ICG Magazine - February/March 2023 - The Publicity Issue

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

Eyes Opened Wide

This special double-month issue of ICG Magazine – February/March 2023 – is devoted to highlighting the work of our publicity craft members. I’ve been around unit publicists my whole professional life. But, honestly, as a career camera technician preoccupied with the challenges of pulling focus, overseeing technical standards in our department, and working closely with the show’s operators, directors of photography, still photographers, and other camera department personnel, the job of the unit publicist (and definitely that of the studio or agency publicist) was not much on my mind. That all changed exactly one year ago, after attending ICG’s 2022 Publicist Awards. I was also invited to attend the 2023 Publicists Awards nominations, where my eyes were opened wide

to the incredible contributions ICG publicists make toward a production – and how (truly) our industry would not be successful without their hard work and effort. Now, with the 2023 ICG Publicist Awards just a few weeks away, I have an even better grasp of the publicist’s craft; and, at the risk of repeating myself – the tremendous value they bring to any union-shot project. Series, feature, live event, unscripted – whatever. If you want people to appreciate what we do in the camera department, you’d better have a publicist working from day one to promote your project. Let’s celebrate these amazing professionals – in this new double issue and at our upcoming industry-wide awards – and applaud all they do for this union.

Where would we be without them?

Baird B Steptoe

photo by Quantrell D. Colbert

National President International Cinematographers Guild IATSE Local 600

Publisher

Teresa Muñoz

Executive Editor

David Geffner

Art Director

Wes Driver

STAFF WRITER

Pauline Rogers

COMMUNICATIONS COORDINATOR

Tyler Bourdeau

COPY EDITORS

Peter Bonilla

Maureen Kingsley CONTRIBUTORS

Christina Belle

Elisabeth Caren

Beth Dubber

Eric Espino

Troy Harvey

Scott Everett White

Nicola Goode, SMPSP

Margot Lester

Antony Platt

Josh Stringer

Lacey Terrell, SMPSP

Chuck Zlotnick

COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE

John Lindley, ASC, Co-Chair

Chris Silano, Co-Chair

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February/March 2023

vol. 94 no. 02

IATSE Local 600

NATIONAL PRESIDENT

Baird B Steptoe

VICE PRESIDENT

Chris Silano

1ST NATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT

Deborah Lipman

2ND NATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT

Mark H. Weingartner

NATIONAL SECRETARY-TREASURER

Stephen Wong

NATIONAL ASSISTANT SECRETARY-TREASURER

Patrick Quinn

NATIONAL SERGEANT-AT-ARMS

Betsy Peoples

INTERIM NATIONAL EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Chaim Kantor

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

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

Local 600, International Cinematographers Guild, retains all ancillary and expressed rights of content and photos published in ICG Magazine and icgmagazine.com, subject to any negotiated prior arrangement. ICG Magazine regrets that it cannot publish letters to the editor. ICG (ISSN 1527-6007)

Ten issues published annually by The International Cinematographers Guild 7755 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA, 90046, U.S.A. Periodical postage paid at Los Angeles, California.

POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ICG 7755 Sunset Boulevard Hollywood, California 90046

Copyright 2021, by Local 600, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States and Canada. Entered as Periodical matter, September 30, 1930, at the Post Office at Los Angeles, California, under the act of March 3, 1879. Subscriptions: $88.00 of each International Cinematographers Guild member’s annual dues is allocated for an annual subscription to International Cinematographers Guild Magazine. 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

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On behalf of the entire ICG Magazine staff, we’re super-pumped to debut this February/March issue, the first of two combined issues for 2023. Not only for our two great features – Daisy Jones & The Six, shot by Checco Varese, ASC, and Jeff Cutter (page 28), and Somebody Somewhere , shot by Shana Hagan, ASC (page 48) – but also for the engrossing content showcasing ICG’s publicity branch members. The many areas of publicity covered this month include unit, studio, agency, festival, awards, and unit still photography, which have all changed radically in the last decade. In Stars on the Rise (page 68), we hear about those challenges from six Guild publicists – some of whom have only known life in digital publicity, others of whom have bridged the gap between pre- and postinternet/-streaming worlds.

Western Region Publicists Amanda Iven (Universal Pictures), Kene Onwugbolu (The Walt Disney Studios), Celia Sacks (Amazon Studios), and Dean Smith (Universal Pictures); Eastern Region Publicist Elizabeth Rolnik (CBS Studios) and Central Region Unit Publicist Shelly Williams took different roads to get to where they are now. But the passion they share for their craft, and the mentors who inspired them, all help to solve the same daily equation: how to maintain a standard of excellence that never flinches in the face of evolving marketing challenges?

Rolnik, who pioneered publicity for live TV musicals with NBC’s The Sound of Music Live!, speaks for many in this group when she says the avalanche of new content and the multiple platforms are her biggest challenges. “When I started, there was a clear timeline,” she explained to ICG Staff Writer Pauline Rogers. “We had pilot season, followed by fall launches and a few mid-season launches, and then it was quiet during the summer while the shows were on hiatus. Now the series launch at any time, and it is much more competitive to present them in an impactful way. There were 599 original scripted series that aired in 2022!”

Those changes have helped propel careers like that of Celia Sacks (recently moved from Warner Bros. to Amazon Studios), who’s spent a lot of her time in an area once considered niche that is now “must be there” – fan conventions. Likewise for Kene Onwugbolu, who works with the 2022 Publicist of the Year Marshall Weinbaum’s team at Walt Disney Studios specializing in multicultural publicity. For the 2022 Hulu original Prey, Onwugbolu held screenings in native communities, invited tribal leaders to the premiere, and worked with Native American press, media outlets, and professional organizations. For Marvel/Disney’s recent mega-hit Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, he helped lead the film’s premiere in his hometown of Lagos, Nigeria, and partnered with multiple historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) for advanced screenings nationwide.

Others featured this month include Eastern Region publicist Jackie Bazan (Exposure, page 24), whose 30-plus years in the craft include experience in home video, indie festivals, the first Black Panther, and, perhaps most uniquely, serving as an “education consultant” for movie and TV series to be used as teaching tools to students of all ages – from pre-K to college, homeschoolers and beyond. On the other end of the continuum from Bazan is our First Look profile, Sarah Lane Davidson, (page 18), a new addition to Paramount’s Worldwide Photography department and only five years removed from college (University of Alabama). Acknowledging her Guild mentor, Holly Connors [ICG Magazine February/ March 2021], Davidson says, “I had no industry connections and no family on the West Coast. But Holly held me up and gave me the opportunity to learn. I love hearing her stories from when she first got her start and how much things have changed in the world of publicity and stills. She’s a plethora of knowledge, and I owe her immensely.”

Drawing from Local 600’s vast publicity brain trust is my favorite takeaway from this February/ March issue. Amanda Iven put it best when she says she’s a byproduct of “simply trying to mirror the traits of my first publicity team when I started at Universal. Amanda Stirling taught me to stand my ground and speak up for myself, and she always made sure I had a seat at the table. Tara Friedlander showed me how you can do this job with patience, poise, and a calmness that can often be difficult to achieve. And Britani Wood taught me how to do this job the right way – with kindness and a sense of fun. If I can emulate any of their outstanding traits throughout this journey, I think I’ll do all right.”

David Geffner Executive Editor Email:

david@icgmagazine.com

“Thank you to ICG Magazine for featuring the labor of love that is Daisy Jones & The Six! It was an honor to be the unit photographer for this band of music makers, of talented and generous actors, of incredible filmmakers, artisans, writers and producers. I am grateful to all of them for inviting me along for the ride and inspiring me to push the bounds of what still photographers can bring to a project.”

Cover photo by Lacey Terrell, SMPSP

Photo by Sara Terry

Margot Lester Songbirds

“As someone who grew up during the 1970s, is a student of the music and once lived in Laurel Canyon, it was a kick to cover Daisy Jones & The Six Plus, it’s always great to chat with Checco!”

Lacey Terrell Songbirds, Stop Motion

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SARAH LANE DAVIDSON

BY PAULINE ROGERS

CAREN

Sarah Lane Davidson, one of the newest and most enthusiastic additions to the Paramount Worldwide Photography department, comes from a military family. So, growing up, she moved around. Living in different, often contrasting places triggered her love of visuals. “I feel like I’ve always been following a subconscious North Star that led me here to the entertainment industry,” she enthuses. “I knew I loved movies. I knew I loved art – particularly photography. Every decision I’ve ever made was in service of these interests.”

During the summer of 2016, while studying communications and film at The University of Alabama, Davidson juggled two part-time internships. One was script coverage and the second assisting at a small acquisitions company, answering phones, watching screeners, and providing corresponding reports. “That summer, I took a tour of the Paramount lot and touched the main gate, and I made a wish to work there one day,” she smiles. “Hard work met the perfect opportunity, and I was offered an internship with the photography department in 2017.”

It also happened to be the same time Holly Connors, VP of Worldwide Photography, joined Paramount. Connors’ team was understaffed and was sorely in need of an assistant. “Because Sarah Lane was the type of enthusiastic and bright person who would take on whatever needed to be done and then some, she started to anticipate our needs and helped to streamline our processes,” Connors recounts. “She was quite self-motivated. At the time, we realized that she had a tremendous aptitude, so I took time explaining to her more about what

a career in theatrical photo editing would be if she decided to pursue it.”

Davidson says Connors “opened up a whole world for me to come into this industry when I didn’t know much of anything about it before. I had no industry connections and no family on the West Coast, but she held me up and gave me the opportunity to learn. I love hearing her stories from when she first got her start and how much things have changed in the world of publicity and stills. Holly is a plethora of knowledge and I owe her immensely.”

When Paramount approved a full-time coordinator position for the Worldwide Photography department in late 2018, Connors says it was a nobrainer to see if Davidson was interested in the job. And she jumped at the offer. In 2019, Davidson began as a coordinator, and Connors and the team soon began incorporating her in every part of the process. “She took it all on with aplomb,” reflects Connors. “She even developed a manual for interns and future assistants to use.”

Davidson’s responsibilities quickly broadened; she began assisting with special shoots, red-carpet photography processes, and photo strategy by reading scripts and preparing shot lists. “I get so excited when a new script comes to my desk,” she describes. “I see vivid pictures when I read, particularly how the characters are positioned in space and relate to each other. So, I take that information and anticipate the kinds of shots to get on set and which of those moments stand out to communicate the story to audiences.” Davidson even took the extra initiative to learn the studio’s photo editing systems and lab procedures.

Early in 2022, she was promoted to Apprentice Publicist. “I got a call from my colleague, Ariell Brown, to say she was leaving for a promotion,” Davidson remembers. “I was so excited for her, yet her first reaction on that call was to tell me how excited she was for me, as it left a possibility for my promotion into the union in her place. I can’t think of a better example of the kind of support I’ve received to get to where I am today from the most talented people that I aspire to be like in my career.”

In January 2023, Davidson was promoted to Jr. Publicist. This means she’ll be taking on more projects and campaigns under her name. Davidson’s past work includes overseeing the images for 2022 hits like Jackass Forever, Paws of Fury, and the recent release, 80 for Brady. “I’m excited to be able to manage the imagery for my titles from preproduction to release alongside the efforts of our amazing publicity team at Paramount,” she shares. “I’m so grateful to continue to learn from Senior Photo Publicists Mick Mayhew and Denise Cubbins, who’ve taught me how to produce photoshoots, communicate with union photographers, and manage the sheer amount of photography we go through in a day to find the standouts for our global campaigns.”

Davidson understands how vital images are to a theatrical campaign. “It’s what draws someone in,” she concludes. “It motivates them to read an article or pick up a magazine. In its most powerful form, it’s a call to action. I see the opportunities for imagery as ever-expanding. There is so much room for collaboration going forward, especially in the digital space. I’m excited to see how film campaigns [will] use stills to reach audiences in ten years’ time.”

PHOTO BY ELISABETH

JOHN PISANI

After graduating from the University of Georgia, John Pisani decided to visit a friend in L.A. A few days after his arrival, they went to the set of Michael Bay’s The Rock , where Pisani met the woman who would set him on the career he wanted – publicity. “It was one of those things,” he recalls of the chance encounter. “Gabriela Gutentag and I just clicked. She took my number, and I thought that was it. But soon after, she called, and I became her assistant on Armageddon and Enemy of the State It was a fantastic training ground.”

As for when Pisani struck out on his own, he smiles and says, “Do I really want to admit it? It was a 40-day shoot for New Line called Happy Campers .” The film became one of ten New Line shoots and included set visits from the likes of MTV and Vogue that Pisani arranged. That fearlessness served him well over the years, as he led publicity on more than 50 films, including many factions of the Marvel world, from Iron Man to Avengers and more. These days, the two-time Maxwell Weinberg Award nominee has focused mainly on streaming series, a platform he says has given “a new home and value for behind-the-scenes content and interviews – after the decline of DVDs in 2008.”

In 2019, I was asked to spearhead the on-set publicity for Marvel streaming productions WandaVision , Falcon and the Winter Soldier and Loki . I had never worked on long-form episodic television, and one of the obvious differences was the shooting schedule. It was basically six one-hour films in the same amount of time as shooting a twohour film. Each episode felt like a sprint instead of the long-distance marathon of a feature.

The episodic nature of streaming also means tracking notable actors from the MCU who may only come in for a handful of days on one episode. So, I really had to break down the schedule by episode to ensure I was getting BTS interviews and creative content for each episode and for special guests. And the cast tends to be much bigger with six hours of content. While a film production

PHOTO BY CHUCK ZLOTNICK

schedule has its ebbs and flows when much of the heavy lifting for publicity is done, streaming productions tend to have a constant flow driven by each episode, which can leave less room for error.

After the world shut down in March 2020, WandaVision was one of the first major productions to start back up in September of that same year. We were the test model for how the industry could work through a pandemic. I had to shift my focus to capturing on-set content with cast and filmmakers with our BTS crew or on production iPhones given to the cast that could be used for social content, marketing or publicity. One of my favorites was with Tom Hiddleston on the large practical set of Shuroo on the back lot of Trilith Studios. It was a 360-degree town set, lit by production and special-effects smoke. Tom did a full breakdown and reenactment of one of the big fight/chase sequences for our BTS cameras and answered questions throughout different parts of the set. It was a gold mine of engaging and unique content that was used over multiple platforms.

A 60-minute BTS show requires a ton of exclusive content, on-set interviews, and a much deeper dive into departments like special effects, production design, costume design, stunts, and VFX to show the not-commonly-seen aspects of the production. For each show, I try to find unique angles and will do on average 60-plus on-set stand-up interviews with cast, filmmakers, department heads, and crew to get a unique angle or story. Doing the interviews on set provides energy and weight that can’t be duplicated after production. The way an actor speaks in an interview during the production is more immersive. The fast pace of the schedule is imperative to be in the mindset of a content creator, and you need an advance game plan to capture the specific days of production that will support and highlight the unique BTS narrative for each show.

I’m always looking for that moment that will help get what you want. I remember a shoot

that involved a powwow, and the filmmakers had brought in Native American dancers, flag carriers, tribe royalty, and drum groups, who participate all over North America on the powwow circuit. It was the end of an exhausting week of night shoots, and with the light of dawn breaking, the director invited the entire crew to join in a ceremonial circle dance with all the Native American participants. With the drum groups playing, everyone joined together as one group, holding hands, and experiencing the powerful energy and meanings of the ancient Native American round dance.

When the dance ended, my publicist brain kicked back in and knew we needed our director to do a quick interview, even though she had turned down every interview request I had made for the entire run of the show! As the crew and filmmakers were leaving, I would not take "no" for an answer and mentally willed it into happening. With the sun rising and backlighting her perfectly, I asked my questions, and she articulated her thoughts in a pure, passionate, and authentic manner that could have never been duplicated had it not been in that moment.

At the beginning of shooting Avengers: Infinity War and End Game (produced simultaneously), we knew we wanted to create something special that could capture the grand scope of the films and button-up a ten-year journey. Early in the schedule, I started tracking the date when we should shoot what production called the “wedding scene,” but was really Tony Stark’s funeral, and included 40 or so MCU characters. The date was set in stone because so many actors would be flying in, so we decided that the next day we would do a Marvel class photo and invite additional actors and directors from the MCU.

We also decided to do a special photo shoot for four different covers of Vanity Fair . It was a massive undertaking as we had to have our production designer build the stage platforms to accommodate 80 people. Even more tricky was creating a seating chart of where the different

actors and filmmakers would stand. What turned out to be the unexpected highlight of the day was the after-party. After some heartfelt words by Kevin Feige and Robert Downey Jr. that captured the 10year journey, it quickly turned into a celebration with many of the actors from different casts meeting for the first time. As gifts, we had given all of the cast and filmmakers these Marvel visual history books; to our surprise, they all started getting each other to sign their books like a high school yearbook! The hard part was prying away the cast members that still had to shoot the Vanity Fair covers. [Laughs.]

With so much content being produced, breaking through the noise is not as easy as it used to be. But sometimes those breakthroughs can come from unexpected moments, go viral and trend, which is today’s publicity jackpot. One memorable example was Avengers: Infinity War . I was asked to shoot a short video with Chris Hemsworth that was to be shown at a toy expo for potential promotional partners. The studio had sent me a box of all the Marvel superhero action figures. There was a loose script as well, but on the day, we came up with the idea of having all the action figures standing up on a table, Chris doing a short intro and then riffing on each figure before he knocked them off the table with his Thor Hammer.

We shot the video in two takes, and Chris was snarky and hilarious in his commentary. The video played very well at the convention, which was a nonpublic event. I showed it to Chris, and he loved it and wanted to post it on his social media, which was not a typical platform – so the request met with some resistance. But after some back and forth, we were able to get the video cleared and Chris posted it to his Instagram – and it just took off. I was driving home from work the next night and stopped for gas; standing at the pump, I looked up and saw the video player showing CNN news stories when suddenly [the network broadcasters] started talking about the toy video and playing it. I just laughed and knew it had gone viral.

NICOLA GOODE, SMPSP

BY PAULINE ROGERS PHOTO BY NICOLA GOODE

Nicola Goode grew up in Beachwood Canyon in the Hollywood Hills surrounded by photography, art and cameras. “My father, Fritz Goode, was a DGA director/producer of commercials, documentaries and music videos, with offices for his small film and video production company across from the Chinese Theater,” she recalls. An early mentor who encouraged her love of photography was one of her father’s business partners, cinematographer Joseph M. Wilcots, ASC, who had shot Roots and worked with Vilmos Zsigmond, ASC.

“John Simmons [ASC] was another family friend and photo inspiration from an early age whom I’ve been able to work alongside as a professional,” Goode adds. “My first memory of loading film and making images was with my dad’s Nikon on a family trip to East Africa when I was about 10. When I went to Yale to study fine art, I was exposed to documentary photography and the art of blackand-white film processing and printing. I fell in love with the work of photographers like Robert Frank, Gordon Parks and William Klein. Mary Ellen Mark later became a good friend and a mentor,” she continues. “I felt a connection to the humanity of Mark’s vision and her ease in transitioning between gritty photo essays of often underrepresented communities and documenting Hollywood film sets.”

Soon after graduating from Yale, Goode worked with her father and Wilcots on a series of documentaries made for the Peace Corps in Africa and the Caribbean. “Joe later hired me to shoot portraits on the set of various Michael Jackson projects,” she adds.

The Santa Monica, CA resident says that she approaches her unit still work on a film set like a street photographer and finds cinematic moments when documenting street life or making portraits for personal projects. “Regardless of the media – film or digital – for me, photography has always been about revealing what’s hidden in plain sight. It’s through decisive moments and composition, the beauty of light, form and gestures that I find human emotion. Ultimately, [the craft of photography] is about patience, paying attention, anticipating what’s going to happen and determining when and where to make the best image.”

Before becoming a member of Local 600 (in 1993), Goode shot editorial, BTS on documentaries, photo-assisted in New York City and L.A., and worked in production in the art and wardrobe departments. “It was while I was working in wardrobe on the nascent Fox TV sketch comedy series In Living Color that I started making BTS portraits of the cast and crew,” she notes. “After sharing a box of my black-and-white prints with

the filmmakers, I was hired to shoot unit as well as marketing campaigns on the show. As the show gained popularity and the actors’ careers took off, I was able to work with many of them on features.”

Over the years, Goode’s been responsible for stunning unit photography on projects like The Little Things, A League of Their Own (pilot), Sylvie’s Love, The OA, Waiting to Exhale, The X-Files, Friday, Why Do Fools Fall in Love , and more. “The last project I shot on film was Taylor Hackford’s Ray , starring In Living Color alum Jamie Foxx,” she describes. “I shot transparency, black and white, and mediumformat color negative; it was a sweet send-off and the perfect period-piece project to shoot on a range of film stock and camera formats.”

