ICG Magazine - November 2020 - The Unscripted Issue

ICG MAGAZINE

AMERICAN

UTOPIA

+

THE

TRIAL

OF

THE

CHICAGO

7

+

SHARK

TANK

+

JOHN

LEWIS

PHOTO

GALLERY

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pictured: Wally Pfister, ASC

contents THE UNSCRIPTED ISSUE November 2020 / Vol. 91 No. 09

DEPARTMENTS gear guide ................ 20 deep focus ................ 28 zoom-in ................ 30 deep focus ................ 34 exposure ................ 38 production credits ................ 100 stop motion .............. 106

SPECIAL 01 Crossing That Bridge ...... 84

42

FEATURE 01 SOMETHING WILD Ellen Kuras, ASC, leads a stellar Guild camera team through the live capture of David Byrne’s American Utopia.

FEATURE 02 STREET FIGHTING MEN Phedon Papamichael, ASC, and his Local 600 crew bring order to chaos in the eerily current new 1960’s drama The Trial of the Chicago 7.

FEATURE O3 CIRCLING THE WATERS How one of TV’s most iconic unscripted franchises safely returned to production amidst an ongoing pandemic.

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56 72

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SPECIAL 01 CROSSING THAT BRIDGE A Photo Gallery of the Honorable John Lewis. photo by Richard DuCree

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president's letter

Better Times Ahead “Unscripted” may be the best one-word definition of the year 2020.

Of course, no one knows what the future holds, but this year, even the present constantly seemed uncertain. The pandemic gets a lot of the blame, but a steady flow of falsehoods from elected leaders created a mirage that obscured even the most obvious truths. A runaway virus, raging wildfires, social injustice and the shutdown of our entire industry eroded the ground under our feet.

Uncertainty is the foundation of fear and anger, and there seemed to be an endless supply this year. But the same uncertainty yielded these outcomes: renewed faith in science, a return to unifying themes, and the election of a highly regarded senator, who is also a woman of color, to be our new vice president.

Our work, which is what binds us together as a union, has begun to return. Not surprisingly, unscripted work led the way early on, and the quality of that work has never been higher, as evidenced in this month’s issue. Our members embrace new technology at the same rate of change as the technology itself, and that demanding pace has never been faster than it is right now – the result is that this work has never looked better than it does right now.

There are still many challenges ahead. As I write this, virus case totals are reaching record levels nearly every day. But my hope is that our industry is gaining the necessary knowledge on the ground to avoid another shutdown. What is most clear is that our members, and our Local, have proven their resilience and tenacity despite the many threats 2020 has presented.

Life is always unscripted, but our ability to successfully navigate the present, as well as the future, relies on our strength and unity, our trust in one another, and our shared belief in better times ahead.

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

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Publisher Teresa Muñoz Executive Editor David Geffner Art Director Wes Driver

EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Tyler Bourdeau

STAFF WRITER Pauline Rogers

ACCOUNTING

Glenn Berger Dominique Ibarra

COPY EDITORS

Peter Bonilla Maureen Kingsley

CONTRIBUTORS Richard DuCree Ted Elrick David Lee, SMPSP Niko Tavernise

November 2020 vol. 91 no. 09

Local

600

International Cinematographers Guild

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

COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE

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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.

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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to ICG 7755 Sunset Boulevard Hollywood, California 90046 Copyright 2020, by Local 600, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States and Canada. Entered as Periodical matter, September 30, 1930, at the Post Office at Los Angeles, California, under the act of March 3, 1879. Subscriptions: $88.00 of each International Cinematographers Guild member’s annual dues is allocated for an annual subscription to International Cinematographers Guild Magazine.

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This is the fourth consecutive year ICG’s November issue has been themed around unscripted production, and we couldn’t be more pleased with the evolution of that coverage. To be clear, our November book has always highlighted nonfiction content, with a previous focus on independent documentaries, commercials, shorts, and features based on real-life stories. But it was in 2017, with NBC’s seven-time Primetime Emmywinning series The Voice on the cover, that November’s heavy lifting became unscripted content – reality competition shows; reality “house” shows; game and talk shows; and live events; including awards, sports, and concerts.

Now comes another first for November with our cover story on HBO’s American Utopia (page 42), David Byrne’s Broadway transposition of his 2018 album was directed by Spike Lee and shot

by Oscar-nominated Director of Photography Ellen Kuras, ASC. With her longtime 1st AC, Rick Gioia, overseeing gear and the support crew, Kuras wrangled a bevy of New York City camera pros, including Gregor Tavenner, SOC; Eric Swanek; Peter Agliata; Dan Casey; Charlie Libin; Walter Rodriguez; and Yoshi Tang, SOC. The assignment was so coveted, Guild Directors of Photography like Tim Ives, ASC, Sam Levy and Declan Quinn, ASC practically begged Kuras for a camera position.

Working with IATSE Local 52 Chief Lighting Technician Greg Addison and Lighting Designer Rob Sinclair, Kuras and her team managed to capture Byrne’s wildly inventive staging (with choreography by Annie-B Parsons), which included dozens of performers dancing around the stage while wearing their instruments.

Second AC Jordan Levie says the freedom Kuras gave to her operators was integral to the project.

“Ellen called the show like a conductor with an orchestra, using 11 total camera positions,” Levie shares. “She was instrumental in helping the operators anticipate the show’s cues and make amazing frames.”

Amazing frames are harder to come by these days as new COVID-19 safety protocols go into effect on union productions across the country.

