Imaging Tech: John Spellman PRETTYBIRD “GOOGLE HOME” Director of Photography: Rob Hauer Assistant: Ryan Patterson Digital Imaging Tech: Michael Ciancio RESET “SQUARESPACE” Director of Photography: Chris Soos Operator: Josh Medak Assistants: Andy Hallbach, Albert Frigone, Ezra Bassin-Hill, Matt Blea, David O’Brien Digital Imaging Techs: Conrad Castor, Bram Weinkselbaum Technocrane Operators: Jay Sheveck, Colin Michael West Technocrane Tech: Chris Sweeney Remote Head Techs/Operator: Yuriy Fuks, David Cornelius ROGUE FILMS, INC. “JET BLUE” Director of Photography: Adam McDaid Operators: Stewart Cantrell, Aaron Bowen Assistants: Kyle Anido, Erik Kandefer,
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Shaun Malkovich, Sara Boardman, Sunil Devadanam Digital Imaging Tech: Mariusz Cichon SMUGGLER “VERIZON FIOS” Director of Photography: David Devlin Assistants: Nina Chien, Ryan Nocella Digital Imaging Tech: Rob Cauble STUN “NICK-KIDS CHOICE AWARDS” Director of Photography: Eric Haase Operator: Josh Medak Assistants: Ethan McDonald, Sharla Cipicchio, Lucas Deans, Marcus Del Negro, Britta Richardson Digital Imaging Tech: Stuart Hammond SUPERLOUNGE “CHRYSLER” Director of Photography: Mike Svitak Operator: Chris Moseley Assistants: Mark Santoni, Niranjan Martin, Andrew Crankshaw, David Weldon Digital Imaging Tech: Kai Borson-Paine SPARE PARTS, INC. “NBC ENTERTAINMENT MARKETING” Director of Photography: Chuck Ozeas Assistants: Chris Slany, Toby White, Noah Glazer Digital Imaging Tech: Dylan Johnson Steadicam Operator: Chris Cunningham Drone Pilot: Colin Burgess Drone Operator: Andrew Garrett Crane Techs: Colin Michael West, Chris Sweeney Head Tech: Jay Sheveck TOOL “PIZZA HUT” Director of Photography: Tim Hudson Assistants: Erik Stapelfeldt, Daisy Smith Digital Imaging Tech: Eric Yu
MUSIC VIDEOS GOOD CO “N.E.R.D. 1000” Director of Photography: Malik Sayeed Assistants: Wayne Goring, Arthur Zajac UNDERWATER UNIT Operator: David William McDonald Assistant: Jared Wennberg
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FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018 117
[stop motion]
ATSUSHI NISHIJIMA
THIS IMAGE OF A WRINKLE IN TIME DIRECTOR AVA DUVERNAY AND THE ACTOR STORM REID WAS PHOTOGRAPHED AT SANTA CLARITA STUDIOS IN CALIFORNIA. THE DIRECTOR WAS POINTING AT A CERTAIN SPOT ON THE BLUE SCREEN, DESCRIBING IN DETAIL WHAT THIS IMAGINARY THING MIGHT BE. SHE DESCRIBES AN IMAGINARY WORLD THAT SHOULD BE PORTRAYED IN THE ACTORS’ MINDS SO IT CAN BE BELIEVABLE WHEN THEY ARE ACTING AGAINST THE BLUE SCREEN. I LOVE HOW IT REVEALS THE CHALLENGE OF THE PROCESS – HOW AVA MUST GET A CERTAIN REACTION FROM THE ACTOR IN A REAL TEST OF DIRECTING.
118 FEBRUARY/MARCH 2018
GEAR ART OF EDITING
STORYTELLING IS MORE THAN JUST TELLING A STORY. GET THE EFFECT.
THRIVE ON.
INSPIRATION CINEMATOGRAPHY
Storytelling is as much of an art form as it is a science. NAB Show® provides exclusive access to the world’s leading visionaries and creative masters setting the bar for excellence at every stage of production. Whatever the medium, sound or picture, you will uncover countless ways to elevate the impact of your story on any screen.
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