Goode says she’s been fortunate to balance set photography with her fine art practice. In 2014 she completed an MFA from Otis College of Art & Design with a focus on installations outside the traditional gallery or museum space. “The best takeaway from that graduate program was recognizing that all my creative work is part of the same ecosystem,” she reflects. “I’m endlessly fascinated with the process of filmmaking, its history, and the possibilities I find on set for making pictures. For my thesis project, I created an installation of photography, projections and sculpture throughout Mack Sennett Studios in Hollywood, a 1916-era film studio where many of L.A.’s earliest silent films were shot. I documented the exquisite archive of vintage scenic backdrops painted and stored there that were once the cuttingedge technology for creating the cinematic illusion.”

Since the fall of 2020, Goode’s worked as the Portrait Gallery photographer on five consecutive Disney+ Star Wars episodics, all shot in the L.A.area: The Book of Boba Fett , Obi-Wan Kenobi , Season 3 of The Mandalorian, Ahsoka and Skeleton Crew . “The work I produce fulfills franchise needs – it is used for publicity, marketing, and reference, and ultimately joins the extensive visual archive that has documented the Star Wars canon since its inception,” she details.

“As the Portrait Gallery photographer, I work primarily in my 40-foot Duvetyne cube studio on one of our stages. I shoot formal portraits of all the principal characters, background artists, and various creatures that populate the Star Wars galaxy,” Goode continues. “At the start of each project, I collaborate with my photo assistants to create an elegant basic lighting setup that allows me to dial-in a variety of ‘secret sauce’ lighting recipes. I don’t work with a digital technician, and only with a photo assistant on days when the workload is especially heavy.”

Depending on the characters and the look she wants, Goode says she can easily adjust light ratios

while adding diffusion, white, silver, or negative fill as needed. “I shoot tethered in Capture One with a Fuji GFX50R camera and use radio-controlled Profoto D2 strobes. I look to the on-set lighting of our main and second unit cinematographers and often create mood boards for inspiration, drawing from classic cinema, royal portrait-gallery paintings, and popculture icons. In addition, I have a tabletop setup for props, puppets, small set pieces and costumes.”

Outside the portrait studio, Goode documents the working sets and the vehicles and spaceships on the various stages and the backlot. She visits the different craft shops – props, costumes, and scenic – to shoot the teams of artisans, including droid designers, milliners, puppeteers, creature effects and set builders, as well as the tech teams working in editing and on The Volume. She’ll cover second unit when they’re working, and shoots environmental portraits of the filmmakers and department heads involved in all aspects of production.

“I’m faced with every photographic challenge imaginable, and I love the opportunity of being a studio, architectural, still life, and unit photographer all on one project,” Goode adds. “Having more than one still photographer in the camera department is rare, and I’ve enjoyed the camaraderie of the main unit shooters – François Duhamel, SMPSP; Suzanne Tenner, SMPSP and Matt Kennedy, SMPSP. I also get to work closely with the Lucasfilm team in San Francisco and with our ICG Publicist, Gregg Brilliant, to navigate the logistics of these large-scale productions with enormous photographic needs.

“ The Mandalorian and subsequent Disney+ episodics have become synonymous with The Volume,” says Goode. “And like the monumental backdrops and matte paintings of the past, each represents the cutting-edge visual technology of their time. But The Volume is much more than just “magic hour” all day, she continues. “It emerges as its own presence, conceived by the production designers and visual effects professionals to work in concert with the built environment in support of storytelling. Bringing ‘post’ into the production process, the actors, as well as the entire crew, interact with their surroundings, in a palatial interior, within a bamboo forest or gazing at a starry sky.

“Despite the technology,” she concludes, “The Volume and the practical set together create a surreal landscape that feels very much like classic filmmaking. What I document in pictures is not just what it looks like, but what it feels like to be on the set of a Star Wars project and to be part of the creative, collaborative alien species behind the lens. I often feel like an embedded photojournalist with an all-access pass to the Galaxy.”

JACKIE BAZAN

BY PAULINE ROGERS PHOTOS BY ERIC ESPINO

Walk through the halls of Jackie Bazan’s New Jersey home, and you pass classic-movie posters she’s collected throughout her 30-some years in the industry. Bazan’s passion for the entertainment industry was cemented during her childhood in the South Bronx and the hours she spent watching films on TV and attending the theater. While still exploring her career options, Bazan visited the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in Harlem to research content for a possible mail-order-catalog business. As she picks up the story: “When I arrived, right at the entrance was an exhibit called ‘Imaging Black America.’ It was small but impactful, as it included Hollywood posters going back to D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation as the catalyst for the Race Film genre of film and what came after by Black filmmakers. The posters represented films from the 1920s, 30s, 40s, and so on – ending with Boyz n the Hood , Daughters of the Dust , and She’s Gotta Have It . By the time I was done taking in that small exhibit, I knew my place was to make a difference in film.”

PUBLICIST

EXPOSURE

Over the years, through her company, Bazan Entertainment Marketing, Inc., the veteran PR professional has handled everything from AOR (Agency of Record) for Dimension Films as well as Buena Vista Home Video, Universal Home Video, and others: marketing projects that include The Others , Scary Movie , Mindhunters , Spy Kids and more. After the Writers Guild strike in 2001, the market changed, and Bazan branched out, shifting her focus to the growth of projects featuring Black filmmakers and stars. She counts Black Panther , The Hate U Give , 4 Little Girls , Inside Man , and I Am Not Your Negro as some of her most impactful films to date.

You have a long history with Black-themed projects. How has the industry’s view of Black content changed in recent years, and how has your approach to publicizing Black-themed content changed (including publicizing Black filmmakers behind the camera)? In recent years, companies have increased the volume of films about Black subjects that are more expansive beyond the stereotypical films that have plagued the industry for a long time. That’s a good thing, and I hope to see an even larger increase and more attention to these stories as we continue to normalize Black life on screen. I have worked with Director Malcolm D. Lee his entire career, and from the beginning, with The Best Man , his goal has been exactly that – to normalize Black life. He has done so successfully in every film he has directed, along with filmmakers like Kasi Lemmons, Gina Prince Bythewood, Spike Lee and more. My approach doesn’t change. To me, these films and filmmakers deserve the broadest exposure and maximum support from the studios, streamers, networks, et cetera. So, with every project, we develop strategically driven campaigns to achieve that goal to give the project and the filmmakers the best chance for success.

How has digital technology changed the PR world? I have done this long enough to recall a time when a blogger or someone with a website wanted access at a junket, but we pushed them aside and gave them a canned feature to pull from. Nowadays, digital media dominates our coverage, surpassing what has always been considered “traditional media.” That has led to an overwhelming increase in the volume of outlets we reach out to. It’s also helped bring heightened awareness to many smaller films, giving them a chance for greater audiences.

What’s unique to being a publicist on the East Coast as opposed to other markets? New York City is the greatest media center in the world and can be a publicist’s dream or nightmare, depending on how you approach it. With the sheer volume of

media and unique communities that exist here, the opportunities to create impactful and memorable experiences around a project seem endless. I oversee regional campaigns as well as national, so for me, I see opportunities everywhere.

You worked on the first Black Panther . How did that movie change attitudes toward marketing Black superhero stories? Black Panther is a great film for many reasons, and I am honored to have contributed to that campaign. We have few Black superheroes, so marketing the first Black Panther doesn’t really impact us long term. What Black Panther did do, however, was reinforce not only the power of the Black community as consumers but also the possibility for diverse consumers to see beyond their personal interests and find joy in stories with Black leads. This is relevant to global audiences because some films with all Black leads have difficulty obtaining distribution in some international territories. Everyone’s stories are relevant and deserve a chance to be seen and experienced globally. The industry has never had a level playing field when it comes to marketing dollars for Black films versus other films. With every success, we strive to change that narrative.

You have the title on many of your films of “education consultant.” How is that different from being a unit publicist or marketing consultant?

Well, first of all, it’s fun. As an education consultant, I create and distribute curriculum content through BazanED.com for educators to teach with film. Through it, I reach consumers of all ages and backgrounds, from pre-K to college, homeschoolers and beyond. I get to teach people, and I love it! My education campaigns provide a unique lens through which consumers experience the art of storytelling through film. They bring stories to life in the classroom and through special events, giving educators and students experiences they likely will never forget, and providing filmmakers with an organic way to market and publicize films. Whatever the topics are, historical or contemporary, we bring them to the forefront through education and film.

How is marketing at a film festival like Sundance or Toronto different from marketing once the film is released or being a unit publicist while it’s being made? That’s a bit of a loaded question because it depends on where the film is in its lifecycle. Does it have a distributor, or is it for sale? Each phase of a film’s life has a different goal when it comes to media coverage. With unit publicity, we are first and foremost capturing the content we need to help successfully market a film at its time of release. COVID-19 put a damper on having press on set; but, honestly, I don’t see that as a bad thing. Production windows seem to get shorter and shorter, and often, there’s not a lot of time to

get the essentials done. By capturing good content that we control, we have plenty of ways to get the media excited about the film, simply using strategic content we capture and service versus all that goes into coordinating having press on set.

So even during COVID (and this quasi-postCOVID world), unit PR has flourished? Definitely. We can achieve the same objective, just in a more controlled and cost-effective manner. And going back to your original question, with festivals there’s another goal, and those objectives differ slightly when you have a film that already has a distributor and a release date versus a film that is for sale. Festival campaigns dictate specific outlets we are reaching out to, a specific type of coverage that runs during this leg, and the rest held for release, as well as anything else that makes sense from a visibility standpoint, such as panels and appearances. At release, of course, everything goes. We reach out to all media across diverse demographics to create the greatest level of awareness possible. No matter how you slice it, it’s a lot of work. [Laughs]

We recently did a cover story on I Wanna Dance With Somebody , directed by Kasi Lemmons. You worked as a publicist on Eve’s Bayou , Kasi’s first and breakout film. What was that experience like, and why aren’t there more Black women directors 20-plus years after Eve’s Bayou ? [Laughs] That’s a loaded question as well. Why there aren’t more diverse directors in this industry remains a great challenge, and honestly, there’s no excuse. But it’s not just directors. It’s in all jobs in front of and behind the camera in production through the halls of every studio, streamer and independent distributor. It’s the lack of diverse publicists who are managing campaigns for all types of films, not just Black or Hispanic and not just on the multicultural team. There needs to be more mentorship and overall support as an industry, and the need to do better remains. It has to stop being done on the smallest levels. Lots of promises of change were made after George Floyd’s death. Personally, I’m still waiting to see that change come.

What keeps you motivated after three decades in publicity? It’s hard because this is a volumedriven industry, and much of the time, the work and the rate of pay do not match up. I loved film long before I chose it as a career, and I have managed to acquire broad skills throughout my career across publicity, marketing, promotion, and production that have helped me stay connected and motivated.

Do you have a single favorite project? If so, why is it your favorite? I can’t have one. No mother

has an ugly child. [Laughs] I take every campaign to heart and do my best at every turn to help it be successful. Campaigns like Black Panther , The Hate U Give , 4 Little Girls , and so many others are ones that I am so very proud of and stay with me. I can tell you probably the most fun I had was running around Manhattan doing publicity with the two puppets from Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie . It was hilarious. A full day of publicity driving around in a limo, then a book signing in Washington Square with a line out the door and wrapped around the block, and then a promo screening that night. The filmmakers voted us the

Best Agency out of all the cities on their tour.

You’ve worked on some films drawn from real life or real characters that have deep historical significance – most recently, Till and One Night in Miami . Is there a different level of responsibility in marketing these films since they often educate and entertain audiences, or in some examples, even correct and dispel false versions of histories that have been put forward for many years? There is incredible responsibility with films that are based on actual events or actual people, whether those people are alive or members of their

families are. And I truly feel that responsibility, especially if they are Black, since so much of Black history has either been misrepresented or simply not taught. It’s one of the reasons I am so passionate about my education division. Through it, we teach history and use the film to highlight it and not just for today but for years to come. One of my new hats, as I continue my journey in this industry, is as a producer, where my job is to accurately represent stories and bring them to the screen. So, yes, that’s a long way of saying there is a different level of responsibility when marketing those kinds of projects.

“The industry has never had a level playing field when it comes to marketing dollars for Black films versus other films. With every success, we strive to change that narrative. ”

Amazon’s new limited series, Daisy Jones & The Six, chronicles the ultra highs (and deep lows) of a fictional 1970’s-era rock band.

by Margot Lester

photos by Lacey Terrell , SMPSP

SONGBIRDS

Sometimes a casual conversation sparks a slew of ideas so good you can’t stop thinking about the possibilities. That’s what happened when Producer Mike Nelson made an offhand remark about an upcoming project to Checco Varese, ASC, while the pair was collaborating on Them [ICG Magazine May 2021]. “I kept thinking about how I would shoot it, just for

Varese remembers. While he was lensing Dopesick [ICG Magazine November 2021], Nelson asked for a formal pitch, and Varese got the gig.

“From day one, Checco was a revelation,” recalls Scott Neustadter, the show’s executive producer and co-showrunner. “Every setup, every day, he was always brimming with brilliant ideas for everything from camera moves to the blocking of the actors. His energy was infectious and his expertise unparalleled.” The project was an adaptation of Taylor Jenkins Reid’s New York Times best-selling novel, Daisy Jones & The Six , about a band’s rise and fall in the 1960s and 1970s. Neustadter, who previously developed John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars and Paper Towns , says he loved the book straight off. “The story, the characters, the emotion,” he adds. “And especially the world, which I wanted to move to and live in for as long as humanly possible. There are inherent challenges in any translation, but if you’re a fan first, the goal is simple, and that’s to make the experience of watching the thing as pleasurable as it was to read the source material.”

Neustadter and Michael H. Weber adapted the book for Hello Sunshine and Amazon Originals as a limited series. Executive producer and co-showrunner Will Graham says “the book gave us two wonderful opportunities to live up to. First, Taylor’s writing has deep emotion, and we needed to earn that intensity on screen. Second, the oral-history format of the book left a lot to the imagination. There are many places in the narrative where you don’t know who is telling the truth – maybe there are two different versions of a story. We had to answer some of those questions in a way that was satisfying but also maintained the emotional ambiguity and shades of gray that make the book so compelling. And there was the amazing challenge of creating music, written by the incomparable Blake Mills, that could stand up to the iconic albums that the book is gently referencing.” (The fictional

fun,”

EP/ Showrunner Scott Neustadter describes DP Checco Varese (above) as “a revelation. "Every setup, every day, he was brimming with brilliant ideas for everything from camera moves to the blocking of the actors. Checco's energy was infectious and his expertise unparalleled.”

band in the novel has been likened to Fleetwood Mac.)

Neustadter adds that they “wanted a look that had scope, was authentic to the era and felt vital right now.” Varese’s solution to that tall order was a pastiche of images captured in various formats spanning a decade across the 1960s and ’70s. Formats would include Super-8 “home movies,” 35 millimeter, amateur and professional still photography, documentarystyle interviews, concert footage and straight narrative storytelling. The blend of formats was imperative to creating the right feel for different eras and supporting the story.

“When an episode cuts from one format to another, you don’t want the shift to jump out and pull viewers out of the narrative,” notes Director of Photography Jeff Cutter, who shot the last three episodes. “Fortunately, audiences are quite sophisticated, so as long as you set up each format in the beginning, you can jump back and forth. And it’s the consistency of what goes in front of the camera – the actors, their wardrobe, et cetera – that helps tie it all together.”

To achieve a consistent tone, Varese says he needed options. “I wanted to test every single lens ever tempered by humankind,” he laughs. And he almost did.

Randy Wedick, chief technology officer for Band Pro Film & Digital, Inc., confirms that it was the largest and most elaborate lens test he’d ever seen, “and I’ve been involved in many of the big ones,” Wedick says. “There were at least 60 crew members and five stand-ins and the onscreen talent. There were three full lighting setups, a rock-n-roll stage with backlight, a lowkey-lit apartment scene, and a giant white cyc for glamour shots and some promo-reel stuff. The VENICE camera was on a remote head that was on a crane that was on a dolly, and I saw possibly 14 sets of lenses. Every single modern and vintage rehoused lens you can imagine. Full sets. Carts and carts of primes. Their rental agents at Keslow got them everything.” (Wedick brought in Angénieux Optimo Prime lenses and the company’s first integrated optical palette [IOP] filters – see sidebar, page 42.)

Test footage was sent to Stefan Sonnenfeld, senior colorist and CEO of Company 3 and Method Studios, who made shot-to-shot color corrections and sent them back to Varese. “Checco made the most of the dynamic range of the [Sony VENICE and Sony FX3], and then we worked in the color grade to bring the material to a place where it felt as if it was shot on the film negative of that time,” Sonnenfeld explains. “We took a different approach to the

material set more recently. The melding of the two techniques helped create a sense of the long timespan that the story covers.”

Regardless of the era, Varese insists that “it all needed to be lush, gorgeous, and edgy. It needed to be vintage yet contemporary. And that’s why I was intrigued by the new Optimo Primes – because you can customize them with an internal filter.”

Graham says that Varese brought the idea of “creating beautiful moving masters that captured the light in a spectacular way and fell into coverage very naturally” – no easy ask for the union crew. Fifty years ago, street lighting was all mostly sodium vapor, giving off a warm, almost romantic glow. But today’s fluorescents and LEDs are brighter, whiter, and cooler, often feeling over-lit, which was problematic for night exteriors. Obviously, the crew couldn’t replace every lightbulb along Sunset Boulevard, or worse, in the panoramic views of the L.A. basin. So, DIT Daniele Colombera worked with Varese on the best strategy to recreate the historic look in the contemporary nocturnal cityscape. Colombera suggested shifting the color temperature in the VENICE and FX3 to 4,000 Kelvin. Then Varese, working with Chief Lighting Technician Nicholas Kaat, adjusted all the other lights and practicals color temperatures to start from that baseline.

“There are some warmer tones in the urban night footage of that time compared to what we see and photograph today” Colombera continues. “We often shot at a very high exposure index for night scenes: EI 1250, but also 2500 and higher. Thanks to the VENICE’s high sensitivity we were able to capture every little city light, every nuance of existing light in the background while lighting the foreground at very, very low levels. Daisy Jones was an inspiring project,” Colombera says, “because working with Checco I had the fun task of setting specific camera settings and color grades – not just for each scene, but for all the different eras and dramatic arcs of the characters.”

One example is the night scenes at Producer Teddy Wright’s house in the Hollywood Hills. When Teddy (Tom Price) and band member Daisy (Riley Keough) chat in Wright’s dimly lit living room, they are in front of a panorama window of city lights that twinkle all the way to Downtown. “We pushed the camera’s EI to 2,500, tweaked the shutter angle to 288 degrees and set the primes to T1.8,” Colombera adds. “This let us preserve all the details in the shadows in the low

lights in the far background and I graded the image to preserve that dynamic range, but keep everything natural and cinematic.” In fact, the VENICE was so sensitive, it captured the occasional helicopter or airplane landing some 10 miles away at LAX, more than the eye can see.

They also pushed the cameras for a party scene in the small Laurel Canyon home of lead singer Billy (Sam Claflin) and his wife Camila (Camila Morrone) in Episode 4. After a power outage, they light candles to keep the revelry going – and provide most of the practical lighting. Band keyboardist Karen (Suki Waterhouse) starts to play the piano, and a sing-along erupts. Varese tracked the action, operating the FX3 through the crowd as if he were another partygoer.

“We chose the FX3 for this candle-lit scene because it’s compact and lightweight, and it captures images so well in low light,” Colombera continues. “We shot at 12,800 ISO, and I was grading images live along with the VENICE cameras. The match was seamless.”

The smaller FX3 also made innovative shots, like those in Episode 2, possible. The band is sardined into a tiny van and getting ready to hit the road. “When Camila turns around to speak, I wanted to capture that feeling,” Varese says. “So, I came up with a shot that started at the driver’s face and pushed all the way to the back window. But that was five minutes before we had to start. There was no time to plan, so we stuck the FX3 to a pipe rigged to the dolly.” They utilized the lens’ built-in facial-recognition feature to hold focus as the camera moved past and then slowly transformed to a wide shot before the van drove away.

Another unique scene in the van takes place at night on the Sunset Strip, as the band is singing and having a blast while Camila snaps pictures. With A-Camera/ Steadicam Operator Joseph Arena, SOC, and B-Camera Operator Joshua Turner in the van with the five actors, there was no room for Unit Still Photographer Lacey Terrell during the actual shot. As Terrell tells it, “Checco suggested doing a special take of the song with me in the van, photographing from Camila’s POV, in case our director, James Ponsoldt, wanted to cut to a still photograph when editing the scene. I can’t say enough about how Checco, and the entire camera team, supported our still

photography goals for this show.”

That wasn’t Terrell’s only departure from the usual BTS and publicity stills.

“As the show is about a rock band in the 1970s, when music photography exploded, I was also the band’s photographer, using many film and digital cameras,” Terrell adds, “capturing live performance images, behind the scenes, candids, and portraits. I do a lot of live music photography, so I approached this like I normally would – on and off the stage, lots of angles, embracing flares, moving with the music.” Terrell says these kinds of pictures were intended for use within the show – but also for the marketing of the series, lending to the notion that this might have been a real band. “Throughout the season, Amazon gave me certain assignments,” she continues, “as well as equipment such as a kaleidoscope filter, a teleconverter and film – to create imagery specifically for social media and possible key art.” Terrell’s images were also used for set dressing, props, like family photos, tour merchandise, a 1976 Rolling Stone magazine cover, the Aurora album cover (which will be released on Atlantic Records), and the opening title sequence features stills collaged into black and white proof sheets to create an authentic look at the journey of the band.