Unscripted crews, particularly those working

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on shows with live audiences or live-event projects, have been severely impacted; yet it’s those same Guild members who were first to return to work. A case in point is this month’s feature on ABC’s Shark Tank (page 72), which shot its twelfth season in a “bubble” in Las Vegas. Led by longtime director Ken Fuchs (Exposure, page 38), Lighting Designer Oscar Rodriguez (working remotely from his L.A. base), Lighting Director Ronald Wirsgalla (on-set in Vegas), and Video Controller Terrance Ho, the Local 600 team worked inside multiple 30-by-30-foot black Duvetyne "shelters," with plexiglass walls added for operator safety. Production Designer Anton Goss had to create a new “COVIDcompliant” set that separated host Kevin O’Leary and the rotating group of Sharks and Entrepreneurs by the required six feet, altering camera angles on everything from jib to Steadicam.

Safety protocols included every member of the show being tested before being cleared to depart for Las Vegas (from their Los Angeles base), then tested again and isolated in their hotel rooms at The Venetian until they received a negative result before being allowed to enter the bubble, where they were continually tested before entering a separate check-in area created to ensure production members did not come in contact with anyone outside the bubble from the moment they stepped onto the property.

As Executive Producer Brandon Wallace describes: “We had a COVID safety supervisor on the set that helped consult on the protocols, as well as a medical advisor engaged by [production company] MGM Television. Even with a negative test, everyone was still required to wear PPE and keep an appropriate distance at all times. And we had strict hair and make-up protocols to further mitigate any risk for those working near on-camera talent [who did not use masks when on-camera].”

Mitigating risk is not a term ever applied to the life of Presidential Medal of Honoree and Congressman John Lewis, whose return to Selma, Alabama’s Edmund Pettus Bridge (in 2018) for the 53rd anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” as well as his memorial procession this past summer (across that same bridge), were captured by Atlanta-based Local 600 Unit Still Photographer Richard DuCree. These inspiring images (page 84), culled from a decade DuCree has spent photographing Lewis, could not be timelier in our nation’s journey. One image, of a Black policeman saluting Lewis’s flag-draped coffin, reverberates down through the ages – 55 years ago it was a Southern police officer of a different color who fractured Lewis’ skull on the Edmund Pettus Bridge when he and 600 marchers kneeled to pray. Those scars, buried with the Honorable John Lewis, are still with us today.

CONTRIBUTORS

David Lee, SMPSP Something Wild “Working on American Utopia was a thrill, a saturation of my artistic senses, combining just about all of my loves: music, dance, theater and the spoken word in general. Another love of mine is singing at the top of my lungs with complete strangers, who are all vibing together – great concerts give this primal pleasure. My effort on American Utopia was to tell the story of all that creative energy, in perhaps a single frozen photographic moment.”

Niko Tavernise Street Fighting Men, Stop Motion “My job is all about trying to be a shadow with a lens. Any image without the subject’s knowledge of you being there makes the moment that much more special. The goal is to capture life on a film set, for that brief second, while being nothing but a ghost to those around you.”

ICG MAGAZINE

AMERICAN

UTOPIA

+

THE

TRIAL

OF

THE

CHICAGO

7

+

SHARK

TANK

+

JOHN

LEWIS

PHOTO

David Geffner Executive Editor

Twitter: @DGeffner Email: david@icgmagazine.com

Cover photo by David Lee, SMPSP

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the unscripted issue

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SAM NICHOLSON, ASC Local 600 Director of Photography

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the unscripted issue

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DEEP FOCUS

Stuart Wesolik VIDEO CONTROLLER PHOTO BY LISA ROSE / FOX

screens for a music performance. In sports, we push the cameras to adapt to the existing environment.

However, we are seeing more “studio” shows take to the field in sports and some of the same people and resources filling those positions, such as in the World Series Pre/Post Game Show for FOX. Creating different looks between the disciplines might include managing the depth-of-field differently or reshaping the detail for sports to capture fastpaced action on the end of a 99× lens with an extender, or changing gamma curves and knee circuits under difficult lighting conditions. On set, creating a softer, more flattering image, especially on close-ups, is key, as is working to maintain consistent contrast levels on a smoke-filled set.

We shot The Voice judges’ performance on the Universal Backlot. We rehearsed in sunlight, and the performance was done under lights. Managing the exposure and color temperature transition was much like a sporting event that transitions from daylight and shadows to stadium light.

Workflow for a VC in live sports has the added burden of technical preparation and setup, including interfacing with the engineers, operators and utilities to plan and execute the technical setup, including audio and EVS. Workflow for a VC on set is about collaborating with the DP to create rich and colorful video, while considering depth-of-field and filtration, LED light flicker, and balancing on-camera screens to the lighting condition.

Common misconceptions about TV sports are that the quality is lower than entertainment and that sports crews are somehow inferior, skills-wise.

Neither is true! People who successfully cross over recognize the nuanced differences and adapt to the environment.

New ways of doing things for VC’s include colorgrading the S-Log video live on set to share with postproduction, and the expanding use of HDR live production on sports harnessing the extended dynamic range.

When I started, we were using three tube analog cameras like the Ikegami HK-357 and the Sony BVP360. The set-up time far exceeded what productions expect these days. When CCD cameras, such as the BVP-90 and LDK Series, came out, the painstaking process of tube alignment became obsolete.

Shooting light fixtures on set or in stadiums can be

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part of the shot now, as the risk of beam lag and burning the tubes has been mitigated.

The main difference between sports and entertainment is that in entertainment we typically shape the environment on set to create a look utilizing lights, smoke, or display devices like on-camera

My favorite projects are large-scale shows on which Production respects and engages the video controller, allowing for proper set-up time and the chance to make the production look good. I do love a set day! Emmy-winning DP’s such as Gary Baum, ASC, and Emmy-nominee Patti Lee, ASC [click here], embrace the process of the video controller. As does

11.2020

Lighting Designer Otis Howard when we do the NBA All-Star Half-Time Show.

I love the look of the large-format cameras.

The 35mm image just fills the screen, and the cine lenses fall off beautifully. It’s perfect for working up close. Sports and variety shows require much longer lenses, like the Fujinon Digipower 99× at 832 mm. That kind of length in a PL-mount lens is physically prohibitive. On Apple’s Planet of The Apps, we used a blend of cine and broadcast lenses on Sony F55s and 4300s. Blending the two platforms into one look can be tricky but doable.

We often use the same camera in different ways. On Will & Grace, we used the Sony F55 with detuned Panavision lenses shooting in a REC-709 gamma curve. On the new sitcom Call Me Kat, we are using the same camera but shooting in S-Log 3 with LiveGrade Pro creating LUT’s on set. For a typical L.A. Dodgers game, we use a mix of Sony HDC-2500s and HDC-4300s running in a 6× frame rate for super-slow motion. For both sports and entertainment, Robo and Steadicams are outfitted with the more compact Sony HDC-P43.

What I like about being a video controller is that it is a great blend of art and technology with

immediate results. When something looks good, it has a positive impact on people. To achieve a look requires collaborating with the DP/LD, V2s, screens, set designers, wardrobe, hair, and make-up.

People used to always tell me that technology would render the VC obsolete. But the pace at which technology changes, the public appetite for live production, and the size of shows have shed even more light on the important role of the VC. We learn and apply new technology like 4K and HDR. We help the DP’s and LD’s craft their looks and keep quality images coming in from all corners of the earth.

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Gretchen Warthen OPERATOR

BY PAULINE ROGERS INT'L LOCATION PHOTOS COURTESY OF GRETCHEN WARTHEN

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11.2020

“The world of unscripted television originally started with traditional house reality shows like The Real World,” explains Gretchen Warthen, SOC, one of the most in-demand operators/DP’s in the genre.

“Today, unscripted has evolved into competition shows like The Bachelor, Project Runway and America’s Next Top Model, where multi-camera elements mix with some sort of ‘house’ or vérité element of storytelling.

“Unscripted relies heavily on camera operators to drive the story with their lens,” Warthen continues. “It’s a dialogue-driven genre, where there is often little to no input from the director [in framing or coverage]. The operator has to be in the moment with the cast members to cover the scene as it unfolds. What makes it so unique is that the storytelling power is often with the operator, not the director or producers.”

Warthen says her entrée into unscripted was somewhat sideways. She was working at a law firm while majoring in political science at Boise State University. She wanted a class where she could have fun and decided to audit “Introduction to Video.” Her teacher, Peter Lutze, was a fan of her documentary projects and offered her keys to the gear room, as well as six credits to write and execute her projects.

Within a year of Lutze’s class, cinematography replaced law as her career path.

Relocating to Seattle, Warthen kept in touch with Lutze, who encouraged her dream. She sold her car and bought a 1963 Vespa so she could put aside enough money to work for free on narrative film sets. After working a year, Warthen realized that “in narrative, women were pigeonholed as 2nd AC’s.

I was repeatedly told we didn’t make good operators because we weren’t strong enough,” she recalls.

Undeterred, Warthen secured a cameraoperating job on the unscripted MTV series The Real World Seattle – helmed by Billy Rainey and Matt Kunitz. “Neither of them saw anything worrisome about hiring a woman to wield a 35-pound Betacam 10 hours a day, six days a week for five months,” she smiles. “That was the moment I realized doors that were closed to me in narrative were open to me in unscripted. I jumped at the opportunity because I wanted to operate, and these men felt sincere and supportive.”

On Real World Seattle, Warthen met Lilla Fiumi, the first woman to be hired full-time for the full run of an unscripted series. “Lilla rocked the coverage and broke barriers for all of us,” Warthen insists. “She taught me to listen to the cast and not my internal dialogue. She also showed how a beautiful shot means nothing if it doesn’t move the story forward.”

Warthen says Fiumi created an awareness of

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the importance of shooting “live” and how critical muscle memory is for focus, zoom and quick pans between the cast. “I realized that once a movement can be put into muscle memory,” Warthen explains, “I could focus more completely on listening to the dialogue and surrendering myself to the moment.”

That opportunity helped established Warthen as only the fourth woman hired full time to operate in unscripted. It opened the gate for her to operate and DP shows like NBC’s Emmy Awardwinning Starting Over, Showtime’s The Real L Word, and OWN’s international doc series Operation Change. It also provided her with a unique set of skills that illustrate the singular demands of the unscripted genre.

“We are often the single camera making all of the decisions,” Warthen describes. “The shoulder time is extreme, and the ability to make coverage and camera setting choices – alone and without preparation – is paramount,” as are physical fitness and mental stamina. “Backpedaling as fast as a person walks for sometimes an hour or more is not uncommon,” she adds. “But the shot can’t simply be a never-ending backpedal. Shots from behind, the side, and long shots of the cast walking past the camera are all needed to cut the scene. There is no starting and stopping the cast; they walk as they would walk uninterrupted.