As Terrell’s extensive role bears out, authenticity was the production’s North Star, starting with the band itself. “We all knew we could only convince an audience so far if our cast couldn’t play their instruments,” Neustadter explains. “And they didn’t just have to play – they had to embody being rock stars. Fortunately, we had a group of actors who were either inherently up to the task or completely devoted to being up to it before cameras rolled.”

When COVID delayed filming, the cast had more time to dive into music and vocal work, and rehearse together. As Graham asserts: “It took so much work for the band to get to the level that we all collectively wanted them to get to – ceaseless work from Blake Mills, Tony Berg, and the actors.” The band of actors even played a real show for the crew before filming. “I’m not a music person,” Varese laughs. “I think the last time I went to a concert was in 1985. But I

“ THE SHOW FELT LIKE IT SHOULD BE A NICOTINE-STAINED VERSION OF THE ’70S...”

DESIGNER JESSICA KENDER

Recreating an Iconic Time

BY MARGOT LESTER

Part of what makes Daisy Jones & The Six special is its detailed recreation of late 1960s/early ’70s America and the group of union pros who were integral to pulling it off – Production Designer Jessica Kender, Costume Designer Denise Wingate, and Still Photographer Lacey Terrell.

With all three sharing their detailed period research, one key overlap for the trio was a pitch book Kender created while reading the script. “It served as a jumping-off point for discussions with the producers and gave an immediate awareness as to whether we all shared the same vision,” she explains. “The show felt like it should be a nicotine-stained version of the ’70s – not the bold, bright bell-bottoms and groovy fonts that sometimes push us into a The Brady Bunch or Austin Powers vibe. The show is about love, redemption, and pain – all of which felt real, not glossy.”

Directors of Photography Checco Varese, ASC, and Jeff Cutter joined Kender for scouting. As Kender adds: “Daisy is very location heavy, which gave us hours in the van together. During that time, we could pull out plans of the built sets, color palettes, and furniture and discuss what would make the sets better and how they could best utilize them.”

Shooting in real locations that were open for business required extra effort – being in and out of a location in 36 hours – prep, shooting and strike – was not uncommon. “Time becomes daunting because you know what you have to do to get it right, but the space and ability to do so are compressed,” Kender describes. “Working closely with Checco and Jeff was critical because we could decide where to focus our efforts. Maybe we couldn’t show 360 degrees of a venue because it wouldn’t physically be possible, so what angles would showcase it best?” Kender says she was in New Orleans when Producer Mike Nelson suggested she read the novel on which the show is based. “I was holed up in my hotel during Hurricane Barry and read the entire book in one sitting,” she laughs. “I started doing a lookbook before I even had the interview.”

Wingate worked closely with Varese to set the initial look. “Checco’s attention to detail with the costumes and palette was incredible,” she remembers. “He would point small things out to me during our camera tests that most people wouldn’t have noticed. He saw things through the camera that I wouldn’t have noticed. I would watch dailies and be amazed at how much better everything looked through his lens. He made me a better designer, and I am so grateful for that.” She also praises her partnership with Cutter in the last three episodes of the series. “Although by the time we started Block 2, much of the initial look had been established,” Wingate recounts. “It wasn’t easy, as we were shooting huge concert scenes in New Orleans with horrible weather and COVID outbreaks. I would love to work with Jeff where we could prep a show from the beginning to end.”

Creating a photographic record of the band fell to Unit Still Photographer Lacey Terrell, who worked closely with Kender, Executive Producer/Showrunner Scott Neustadter, Wingate, and, most importantly, Varese and his Guild camera team. “Checco was always in tune with what he was filming but also how stills might be useful editorially, too,” Terrell states.

Art Director Morgan Price worked with Terrell to create family photos, band photos and more from various decades for set dressing. Terrell also created band marketing materials, album art and magazine covers. The band’s “Aurora” album cover was shot in the Lake Los Angeles area, doubling for Mt. Baldy. “There were two days of daylight exteriors where we had wind, sandstorms and bitter cold with snow flurries,” Terrell recounts. “Physically, these were very hard days for everyone.” Terrell remembers covering the scenes to create the album’s front and back covers in between camera setups, “with the actors freezing and getting blown all over the place while chasing daylight – and we did it!” she says proudly. And as a bonus, “Aurora” will be released commercially with Terrell’s images from the production.

“Our 1976 Rolling Stone cover shoot was as big as a real RS shoot,” Terrell adds. “Lighting, three assistants, monitors, tunes, and fun! Sometimes Art Department pictures are cobbled together and pulled off at the last minute, and we had to do some of that. But wherever possible, we were afforded the time and means to do it right – under challenging circumstances almost every day. I felt supported by this team in a very special way.”

came back to my house and told my wife and daughter they were amazing.”

Ponsoldt says the visual authenticity required “a wonderful collaboration” between himself, Varese, Location

Manager Jay Traynor, Production

Designer Jessica Kender and Costume

Designer Denise Wingate. “Attention to detail and period accuracy – in every location, every item of clothing, every instrument, everything – were vitally important,” Ponsoldt recounts. “Checco and I went beat by beat through the scripts and storyboarded. That was key, especially for the larger or more complicated sequences.”

Wingate, who grew up in Los Angeles in the 1970s and had even toured as a stylist for The Bangles, describes the period as “multifaceted and visually rich. It was a buffet from which I could distill what I loved and thought was right for the show,” she states. “The fun part was figuring out who the characters were and what made them tick. And the beauty of having such a long prep is that we had time to explore that.”

Kender wanted to use as many real settings as possible (see sidebar, page 38). “The experience is more real, more drenched in the past, and that permeates through all aspects of creating truth,” she explains. “This is why we refaced the Sunset Strip and why we built out Sound City [recording studio] instead of building it on a stage.”

Some of the most emotionally charged scenes occur in the recording studio. For the end of Episode 5, Billy and Daisy come in to demo the first song they’ve collaborated on. Ponsoldt, who was also an executive producer, says the scene needed “to tell the story of every member

of the band seeing each other, playing together, and believing in the dream of what the band could be. We wanted it to feel fluid and spontaneous, and invite the audience into the recording process.”

First AC Mark Strasburg adds that this kind of scene “would usually have been shot with a lot of setups and coverage, and could have taken a very long time.” Instead, Arena suggested doing it on the Steadicam in one pass. “As we see the entire studio 360 degrees more than once, it was pretty challenging,” Strasburg continues. “We did not rehearse with the camera – Joseph and I walked through the shot figuring out where he needed to be on certain music cues to be able to catch the actors’ looks at the right moments and on the right side. I followed him so I could get a rough idea of where he would be and when, as I was not going to be able to watch him during the take. I was sitting on the floor with my monitor in my lap hidden behind a speaker. Focus-wise it was very challenging, but I believe we managed to do it in three takes.”

The scene was also another example of the camera and other creative team offering generous support to Terrell, who could not be in the room during the take. As Terrell remembers, “I was hopeful to capture the scene during the crane shot, but they were starting from a later beat, so I shared my concerns with Checco, James and 1st AD Paula Case and what transpired still makes my heart race.” The team crafted a plan whereby they started the scene earlier in order to capture stills from the perspective of Arena’s Steadicam shot. “I was actually in frame for a few beats of the song,” Terrell recalls, “then Paula would call for me to scram out of frame, and the crane shot would

truly begin. We did that twice. I hope more production teams will recognize unit still photographers as trusted collaborators as I was trusted on Daisy Jones . We all want to be given the chance to make our photographs sing.”

Graham describes the studio montage that starts Episode 6 as “a great showcase of the excitement, the camaraderie, and the collaboration that goes into being a band making an album.”

Cutter, who lensed it, acknowledges that “montages can sometimes be either boring or heavy-handed, so we wanted to find something interesting but not so flashy it was distracting. I had shot a music video years ago in which the camera panned slowly and consistently from left to right for the entire video.” He pitched the idea to Director/EP Nzingha Stewart, who he’d shot music videos with in the past, and she was all in. “It was simple but very effective,” Cutter adds. “The only trick was to try and keep the speed consistent. You have to adjust the speed somewhat based on the focal length and size of the frame. So that’s what we did, and I love the way it turned out.”

Daisy Jones ’ visual journey relies on performance footage from backyard parties, the Sunset Strip’s legendary clubs, outdoor festivals, and enormous stadium shows. Shooting in real L.A. clubs presented some challenges, but simulating a tour across the U.S. and around the world presented unique opportunities. Like in Episode 7, directed by Graham, Daisy visits the Greek island of Hydra on its international tour. “Don’t ask me why we chose the only island in the whole Aegean archipelago that had

“ AMAZON GAVE ME EQUIPMENT – LIKE A KALEIDOSCOPE FILTER, TELECONVERTER AND FILM – TO CREATE IMAGERY SPECIFICALLY FOR SOCIAL MEDIA AND POSSIBLE KEY ART. ”

Creating A Vintage Feel with Modern Tech

BY MARGOT LESTER

It takes a lot to intrigue veteran cinematographer Checco Varese, ASC. But the new Angénieux Optimo Prime lenses with integrated optical palette (IOP) filters piqued his interest so much that he selected them for Daisy Jones & The Six after testing a raft of other options. The lens customization system was pioneered by Angénieux and Band Pro. “Lens customization has skyrocketed in popularity but is often extremely involved and requires many bespoke components,” explains Band Pro’s Chief Technology Officer, Randy Wedick. “A lens technician can disassemble the lens in a few minutes and replace the internal optics and rear optics with special glass elements that offer diffusion, reflections, unique flares et cetera.” All actual internal customization happens during prep in a clean environment. Neutral glass is easily re-installed when production is over.

Wedick was invited to provide the then-new Optimo Primes for Varese’s camera test.

“I had a few of the focal lengths that had my only IOP’s in them,” he continues. “I had a 40 millimeter with Glimmerglass 1/8 mounted in the internal slot in the lens. When light hits a filter in a matte box and reflects, it just goes out into the set. When the filter is mounted inside the lens, that reflection shoots back out into the lens itself and creates chaotic, beautiful light rays, glare washes, and sophisticated rainbow flares. This provided the perfect look for the psychedelic light shows and classic rock vibe of the stage set.”

For the low-key interior set, Varese wanted a softer, more intimate look, so 1st AC Mark Strasburg collaborated with Wedick to find a workable solution. “The rear element of the Optimo Prime is removable, so [Mark] wrapped a spare rear element with a Fogal or Dior stocking and kept that in a case,” Wedick adds. “When it was time to go to the lowkey, higher-intimacy setups, they quickly swapped in the netted rear. With a little bit of luck, we were able to work with Tiffen to deliver 18 Glimmerglass IOP’s just in time for the first day of shooting. The Glimmerglass created the right level of rock-and-roll flare but could also be minimized for other scenes and didn’t step all over the image, and the ability to add a rear net quickly allowed further customization as the scene required.”

The package had the versatility Varese needed to create the vintage look for early footage and the sharper image for modern sequences. “The power of the IOP system is not just in its filters but multiplying that effect by combining internal and rear effects,” Wedick concludes. “This creates countless unique looks that DP’s can dig into and customize – all without having to invest in a single lens set that only has that look.” As for Varese, he compares the Optimos with integrated IOP to “the first time you try champagne – the bubbles make you want more,” he smiles.

no cars,” Varese laughs. “But Mike Nelson – who started as a location manager – fought for us to be there and he was right. It looks amazing, but it was the most logistically complicated thing I shot since The 33 [ICG Magazine November 2015], which was all done in a real mine in Colombia.”

With no cars (just a pickup masquerading as an ambulance), cast, crew, and gear traversed the island’s steep hills and cobblestone streets on mules and donkeys. When narrow passages and steps were involved, local laborers handcarried the equipment. “Looking back, I think all the Greeks thought we were mad to even try it,” Strasburg chuckles. “And if we forgot something or didn’t send the gear early enough,” Arena adds, “it would be hours before we could get it. We had several locations and decided to use lighter gear, allowing us to move around the island faster.”

They also used a Dana Dolly and Ronin remote head to mimic elevation. “We inclined the pipes, and we used a three-axis head,” Arena says. “It looked like we used a little crane. We also used quite a bit of Steadicam and Ronin for leading and following the shots with stairs on the narrow streets. We didn’t want to lose the power behind these scenes by shooting with long lenses from a distance.”

Using Steadicam enabled Arena to get a unique perspective in a sequence where Daisy descends to the docks of the port to bid adieu to someone visiting her. “As the friend was sailing away on the boat, I stepped onboard,” Arena explains. “The shot kept going as we wrapped around the port, capturing Daisy from a distance and silhouetting her against the sea.”

For the band’s U.S. tour, the production moved to New Orleans, which Neustadter says was both a creative and budgetary decision. “New Orleans provided lots of opportunities,” he reflects, “and would also contrast well against the L.A.-centric first half of the series as the band moves farther and farther from home.” Of Cutter, who shot the show’s final block (Episodes 108-110), Neustadter says, “Jeff’s experience in music videos, combined with his ability to capture spectacle without losing any of the humanness, was of huge value to us.”

Since the final installments document the band’s ultimate undoing, Cutter wanted “a lot of handheld and chaotic camera work to showcase the chaos and energy of the musical performances and the individual performances of the actors as they try to navigate the chaos in their personal lives resulting from their newfound fame,” he describes.

For the final stadium show, Cutter and Kender

recreated Chicago’s Soldier Field at Tad Gormley Stadium in NOLA’s City Park. And, naturally, they wanted period fixtures. Chief Lighting Technician Kaat pitched having a concert lighting specialist design and build the concert rig. Lighting Designer Matt Ardine, who was hired to help source the gear, reached out to Fleetwood Mac’s original lighting programmer to discuss fixtures, color, programs, etc.

“For the most part we did it by rigging hundreds of parcans in rows and arrays,” Cutter recalls. “Ultimately we did hide some modern LED fixtures here and there for each band member so we had some ability to adjust color quickly for specific moments and shots.”

Cutter devised a unique color scheme for each of the 10 songs the band would play while ensuring the palette didn’t feel like “a rainbow exploded on stage. We stuck to five colors – red, purple, blue, yellow, orange and white,” he explains, “and never used them all for one song. Matt would program a two- or three-color base for each song, and then Nick and I would make minimal tweaks.”

The lighting scheme also showed off one of the most epic costumes in a series filled with them. As Wingate relates: “Riley [Keough] called one day and said she was listening to the Fleetwood Mac song Gold Dust Woman and thought that’s what the final look could be. I found a gold-pleated Halston caftan.

During the fitting Riley said, ‘Let’s cut it open and make it a cape!’ Taking scissors to it was terrifying. But, in the end, I think it was the perfect costume. The way it is shot and lit is electrifying.”

Electric-like energy was a hallmark of what many consider rock-n-roll’s glory era. And the production team’s total investment in both authenticity and innovation is what makes Daisy Jones must-see TV. While rise-and-fall rock-n-roll stories are not new, this series stands apart for staking out its own visual ground. As Arena concludes: “This project was a great collaboration between very skilled departments. The directors were very open to new ideas and ways to explore the different camera options. Checco, Jeff, and I had a chance to offer the full extent of our creative vision.”

As for Varese, pulling it all together required what he calls “a few years.” In other words, experience. “Listen, I have this theory that you are born with 150,000 mistakes,” he concludes. “And for me, I’ve done 138,000 already. Any success I’ve had is a testament to all the mistakes I’ve done throughout my life. I make less and less and less every time, and I try not to make the same mistakes I did before. At the end of each day, I go home and I say, ‘What did I miss? What can I make better?’” He pauses and then laughs. “I still have 22,000 mistakes left to do, but hopefully not all of them in the same show.”

For the final stadium show (above/opposite) Cutter worked closely with Chief Lighting Technician Nicholas Kaat and Lighting Designer Matt Ardine, who reached out to Fleetwood Mac’s original lighting programmer to discuss fixtures, color, and programs. “We stuck to five colors – red, purple, blue, yellow, orange, and white,” Cutter explains, “and never used them all for one song. Matt would program a two- or three-color base for each song, and then Nick and I would make tweaks.”

LOCAL 600 CREW

Acclaimed documentary Director of Photography Shana Hagan, ASC, seamlessly transposes her unscripted skills to HBO’s new half-hour comedy, Somebody Somewhere by David Geffner

photo by Elizabeth Sisson

photos by Elisabeth Sisson Chuck Hodes Sandy Morris framegrabs courtesy of HBO

PIECE

OF MY HEART

photo by Chuck Hodes

When we first meet Sam Miller (comedian and singer Bridget Everett) in Season 1 of HBO’s warm and winning Somebody Somewhere, she’s a woman in search of herself. Having moved back into her childhood home in Manhattan, KS (a year before the story begins) to guide her beloved sister, Holly, through hospice, Sam has no clue what’s next. Her time away from Kansas, and the gaping hole left by the loss of her sister, have put her on the outside looking in. She can’t find her purpose – not at her drab job grading essays in an educational testing center; not with her married sister, Tricia (Mary Catherine Garrison), who is co-owner of “Tender Moments” home furnishings; not with her stoic farmer dad, Ed (the late Mike Hagerty), whose tolerance of his wife Mary Jo’s alcoholism (Jane Brody) helps to deepen the family divide. Not even with the one great love of her life, singing. Sam, the best vocalist in her high school class, can’t reconnect with her best natural gift.

photo by Chuck Hodes

Connecting past and present was also an early challenge for Director of Photography/A-Camera Operator Shana Hagan, ASC, when she began Somebody Somewhere in 2021. As the Emmy-nominated filmmaker recounts: “A portion of the show’s pilot was shot in 2019, by Jim Frohna, and would probably have been green-lit before COVID put on the brakes. By the time it went to series, two years later, Tricia’s part had been recast and the pilot episode had been retooled. I expanded upon the look Jim and [co-executive producer/director] Jay [Duplass] had begun in the pilot. But that first episode was tricky, as we had to link up scenes shot two years apart. The test-grading center, for example, was shot in a completely different location than what was used in the pilot.”

Hagan, whose 25-plus years in the documentary genre has included multiple Oscar-winning/nominated and Emmy-winning/nominated features and series, along with 21 Sundance Film Festival selections, says her rich and varied experiences in unscripted were a natural fit for a show where the comedy (and drama) evolve organically from the characters.

“I had just finished Season 1 of Welcome to Flatch – a half-hour comedy shot like a documentary – and was looking to do another narrative series,” she continues. “I think the Duplass brothers, who have their hands in the documentary world, wanted a DP with an observational approach.” More specifically, Hagan adds, “with so much of the show shot handheld, my approach was never to editorialize the coverage. I let the action play out in real-time and anticipate where the actors go and how I should follow them. I would describe it as a ‘patient’ approach [to handheld camera], which comes naturally if you shoot documentaries. On a macro level, our goals were mostly about getting out of the way of the actors and letting the performances shine. We didn’t want the filmmaking to be obtrusive, which is also a hallmark of nonfiction.”

Like Hagan, B-Camera Operator Brenda Zuniga [ICG Magazine August 2022] has an unscripted background that meshed perfectly with the DP’s vision. Zuniga worked with Hagan on Welcome to Flatch and says that “Shana and I had this wonderful kind of dance [with

photo by Chuck Hodes

A- and B-Camera] that was always in the service of the actors and the story. I think because of her documentary experience, she’s super-sensitive to what’s happening in front of her lens. Shana made it clear that our footprint as a camera crew should be very light. No cameras in actors’ faces or big moves that would require camera choreography. What that often meant for me was being on a longer lens, usually around 75 mm, with our rehoused Panavision Legacy Ultra Speeds, which have a softer feel, and the ALEXA Mini. I was often tucked away trying to find those special moments.”

While Hagan and Zuniga are L.A.-based, most of the camera team was local to Chicago. (The production shot in nearby Lockport and Homer Glen, IL.) Hagan says she was able to pull from “Chicago’s incredibly deep crewbase, as the Chicago P.D. , Fire , and Med shows were all on hiatus,” she adds. “I also feel like those folks loved the change of pace of our show – no fires, explosions, or big car chases [laughs]. Our story is about ordinary people, in a smallish rural town, and a process that feels more like an indie feature.”

Rob Cohen, who shared S1 directing duties with Jay Duplass, says that “stemming from both necessity and the way the Duplass brothers work, our entire group approaches this show like an independent film. We move very fast, with a quick rehearsal on set before we go. This is my dream way of directing, and it harks back to my first jobs on low-budget sketch shows. It allows a lot of flexibility between Shana and me after we see how things are playing out on their feet.”