The challenge is to keep up and get the coverage.”

One of Warthen’s most significant challenges is listening while managing all her jobs.

“I’m responsible for following the story based on the cast dialogue, non-verbal body postures, and gestures. I must keep track of the entire shot-list of a scene and know when to get each piece for the edit. A variety of wide non-sync establishing shots, overs, singles of talkers, and reactions plus cut-aways allows for easier editing and transitions in and out of a scene.

“Knowing the 180-degree line is imperative,” she adds.

“Keeping track of that line if cast moves can be difficult. If there comes a time when the line needs to be flipped, I have to figure out how to get the wide shots and cut-aways to make that flip easier in the edit. All of this needs to be accomplished live with smooth and usable moves.”

In traditional “house” shows, the crew is not allowed to talk to the cast – the operator’s goal is to become invisible. “Although we are silent,” Warthen explains, “we are present. And in that presence, we can influence a scene. If we are judgmental of their actions, they feel that. A deep sigh because I feel shoulder pain can be interpreted as my being bored. I was taught to practice no judgment. Cast often looks to us for approval, and operators need to be aware of that dynamic. We are in a powerful position, and the cast needs to trust us.”

Several years ago, Warthen made the leap to DP on NBC’s Starting Over. In the first season, they shot more than 200 onehour episodes in 195 days.

“The idea was that each day of shooting would be cut into a single one-hour episode and aired in real time,” she recalls. “We followed six women living as housemates who were attempting to start their lives over with the help of two life coaches.

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“We only had five crews for 24/7 coverage,” Warthen continues, “which meant a lot of single-camera scenes. The post turn-around was only four days with the editor. With all this speed, we still had to capture the unfolding emotions of the story.

“I decided to add a second camera to any intimate or emotional scene to prevent camera movements from distracting the cast. This also helped a lot with the short edit window. We didn’t have the budget for more operators, so the challenge for me was getting AC’s up to speed as shooters to be second angles on scenes. Somehow we pulled it off, and the series ended up winning multiple Emmys!”

Warthen also DP’d the all-handheld The Real L Word for Showtime.

“It was supposed to look like [MTV’s reality hit] Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County,” she explains. “But Laguna Beach was well-lit, generally shot from sticks, and had the element of planned coverage with two or three cameras. Meeting that visual in existing lighting, handsoff, handheld run-and-gun, single-camera situation was no easy task. I put together the most versatile camera package I could and called in A-list women shooters. The level of execution of coverage while staying cinematic was something that still makes me proud. The series was an amazing example of highly skilled dialogue-driven operators walking the fine line between story and style without ever losing sight of either.”

“ [In Unscripted] ... the shoulder time is extreme, and the ability to make coverage and camera setting choices – alone and without preparation – is paramount.”

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Today, Warthen slides effortlessly between a variety of unscripted shows. Over the years, she’s developed a handful of key tools. “A good walkie headset [for her left ear] and walkie holder, so I can run and not have everything fall off me, is a must,” she smiles. “A good audio earpiece [for her right ear] to hear the audio my rockin’ audio mixer is constantly sending to me is also important. A Hipshot or Lindcraft jumbo AC pouch to get low angles or shoot from the hip when people are sitting, and to get the weight off my shoulder. A Holzer shoulder pad to distribute the camera weight across my shoulder without interfering with my ability to shoot live. I also take the Liz Cash ‘Stronger Together’ handheldoperator strength-building classes to keep me in shooting shape.”

With safety always in mind, Warthen has created a variety of RF signal blockers with PIM tape. “I also wear a Silverell hoodie on shows with exceptionally high RF output,” she adds. As for lenses, she loves the Sigma Art Zooms. “They are shorter zooms, but at T2 can make the footage look like it’s shot on a prime lens,” she shares.

“I’ve been using them for a few years, primarily on documentary films, but they are slowly creeping into unscripted competition shows like The Contender, Making the Cut, and Ultimate Surfer.”

Warthen’s advice for any woman who wants to do what she does is to “understand that you are not too small or weak to carry a camera around all day!” she says adamantly. “It’s in a woman’s DNA to carry a baby on her hip for long periods, and a camera is like a 35-pound baby; only it doesn’t wiggle or cry, and you can put it down and walk away,” she laughs. “Women are born and raised to listen and have a level of empathy, which makes us great at unscripted storytelling. Unscripted is a genre that is only successful if the operator can listen and key into the storytelling.”

Warthen says there are opportunities to get hands on a camera as an unscripted AC. “If you get a job as an AC, watch the operators shoot from the control room,” she offers. “On breaks, ask your operator to watch you shoot and then review your footage with your operator. If you like to travel, unscripted has taken me to 40 countries – I’ve been to India four times, Africa a dozen times, and even Papua New Guinea twice.

“Most of all,” she concludes, “muscle memory is key. If you train your body and brain well, there is nothing you can’t do in this fun and unpredictable format.”

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FIRST LOOK

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Megan Drew OPERATOR

BY PAULINE ROGERS PHOTOS COURTESY OF MEGAN DREW

The creative side of Camera Operator Megan Drew, SOC, was allowed to blossom early on thanks to her homeschooling. Growing up, Drew played violin, rode horses and performed in professional music theater productions across the country. Although she often traveled from her home in Santa Barbara to Los Angeles for rehearsals, working in the film/television industry didn’t occur to her until after graduating from the University of Virginia, when she enrolled in the prestigious Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. The fledgling film program there was appealing. “I figured if I combined my love of photography with my acting experience, I would get filmmaking, right?” Drew recounts. “It was a spur-of-the-moment decision that thankfully panned out.”