The rural midwestern locations helped to inspire the show’s prominent use of B-roll – another common thread the series has with unscripted production. “They did a great job finding a match [for Manhattan, KS] in Lockport, which has similar geography with all its limestone,” Hagan describes. “Bridget Everett is from Manhattan, Kansas and has family there, and she’s also an EP on the show. She came with us for three days of B-roll we shot in Kansas, along with her wardrobe and the blue truck she drives in the show. For Season 2, Bridget’s character rides her bike a lot, so we got that as well in the B-roll from Kansas.”

Hagan says the B-roll doesn’t just set time and place. “It creates this sense of tone that’s echoed in the editing, the acting – everywhere, really. When I was too busy with the main unit, I’d send Brenda and her team out to get something [in Lockport or Homer Glen, IL]. I’d say: ‘I don’t want just a beautiful sunset. I want what you’re feeling in that moment, and in that place. Brenda loves anything with animals, so she shot some ‘chicken reaction’ B-roll that was pretty classic!”

“The producers loved those chickens!” adds Zuniga with a smile. “I have a National Geographic background, so I always gravitate to animals. But B-roll comes naturally if you work in docs. We’re always thinking: ‘Get more context, get more filler’ to help tell the story. There’s so much going on with the comedy and the emotions in this show that I feel like the B-roll was a nice inhale/exhale. The local crew was probably puzzled at first about [her and Hagan’s] approach to B-roll. It was like: ‘Let’s go grab some primes and sticks, and jump into the van to find something.’ [Laughs]. They all come from the Chicago Fire , PD world, where there’s a lot more production going on. But after a while, they got into it!”

Many peak emotional moments in the show come when Sam is reconnecting with her singing voice. She’s befriended in the pilot by Joel (Jeff Hiller), a co-worker from the testing center who idolized her voice in high school (even though Sam doesn’t remember him). In Season 1, Episode 3, during a nighttime church choir practice scene filled with LGBTQ+ Kansans and emceed by Fred Rococo (longtime NYC performance artist Murray Hill), Sam takes to the microphone for a roaring version of Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart.”

“Something I learned from documentaries and applied to narrative,”

Hagan shares, “is that capturing what happens before a ‘scene’ begins and after it ends can yield these nuggets of magic. The obvious example in docs is during an interview when the director calls cut, the subject will exhale and relax, and then say or do something surprising – and amazing. That was the case with Bridget’s rendition of ‘Piece of my Heart.’ I made sure Rob, [1st AD] Drew [Langer] and sound were on board as I knew I’d keep rolling after ‘cut.’”

Hagan’s description of her handheld camera “going on a journey” with the actor begins when Sam is standing shyly behind a post and is coaxed onto the stage to sing. “I was rolling before the scene started,” Hagan continues, “as I knew Bridget was in character – she was taking these deep breaths, preparing for what may come.” Likewise, the end of the scene, which, as scripted, stops with Sam taking a bow on stage. “I followed Bridget off the stage,” Hagan shares, “back to that same post where the scene began, as she was still in character and processing this big postperformance moment. Sam has this incredible expression of self-pride and we got that on-camera. It was a beautiful moment of transformation, and I wanted to make sure to be there for it.”

Zuniga says “we also let our dolly grips and focus pullers know never to cut until Shana and I break character – there were some incredible moments throughout the show, but especially in Bridget’s singing, that

came before or after camera would normally be rolling. I always tried to wiggle my way into private rehearsals [without a camera], as I do on Abbott [ Elementary ], because the camera is so active with these characters – to sense what they’re thinking and feeling is helpful.”

The choir practice scene is one of the few times the camera is a participant, with whip pans and strong movement to reflect Sam’s energy. “Once she decides to go onstage,” Hagan recounts, “I was going for it as well, getting out front and counteracting her every move. I told Brenda and [C-Camera Operator Eli [Wallace-Johansson] where my zone was for each take, and I gave them agency to figure out their own coverage in their zones [see page 58], and they got some fabulous shots. It’s one of the few times the camera is featured, but it was still very much in a live/doc coverage style, where all three cameras are feeding off the energy in the room.”

Chief Lighting Technician Alex Jones, who’s worked as a lamp operator on Chicago Fire (and was recommended to Hagan by former Chicago Fire Director of Photography Lisa Wiegand, ASC), says because the show was all locations, and because performance was always uppermost, “we tried to create one lighting setup for each location that would allow for the cross-coverage and carry the scene. Rule number one was we would never spend any time on re-lights.

“It’s a different approach than Chicago Fire ,” Jones adds, “where we’re punching in for closeups, adding eye lights, and using big units on aerial lifts to carry distance. What I learned on [ Somebody Somewhere] is windows – and an incredible locations department – are your best friends. Also, you have to be okay with not always having your key source on the other side of the camera,” he smiles.

Sam’s big rendition of Joplin’s song (which ends with her ripping open her shirt) was shot in an abandoned Lockport mall that was first seen in the pilot and is where the church is scripted in the story. “You’re imagining these characters are putting up their own lighting,” Jones continues. “While they want it to look professional, it’s not quite there, so there wasn’t any overt production value. The art department staged the light trees, which were on camera, and we swapped out bulbs. We also added some [LED] ellipsoidals, as there are three cameras in that scene with a fair amount of movement around the room to catch all the different characters reacting to Sam on stage.”

Cohen says that when he first read the “Piece Of My Heart” scene, he knew he wanted to shoot it live. “By that I mean have at least three cameras, and set them up in ‘zones’ within the audience and stage area. Zone 1 was in the middle of the room,

so we could have a frontal view and travel down the center audience aisle; zones 2 and 3 were the sides of the room, which also included the wings, and could grab the other performers’ faces. I had told Bridget she didn’t need to worry about us – we would find her. Shana and I went over the plan to treat this as a live event, and I would run between her, Brenda and [Eli] and call shots as things were happening. I looked insane running around an abandoned Gap clothing store that was now a fake church, but Bridget and I agreed she had a maximum of three full-blown performances in her before her voice and energy gave out.”

The veteran TV director (who also has an Emmy for writing) says that having worked with Everett before, he knew “she would nail the song but come up with new physicality and emotion each time. The ripped shirt was planned, but the incredible teamwork of the performers and the camera crew allowed us to capture whatever came before it. At the end, the entire cast and crew leaped to their feet with the most heartfelt standing ovation! I was so proud to be a part of that incredible moment with those special people.”

At the other end of the spectrum from the raucous choir practice are two quieter songs that reveal the depth of emotion Sam draws from her vocal gifts. The first comes towards the end of Season 1, in Episode 7, after Sam, Joel, Tiffany (another

choir practice refugee), and Fred Rococo ingest “edibles” during a poker game in Fred’s basement, then head over to the barn on Sam’s farm. When Sam lifts the cover on her old stand-up keyboard (long in storage) and is urged by her friends to play, she debuts a song she wrote in honor of her new friendship with Joel. The scene is notable for the higher contrast look in the barn at night, and the quiet handheld camera that isolates each character listening.

“It was a big, classic barn,” Jones recounts of the location that is featured prominently throughout the series. “There were two three-by-three windows up top on either end that we made use of for the day interiors, with an ARRI 9K on a lift in Season 1 and an ARRI 18K Fresnel for Season 2. With the windows diffused, we could have an efficient source, up high and hidden out of frame, that could work for many different moods or scenes. Inside we had three 500-watt ECT’s in hanging practicals that we could quickly dial-in for the night scenes, depending on the action, and some Creamsource Vortex8’s on occasion. When Sam is singing in [Season 1] Episode 7, we have four people to account for. When it’s just her and the dad [Season 1, Episode 3], it’s a very simple look.”

Jones says he would watch “everything” – private rehearsals, blocking, anything that would hint at how much of a location needed to be lit. “We would have loved to have given Shana more depth in that barn,” he laments, “but with the schedule and the style of shooting, I was often trying to give her my best

photo by Elizabeth Sisson

Above/Below/Opposite: Chief Lighting Technician Alex Jones says that with an all-location show, where performance was uppermost, “we tried to create one lighting setup for each location that would allow for the cross-coverage and carry the scene. Rule number one was we would never spend any time on re-lights.”

Zuniga (L) says that she and Hagan (R) "had this wonderful kind of dance [with Aand B-Camera] that was always in the service of the actors and the story."

photo by Elizabeth Sisson

photo by Sandy Morris

first guess, as the last thing I wanted was for her to wait. On Chicago Fire , we always took pride in being ahead of camera, and we brought that same approach to this show, where the schedules and resources were more compressed.”

Cohen says the barn location “was oozing with magic. It was over 100 years old, with incredible wood supports and beams and two massive ‘elephant doors’ for heavy equipment to get in,” he shares. “My block had some key emotional moments in that barn, none being more powerful than when Bridget and Mike discuss putting Sam’s mom in rehab. We created a small workbench area in a corner near the big doors, and Shana and I agreed we wanted one main light source, coming from an old work light, that lit them up softly but had everything around them fall into darkness. Mike and Bridget gave that scene such impact that the crew went silent, and not just because we were filming. From that moment on, we knew the barn was one of the show’s touchstones.”

Hagan adds that because the scripts for the later Season 1 episodes were not yet written on the first barn location scout, “I knew we’d need some hanging practicals for anything we did in there, especially at night. Alex and his team and the set decorators did a great job giving us those practicals as a motivated source, that, when Sam was singing to Joel, became this pool of light over these four friends, with the rest of the barn going dark. It’s an intimate moment.

“With that scene, like many others,” Hagan adds, “shoutouts go to my focus puller Kyle Belousek and my Season 2 First AC David June. On Welcome to Flatch and Parks & Rec . I always pulled my own focus, as I do with all my unscripted work. This show was an adjustment as I’m doing these small micro-moves – push-ins, walk-ins, shifting my weight, all handheld on long-

lensed primes. That kind of spontaneity is so challenging for a focus puller, and Kyle and Dave just nailed it every time. They were fantastic.”

Zuniga, who covered the friends with Hagan locked in on Everett singing, says unscripted has taught her how helpful reaction shots can be. “Knowing prior scenes, and how each character will react in that moment, like Joel in the barn welling up as Sam is singing, was so important, as the whole first season has led them up to that moment,” she explains. “Also, with Shana and I having done a lot of live/doc work, where you only get one chance, we’re comfortable going back and forth with cross-coverage. Bridget’s singing came from a really deep place, and she would always go straight through.”

Later, when Sam reunites with her high school singing teacher and is asked to “sing anything you want,” the camera stays on Everett in a remarkable handheld oner (over the teacher’s shoulder) that’s notable for its restraint and respect for performance. As Jones describes, “the location was a real house in Lockport, with large, south-facing windows behind Sam, who stands near the piano,” singing a beautiful A cappella version of Nat King Cole’s That’s All . “In that scene,” he adds, “we didn’t do much inside the house. The sun was working wonders on the sheers during rehearsal, so we used an ARRI M90 and M40 to keep that look since we were in an out of clouds.”

Cohen recalls that “when we found the house on the scout, it was old and had rich wooden walls and floors, but the main feature was the large windows. I wanted to film Sam from three different positions in that room, the first being her first lesson with the teacher, which was a bit awkward. Working with Shana, I chose traditional coverage favoring the main entry leading into the music room, with the big windows minimally

“ I THINK BECAUSE OF HER DOCUMENTARY EXPERIENCE, SHE’S SUPER-SENSITIVE TO WHAT’S HAPPENING IN FRONT OF HER LENS. SHANA MADE IT CLEAR THAT OUR FOOTPRINT AS A CAMERA CREW SHOULD BE VERY LIGHT. ”

B-CAMERA OPERATOR BRENDA ZUNIGA

featured on the left of frame.”

“We don’t see [the teacher], but we still want to feel her in the frame, and going in for the single we wouldn’t have gotten that,” Hagan picks up. “I didn’t realize it would be a oner. But I always operate with the idea that any shot could be a oner, as Jay and I had talked about how the overs and coverage could turn into longer shots. That scene is a testament to the Duplassian way of just letting the actors go, and we, as filmmakers, being sensitive in the moment. My goal is to be there for the actors 1000 percent. To never let the camera be a distraction, and yet still be so in the moment it feels completely real through the lens.”

Although Somebody Somewhere has no large action/VFX set pieces [in the HBO vein], there’s an extended sequence in Season 1, Episode 5, that tested the limits of its locationbased approach. Joel, having adopted a dog in a moment of personal chaos, stops his car to let the pooch pee as a hailstorm approaches. At the same time, a drunk Sam and Tricia are in their barn, as Sam tells Tricia her husband, Rick (Danny McCarthy), has been having an affair with Tricia’s business partner, Charity (Heidi Johanningmeier). As the storm bears down, the scene is crosscut between the sisters in the barn (where the wind breaks the window glass and lightning flares streak past) and Joel trying to retrieve the dog, who has run off into the storm. In keeping with Hagan’s “patient” approach, the camera remains in the car as Joel recedes into the field looking for the pooch.

Hagan says, “The sound in post ended up being a huge component” of the exterior storm scenes, as there was virtually no VFX involved – just some sky replacements when Hiller is driving. “The hail that begins when Joel is in the car,” she describes,” was all practically done. Jay and I had talked it through in prep, and we landed on SFX using something called

‘shrimp ice’ that dropped down from two Condors. The hail distribution was about 10 feet wide with different guys heaving out pails of ice into a wide trough above the car.”

The in-camera effect started slowly and built up like a real storm. “You see the hail hit the windshield, and then Jeff jumps out, as he decides to chase after the dog,” Hagan continues. “He runs all the way out to the field, which is Jeff improvising and Jay went with it. I stayed in the car rolling until we could barely see him off in the distance. The hail didn’t need to extend much past the car to sell the effect. The whole scene harks back to that indie-feature mentality, where it’s ‘let’s see where the story takes us.”

As Jones recalls, “Joel ends up taking cover in this culvert, inside a large drainpipe, cradling the dog. I had an 18K ready, but since it was going to be dark in 15 minutes, it wasn’t worth the heroic effort [to light the background with a large element]. I ended up using a Vortex for some fill, but the natural daylight we had left looked great.”

Hagan says the [Panavision T1.3] lenses were so fast, “we were able to eke out something, even though the sky was very, very dark. Jay was like: ‘I think we got it,’ and I’m like, ‘Really? It was so dark! Can you see him?’ But, sure enough, in the color correction, there was Jeff with the dog. There was grain and texture, and I was frustrated we didn’t get any coverage. But the moment’s there, and that’s what counts.”

The scene concludes with Joel coming into the barn with the pooch, for which, Jones says, “we chased them inside with an 18K full stick on a Blackbird at the bottom of the ramp. When you’re talking about practical locations like the barn, you use what you’re given – with windows you have sheers and whatever the sun is doing that day. And with the large doors, on that barn in particular, you have some control of exterior light. The doors become your big soft key and you can edge the characters with the 18K from outside. Turn them around and the 18K becomes

“ I LET THE ACTION PLAY OUT IN REAL-TIME AND ANTICIPATE WHERE THE ACTORS GO AND HOW I SHOULD FOLLOW THEM. I WOULD DESCRIBE IT AS A ‘PATIENT’ APPROACH, WHICH COMES NATURALLY IF YOU SHOOT UNSCRIPTED. ”

SHANA HAGAN, ASC

photo by Elizabeth Sisson

photo by Elizabeth Sisson

photo by Elizabeth Sisson

photo by Elizabeth Sisson

your key with the door as your edge and fill light.”

Hagan says the time spent in prep scouting locations was a huge factor in lighting. “The barn faced north, so we didn’t have to worry about matching the sun since it never came directly through the doors,” she explains. “The Chef [a popular breakfast spot], as well as Tender Moments, had large windows on multiple sides. As I knew we’d never get the amount of value inside to equal the windows, and we’d never be shooting toward the windows, they became our source. Throughout this show, and just filmmaking in general, my goal is always to boost the existing natural light to keep things grounded and realistic.”

Outside The Chef, Jones and his team raised HMI’s with full grids, “which became a giant soft source, even on a dark day when we needed some sun,” he shares. “Tender Moments was at the corner of two highways and, like The Chef, had windows on several sides. Depending on the time of day, we’d get reflections from passing vehicles. At first, we thought that might look cool. But we erred on the side of caution and asked Key Grip Greg Boris to diffuse most of those hard speculars off the 18-wheelers rolling through. Shana kept most of the action in Tender Moments in the room, so we didn’t need to see much outside those windows. Props to the sound team as it was quite loud all day.”

For Fred Rococo’s basement, Hagan wanted a traditional poker-game look, with one single source overhead “that was hard enough to edge the players if they stood up from the table,” she explains. “The rest of the room was practical neons on dimmers, which we’d ND as they were so bright. We were limited with the maximum wattage on the practical above the table, but embracing that documentary vibe, I wanted Alex to light the room once, with no stands or floor elements so we could shoot 360.” Jones adds that “we replaced the existing can lights in the drop ceiling with the Aputure’s Accent B7C’s. They’re screw-in, dimmable LEDs whose color and intensity you can control. So, when Shana wanted a pop of color in the background, we could give her that.”

Hagan credits Production Designers Ashley and Megan Fenton with turning the basement into a memorable location that reflects Fred’s big (purple-infused) personality. “When we first scouted, there was a really old couch, a giant TV, deer head trophies, and a gun cabinet,” she laughs, “and we were wondering, how are we going to pull this off? Production Design and Set Decoration brought in the poker table, overhead poker light, a bar, and all the neon tchotchkes. They did a fabulous job creating Fred’s poker bunker.”

Jones, like others on the show, says Somebody Somewhere “felt like a charmed shoot, with this aura of protective energy. We dodged some serious weather, and Bridget was so incredible with all the crew. There was also a large share of ‘happy accidents.’ I remember a shot with Fred’s purple party bus, ‘The Growler,’ driving down the highway, and we see the bus light up a section of trees before we see it in frame. We had zip-tied a bunch of [Astera] Titan tubes underneath the bus, some Helios along the outside, [Astera] AX3’s on the hood, and a base coat of [Lite Gear] Lite Ribbons inside, so it was a pretty cool effect. ”

When asked about key walk-n-talk scenes, Zuniga says: “That’s also from our time in unscripted. Shana is really good at walking backward [laughs], and I’m not too bad myself. All of the walk-and-talks are handheld, even when we’re on the Grip Trix sitting next to each other. I’m a fairly petite human [5 foot 4 inches], so I often find myself in small spaces. I remember shots on The Growler, where I’d have to duck as Shana got the wide, and then I’d pop up for coverage. If I had to describe the team on this show, I’d say everyone was incredibly kind and giving. I’ve never gotten so much swag from a series! Shirts, jackets, hats – you name it. And there were moments where I got very emotional, because, like everyone else in the room, it felt so real. When the actors are so comfortable, they forget you’re there – that’s the dream for me as an operator. That’s what I want to achieve.”

Cohen says that Hagan and Zuniga “and the rest of their amazing team are not only critical to this show, but they’re also wonderful and fun collaborators. From the top down, starting with [co-creators] Hannah [Bos] and Paul [Thureen] to Bridget, Jay, [EP] Carolyn [Strauss], and the entire cast, I feel like I won a hundred lotteries working with them. Every person wants to be there, and we always joke that making Somebody Somewhere is like our summer camp. Shana and I were able to work together again on Welcome To Flatch this year, and we slipped right back into our groove. And I was so proud of her for taking her skillset to another level when she directed an episode, which, of course, she nailed.”

“In a larger sense,” Hagan concludes, “and this runs through a lot of the Duplass projects, Somebody Somewhere is about finding your place in the world through those human connections – And I feel that’s something anyone can relate to on some level. For me, everything about this series made sense. It was comfortable and wonderful and felt very natural in all respects, from the crew to the cast to the locations where we shot. I think the intimacy we created on set shows up on screen. It all just felt right. ”

LOCAL 600 CREWS

SEASON 1

Directors of Photography

Shana Hagan, ASC

A-Camera 1st AC

Kyle Belousek

A-Camera 2nd AC

Max Moore

B-Camera Operator

Brenda Zuniga

B-Camera 1st AC

Alejandro Garcia

B-Camera 2nd AC

Marion Tucker

C-Camera Operator

Eli Wallace-Johannsson

Loader

Steve Clay

Digital Utility

Alex Naremore

Still Photographer

Matt Dinerstein

SEASON 2

Director of Photography

Shana Hagan, ASC

A-Camera 1st AC

Dave June

A-Camera 2nd AC

Max Moore

B-Camera Operator

Brenda Zuniga

B-Camera 1st AC

Alejandro Garcia

B-Camera 2nd AC

Matt Arredondo

C-Camera Operators

Christopher Rejano

Spencer Gillis

Loader

Alex Naremore

Digital Utility

Clarisse Callahan

Still Photographer

Sandy Morris

Photo by Sandy Morris / Season 2

The L.A.-based Hagan says she was "very fortunate" to pull from “Chicago’s incredibly deep crewbase," as the Chicago P.D ., Fire , and Med shows were all on hiatus. “I feel like those folks loved the change of pace," Hagan laughs. "No fires, explosions, or big car chases. Just ordinary people, in a smallish rural town, and a process that feels more like an indie feature.”