Having already received a bachelor’s degree from UVA, attending film school was mainly about learning a trade and making contacts, and at Brooks, Drew took every possible opportunity to get on set and learn from professional crews.

She was also fortunate to find a mentor in Larry Mole Parker of Mole Richardson Lighting, who introduced Drew to his colleagues to shadow and learn from on sets. Through such opportunities, Drew developed experience and contacts, so when a (very) last-minute call offered her the chance to pinch-hit for

an electrical crew on an indie action feature in Guam called Max Havoc: The Curse of the Dragon, she took 24 hours to renew her passport and never looked back.

Working in Guam, an unexpected opportunity to assist the camera team came up, and Drew asked if she could split time working in both departments. “On the second day of double duty, we were prepping a 35mm underwater housing for our Panavision camera, and the first AC, Adam Ward, asked me for a cable,” she recalls. “Looking in the case, I saw two of the same cables and remembered from school that if there are duplicates of a requested piece of gear, you should always bring both, because if the first one is broken, the time you save by having the backup in hand is valuable.”

When Drew returned to Ward with the cable, the AC couldn’t get the system to turn on. “While focused on the housing, he asked me to look for a backup cable,” she remembers, “and I held it out before he finished his sentence. He looked up, surprised, said, ‘Thank you,’ and from then on, Adam started teaching me all he could. When we got back to the U.S., he brought me in as a loader and helped me join IATSE. I started working consistently in features as a film loader, eventually bumping up to second AC and occasionally first.”

Drew recounts how, a few years later, she was asked to help a friend on an unscripted show about medical breakthroughs. “As a well-trained film AC, I was able to adapt easily to the digital unscripted world and found that the work ethic I cultivated on features made me somewhat desirable in this new-to-me-world,” she says. Job offers abounded, and Drew soon determined that she might be able to bump up to operator much more quickly in unscripted – and by 27 years old, she was operating full time. Over the years, Drew has worked on a wide range of reality hits – from Top Chef to American Ninja Warrior, Press Your Luck to Making It, The Voice to Floor is Lava to Holey Moley.

When asked what makes working in unscripted desirable, Drew cites the variety of demands regarding equipment, environmental elements and operating needs.

“On any given show, I’m expected to operate whatever camera body or setup is required with little or no prep time,” she explains. “I strive to be as equally skilled in handheld as I am on sticks, dolly, or pedestal, because I want my directors and DP’s to feel they can use me in any position without restrictions.”

Drew’s prowess has had her shooting from the side of a helicopter, teetering more than one hundred feet above a lake in a Condor, and standing strapped to a moving semitrailer with harness restraints… “all on the same show!” she laughs. “Apparently, fear was not a factor,” she smiles.

“I’ve shot from a foxhole, suspended off a tower, underwater in the ocean, off the backs of a camel and a donkey, backtracking on a single-wire suspension bridge 80 feet above the ground, and even from the bottom of a filled water tank with a small plane being lowered into it! Planes, trains, automobiles, boats, and even a hot air balloon.”

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Drew has also shot 100× box lenses rigged to the side of the basket of a Condor 60 feet in the air (click here to read about Hyperdrive) or barreling down dirt roads in a Chapman/Leonard Olympian trying desperately to beat the elite athlete on the course to get to her next shot position (Ultimate Beastmaster). She loves facing a shooting challenge and achieving it using the [sometimes] limited support resources of an unscripted shoot.

“I remember once I was the only operator on a ‘boneyard’ pickup day after a season of Top Shot had ended,” she recalls. “It was just me, the DP, gaffer, and a driver. The goal was to achieve a POV shot from the perspective of the contestant in the challenge we had shot earlier during principal shooting. That contestant happened to be shooting a gun at exploding targets from a moving motorcycle sidecar at speed.”

Drew says all the team had was a flatbed trailer pulled behind a pickup truck as a process vehicle.

“My gaffer rigged me a rope-and-harness system for safety and stability, which involved [among other things] my looping an arm through a secured rope and leaning back against it,” she continues.

“He braced me as I stood on the flatbed and was driven backward on a dirt road while attempting to manually snap zoom into a full-frame shot of one of the eight exploding targets, which were all set at vastly different distances from my trailer’s path.

Handheld, no rehearsal.

“On the first pass, I barely got one target,” she continues. “We only had enough usable targets for two runs, so after reviewing the shot, I assumed the DP would take over. Instead, he said: ‘Megan, you’re trying to capture every target explosion, and I just need you to shoot for the edit. That’s two solid, clean whip-pans into the target as soon as it explodes, and you have eight targets to get it. You’ve got this.’ As soon as he said, ‘Shoot for the edit,’ the pressure for a perfect run was off, and I had something concrete to focus on. We cranked up our little poor-man’s circus again, and on the next pass, I actually nailed three.”

Overcoming such challenges isn’t the only thing Drew enjoys about being an unscripted operator.

“As with all visual entertainment,” she shares, “the storytelling is paramount. Unscripted is a very fastmoving genre, so the operator, at the forefront of the action, has a fair bit of autonomy. I’m expected to be actively following along with the story, whether that means listening to the live hosts and providing shots supplemental to their narrative, watching the behavior of an off-camera subject to anticipate their impending reaction, or finding a shot that can tie into an interview bite. Everything I shoot ought to be in support of a story that is unfolding in real time, and I love that responsibility.”