STARS

THE

RISE

BY PAULINE ROGERS

Gone are the days of the “gentlemen’s agreement” between publicists and press, where specifics are shared with one venue on the understanding the announcement will stay exclusive and be held for a particular release; or where the press is limited to print and network; or where publicists count on relationships and are looked to by press for the most valuable information. Union publicists today, whether they be unit, studio, network, independent, agency or awards, have their plates full satisfying Production, adhering to strategically developed rollouts, protecting their assets, and feeding a vociferous 24/7 media cycle that is far more than just traditional print outlets (like Vogue or The Hollywood Reporter) and mainly centered on digital platforms (think TikTok, Twitter, Facebook, and the everexpanding blogosphere), where new “reviewers” seem to join the fray every week.

That’s why, for this publicity-themed issue, we reached out to six Local 600 Publicity members, whom we like to call “Stars on the Rise.” Hailing from different regions and disciplines, some have only known life in digital publicity, while others have bridged the gap between a pre- and post-internet/streaming world. What they all share in common is a passion for their craft and a standard of excellence that never flinches in the face of evolving marketing challenges.

So, listen to what Amanda Iven (Universal), Kene Onwugbolu (Walt Disney Studios), Elizabeth Rolnik (CBS Studios), Celia Sacks (Amazon Studios), Dean Smith (Universal), and Shelly Williams (Atlanta-based unit publicist) have to say: leading publicity in uncharted waters today and inspiring the “stars” of tomorrow.

AMANDA IVEN

SENIOR PUBLICIST UNIVERSAL PICTURES

PHOTO BY BETH DUBBER

Amanda Iven always had a strong opinion about movies growing up. Her family would see at least one every weekend – a tradition she’s carried on since. And, of course, she’d tell everyone what to see. “Now, I just get paid to do it,” she laughs.

Her passion for this industry began while attending USC’s Communication and Journalism School, where she built a foundation with internships at the SAG Awards and 20th Century Fox’s awards department, and then a publicity internship with Paramount. “That changed everything,” Iven reflects. “My time there led to Universal Pictures’ publicity in 2017.”

Iven says she’s a byproduct of “simply trying to mirror the traits of my first publicity team when I started at Universal,” she adds. “Amanda Stirling taught me to stand my ground and speak up for myself, and she always made sure I had a seat at the table. Tara Friedlander showed me how you can do this job with patience, poise and a calmness that can often be difficult to achieve. And Britani Wood taught me how to do this job the right way – with kindness and a sense of fun. If I can emulate any of their outstanding traits throughout this journey, I think I’ll do all right.”

Longtime agency publicist Tony Angellotti says Iven’s star quality can’t be denied. “Amanda is perfectly suited for this crazy job,” he describes. “She has that self-aware temperament – takes her job seriously but knows she’s not curing cancer; has a dry wit; and isn’t cowed by executives, personal publicists, talent – or me. She’s refreshingly candid and revels in tough assignments and pushing rocks up hills to achieve a goal. And ‘no’ is merely a road cone for her, not a stop sign. Along with everyone else, I love that about her.”

Iven’s strength is in talent relationships. “Studio publicity is often about symbiotic relationships between you and your actors and filmmakers of a given film,” she describes, “and personal reps are rightfully protective of their clients. It’s important to form a relationship where they trust you, your advice, and your motives. They can see right through when you are just throwing spaghetti at a wall trying to accomplish every single press opportunity that exists, versus when you are being strategic with their client’s time in creating a meaningful and impactful publicity campaign.”

Iven’s favorite example was convincing Dame Helen Mirren’s team to do a TikTok with social media influencer Daniel Mac during her short press day for the ninth Fast & Furious film. “I just remember being on a road trip from Texas to California, in the passenger seat of my car somewhere in Arizona, on the phone with Helen’s team pitching them hard on this TikTok idea,” she recalls. “[Mirren] hadn’t done something like this before, and we only had her for about two to three hours of her junket day. They were hesitant to commit. TikTok was still fairly new to a lot of people. A long, convincing argument later, they agreed, and over 50 million views later, I can look back and be pretty proud of that one.

“The greatest challenge of publicity today is breaking through the clutter,” Iven concludes. “Day in and day out, we are being bombarded with content. Will your target audience see what you do? What’s the best way to get a result? Is it a flashy magazine feature? A hilarious latenight appearance? A potentially viral TikTok? A cool new podcast? Or all of the above? Most of all, will it help convince your intended audience to leave their nice comfy homes to see your film on the big screen, and will that audience continue to grow long after your film has left the theater? You can only hope!”

KENE ONWUGBOLU

JUNIOR PUBLICIST, GLOBAL PUBLICITY, MULTICULTURAL THE WALT DISNEY STUDIOS

PHOTO BY TROY HARVEY

Born in Lagos, Nigeria, and raised in Charlotte, NC, Kene Onwugbolu says he’s been a fan of movies, television, theater, and pop culture since he was a child. “I even wrote, directed, and starred as Prince Charming in my fourthgrade production of Cinderella,” the L.A. publicist reveals. “But I really didn’t know that entertainment was a career option until my senior year of college.”

Onwugbolu earned a degree in marketing at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and then a master’s degree, which included studying international public relations in London. Like Iven, his next steps were securing internships. The first was with Charlotte Fashion Week, managing front of house during fashion shows. “The last day was my first taste of wrangling talent, working with Lil’ Kim and her entourage,” he recounts.

Next up was a run with Charlotte Magazine , where the marketing director gave him hands-on access. “I watched and learned a lot about pitches,” Onwugbolu explains. “When networking with editors, pitching stories, negotiating with vendors, and securing sponsorship and partnership opportunities, my supervisor did it with so much confidence, conviction, and passion that the outcomes were always positive. I learned that to be successful, you must truly believe in the company or product you represent.”

Onwugbolu’s final internship was with the Blumenthal Performing Arts Center in Charlotte, and when Disney’s The Lion King Broadway tour came through, his desire to make PR a career was locked. “I worked with the communications manager on promoting and publicizing upcoming events, shows, and programs through drafting press releases and penning the daily Blumenthal blog,” he says, “which forced me to think and write creatively. I coordinated media appearances with talent and accompanied my supervisor when she took cast members from The Lion King to local news appearances. I observed how to effectively manage communication between press and talent, and aided with organizing the show’s press night performance.”

Where did Onwugbolu start when he turned pro? In the West Coast Page Program at NBCUniversal, which led him to a publicity assistant role at Freeform. “After two-and-a-half years, my leader, Naomi Bulochnikov, took me to ABC Television Network as her publicity coordinator,” he continues. “She saw something in me and took a chance. One of the most important things she taught me is that mistakes are okay because that means you took the risk in the first place.”

Today Onwugbolu is a Junior Publicist on the global publicity team at Walt Disney Studios – specializing in multicultural publicity – and a Local 600 member (he joined in 2022). “I work with our department, crafting and executing culturally resonant 360 campaigns in the multicultural space, including Hispanic, AAPI, and African American publicity, word-of-mouth outreach, grassroots events, and social influencer/content creator implementations,” he adds, “on all theatrical and streaming releases for film, television, and documentary titles under Disney Live Action, Walt Disney Animation, Pixar, 20th Century Studios, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Hulu, Disney+ and Disneynature.”

Two 2022 campaigns stand out: Prey and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever “For Prey, we held screenings in Native communities, invited tribal leaders to the premiere, and worked with Native American press, media outlets, and professional organizations,” Onwugbolu explains. “Not only was it a fun learning experience, especially working with the movie’s Indigenous talent and filmmakers, but it was also extremely rewarding.

“As for Wakanda Forever,” he continues, “we had an extensive global tour for the film, including a premiere in Lagos, Nigeria. We partnered with multiple HBCUs [historically Black colleges and universities] for advanced screenings nationwide. We collaborated with organizations such as Black Excellence Brunch to implement activations that were authentically resonant and aligned with the cultural zeitgeist.”

One of Onwugbolu’s biggest supporters is Local 600 Publicist and the Guild’s 2022 Publicist of the Year Marshall Weinbaum, who was integral in acclimating Onwugbolu into the union. “Kene is an absolute joy to work with,” Weinbaum describes. “Not only does he see the most optimistic possibilities in the campaigns he works on, but he sees the same in his fellow team members. Our department is lucky to have him, and he reminds us daily why we all love what we do.”

Studio Publicity is always exciting for New Yorkbased Elizabeth Rolnik, because, as she describes, “we have the opportunity to get involved in our shows from the very beginning. The publicity department has a front-row seat during development, casting and production.” Recently, Rolnik spearheaded campaigns for New York City-based series like The Good Fight , Evil, Blue Bloods, Bull, and Madam Secretary. And, she adds, “it’s also interesting to work on series that air on all different platforms. Some of our studio shows air on Paramount+, others on CBS or Showtime, and even on platforms outside of the Paramount Global family, like Netflix and Apple TV+. Each platform operates differently and has different considerations and we craft our strategies accordingly.”

Rolnik’s library of knowledge needed to handle the many shifting platforms began at a boutique lifestyle PR agency, and she says her move to Showtime was an eye-opener. “I supported four VP’s. I put together the clip packets, helped with events and festivals, accompanied the VP’s on set visits, and covered interviews with talent and producers – it was my first step into the world of television publicity.”

One of her biggest no-margin-for-error positions was doing NBC live musicals.

“The Sound of Music Live! (2013) was the first time a network had ever done anything like that,” she recalls. “There was a rehearsal every day for three months, and then for one night only, the musical was filmed live and aired on NBC – live! I pitched different types of stories about the behind-the-scenes efforts that went into pulling it off and shared interview opportunities for the talent involved. I took the press to the soundstage in Bethpage, Long Island every day to watch rehearsals and to complete interviews. We were so nervous on opening night – and we pulled it off. The musical pulled in 18.47 million viewers, an enormous number for NBC, which opened the door for additional musicals to come to life that I also worked on, including Peter Pan Live!, The Wiz Live! and Hairspray Live!”

Rolnik’s biggest challenge at CBS is the avalanche of new content, and, as noted, the multiple platforms. “When I started, there was a clear timeline,” she explains. “We had pilot season, followed by fall launches and a few mid-season launches, and then it was quiet during the summer while the shows were on hiatus. Now the series launch at any time, and it is much more competetive to get your shows in front of the media in an impactful way. There were 599 original scripted series that aired in 2022.”

The solution is often new and creative thinking. “On Madam Secretary ,” Rolnik adds, “we had three previous secretaries of state – Hillary Clinton, Colin Powell, and Madeleine Albright – appear in cameos in one of the episodes in 2018. We were able to build a press campaign promoting the appearances, and I even got the chance to interview all three of them together on camera for a video piece that we used on social media. It was an incredible moment. I love how the studio publicists are looped in at the development stage, and we get to work so closely with production, which helps us drive the messaging from the beginning, share announcements, and get the public excited to watch.”

ELIZABETH ROLNIK

VICE PRESIDENT, COMMUNICATIONS CBS STUDIOS

PHOTO BY ANTONY PLATT

CELIA SACKS

SENIOR PUBLICIST AMAZON STUDIOS

PHOTO BY CHRISTINA BELLE

“I remember how important shows like The O.C. and Skins (UK) were to me when I was in high school,” recalls Western Region publicist Celia Sacks. “Even before I understood what publicity was, I would read every interview with my favorite actors, and that enhanced my love for the shows.” That same feeling was “enhanced” by Sacks’ forays around the neighboring Warner Bros. lot, walking around sets and absorbing the industry by osmosis.

Sacks officially entered the industry the summer before her senior year of college as a publicity intern at Warner Bros. TV. “It was wonderful!” she beams. “I had the opportunity to assist the team at the San Diego ComicCon and TCA.” When a job opportunity came up, she became assistant to Senior Vice President of Publicity at Warner Bros. Television Tammy Golihew, which Sacks says gave her a “front-row seat to the biggest priorities in the department. I learned a lot about crisis PR and building and managing relationships with the top reporters, executives, producers, and talent.”

Sacks’ emphasis today is on convention work, like the all-important Comic-Con gathering. She was the studio contact for WBTV for the past several years, bringing a dozen of their most popular superhero and genre shows to the fans at San Diego Comic-Con or New York Comic-Con.

“It’s a big connection point for fans to be in the same room with their favorite talent,” she describes. “We had the band Kansas make a surprise appearance to perform ‘Carry On My Wayward Son’ during a panel for Supernatural . We brought internet sensation Doug the Pug down to San Diego Comic-Con to be a WBTV ambassador and capture social content with our talent.”

Working on the Emmy-winning comedy hit Abbott Elementary [ICG Magazine August 2022] was one of the best experiences of Sacks’ career. “We mounted a robust awards campaign and tried to capitalize on the momentum from the fans and press,” she describes.

“The opportunities are seemingly endless with Abbott Elementary,and the publicity team is tasked with keeping the momentum up and staying in the zeitgeist. Who could have guessed that in one season of a network sitcom, Quinta Brunson would be on the Time 100 list and be interviewed by Oprah Winfrey, or that Sheryl Lee Ralph would walk in a Savage X Fenty show?”

Sacks, who recently moved over to Amazon Studios, says the job of studio publicist comes with unique challenges. “Maintaining positive relationships with producers and talent is a top priority,” she explains. “I’ve worked with producers who have projects on multiple platforms at the same time, so it’s our job to make sure they’re being taken care of, and if there’s something important to an EP that a network might not view as a priority, we step in and do what we can on our end to resolve an issue. Whether it’s putting more money towards a premiere event or press trip to make it feel more robust, or advocating on behalf of our creatives for a different PR strategy, we want our talent to feel supported.”

Jeff Tobler, who worked with Sacks in her early days at WB, has enjoyed a front-row seat to Sacks’ growth. “From a hard-working summer intern to a strategic and talented publicist,” he observes. “From managing the smallest logistical details for WBTV’s massive presence at San Diego Comic-Con to leading press campaigns for hit series that include All American and Abbot Elementary ,” Tobler shares, “Celia is thoughtful, kind, and most definitely a rising star in our field.”

Dean Smith grew up in Manasquan, New Jersey, a small beach town on the Jersey Shore. He got the itch to work in Hollywood early, citing Titanic as the one that lit his fuse. “As silly as it may sound, the first time I saw Titanic , I was mesmerized,” Smith admits. “I think I saw it four times in the theaters! I couldn’t get enough. I loved the spectacle and how movies could transport you somewhere completely different for a few hours.”

Following college and moving to L.A., Smith landed a job as a studio page for Paramount Pictures. “It was like being in an episode of 30 Rock,” he recalls. “I gave tours, worked audience events and covered desks.” Smith says being a page was not only a great way to get his foot in the door, it also served as a career foundation, as Paramount became a second home - he started at the studio as a coordinator, and later held positions in Digital Marketing and International Media before landing with International Publicity. He joined Local 600 as an apprentice publicist in 2017.

At Paramount, he worked on various campaigns including A Quiet Place , Mission: Impossible Fallout , Scream and Star Trek Beyond on both the talent and press side. He credits Schalah Mitchell, senior vice president, international publicity, for imbuing the tools needed to become a strong publicist. “She helped build my confidence as a working professional, which is the best thing anyone can ask for,” Smith describes. “I learned so much by watching her work and seeing the relationships she built with talent, personal reps and journalists.”

In February of 2022, Smith moved to Universal Pictures as a senior publicist, initially concentrating on Focus Features’ international releases, including The Northman , Armageddon Time and Tár . Most recently, he transitioned to the global publicity team doing both domestic and international work on Universal titles such as The Fabelmans , M3GAN , and the upcoming Knock at the Cabin and Renfield

“You have to be prepared for almost anything in this job,” he shares, “as it can be so unpredictable. While challenging at times, I have had a lot of ‘once in a lifetime’ experiences.” Some of those include running through a Taiwanese street market with talent for a social stunt and climbing The Great Wall of China for a cast photo. “I had a private tour of Abbey Road Studios in London,” he remembers, “helped talent get a blind masseuse in Korea, and worked red carpets in cities and film festivals all over the world.”

While that’s all exciting, Smith insists working with a team is the most rewarding part of the job. “One of my fondest memories was staying up all night in Berlin with my team to watch the sunrise over the Brandenburg Gate after a particularly challenging tour,” he adds. “Publicity means long hours, late nights, travel, and time away from our personal lives, so having a great team to work with is essential.”

Smith says the challenges today are even more concentrated, “as it’s all about selecting the best outlet or medium for your message. What works for one film can’t be duplicated for the next, and you can never expect the same outcome or response.”

Challenges aside, after almost a decade in the publicity craft, Smith is confident he has found his stride. “The thing I like most about publicity is that it is one of the more human elements of the film marketing campaign,” he concludes. “You can tell a story by using the people who created the film. And when you spend weeks or months working on a major project, there’s a real sense of satisfaction seeing [your efforts] play out in the press, creating excitement amongst fans and hopefully connecting with a worldwide audience.”

DEAN SMITH

SENIOR PUBLICIST, GLOBAL PUBLICITY UNIVERSAL PICTURES

PHOTO BY SCOTT EVERETT WHITE

SHELLY WILLIAMS

UNIT PUBLICIST ATLANTA, GA

PHOTO BY JOSH STRINGER

Like many, Shelly Williams’ interest in film was fed from her childhood, which was based in Texas. She worked in the only video store in her hometown, and then in movie theaters throughout high school and college. “I wanted to be around anything where I could watch, discuss and simply be around movies,” she explains. “Publicists and Marketing professionals craft stories that reach audiences to generate public awareness and interest” – a natural offshoot of Williams’ love for the cinema.

In the early 2000s, her career in marketing and publicity took a fortuitous turn, when a friend introduced her to an agency that handled regional promotions and event publicity for theatrical releases. Williams found her niche managing campaigns for 20th Century Fox, The Weinstein Company, Lionsgate, and MGM among other studios. “It was before streaming took off when movie theaters and home video rentals were thriving,” she recalls. “Print was still king and studios were – initially – dismissive of online outlets. EPK’s were actual kits with video clips on Beta cassettes, printed press notes, and approved photos on a CD-ROM.”

Knowing the film industry was flourishing in Atlanta, Williams sought a shift into unit publicity – in 2019, she was accepted into Local 600’s Mentorship Program, where she met Sheryl Main, who was assigned as her mentor. “Shelly was already a successful agency publicist making some big changes in her life – to become a unit publicist,” Main recalls. “She had all the qualities for the job, but beyond that, her excitement, interest, and commitment to doing the best she could do really impressed me. She always asked good questions and had great instincts when faced with a problem on set.”

Williams says Main’s mentorship gave her the courage to dive in.

“My first job was on an independent feature called Charming the Hearts of Men with Kelsey Grammer and Anna Friel,” she recalls, “and it was quite an education! Because it was an indie, there was no studio contact to give me direction or set expectations, so I had to wing it. I spent more time making checklists and schedules than would ever be necessary. A unit publicist can’t be shy, and I’d received excellent advice to connect with all departments, which I did. Crews in Atlanta are a generous bunch, and there was always someone on set to help me sort things out, answer questions, or lend me a hand. It was a great set to cut my teeth.”

With multiple projects under her belt, Williams says that one challenge unit publicists face “is the decline of a ‘marketing shoot’ – which is a day [often a Saturday or non-production day] dedicated to capturing key art photos, formal EPK interviews, and other content for publicity and marketing

purposes. Instead, more and more studios rely on the unit publicist to capture these elements during production.” Williams adds that, “a Unit Publicist must have the skills to arrange, manage, facilitate, and conduct interviews or stage a photo with cast or crew members without interfering with or impacting production. There’s a lot that goes into creating a ‘soundbite’ or a ‘pull-aside’ photo.”

Although the Unit Publicist is a oneperson department on set, Williams says “the job requires an enormous amount of cooperation to accomplish assignments. We inform the studio of key elements that are useful in developing marketing or media opportunities as well as influencing the film’s positioning. And we work closely with Stills Photographers to create photo opportunities, and with EPK Camera Operators to capture content and footage for press purposes, awards consideration, social media, or for the project’s general release campaign. Finally, Unit Publicists work with ADs, Producers, and all department heads to successfully accomplish everything.”

“We’re the eyes and ears for the studio,” Williams continues. “We recognize breakout performances, brainstorm creative content, and identify those on-set relationships.”

One recent example of that was on Genius: Aretha , [ICG Magazine May 2020], with Courtney B. Vance portraying Aretha Franklin’s father, C.L. Franklin. He formed a strong, natural bond with the actress who was cast as young Aretha because his twin children were the same age. Their father-daughter connection was palpable on set and off. It was also the first professional acting job for this young actress, so Courtney was literally there to hold her hand.” Vance’s attention to the newbie actress made for a great pairing in interviews, and had it not been for Williams pointing that out, “the studio wouldn’t have known to utilize their connection to create a better exchange with media,” she says. “These are the types of meaningful eyes-on/ hands-on details that a Unit Publicist delivers to the studio.”

Like many, Williams says she’s aware of the perception shift by some studios and productions of the unit publicist’s role. “But marketing and public relations are as significant to film and television as any department,” she says adamantly.