Drew cites an example where she is the only camera shooting a multi-person scene.

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“ Everything I shoot ought to be in support of a story that is unfolding in realtime, and I love that responsibility.”

“In that scenario, I’m responsible for thinking like a producer, a director/DP, and an editor, all in one. And many crucial moments happen so quickly that even a director or producer in the truck, or on monitor, may not have time to give me a heads-up.

Obviously, many other people are working hard to support the telling of the story, but ultimately, if I don’t have my wits about me to capture it on camera, it essentially didn’t happen.”

In a genre that is still largely male-dominated in terms of hiring, Megan Drew is a powerhouse example of the possibility of changing tides.

“Thanks to the efforts and perseverance of strong and inspiring women who have come before, as well as many men who see talent and not gender,” she concludes, “I have been able to parlay my skill, work ethic, and attitude into a wonderfully exciting and diverse career. At this point, I truly feel as though I am viewed as a camera operator, not a female camera operator. If I have any advice to give to younger operators, it would be to play to your strengths, work your ass off, have a great attitude, and enjoy what you do. Tell the stories – always tell the stories. And be sure to find a good chiropractor or masseuse!”

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Ken Fuchs DIRECTOR - SHARK TANK

BY DAVID GEFFNER PHOTO COURTESY OF KEN FUCHS

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Ken Fuchs modestly attributes a portion of his long career directing unscripted television, which includes mega-hit franchises like Shark Tank, Family Feud, and The Bachelorette, to being “a pretty nice guy who people seem to like working with.” But this three-time Primetime Emmy nominee, five-time Daytime Emmy nominee (and a Daytime Emmy winner for Family Feud), and two-time Directors Guild of America nominee breathes rarefied air in the unscripted world. His skills cut across many different genres – reality “house” shows, game shows, and hybrids that don’t quite fall into any category (like Shark Tank). Having worked his way up through a variety of different production roles, Fuchs is a favorite among Local 600 camera teams, as much for the creative respect he garners as his ability to safely adapt to any changing situation. (See his thoughts about Shark Tank’s Season 12 COVID-19 protocols below.)

Fuchs called me from an “undisclosed location” while shooting Season 25 of The Bachelor, a show he describes as “well suited for a bubble” due to all the time spent traveling and housed together in a typical (non-COVID) season. Fuchs displayed obvious pride about having safely returned to three different unscripted franchises amid an ongoing pandemic, a “reality” he credits to an industry that is built on accountability and to production teams that are more families than colleagues.

ICG Magazine: Tell us about your path into unscripted television? Ken Fuchs: I was born and raised in New York through high school, and then my family moved to Palo Alto, California. I went back east for college, Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut, where I did a lot of critical film studies, which the school is famous for thanks to renowned film academic Jeanine Basinger. My senior year I interned at Connecticut Public Television in Hartford, and that’s where I first got the TV bug.

My brother was a producer in Hollywood, so after college I came back to the West Coast and decided to find a P.A. job. I knew the industry in L.A. at that time was the right place for me.

What do you remember about that first P.A. job?

[Laughs.] It was one of my brother’s shows called Faerie Tale Theatre, for Showtime. I remember very clearly that they said, “Here’s a walkie. Walk down to the end of that block, and stop the cars when we yell we’re rolling. When we yell, ‘Cut,’ let them through.” I was in heaven because I understood

those instructions very clearly – and I was good at it!

I came in at the end of the day and they said: “Great job. We’ll see you tomorrow.”

producers, production companies, studios and networks of those shows for their collaboration, friendship and loyalty.

So production suited you? It did. I had a reasonable gift for problem solving and organization and became a production coordinator soon after. I hooked on with Marty Pasetta’s company, Dick Clark Productions, and Don Mischer, who were all the heavy hitters in the variety world. I moved my way up to be a line producer because I was very good with budgets – my actual degree was in economics.

It was while working on a game show that I realized I wanted to be a part of the creative team. So, I asked if I could stage-manage and get into the Directors Guild. They were able to make that happen because I had been with the company for several years. Shortly after that first opportunity, I started AD’ing and stage managing. And when the calls kept coming in for line producing, I turned them down. I was happier in the AD/stage-managing world and knew enough that if you’re happy doing something, you’ll probably be much better at it.

Good lead-in to my next question: Those two shows you mentioned, along with Family Feud, are all different formats within unscripted. Can you describe your approach to each? This business tends to pigeonhole you, so I’ve been very lucky to do these different types of shows, which, by the way, all inform each other – I’m able to transpose things I’ve learned from one to the other, even though they are very different. Multi-camera live is sort of the holy grail for unscripted directors, because if it’s truly live, you’re making a lot of the creative decisions on the air. That’s still my favorite. A game show like Feud is live-to-tape, so you overshoot to provide more choices in editing, and there’s a live studio audience. Bachelor came about in an odd way. I heard about it through a friend whose kid played soccer with my kid. He was doing Trista’s year, Bachelorette One, the third season of the franchise – and now we’re in the 41st season of the franchise, of which I’ve done 37 or so. Crazy! They told me about these rose ceremonies they do, with multiple cameras. Reality was still new at that time, so directors were coming from all areas – editing, DP’s, documentaries, producers. But for a multicam live studio director like me, the format was frustrating because there are no traditional marks, or actors, or control that we were used to on stage.