Williams was recently heartened by an acknowledgment of that fact when she visited the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures in Los Angeles in early 2022. “Within the Stories of Cinema 2 exhibition is a wall with ‘Components of Movie Making’ that highlights the various crafts that go into making a movie,” she concludes, “including screenwriting, costume design, music, hair and makeup, performance, cinematography, editing, and marketing and public relations.”

The role of the unit still photographer is under siege. Many productions are attempting to do without, or at least cut hours to a minimum. And many are living to regret it.

For this Publicity-themed issue of ICG Magazine , we reached out to a group of Guild photographers across the country to hear firsthand about the value they bring to a production; how they got to where they are; their relationship with directors, studios, and other departments; and how new digital technology impacts their work. Most importantly, they provide sage advice on how to become a valuable asset to any production – words that anyone new to the unit stills craft can draw upon.

It’s no secret that changes are happening rapidly in the industry.

Eli Adé began shooting stills in 2013 when an actor friend recommended him for a non-union project. Armed with the necessary tools, Adé laughingly remembers having to Google “what is a blimp?” Based in Atlanta, Georgia, his recent credits include Devotion [ICG Magazine December 2022], Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, and Creed III

K.C. Bailey says it was exciting walking past film sets, as well as absorbing all the rich music and art, while growing up in New York City. Now, a familiar name in the Eastern Region, Bailey’s recent work includes Lady and the Tramp, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and The Noel Diary

Claire Folger was one of only two unit still photographers in Boston when she joined the union in 2000. Before that, she worked in labs, learned digital photography, and, in 1995, worked for (now busy TV director) Brad Anderson on his debut narrative, The Darien Gap. Folger’s recent credits include Knives Out (2019), Argo, and The Mule

Richard Foreman, SMPSP, is finishing his fourth decade as a unit still photographer this year, having shot stills for over 100 productions and traveled to film locations on five continents. His work has appeared on billboards, as key art, and has been nominated for several awards. The New Mexico-based Foreman’s resume includes No Country for Old Men, Sicario, and Horizon

Tyler Golden was warned early on the entertainment industry was a tough career choice. But he had a passion for photography and moved to L.A. anyway. Golden’s work stretches across all genres, and includes Parks and Recreation, The Voice, and Jeopardy!

Parrish Lewis started his photographic journey 20 years ago doing headshots, and Black hair and beauty product boxes. He caught the attention of an R&B artist and moved into documentary photography, covering major tours and concerts. The Chicago-based Lewis shoots mainly features and streaming television, with recent credits including Candyman (2021), You People , and White Men Can’t Jump II

Laura Magruder, who has blazed a path for Union set photographers in her native Puerto Rico, started on film sets in 1999, fresh off an 11-year stint as a staff photographer for the island’s largest newspaper. Magruder’s recent credits include Che: Part One, The Men Who Stare at Goats, and Fantasy Island Seasons 1 and 2 [ICG Magazine September 2021].

Suzanne Tenner, SMPSP, began shooting on sets in 1983, on a project called Strangers Kiss. Over the years, L.A.-based Tenner has worked on major features and TV series, and was honored in 2013 with a Publicists Guild Award. Her recent credits include Walk the Line , Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and The Patient

James Washington started as a photography hobbyist in his native city of Chicago. About nine years ago, while working as a commercial banker, he decided to move into photography full-time. Washington counts TV series like The Big Leap , 4400 , and 61st Street among his recent credits.

PHOTO FROM AMAZON FREEVEE’S BOSCH: LEGACY BY TYLER GOLDEN

Mentorship

Did you have a mentor? Do you mentor anyone yourself? Eli Adé: I ended up meeting Daniel McFadden, who was a bigger help than he could ever know. I can’t thank him enough for his knowledge and patience, not to mention recommending me for jobs when studios called. Because of Daniel, I got my first union job on Vampire Diaries. At present, I am mentoring two people, and I give them the same advice Dan gave me: “Develop your eye, don’t imitate anyone else’s. The studios will eventually be calling for ‘your’ eye. And be patient, as it takes time for your name to make the rounds, unless of course you’re a pain on set – then it spreads like wildfire.”

Tyler Golden: While working as a camera assistant on Hell’s Kitchen, I met my mentor, Local 600 Photographer Greg Gayne. He was open to answering all my questions and helping me learn the ins and outs of on-set photography. Greg is not only a mentor but has become a good friend over the years. And, as Greg did for me, I always take the time to connect and give tips to up-andcoming photographers. I have had a few photographers shadow me over the years. Mike Taing was one of those shadows, and he has become an excellent Local 600 photographer.

Claire Folger: When I joined the union in 2000, I was the second still photographer listed in the Boston area. I never approached the other photographer to ask questions or advice. I think I was just afraid. Because of my experience, instead of waiting for people to reach out to me, I have reached out to the new photographers in my area to let them know that I’m here for them. Whether they want to vent, talk out a difficult situation, or even find out how much they should charge for their kit rental or to do a gallery shoot, I want to create a community of collaboration and generosity between all of us.

PHOTO FROM WALT DISNEY PICTURES’ LADY AND THE TRAMP BY K.C. BAILEY

K.C. BAILEY

Regionality

Are there any unique challenges to the region in which you are based?

Laura Magruder: Shooting in Puerto Rico has its challenges, which are primarily weather related. Hot and humid for the better part of the year with sudden downpours that drench everything and clear away just as quickly as they arrive. I guess one becomes sort of an amateur meteorologist to stay dry and save your equipment from water damage. Oh, and the arsenal of extras one brings along to an outdoor shoot to do just that becomes larger with each shoot and with the amount of care and comfort one is seeking. These extras include towels, baggies, extra shoes, sunshades, more towels, hats, long-sleeved shirts…I can go on and on.

James Washington: In Chicago, you just have to be ready for four seasons to occur during the same day. I keep a bag in my car with rain gear, extra pants, a shirt, and layers of jackets in case the temp drops.

Parrish Lewis: For many years I was shooting in the Central Region, especially in Chicago, where there were about eight still photographers, so for the most part we all got the opportunity to work consistently. Since I started out shooting feature films, there were not a lot of features filmed in Chicago – mostly TV, which doesn’t seem to respect the role of the unit still photographer. We only get a couple of days each week, and that isn’t sustainable to support a family, in most cases. On features, we get the opportunity to work every day like the rest of the crew, and it allows you to be a bit more creative.

Claire Folger: In my experience, shooting in Boston is no different than shooting in Atlanta, New Orleans, Austin, Los Angeles, or New York. There are fantastic and experienced crews no matter where you work. Competent, creative, wonderful people are making a living in this business from coast to coast. Having six or eight weeks to experience a new city is super fun, but at the end of the day, the actual work is the same everywhere.

PHOTO FROM FX’S THE PATIENT BY SUZANNE TENNER

–

ELI

ADÉ RECOUNTING MENTOR ADVICE HE GIVES THAT WAS GIVEN TO HIM BY DANIEL MCFADDEN, SMPSP

Develop your eye, don’t imitate anyone else’s. The studios will eventually be calling for ‘your’ eye. And be patient, as it takes time for your name to make the rounds, unless of course you’re a pain on set – then it spreads like wildfire.”

PHOTO FROM SONY PICTURES’ DEVOTION BY ELI ADÉ

Favorite Projects

Is there a shot that you are most proud of? Tyler Golden: My very first assigned project was one of my favorite gigs. It was the NBC show I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here! We were in the middle of the jungle in Costa Rica with a crew from America, Australia, and the U.K. With such a mixed crew, we learned from each other; and in the jungle, we leaned on each other. It was amazing to capture the intense moments of a competition show in such a stunning location. Then, on my days off, I’d hike to a volcano and get photos of the incredible environment around me.

Eli Adé: I really like shooting biopics or period pieces. The costumes, sets, and locations allow me to somewhat document those periods with my eye. Lovecraft Country was by far one of the most rewarding projects. HBO let me work every day for seven months as the only photographer, which isn’t the norm for TV, and they gave me no restraints. They also gave me my first gallery. Lovecraft Country changed the trajectory of my career.

K.C. Bailey: As a huge animal lover, my hands-down favorite film to work on was Lady and the Tramp in Savannah, GA. Besides being an adorable romantic story, it brought home a very important message about animal rescue. It was also a deeply diverse cast straight through to the extras. As an interracial woman, seeing America as we truly are meant a lot to me. On the second day, the trainers were doing some work with our two doggie leads off set on an exquisite Victorian porch – I snapped a few pics, and lo and behold, it became the key art. Paying attention pays off as our work exists everywhere. The next most satisfying thing was working with the VFX crew, though they gave no doggie kisses. Robert Weaver, the VFX supervisor, pulled hundreds of my stills in post to help his team construct fur texture, background texture, and lighting elements. So, the unit stills helped influence the look of the film. And, fun fact: Lady had extensions in her ears.

Suzanne Tenner: More recently I worked on Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Watching Benedict Cumberbatch through my camera every day was a highlight. He is always present. Never a moment is he not truly there. I felt the same way with Sigourney Weaver years ago. It is a gift to be in a position to witness such work. Joaquin Phoenix was the same. Dan Stevens (on the FX show Legion) was also an inspiration in this way.

Genre

What genre do you work in most? Is there a trend? Tyler Golden: I’ve worked on a lot of unscripted shows. For the most part, a photographer is free to roam during a scene as long as your awareness is on point. It is key to make sure you are never in any shot as there are a lot of on-the-fly movements in the unscripted world. Getting the shot and staying out of the other camera’s shot are absolute musts because there are not many second chances in the unscripted genre.

Richard Foreman: I live in New Mexico, so of course, I end up shooting on westerns because filmmakers come for the southwest locations. I’m currently involved with two franchises, one a series of four western features, Horizon, and the other a neo-western streaming series Outer Range. Both have challenges due to locations and weather, and, specifically to cameras, the dust.

Claire Folger: I have never been pigeonholed into a single genre. Recently, I worked on the musical Spirited [ICG Web Exclusive December 2022], and the most. challenging action to capture appropriately was the dancing sequences. Capturing a dance move incorrectly results in extremely awkward body postures and doesn’t showcase the talent of the dancers or the beauty of the choreography. When shooting, I tried to time my shots with the music, so my camera was also dancing to the beat as I was doing my job. The truth of a musical is that it is physically

PUERTO RICO-BASED LAURA MAGRUDER

strenuous, and hard work. A successful shot is one where the acting, singing and dancing all look fun and effortless.

Parrish Lewis: I recently worked on a period piece - Rustin - which was amazing to recreate photographs made in the 1960s. I probably overshot this project because it was incredible to see how every detail was put together to make this happen.

Technology

How has the technology changed since you started? Richard Foreman: I feel like this is ancient history, but when I started, I relied on my handheld incident meter to measure the exposure. I had to put my noisy SLR film cameras into blimps to muffle (but never completely silence) the noise of the mirror, shutter, and high-pitched film advance. And we had to shoot color transparencies and black-and-white film, necessitating more camera bodies (and lenses). That changed in the early 2000s with digital SLR cameras, but the blimps were still utilized to muffle the still-present mirror and shutter noise. The advent of digital equipment meant more control over the editing process, as the work could be viewed and refined before submission to a photo editor.

Eli Adé: I started with a Canon 7D in a blimp, eventually going to a 5D Mark 2 and the 1DX. I used one lens – a 24-70. As reluctant as I was to go mirrorless, it opened the door for so much more. Now I always carry two cameras, and various lenses depending on the scene and the look I’m going for. There are shots that would be virtually impossible if I was still in a blimp. I do, however, miss the “vintage” feel of shooting in a blimp and the way people’s eyes used to light up when they saw it.

Claire Folger: Everything has changed from the way it was when I started shooting. The first movies I worked on were all on film. I used to shoot about half-and-half black and white and color. Black and white was still considered the standard for images. Newspapers were only just starting to print color photos on the Sunday editions, so black and white was still important. My first digital

camera was the 4MP Olympus e-10. I remember producers being very excited that they didn’t have to pay for film processing anymore and insisted that I use that camera all the time, without understanding that you could barely blow that image up to an 8 by 10 without pixelation. I convinced them to let me shoot a few rolls of film at the same time to supplement. At that time, there was a lot less digital media out there in general, the Internet barely existed, and publicity images were still printed 8 by 10 with the caption along the bottom; hard copies were mailed out to magazines and newspapers.

Tyler Golden: Although I never shot film on set, I did start shooting in the days of the sound blimp. That was an incredible invention that allowed unit photographers to shoot silently, but I’m glad that we have moved on. The mirrorless camera is a game-changer! Going from shooting with the bulky sound blimp to holding the camera easily in my hand gave me a new sense of freedom. Not only is a mirrorless camera lighter, it makes it easier to change settings during a scene. I also love that I’m able to flip out the screen and shoot at lower and higher angles than I was able to before.

Mirrorless

How have mirrorless cameras impacted your craft? Laura Magruder: Lord, how I love mirrorless cameras! I will not talk smack about my blimp (he’s still around, and nowadays I only bring him out of retirement for “show and tell” sessions), but my back and shoulders are truly grateful for the lighter weight of the new cameras. I currently shoot with Canon R’s, since what lived inside the blimp were Canon cameras and lenses, which I still use. I tried other systems but was blown away by the capacity of Canon R’s to shoot in low-low-low-light situations and come up with quite decent images. And the silent shutter, along with silent lenses, makes for lasting relationships within the sound department.

Parrish Lewis: When I started shooting for TV and features, I had a huge blimp and about two lens tubes which were also massive – a big disadvantage when you’re trying to be stealthy. Mirrorless was a major relief, and the image quality also enhanced everything. The biggest drawback I see is losing the art of

PHOTO FROM THE MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS BY LAURA MAGRUDER/SMOKEHOUSE PICTURES

NEW MEXICO-BASED RICHARD FOREMAN, SMPSP /

PHOTO BY MICHAEL DESMOND

PHOTO FROM AMAZON STUDIOS’ OPEN RANGE BY RICHARD FOREMAN

photography and creating/capturing moments. What I mean by this is, you end up shooting way more photos than necessary, which limits creativity, in my opinion. I feel your photography is part of your point of view, and when you shoot so much you never really have a point of view – you just end up with a lot of pictures with no purpose. As photographers, I feel we have to push ourselves to see things most others would not see on a TV/movie set.

Richard Foreman: Mirrorless digital cameras have totally changed unit photography. By using the back of the camera screen to compose the shot and not being tethered to a viewfinder, I can now capture images from positions never before possible with a camera in a blimp. And then there is the freedom from carrying one or two blimps. The main drawbacks to mirrorless cameras are that without blimps, they can’t just be set on the ground, and they seem to be a bit more fragile than the old Nikon and Canon tanks. There are also overheating issues, which can occur often in the 100-degreeplus temperatures we encounter in New Mexico. And I recently had some freezing issues, with inoperable function buttons in 20-degree temperatures. There is also a power issue – I always seem to be charging batteries each night, rather than once a week.

K.C. Bailey: One of the last jobs I used a blimp on, a background actor looked over and remarked, “Wow, that’s the biggest phone I’ve ever seen!” I burst out laughing. These days communication is text/ talk/pic all on one device. It’s a systemic shift in consciousness, but I must say, one of the best days of my life was when I bought my Sony a1. I’ve dialed-in all the custom buttons so I can literally be talking to someone and change the ISO without even looking. It’s that intuitive a camera. The ISO you can shoot at these days, plus a little Topaz in post, is sort of shocking. But the most eye-opening is a long zoom plus an extender, then dropping into digital zoom mode. I did this on the David Letterman interview with President Barack Obama. The audience had no idea who the guest was. The President walked on stage, and they all jumped to their feet with a gasp of awe. I could feel a wave of pure joy ripple toward the back of the auditorium where I was photographing. I could see the interior smiles and pride from the secret service women and men I was sitting with. A magic moment I will never forget. And I got the shots I needed.

No Limits

How far have you pushed your camera to get a shot? Tyler Golden: While working on Miracle Workers Season 3 at Sable Ranch, we were dealing with wind, dust and rain while wearing our masks and face shields. Our whole crew was pushing hard, and at the same time, we were pushing our equipment. I was worried that the dust and rain would do my camera in, causing me to pull out my backup camera; and then from there, I wasn’t sure what. As the rain poured down, I had to put the cameras in rain pouches and clean off the lens often. I had to wipe my face shield over and over because less than a minute after I cleaned it, it would fog back up again. The wind was super strong, so I was using Dust-Off to keep the camera dust free on set. At the end of the day, it took some time to clean the camera and have it ready for the next day of weather. As challenging as this show was, the payoff was worth it because I was able to capture some incredible images.

Claire Folger: I do it every day! Actors move when they act, so the challenge is always to make sure you have actors without motion blur. A still image is different than a motion image, where you can pull focus from one character to another in the same shot. When I have two actors in the frame, I’m trying to make sure both are in focus at the same time. And then there is the high ISO challenge of color shifts and graininess. In a motion picture seeing frames in motion reduces

perceived graininess. Not so for a still. There are a lot of differences between what I’m trying to capture in a still image, and the choice of shutter speed ISO and f-stop are important choices I must make, in situations where compromises are needed to obtain an image at all.

James Washington: I’ve been on some night shoots where the set was dimly lit, and I had to push the ISO higher than where I typically like to go. I can recall being in a park and it was hard seeing with the naked eye, let alone a camera. Having a prime lens helps a lot, as you can open the lens while raising the ISO.

Film versus Digital

Are you still shooting film? Laura Magruder: The last time I was asked to shoot film was for some prop photos. I had to buy a used camera and figure out where to develop the rolls of black and white film and have decent contact sheets made. That must have been about four years ago, and I haven’t used it since. I love the look and quality of film, but the lack of reliably consistent labs in the area is a non-starter.

Claire Folger: Black Mass was a period crime drama, and the director wanted all the crime scene photos to be shot on film and printed on photographic paper, so they appeared as authentic as possible. When I was working on these prop photos, I would shoot digital at the same time just to get an idea of whether I could successfully create a print that would look like the film-produced image. Adding grain, dust, and scratches in Photoshop, I created a digital image that was virtually indistinguishable from an actual film print. I still carried a film camera and had fun shooting some black-and-white photos during the shoot, but a good graphic artist can prepare great period-style images for use on set faster and easier.

Being On Set

What is the environment like today for a unit still photographer on set? Parrish Lewis: It seems no one really wants you on set, and everyone has a camera. I mean everyone has a camera, so it makes it difficult to show value and perspective. This is another reason why as a set photographer you have to work to show your skill so that the crew and producers see your value.

Eli Adé: Stills is a lonely position, at least for me it is. Although you’re in the camera department, you often are working alone and feel like an outsider. On top of that, I find myself more often than not in a department that lacks diversity. I do see it getting better somewhat, but it has a long way to go.

Relationships

Talk about the different relationships with on-set partners. James Washington: The relationship between the director and stills is key. When the set is tight, and they need to remove people, one of the first to go is stills. However, if I’ve communicated with the director that I need to get in there most of the time (I can’t say all), they are often helpful in getting me in so I can get my shot(s).

Tyler Golden: Communication with the crew makes it easier to get good stills. I need to understand the shots the director is going for and know my surroundings while making sure I’m not in the way of any other cameras. I mainly work out my position with dolly grips, boom ops, and camera ops since we are the closest to the cast during the takes. Sometimes special shots of the cast outside of a scene

PHOTO FROM LIONSGATE’S KNIVES OUT (2019) BY CLAIRE FOLGER (PICTURED ABOVE)

PHOTO FROM AMC’S 61ST STREET BY JAMES WASHINGTON

are needed. I check in with the AD for timing, and the cast for comfort level, and I give hair, wardrobe, makeup and props a heads-up. This ensures that everything is ready for the moment. I only have a few seconds to pull off these shots, so preparation and timing are everything. On Bosch: Legacy, I set up a photo of Titus using a flashlight inside a dark, narrow tunnel. I had to get this pull-away because there was no way I could fit in the tunnel with the Steadicam operator during the scene. I even had to take it a step further and work with a grip to hold a white bounce board so the light coming from the flashlight would bounce back and light up Titus. This photo ended up being used for publicity in multiple outlets.

Suzanne Tenner: I am always respectful of what an actor is comfortable with. I try to be right there with the camera – as close as the movie camera. If there is ever an instance where this is unwanted, that’s when I step back. It can be upsetting to know you’re missing something, but that’s okay. It’s not a battle to take stills. That’d make me very uncomfortable. Same with a director. I’m easy with what makes everyone most comfortable. Very often I’ve found that the director and I have been seeing and watching and noticing the same things during takes – and have a mutual excitement and appreciation about the process.

Parrish Lewis: In my experience, it can be hard to forge a relationship with the director since they are so focused on all the other moving parts of the film. I typically share highlights with the director every week and do not wait for the studio to do so. I need to establish trust in his/her vision, and the only way to do that is to share how I’m seeing things come together and ask for input. The same goes for the actors, who are also included in the weekly highlights for the same reason. This allows everyone to feel comfortable with my presence and what I’m capturing.

Talk specifically about how you work with a unit publicist? Suzanne Tenner: It’s always a pleasure to work with a publicist on set; to have the camaraderie in terms of supporting each other in our work. When I’ve worked with the same publicist several times over the years, it’s always a great relief. To have a comfortability, a shorthand about what is important. How to explain? It’s nice to know someone is there witnessing what might be happening on the set and to bounce ideas off in the moment. I have great respect for their work.

Richard Foreman: As a unit photographer, I really value a good relationship with the publicist. A good publicist has my back and can deal with the Studio/ Network Stills department when I’m on set for 12 hours with no cell coverage. A great publicist can help identify the important scenes, help wrangle talent for pull-asides, as well as produce weekend mini galleries and/or ad shoots. A good publicist is a gift and having a good relationship with that publicist is invaluable.

K.C. Bailey: I couldn’t do my job with as much peace without people like Frances Fiore, Julie Kuenhdorf, Rachael Roth, and Will Casey. They see the big picture, are an endless sounding board, source of information and joyous partners in crime! My unit publicist sisters and brothers, I salute you.

Parrish Lewis: I’ve been very fortunate to work with some good publicists, and by working with them, I learned how essential they are to me as the set photographer. The publicists come on a project with a big idea of where to pitch the story of the movie being made; meaning they’ve already done enough research on each of the actors, locations, and overall purpose of the project to know what photos they think will help best with promotion. This insight allows me to get in and get the key shoots for the project and allows my creativity to open to other possibilities and tell better stories with the photos I capture. The publicist is also essential in helping bridge any gaps the photographer may encounter between the filmmakers, talent, and crew. The publicists I’ve had the pleasure to work with were also very informative and able to wrangle crew and talent for necessary photoshoots that needed to take place before the film wrapped.

PORTRAIT OF CHICAGO-BASED JAMES WASHINGTON BY PARRISH LEWIS

How do unit stills and studio/network photo editors work together? Tyler Golden: Sometimes I work closely with the photo editor on a show, and sometimes I’m not in touch with the photo editor at all. Most often on live shows or at events, everything is moving quickly, and photos need to be posted right away. In those cases, I might even end up reporting directly to the photo editor to drop photos and streamline the process. When working with photo producers, editors, or any photo team member, I feel it’s very important to keep an open and honest relationship. I am their eyes and ears on set, and clear communication helps us build a strong relationship. There are times when I’m not able to be in the room for a sensitive scene or when I can’t get requested shots of the cast for whatever reason. Being upfront about the changes that are happening on set as soon as they happen allows for understanding and adjustment on all sides. I’ve had the pleasure of working with the same photo producers and editors from various networks, and I love being able to connect with them over time. We get into a groove, and that allows us to work efficiently and have fun, too.

Claire Folger: My relationship with photo editors is more important now than ever. For many streaming services, the photo editor is the one who hires the photographer. In the past, directors and all the ground producers had more autonomy in choosing the unit photographer. Also, I have maintained relationships with photo editors who have gone from network to network. It is not a surprise to get an email from somebody saying, “Hey Claire, Guess what? I’m no longer with X Network. I am now a photo editor working with Y Network, and we have a show coming to your area and wondering about your availability.” Despite all the growth and change, it’s still a relatively small industry, and a photo editor who starts at a small network may suddenly be working on a bigger project for another network. Building a good rapport early on could get you the big job that you want.

K.C. Bailey: I don’t think the relationship between photographers and photo editors has changed, but I do think the pressure on photo editors has increased. The demand for unique images for different outlets is greater. Actors are savvy about retouching, so the crunch to make everyone happy is a smaller time frame. So be kind to your photo editor! Get your work to the lab as quickly as possible, and give them a head’s up if anything may be coming their way. Lady and the Tramp was a great example. When the first look hit and I was credited, news organizations started calling me directly and my phone blew up! I made a seamless hand-off to [Paramount Senior Photo Editor] Riki Leigh [Arnold], and everyone got what they needed!

The Next Generation

What advice do you have for new union photographers? James Washington: No one is going to tell you anything. You must be observant and speak up. You cannot be shy and think someone is going to give you the heads up. Now, some of the crew who have been around will be helpful and give pointers. But there’s really no orientation of where to go and what you can do. So be observant, confident and aware, and ask questions when needed!

Suzanne Tenner: One of the most important things is to trust your intuition. This is an asset that can never be underestimated. Always keep your eyes and ears and mind open. We work around lots of people, so swimming around like an unobtrusive fish is important. Being kind and empathetic to the daily rising and falling of the tides on set is also crucial. In other words, be a keen observer and respectful of the hard work of everyone. It still amazes me that we put together these immense jigsaw puzzles daily. On another note, looking at the work of other artists is crucial to finding one’s own voice. To allow the beauty, mystery of a photograph or a painting to engage one’s curiosity. This is elemental.

Parrish Lewis: Understand the roles of each crew member on set and how to navigate without being in the way. Keep the director, producers, and actors in the loop with photos being captured by doing some type of recap/highlight weekly, if possible.

Eli Adé: Set photography is like no other type of photography. By that I mean it is a world in which you have little to no control. You don’t control the lights, the time, the locations, the people, or the content. So, to be in control of what you can’t control takes a special skill set. Learning choreography of shots, staying out of the way of the operator, dolly grip, and boom operator, learning moods of actors, directors, and other crew, all while staying out of the actors’ eye line to get what the studio wants and needs can be a mentally and physically challenging day. But if you can enter the space as an artist, leave your ego in crew parking, and recognize that you are a paint stroke on a much larger piece of art, you’ll do fine. Being a decent photographer is really a small part of the job – respect and attitude are often what get you the callbacks or lack thereof.

PHOTO FROM UNIVERSAL PICTURES’ CANDYMAN BY PARRISH LEWIS

PRODUCTION CREDITS

COMPILED BY TERESA MUÑOZ

The input of Local 600 members is of the utmost importance, and we rely on our membership as the prime (and often the only) source of information in compiling this section. In order for us to continue to provide this service, we ask that Guild members submitting information take note of the following requests:

Please provide up-to-date and complete crew information (including 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 addressed to Teresa Muñoz at teresa@icgmagazine.com

20TH TELEVISION

“9-1-1" SEASON 6

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JOAQUIN SEDILLO, ASC

OPERATORS: RICH STEVENS, DUANE MIELIWOCKI, SOC, DALE VANCE, SOC

ASSISTANTS: KENNETH LITTLE, CLAUDIO BANKS, ERIC GUERIN, STEPHEN FRANKLIN, MELVINA

RAPOZO, JIHANE MRAD

STEADICAM OPERATOR: DALE VANCE, SOC

STEADICAM ASSISTANT: MELVINA RAPOZO

CAMERA UTILITY: PAULINA GOMEZ

DIGITAL UTILITIES: BRYANT POWELL, IMANI NELSON-GRANT

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: RON JAFFE

“911: LONE STAR" SEASON 4

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: NATHANAEL VORCE, PJ RUSS

OPERATORS: BRICE REID, JACK MESSITT, JAMES HAMMOND, DEAN MORIN

ASSISTANTS: CARLOS DOERR, KAORU "Q" ISHIZUKA, PENNY SPRAGUE, KELSEY CASTELLITTO, BLAIR ROGERS, EVAN WILHELM, BEN PERRY

STEADICAM OPERATOR: BRICE REID

RONIN OPERATOR: DEAN MORIN

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: MIKE SANCHEZ

CAMERA UTILITY: JOE PACELLA

DIGITAL UTILITIES: BASSEM BALAA, BEAU MORAN

“HOW I MET YOUR FATHER" SEASON 2 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: GARY BAUM, ASC OPERATORS: JAMIE HITCHCOCK, DEBORAH O'BRIEN, DAMIAN DELLA SANTINA, ALLEN MERRIWEATHER ASSISTANTS: BRADLEY TRAVER, SEAN ASKINS, YUKA KADONO

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: DEREK LANTZ CAMERA UTILITIES: DAN LORENZE, RICHIE FINE LOADER: KIERSTEN DIRKES

VIDEO CONTROLLER: JOHN O'BRIEN

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: PATRICK WYMORE

“ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING” SEASON 3 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: KYLE WULLSCHLEGER

OPERATORS: DANIEL SHARNOFF, PETER VIETRO-HANNUM

ASSISTANTS: TIMOTHY TROTMAN, JUSTIN SIMPSON, SARA BOARDMAN, KRISTINA LALLY

LOADERS: CHAD KEAN, MARINO SANNUTI STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: PATRICK HARBRON

ABC STUDIOS

“JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!” SEASON 20

LIGHTING DIRECTOR: CHRISTIAN HIBBARD

OPERATORS: GREG GROUWINKEL, PARKER BARTLETT, GARRETT HURT, MARK GONZALES

STEADICAM OPERATOR: KRIS WILSON

JIB OPERATORS: MARC HUNTER, RANDY GOMEZ, JR.,NICK GOMEZ

CAMERA UTILITIES: CHARLES FERNANDEZ, SCOTT SPIEGEL, TRAVIS WILSON, DAVID

FERNANDEZ, ADAM BARKER

VIDEO CONTROLLER: GUY JONES

STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: KAREN NEAL, MICHAEL DESMOND

2ND UNIT

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BERND REINBARDT, STEVE GARRETT

“GREY'S ANATOMY" SEASON 19

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BYRON SHAH, JEANNE TYSON

OPERATORS: STEPHEN CLANCY, SARAH LEVY, GREG WILLIAMS

ASSISTANTS: NICK MCLEAN, KIRK BLOOM, FORREST THURMAN, LISA BONACCORSO, CHRIS JONES, J.P. RODRIGUEZ

STEADICAM OPERATOR: STEPHEN CLANCY

STEADICAM ASSISTANT: NICK MCLEAN

LOADER: MARTE POST

DIGITAL UTILITY: SPENCER ROBINS

“GROWN-ISH” SEASON 6

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MARK DOERINGPOWELL, ASC

OPERATORS: JESSE EVANS, ROBIN PABELLO

ASSISTANTS: ROBERT SCHIERER, MICHAEL KLEIMAN, TOMMY IZUMI, ROCIO MEDA

LOADER: ANDREW OLIVER

DIGITAL UTILITY: LAUREN VANDERWERKEN

CREW PHOTO

“STATION 19" SEASON 6

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DARYN OKADA, ASC, BRIAN GARBELLINI

OPERATORS: HARRY GARVIN, LISA STACILAUSKAS, SOC, DAVID MUN

ASSISTANTS: TONY SCHULTZ, GEORGE MONTEJANO, III,

SALVADOR VEGA, DUSTIN FRUGE, ANDREW DEGNAN, HANNAH LEVIN

STEADICAM OPERATOR: HARRY GARVIN

STEADICAM ASSISTANT: TONY SCHULTZ

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ANDREW LEMON

UTILITIES: GRANT JOHNSON, BELLA RODRIGUEZ

CRANE TECHS: CHRIS DICKSON, DERRICK ROSE

A+E STUDIOS

“THE LINCOLN LAWYER” SEASON 2

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ABRAHAM MARTINEZ

OPERATORS: DENNIS NOYES, BRETT JUSKALIAN

ASSISTANTS: JOE CHEUNG, BRENDAN DEVANIE, PENNY SPRAGUE, BEN PERRY

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: FRANCESCO SAUTA

CAMERA UTILITIES: ANDREW VERA, ELANA COOPER

LOADER: RAUL PEREZ

PHOTO CREDIT / UNIT STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: BROWNIE HARRIS

BACK ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT)

A CAM 2ND AC: PALMER ANDERSON, DP: SHANA HAGAN, ASC

C CAM OP: ASHLEY HUGHES, SOC, CAMERA UTILITY: PAIGE MARSICANO DIT (BLOCKS 1-5): ANDY BADER, B CAM 2ND AC: ROBIN WOOD, B CAM OP: GRETCHEN WARTHEN, SOC

FRONT ROW (LEFT TO RIGHT)

EP/DIRECTOR PAUL FEIG, A CAM 1ST AC: NICK GOWIN, EP/SHOWRUNNER

JENNY BICKS, B CAM 1ST AC: ELI WALLACE-JOHANSSON, LOADER: CORRYN DIEMER NOT PICTURED: C CAM 1ST AC: DARWIN BRANDIS, C CAM 2ND AC: KIT MARLOWE DIT (BLOCKS 5/6): CHELSEA CRAIG, DRONE OPERATOR: DAVID AZOR DRONE TECH: TIMMY DWYER

AP PRODUCTION SERVICES, INC.

“DIARRA FROM DETROIT”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MATTHEW EDWARDS

OPERATORS: MATTHEW FLEISCHMANN, JORGE DEL TORO

ASSISTANTS: RORY HANRAHAN, JASON RIHALY, CODY SCHROCK, MIGUEL GONZALEZ, FRANCES DE RUBERTIS

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: LUKAS METLICKA LOADERS: OFELIA CHAVEZ, VINCENT FERRARI, PHILIP BABICH

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: CLIFTON PRESCOD

BEACHWOOD SERVICES

“DAYS OF OUR LIVES” SEASON 56 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: VINCE STEIB

OPERATORS: MARK WARSHAW, MICHAEL J. DENTON, JOHNNY BROMBEREK, STEVE CLARK

CAMERA UTILITIES: STEVE BAGDADI, GARY CYPHER

VIDEO CONTROLLER: ALEXIS DELLAR HANSON

BIG INDIE HONDO, INC.

“HONDO AKA FALLOUT” SEASON 1

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ALEJANDRO MARTINEZ, TEODORO MANIACI, BRUCE MCCLEERY

OPERATORS: PYARE FORTUNATO, ROBERT CAMPBELL

ASSISTANTS: TOSHIRO YAMAGUCHI, BRENDAN RUSSELL, CORNELIA KLAPPER, ALEC NICKEL

LOADERS: TRUMAN HANKS, LORENZO ZANINI

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: JOJO WHILDEN

BILTMORE CHRISTMAS, LLC

“UNTITLED BILTMORE CHRISTMAS MOVIE AKA A BILTMORE CHRISTMAS”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ANDREW RAWSON

OPERATORS: RON SCHLAEGER, TIMOTHY WALKER

ASSISTANTS: JUSTIN URBAN, MATTHEW MEBANE, EMILY RUDY, NICHOLAS COLE BROWN

LOADER: ERICH COMBS

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: DAVID SCOTT HOLLOWAY

“WELCOME TO FLATCH – SEASON 2”

CREW PHOTO

CAPITAL ARTS

“PRETTY STONED”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID DANIEL

OPERATORS: TODD BARRON, ALFEO DIXON

ASSISTANTS: CAT LEATHERWOOD, ERIN STRICKLAND, EMILY HEROLD, ROB STOCKWELL

STEADICAM OPERATOR: ALFEO DIXON

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: CHAD OLIVER

DIGITAL UTILITY: CHELSEA ALAN

LOADER: BRITTANY CARDOZA

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: BRIAN DOUGLAS

CBS

“ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT” SEASON 41 LIGHTING

DESIGNER: DARREN LANGER

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: KURT BRAUN

OPERATORS: JAMES B. PATRICK, ALLEN VOSS, ED SARTORI, BOB CAMPI, RODNEY MCMAHON, ANTHONY SALERNO

JIB OPERATOR: JAIMIE CANTRELL

CAMERA UTILITY: TERRY AHERN

VIDEO CONTROLLERS: MIKE DOYLE, PETER STENDAL

“EVIL” SEASON 4

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: PETR HLINOMAZ, FRED MURPHY

OPERATORS: KATE LAROSE, PARRIS MAYHEW ASSISTANTS: ROBERT BECCHIO, RENE CROUT, ALISA COLLEY, VINCENT LARAWAY

LOADERS: FAITH EMMOLO-JOHNSON, HOLDEN HLINOMAZ, ROBERT STACHOWICZ, DENIZE SZALMA

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: ELIZABETH FISHER

“NCIS” SEASON 20

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: WILLIAM WEBB, ASC OPERATORS: GREG COLLIER, CHAD ERICKSON

ASSISTANTS: JAMES TROOST, NATE LOPEZ, HELEN TADESSE, YUSEF EDMONDS, ANNA FERRARIE LOADER: MIKE GENTILE

“NCIS: LOS ANGELES" SEASON 14

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: VICTOR HAMMER OPERATORS: TERENCE NIGHTINGALL, HARVEY GLEN ASSISTANTS: KEITH BANKS, RICHIE HUGHES, PETER CARONIA, JACQUELINE NIVENS

STEADICAM OPERATORS: TERENCE NIGHTINGALL, HARVEY GLEN

STEADICAM ASSISTANTS: KEITH BANKS, RICHIE HUGHES

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: CAROLINE MILLS

DIGITAL UTILITY: TAYLOR O'NEIL

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: RON JAFFE

“THE NEIGHBORHOOD" SEASON 5

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRIS LAFOUNTAINE, ASC

OPERATORS: BRUCE REUTLINGER, KRIS CONDE, CHRIS WILCOX, KEVIN HAGGERTY

ASSISTANTS: CHRIS TODD, JEFF ROTH, CRAIG LA FOUNTAINE

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: RYNE NINER

VIDEO CONTROLLER: KELSEY NINER

CAMERA UTILITIES: VICKI BECK, TREVOR LA FOUNTAINE

TECHNO JOB OPERATOR: SCOTT ACOSTA

TECHNO JIB TECH: JESSE WILLIAMS

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: MONTY BRINTON

LEFT TO RIGHT: RYAN JORDAN, SHERWIN MAGLANOC, SEAN WOODSIDE, STEVE BOLDROFF, DUSTIN STEPHENS, SEAN CROSS, ZAK HOLLEY

“THE GRAMMY'S”

“THE TALK” SEASON 13

LIGHTING DIRECTOR: MARISA DAVIS

PED OPERATORS: ART TAYLOR, MARK GONZALES, ED STAEBLER

HANDHELD OPERATORS: RON BARNES, KEVIN MICHEL, JEFF JOHNSON

JIB OPERATOR: RANDY GOMEZ

HEAD UTILITY: CHARLES FERNANDEZ

UTILITIES: MIKE BUSHNER, DOUG BAIN, DEAN FRIZZEL, BILL GREINER, JON ZUCCARO

VIDEO CONTROLLER: RICHARD STROCK

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: RON JAFFE

CHUCK LORRE PRODUCTIONS

“HOW TO BE A BOOKIE”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JAIME REYNOSO, AMC

OPERATORS: MIKAEL LEVIN, APRIL CROWLEY

ASSISTANTS: ROBERT MUTHAMIA, RYAN PILON, MATTHEW G. FISHER, ROSE LICAVOLI

STEADICAM OPERATOR: MIKAEL LEVIN

STEADICAM ASSISTANT: ROBERT MATHUMIA

LOADER: PHOEBE KRUEGER

DIGITAL UTILITY: JACOB HELLINGA

CMS

“MOTHER COUCH!”

OPERATOR: KELLY BORISY

ASSISTANTS: NORRIS FOX, JONATHAN CLARK

LOADERS: MONICA BARRIOS-SMITH, CASSIDY MINARIK

DISNEY/SALTY PICTURES

“HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL: THE MUSICAL” SEASON 3

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: HISHAM ABED

OPERATORS: JESSE EVANS, TAHLEE SCARPITTI

ASSISTANTS: MAX NEAL, ROBERT GILPIN, STEVE ROMMEVAUX, KEITH BRONSDON

STEADICAM OPERATOR: JESSE EVANS

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: EARL FULCHER

LOADER: EMMA MASSALONE

EYE PRODUCTIONS, INC.