That genre works best when it’s spontaneous. So, I embraced that lack of control early on, thinking this was a different form of storytelling. Those are the two

What was your first directing job? A show called Later with Greg Kinnear, which was a NBC late-night half-hour talk show on at 1:30 a.m. I had started on the show as an A.D., and one day I filled in for the director – and, honestly, I never looked back. The fact that I was able to get in early directing these long-running franchises like The Bachelor, Family Feud and Shark Tank is beyond lucky. I can’t even describe how thankful I still am, nearly twenty years later. I owe a debt of gratitude to the executive

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extremes of shooting ratio – minutes shot to minutes aired – a live show, or live-to-tape, is close to oneto-one, whereas on a show like The Bachelor, the ratio is much greater. In the middle of those two is Shark Tank – no host or audience, but it is multi-cam, and I get to do a line cut. That line cut is basically a road map for the editors, but it’s not nearly as post-intensive as The Bachelor, where the story and episodes are largely crafted in the editing room.

You mentioned [director/producer] Don Mischer, who was the subject of our February Exposure.

He grew up wanting to be a camera operator in TV news and retains a special relationship with the operators on all of his projects, often handpicking them. Is that your approach? It’s the same for me. I want to create a family atmosphere with my crew, with love and respect that only happens when you break down the boundaries that are set up by titles and salaries. That’s easier on a show like The Bachelor because we travel and live together.

With Feud and Shark Tank, we’re on a stage and all go home at the end of the day. But as we always say with Feud, the key word is “family.” And the very successful shows do create a family atmosphere; the loyalty, trust, and respect for every single member of the crew must be there. The key is to make sure that everyone on a project is valued and knows their work is valued. As the director, I may get to take the credit or the blame, but we’re all in this together, 100 percent. And that’s why I tend to have good continuity with my crews from show to show. My motto is: “There’s a chain of command, but there’s no chain of respect.”

Shark Tank’s Lighting Designer is Oscar Dominguez, with whom you’ve worked consistently on different shows. What is that working relationship like? Usually it’s a close partnership between myself, the lighting designer and the production designer. Often that process starts with the producer’s vision. And then I’ll come in with camera positions and blocking, and we go over what the audience will see and won’t see. Once we are on camera, I’m working side-by-side with the designers – every shot needs to be painted in a beautiful light, and Oscar and Anton Goss are two of the best. Because I come from the AD world, I tend not to micromanage the LD – I’m much tougher on AD’s and stage managers. [Laughs.]

Is the goal to reach for a more cinematic look? Or is there a TV look that audiences have come to expect? Some of that is technology-based. When the medium went from SD to HD, there were so many more options with lenses, filters and lighting.

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“ Unscripted was one of the first TV formats to successfully return to work ­– so we’re all very proud of that.”

It sounds simplistic, but the goal is to service the story. If that’s a wide-open, straight-ahead look, then that’s what we’ll do. In The Bachelor, we go for that cinematic, hyper-real feeling. In Shark Tank, it’s easy to envision people sitting around a boardroom, which is inherently static. So with the jib, the Steadicam, the dolly, I try to keep things moving for visual interest – even if that’s on a subconscious level for the viewer. The content itself is great. But adding motion, lighting and design all helps to keep people coming back.

How much have the new COVID safety protocols changed what you do on set? It has changed things a lot, especially from a storytelling perspective.

The Bachelorette was done at a single resort, in a true bubble. We’re used to traveling and being together for extended periods, so it was a good fit in that respect. Feud was more difficult because it’s essentially a comedy show that relies on a give-andtake from a live studio audience. So we had to figure out a work-around with COVID, and we were quite successful. Another big issue is on-set talent and needing to be six feet apart and having to redesign sets. There were COVID accommodations we made on Shark Tank and Feud – and they certainly affect how the show is shot.

And on a practical level for cast and crew safety?

I’m so impressed how well Production responded in that area, as all of these shows are completely safe: everyone gets tested, everyone wears masks,

everyone follows the protocols with meals, crafty, travel, et cetera. It’s been a feather in the cap to prove production crews are sort of built for this – problem-solving, following protocols, looking out for each other’s safety on set. The proof is that we’ve managed to come back more successfully than other industries. And unscripted was one of the first TV formats to successfully return to work – so we’re all very proud of that.

No one has a crystal ball, but if COVID protocols continue throughout 2021, how will that change unscripted production? As you said, no one knows for sure. But I would assume the big audience shows will have challenges – live-event spectacle that needs that huge scope. And then the comedy/ variety shows as well. The Bachelor is currently in a bubble, and may well be for the next season. What I can say for sure is that no one loves working 10 to 12 hours with a mask on, or operators carrying cameras with PPE, and we’ll all be relieved when we can shoot safely without them. But the unions are doing a great job, working closely with producers to get people back to work and to ensure everyone on set is safe. This business has a very high standard of accountability…and this goes back to your family question. These crews are hand-picked, and we do feel a responsibility to each other – not just because we don’t want to screw up our paychecks. When you genuinely care about the people you work with, you’re going to be more careful.

Filmmakers in the unscripted world often cite that adrenaline factor as the main driver. One chance to get it right? Are you in that camp? 100 percent!

[Laughs.] I never knew that my ADHD would be a career path. People ask how I can look at 50 monitors and 100 people at once, and I tell them that it’s the only time in my life I’m not bored, [Laughs again.] It’s not for everyone. I did AD a little bit in the narrative world, and that has its advantages, but that pace was just not for me.

What about the reality that you have to live with things going wrong – sometimes on camera? You need to be comfortable with imperfection. You have to embrace that reality, as you say. Some of the most memorable moments on The Bachelor, for example, are when it went off the rails. We’ve designed and lit this beautiful set, and a cast member will get upset, run off in tears, and go sit outside by a dumpster – and that’s what people talk about the next day!