“BLUE BLOODS” SEASON 13

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DONALD THORIN

OPERATORS: STEPHEN CONSENTINO, GEOFFREY FROST

ASSISTANTS: NICHOLAS DEEG, GLEN CHIN, KENNETH MARTELL, JONATHAN SCHAEFER, MICHAEL GUTHRIE, MAXWELL SLOAN, MATEO GONZALEZ, HAROLD ERKINS, MYO CAMPBELL

LOADERS: NANDIYA ATTIYA, MICHAEL PARRY

STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: LINDA KALLERUS, ALYSSA LONGCHAMP, EMILY ARAGONES

“MAGNUM P.I." SEASON 5

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: NEWTON TERMEER, YARON LEVY

OPERATORS: KEITH JORDAN, SCOTT MASON, RUBEN CARRILLO

ASSISTANTS: JEFF PELTON, NIGEL NALLY, WILL WACHA, KANOA DAHLIN, KAIMANA PINTO, BRANDON HO

STEADICAM OPERATOR: KEITH JORDAN

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: BLANE EGUCHI

LOADER: GEOFF LAU

UTILITY: KRISTINA ZAZUETA

DIGITAL UTILITY: MATHEW MEDEIROS

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: ZACK DOUGAN

FIDELIS PRODUCTIONS, LLC

“AMERICAN RUST” SEASON 2

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: RADIUM CHEUNG, HKSC OPERATORS: DAVID KIMELMAN, FRANK RINATO

ASSISTANTS: GUS LIMBERIS, AMANDA ROTZLER, BRIAN BRESNEHAN, GABRIEL MARCHETTI, VINCENT DEPINTO

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: CHRISTOPHER CHARMEL

LOADER: THOMAS HOLMES

DIGITAL UTILITY: JUSTIN ILLIG

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: DENNIS MONG

FRONT PORCH PICTURES

“DAY OF THE FIGHT”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: PETER SIMONITE

OPERATORS: JIM MCCONKEY, NIKNAZ TAVAKOLIAN ASSISTANTS: ANTHONY CAPPELLO, TRICIA MEARS, BRIAN GIALLORENZO, MAXWELL SCHWARZ

LOADERS: TREVOR BRENDEN, CHAD KEAN STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: JEONG PARK

GOODFEATHERS PRODUCTIONS

“THE WISEGUYS”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DANTE SPINOTTI, ASC OPERATORS: JOSEPH ARENA, SOC, KENT HARVEY, SOC

ASSISTANTS: JOE MARTINEZ, MARK STRASBURG, COREY LICAMELI, SAM STORM

STEADICAM OPERATOR: JOSEPH ARENA, SOC STEADICAM ASSISTANT: JOE MARTINEZ

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: DANIELE COLOMBERA

LOADER: BRANDON SMITH

CAMERA UTILITY: EMILY RUSSO

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: JENNIFER CLASEN

PUBLICIST: DEBBIE NATHIN

HOP, SKIP, & JUMP PRODUCTIONS

“WHILE YOU WERE BREEDING" SEASON 1

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BENJAMIN KASULKE

OPERATORS: MARC CARTER, GARRETT ROSE

ASSISTANTS: SHARLA CIPICCHIO, LITONG ZHEN

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: CHARLES ALEXANDER

KANAN PRODUCTIONS, INC.

“POWER BOOK, III: RAISING KANAN” SEASON 3 DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRIS LAVASSEUR, FRANCIS SPIELDENNER

OPERATORS: JEFFREY DUTEMPLE, GREGORY FINKEL ASSISTANTS: MARK FERGUSON, SUREN KARAPETYAN, EMILY DEBLASI, KEITH ANDERSION

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: HUNTER FAIRSTONE

LOADERS: BRIAN CARDENAS, PAUL SPANG, JC QUIROZ

STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: CARA HOWE, DAVID SCOTT HOLLOWAY, MATT INFANTE, ERIC LIEBOWITZ

PUBLICIST: EVELYN SANTANA

MINIM PRODUCTIONS, INC,

“SNOWFALL” SEASON 6

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRISTIAN HERRERA, LUIS SANSANS

OPERATORS: DAVID CHAMEIDES, DICK CROW

ASSISTANTS: ALEX LIM, GINA VICTORIA, JOSE DE LOS ANGELES, FERNANDO ZACARIAS

LOADERS: JACQUES VINCENT, AIDAN OSTROGOVICH

UTILITIES: SELENESOL MASSIEL SINGLETON, BEN MOHLER

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: RAY MICKSHAW

NBC UNIVERSAL TELEVISION, LLC

“CHICAGO PD" SEASON 10

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JAMES ZUCAL

OPERATORS: VICTOR MACIAS, JAMISON ACKER, CHRIS HOOD

ASSISTANTS: KYLE BELOUSEK, DON CARLSON, NICK WILSON, MARION TUCKER, CHRIS POLMANSKI, MAX MOORE

STEADICAM OPERATOR: VICTOR MACIAS

STEADICAM ASSISTANT: KYLE BELOUSEK

LOADER: STEVEN CLAY

DIGITAL UTILITY: REBECCA JOHNSON

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: LORI ALLEN

“FBI" SEASON 5

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BART TAU

OPERATORS: AFTON GRANT, MICHAEL LATINO

ASSISTANTS: LEE VICKERY, YURI INOUE, GEORGE LOOKSHIRE, NKEM UMENYI

LOADERS: RAUL MARTINEZ, CONNOR LYNCH

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: BENNETT RAGLIN

“LAW & ORDER" SEASON 22

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: CRAIG DIBONA, ASC

OPERATORS: CHRIS HAYES, TOM WILLS

ASSISTANTS: ALEX WATERSTON, IAN BRACONE, DEREK DIBONA, EMILY DUMBRILL LOADERS: MAX SCHWARZ, MATT ELDRIDGE

“LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME" SEASON 3

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JIM DENAULT OPERATORS: JON BEATTIE, JAY SILVER

ASSISTANTS: KEVIN WALTER, ALEKSANDR ALLEN, KEVIN HOWARD, KJERSTIN ROSSI

LOADERS: BRANDON OSBORN, VINCE FERRARI

“LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT" SEASON 24 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: FELIKS PARNELL OPERATORS: JON HERRON, CHRIS DEL SORDO

ASSISTANTS: MIKE GUASPARI, CHRISTIAN CARMODY, RYAN HADDON, MARY NEARY LOADERS: LIAM GANNON, JAMES WILLIAM STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: ALYSSA LONGCHAMP

“THE EQUALIZER” SEASON 3

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: TERRENCE BURKE, RON FORTUNATO

OPERATORS: JOSPEPH BLODGETT, TODD SOMODEVILLA, JASON MASON, RICARDO SARMIENTO

ASSISTANTS: ADAM GONZALEZ, JOHN FITZPATRICK,

JELANI WILSON, BRYANT BAILEY, JAY ECKARDT, WARIS SUPANPONG, MICHAEL LOBB, JASON RASWANT, NIALANEY RODRIGUEZ, DANTE CORROCHER, ALEJANDRO LAZARE

DIGITAL IMAGING TECHS: TIFFANY ARMOUR-TEJADA, NATHANIEL SPIVEY

LOADERS: NAJOOD ALTERKAWI, TOM FOY, JAMAR OLIVE, SAM SHOEMAKER

STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: MICHAEL GREENBERG, ALYSSA LONGCHAMP

ORDER IN THE FRIEDKIN COURT, LLC

“THE CAINE MUTINY”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL GRADY

OPERATORS: WILL ARNOT, BRIAN MORENA

ASSISTANTS: LIAM SINNOTT, PAUL TILDEN, JOE SEGURA, JORDAN CRAMER

STEADICAM OPERATOR: WILL ARNOT

LOADER: SARAH MARTINEZ

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: RYAN KUNKLEMAN

HEAD TECH: PHILIP HALLFORD

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: TOBIN YELLAND

REMOTE BROADCASTING, INC.

“THE GOLDBERGS" SEASON 10

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JASON BLOUNT

OPERATORS: SCOTT BROWNER, NATE HAVENS

ASSISTANTS: TRACY DAVEY, GRETCHEN HATZ, GARY WEBSTER, TOMMY IZUMI

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: KEVIN MILLS

LOADER: DILSHAN HERATH

REUNION 2017, LLC

“THE CONNERS” SEASON 5

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DONALD A. MORGAN, ASC

OPERATORS: RANDY BAER, JOHN DECHENE, VITO GIAMBALVO, JOHN BOYD

ASSISTANT: MARIANNE FRANCO

CAMERA UTILITIES: JOHN WEISS, ADAN TORRES

VIDEO CONTROLLER: VON THOMAS

SAD CLOWN PRODUCTIONS

“CALL ME KAT”

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: PATTI LEE, ASC, ANTAR ABDERRAHMAN

OPERATORS: MARIANNE FRANCO, BRAD GRIMMET, JOHN DECHENE, CHUN MING HUANG

ASSISTANTS: BRAD TRAVER, KENNETH WILLIAMS, ROBYN LINK

STEADICAM OPERATOR: BRAD GRIMMET

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: CLIFF JONES

CAMERA UTILITY: MATT FISHER

DIGITAL UTILITY: JOSE GOMEZ

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: LISA ROSE

SALT SPRING MEDIA, INC.

“SEVERANCE” SEASON 2

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JESSICA LEE GAGNE, SUZIE LAVELLE

OPERATORS: SCOTT MAGUIRE, MARK SCHMIDT

ASSISTANTS: MICHAEL GUTHRIE, EMMA HING, CAMERON SIZEMORE, FRANCIS MILEA

STEADICAM OPERATOR: MARK SCHMIDT

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: LUKE TAYLOR

LOADER: AMELIA SUMMAR

HEAD TECH: MICHAEL INDURSKY, DANIELLE WILCOX STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: JON PACK PUBLICIST: PEGGY MULLOY

SHOVEL BUDIES, LLC

“ZOEY 102 AKA ELECTRIC LOVE”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MATHEW RUDENBERG

OPERATORS: JOHN LEHMAN, MICHAEL REPETA

ASSISTANTS: PATRICK BOROWIAK, ELI MCMEEN

WALLACE-JOHANSSON, ROY KNAUF, JILL AUTRY

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ANDY BADER

LOADER: BRANDON ROBEY

DRONE OPERATOR: ANDREW RORK

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: DANA HAWLEY

SHOWTIME

“BILLIONS” SEASON 7

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JOSEPH GALLAGHER, GIORGIO SCALI, BRAD SMITH

OPERATORS: ALAN PIERCE, NICOLA BENIZZI

ASSISTANTS: GRAHAM BURT, LEONARDO GOMEZ, KELLON INNOCENT, SEAN MCNAMARA

LOADER: HUSSEIN FARRAJ

STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: PATRICK HARBRON, WILLIAM DOUGLAS MEILS

SONY PICTURES TELEVISION

“JEOPARDY!” SEASON 36

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: JEFF MESSENGER

VIDEO UTILITIES: MICHAEL CORWIN, JEFF KLIMUCK

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: CAROL KAELSON

“WHEEL OF FORTUNE” SEASON 37

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JEFF ENGEL

OPERATORS: DIANE L. FARRELL, SOC,

L.DAVID IRETE, RAY GONZALES, MIKE TRIBBLE

HEAD UTILITY: TINO MARQUEZ

CAMERA UTILITY: RAY THOMPSON

VIDEO CONTROLLER: JEFF MESSENGER

VIDEO UTILITIES: MICHAEL CORWIN, JEFF KLIMUCK

JIB ARM OPERATOR: STEVE SIMMONS

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: CAROL KAELSON

STALWART PRODUCTIONS, LLC

“FEAR THE WALKING DEAD” SEASON 8

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JAN RICHTER-FRIIS, DFF, DAVID MORRISON

OPERATORS: CHRISTIAN SATRAZEMIS, KRIS HARDY, JORDAN JONES

ASSISTANTS: JAMES SPRATTLEY, JAMES DUNHAM, TREY TWITTY, PETER JOHNSTON, ERIC LEFTRIDGE, BRODY DOCAR

STEADICAM OPERATOR: CHRISTIAN SATRAZEMIS

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: PAUL SCHILENS

LOADER: ANDREW FLORIO

CAMERA UTILITY: JEREMY HILL

WARNER BROS.

“ALL AMERICAN” SEASON 5

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ERIC LAUDADIO, ERIBERTO CORDERO

OPERATOR: DANIEL WURSCHL

ASSISTANTS: BLAKE COLLINS, GREG DELLERSON, KIRSTEN LAUBE, JESSICA PINNS

STEADICAM OPERATOR: DANIEL WURSCHL

STEADICAM ASSISTANT: GREG DELLERSON

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: URBAN OLSSON

DIGITAL UTILITY: LAVEL MO MORTON

“YOUNG SHELDON” SEASON 6

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BUZZ FEITSHANS, IV

OPERATORS: NEIL TOUSSAINT, AARON SCHUH

ASSISTANTS: MATTHEW DEL RUTH, GRANT YELLEN, BRAD GILSON, JR., JAMES COBB

STEADICAM OPERATOR: AARON SCHUH

LOADERS: BAILEY SOFTNESS, CONNER MCELROY

WONDER STREET PRODUCTIONS

“EAST NEW YORK”

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ZEUS MORAND, JENDRA JARNAGIN

OPERATORS: JULIEN ZEITOUNI, PETER NOLAN, DAVID ISERN, ALAN JACOBSEN, LUCAS OWEN

ASSISTANTS: SAMANTHA SILVER, VINCENT TUTHS, ERIKA HOULE, EVAN WALSH, MARC CHARBONNEAU, ELIZABETH CASINELLI, ANABEL CAICEDO, KYLE TERBOSS, CORY MAFFUCCI, NOLAN MALONEY, JAMES DEMETRIOU, KATHERINE RIVERA, CHRISTOPHER PATRIKIS

DIGITAL IMAGING TECHS: MATTHEW RICHARDS, JESSICA TA

LOADERS: MANUEL GARCIA, TOM FOY, ALEX LILJA, DAVID DIAZ

TECHNOCRANE TECH: JORDAN HRISTOV

STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: SCOTT MCDERMOTT, PATRICK HARBRON

WOODBRIDGE PRODUCTIONS

“THE BLACKLIST” SEASON 10

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DEREK WALKER, MICHAEL O'SHEA

OPERATORS: DEVIN LADD, JAY SILVER

ASSISTANTS: MIKE GUASPARI, EDWIN HERRERA, EDGAR VELEZ, KAIH WONG

LOADERS: REMINGTON LONG, BERNARDO RUIZ POZO STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: PATRICK HARBRON, WILL HART

COMMERCIALS

ARTS & SCIENCES

“FANDUEL”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: AUTUMN DURALD

ARKAPAW, ASC

OPERATORS: JOSH MEDAK, VINCENT FOEILLET

ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, ANDRAE

CRAWFORD, CHRIS STRAUSER, ALAN CERTEZA, EJ DICKERSON

STEADICAM OPERATOR: CHRIS CUNNINGHAM

DIGITAL IMAGING TECHS: LONNY DANLER, DAN SKINNER

BISCUIT FILMWORKS

“SAM ADAMS”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JODY LEE LIPES

OPERATORS: SAMUEL ELLISON, JULIA LIU

ASSISTANTS: DAN MASON, PAT KELLY, CHRIS MALENFANT, MICHAEL TORRENT

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: MATT DORRIS

CAVIAR

“NERDWALLET”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JEFF WALDRON

OPERATOR: ARI ISSLER

ASSISTANTS: JOHN CLEMENS, SCOTT MILLER, JORDAN LEVIE

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: BJORN JACKSON

CMS PRODUCTIONS

“PEACOCK”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MAGDALENA GORKA

ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, ALAN CERTEZA

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JESSE TYLER

COMMUNITY FILMS

“PHYSICIAN'S UNITED”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ERIC SCHMIDT

ASSISTANTS: LILA BYALL, GAVIN GROSSI

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: TAMAS HARANGI

DENTSU CREATIVE

“AMEX RHYTHM OF THE ISLAND”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: CARLOS ZAYAS

OPERATOR: CHRISTIAN RAMIREZ-COLL

ASSISTANTS: ABNER MEDINA ALEJANDRO, CARLOS RIVERA, CARLOS GARCIA, ANDRES VILA, ANTONIO SILVA

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ALEX RAMIREZ

EPOCH

“NATIONWIDE”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JIM WHITAKER

OPERATOR: LAURA GOLDBERG

ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, ARTHUR ZAJAC, ERIN ENDOW

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: LEE DE ARAKAL

HEAD CRANE TECH: NAZARIY HATAK

GLP CREATIVE, LLC

“BETWAY”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: LUKE MCCOUBREY ASSISTANTS: WALTER RODRIGUEZ, MATT DEGREFF

LITTLE MINX

“DEXCOM”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: EDU GRAU, ASC ASSISTANTS: NICO MARTIN, ALAN CERTEZA

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: SEAN GOLLER

LOVESONG, LLC

“ADOBE”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: NORM LI ASSISTANTS: NICOLAS MARTIN, DANNY KIM

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: KYLE HOEKSTRA

MANHATTAN PLACE ENTERTAINMENT

“AMERICAN AUTO SEASON 2”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JAY HUNTER

OPERATORS: STEVE PAUL COHEN, ROBERT HANNA, VINCE RAPPA

ASSISTANTS: EDWIN SHIMKO, CHEVY ANDERSON, NATHANIEL PINHEIRO, SANCHEEV RAVICHANDRAN, JAY ECKARDT

LOADER: JOHN POPE

MERMAN BRANDED

“MONTEFIORE”

OPERATOR: SCOTT MILLER

ASSISTANTS: JOHN CLEMENS, AUSTIN KITE, JORDAN LEVIE

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ARTUR DZIEWECZYNSKI

MJZ

“USPS”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: EDU GRAU, ASC

ASSISTANTS: JESSE CAIN, ROBERT JULIAN

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JESSE TYLER

MOONSHINE, LLC

“ROX TECH SHOOT RADIO CITY”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MAGDALENA GORKA

ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, ALAN CERTEZA

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JESSE TYLER

NATIVE CENTRAL

“SAN DIEGO ZOO”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: KAI SAUL

OPERATOR: BRIAN BERNSTEIN

ASSISTANTS: NICOLAS MARTIN, ANDIE GILL, DAVID THOMAS

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: GIANENNIO SALUCCI

PALMER PRODUCTIONS

“T MOBILE”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BRADLEY STONESIFER

OPERATORS: JOHN PAUL MEYER (DOLLY), BRYCE PLATZ (GIMBAL/CRANE), ADRIEL GONZALEZ (LONG LENS ROAMING), LEONARD WALSH (LONG LENS ROAMING)

ASSISTANTS: NICK BIANCHI, STEVE DELGADILLO, ANDREW GOH, MELISSA KIRCHHOFF, DARRELL NASH, NICOLE KENT, MELANIE ADAMS, DUSTY SAUNDERS

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: SHAWN AGUILAR

CRANE OPERATOR: BOGDAN IOFCIULESCU

PARK PICTURES, LLC

“NBA PLAYOFF MODE”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: KATE ARIZMENDI

ASSISTANTS: JASMINE CHANG, VINNIE BREDEMUS, GERARDO LEON

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: RANDALL KAPLAN

TECHNOCRANE OPERATOR: NAZARIY HATAK

TECHNOCRANE TECH: MARCIN CZWALGA

REMOTE HEAD TECH/OPERATOR: JAY SHEVECK

PRETTYBIRD

“NUTRL”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: RAMSEY NICKELL

OPERATOR: BEVERLY WILSON

ASSISTANTS: CASE NORTON, ARIEL FLORES, BLAIR BLACKLEY

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: COURTNEY GOODWIN

PULSE FILMS

“VERIZON”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ROB HAUER

ASSISTANTS: PAYAM YAZDANDOOST, LEIGH STIEPEL

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: RAFFI VESCO

RADICAL MEDIA

“HONDA”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ERIC SCHMIDT

OPERATORS: XAVIER HENSELMAN, JAIME MEJIA, WALTER VITAL

ASSISTANTS: BILL ROBINSON, NOAH GLAZER

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JOHN SPELLMAN

SMUGGLER

“CHASE BANK”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ERIC SCHMIDT

OPERATORS: DJ HARDER, MIKE SVITAK

ASSISTANTS: WILLIAM ROBINSON, MANASH DAS, WILLIAM DAUEL, THERESA WONG, SYDNEY COX

STEADICAM OPERATOR: XAVIER THOMPSON

STEADICAM ASSISTANT: VANCE PIPER

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: BRYAN PERIDO

“SMART WATER”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BRYAN NEWMAN

OPERATOR: MATT LYONS

ASSISTANTS: JOHN CLEMENS, JOHNNY SOUSA, SCOTT MILLER

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: MARIUSZ CICHON

SUPERPRIME

“CORE”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MAX GOLDMAN

OPERATOR: ROSS COSCIA

ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, JESSE CAIN, ALAN CERTEZA

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JESSE TYLER

“GENESIS”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MAX GOLDMAN

ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, ALAN CERTEZA, CHRIS MARIUS JONES

STEADICAM OPERATOR: DANA MORRIS

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JESSE TYLER

THE DIRECTORS BUREAU

“INTIMISSIMI”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: AUTUMN DURALD ARKAPAW, ASC

ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, ALAN CERTEZA

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: LONNY DANLER

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LACEY TERRELL, SMPSP

DAISY JONES & THE SIX

I often ask myself, “How do we make a still image sing?” as I find photographing music immensely inspiring and incredibly difficult. Whether it is with my personal music projects or with Daisy Jones & The Six , managing the motion, lighting changes, and facial expressions while attempting to capture the feeling of sound is tricky. This image of Riley Keough and Sam Claflin is a double exposure created in camera. The layered quality echoes the ethereal, transient nature of a live musical performance, but also the characters’ connection – to each other and the audience. Multiple exposures are a gamble, melding two (or more) fleeting moments on the fly. But when they work it is very exciting! The palette of this image is enhanced by the gorgeous stage lighting of Guild Director of Photography Jeff Cutter and Chief Lighting Technician Nick Kaat. True story: legendary music photographer Jim Marshall signed his book to me, saying: For Lacey, Someday you will be signing a book for someone else – Take care of your work for the pictures are your children. This image is one of them.

“NAB Show allows me to learn about gear that I might not see, or a rental house might not show me. And the great thing is I get to see everything in one place.”

LIGHTS. CAMERA. ACTION. THE GEAR IS HERE

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Level up with ASC Cinematography Lighting Workshops, ACE Editorial Workshops, the NAB Show Conference CREATE Track and/or Post|Production World.

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