Of course, those moments should make it clear in the audience’s mind that we don’t control what’s going on. But as a perfectionist myself, who wants everything to look beautiful and right, those events

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are like a toxic spill where you are just trying to keep it all together. They’re actually fun [laughs]. Or at least you tell yourself that to make sure they don’t erode your confidence.

You’ve won and been nominated for some key peer-judged awards – Primetime and Daytime Emmys, and the DGA Award. What are they honoring from the perspective of your craft? I’m not sure. I think they’re a little bit of a popularity contest, and I do okay in those nominations because, maybe, on some level, I get along with people, and they like me. Or maybe it’s longevity, and if they just keep seeing my name enough times, they think I must be pretty good. [Laughs.] Ultimately, I hope all

Unscripted is a very mature format by now, but there still seems to be a perception that the “reality” part of reality television is anything but. How do you answer that? That’s more the

for 20-plus seasons offer the exact opposite of manipulated storytelling. “Authentic” is a word that’s tossed around a lot, but that’s what resonates with viewers – the shows that do not spoon-feed viewers with overproduction, overediting, forced storytelling. In 18 years on The Bachelor and Family Feud, I can tell you – it’s real!

We don’t do things twice or always know what’s going to happen next. Shark Tank is a perfect example. The Sharks have no access to the companies that are pitching to them beforehand, and that’s a critical aspect of its success. That discovery process from the moment they hear the

realm of the producers, content-wise. But I can say that the shows that are successful and around

pitch to the time they make a deal – or not – is the “reality” of the show.

the crews and departments know that it’s really a reflection on all of their hard work. I am glad that the Emmys now have a reality-directing category, because for a long time, they did not. But, ultimately, like the year I won with Family Feud, the show also won, so maybe the director’s fate rises and falls with the show itself. It’s hard to say. Maybe someday The Bachelor will get some Emmy love…

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S O M E T H I N G E L LE N KUR AS, ASC, L E ADS A STELLA R GUILD CAME R A T E AM T HR O UGH T HE LIVE CA PTURE O F DAVID BY R N E ’S AMERICA N UTOPIA.

BY PAULINE R OGER S PH OTO S BY DAVID LEE, S MP S P

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WILD

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The camera is high above the small stage at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre as Oscar, Golden Globe, and Grammy-winning singer/ songwriter/producer David Byrne is spot-lit alone at a table.

As the camera moves closer to Byrne, we’re drawn to the music icon’s attire (a sharp gray suit) as he hoists aloft a model of a brain, as if pondering Yorick’s skull. Singing “Here” from his American Utopia album, Byrne points out different cranial lobes and rattles off their uses. Suddenly, two dancers in identical suits, barefoot as well, leap through the silver beaded curtain behind him. Then, as Byrne firmly plants his naked feet on stage, his voice takes on an otherworldly tone. “Babies’ brains have hundreds of millions more neural connections than we do as adults. Are babies smarter than us?”

Whether you’re a longtime fan of Byrne (co-creator of the seminal New Wave band Talking Heads) or not, it’s impossible not to be mesmerized by the live performance unfolding on stage. Or, as Director of Photography Ellen Kuras, ASC, who captured the live event for director Spike Lee, describes, “You are vicariously experiencing the music and the message that is David [Byrne]. American Utopia is not only a musical feast, it also integrates political action and social justice that couldn’t be more timely.”

Juggling schedules between directing assignments in Europe, Kuras met with Byrne and Lee, “burning up the phone lines and

emails, as we did our long-distance style of prep,” she laughs. “That means Spike sending me messages at all hours and me having late-night calls to check availability of New York-area camera operators, talks with the producers, and tech consults with my longtime camera assistant, Rick Gioia, who oversaw all of the camera equipment and support crew.”

After viewing American Utopia live on stage from seats in the orchestra, Kuras realized several songs had to be captured from the balcony, where the choreography was most apparent. When the theater was empty, she walked around to see where cameras could be placed.

“With the show usually playing to a full house,” Kuras continues, “I also had to consider where we would need to reserve seats to keep our view clear and to have enough room for cameras/dollies. My biggest concern was how to get an intimate close-up of David Byrne during a live performance.”

Spike Lee joined Kuras for another performance, during which they sat in the balcony to discern the patterns of the choreography. “We needed to capture it in the most kinetic, graphic way,” Kuras recounts.

“Annie-B’s choreography plays a huge role in American Utopia – each series of sequences is, in many ways, a metaphor for the themes being explored in the lyrics. The steps and

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“ I was blown away by the dimensionality of Spike and Ellen’s vision and the totality of ideas.”

CHOREOGRAPHER ANNIE-B PARSON

movement were complex and intricate for the musicians, who were carrying and playing their instruments as they moved.”

Lee left Kuras to decide on capture, and Kuras says she would have loved “to go large format” for the performance part of the film, but shooting in a Broadway house would have also required added assistance from three IATSE crews, overwhelming the modest budget. “Line producer Alec Sash did still make a huge effort to give us the equipment we wanted, with AbelCine bending over backward to accommodate our needs,” Kuras adds.

Shooting on Sony VENICE for its color rendition, sensor size, and with the Rialto accessory on two cameras, Kuras says she wanted to use the detachable sensor “so that I could mount it on a small remote head with an operator who could be on the actual stage perimeter next to the metal curtain. Knowing the graphic choreography of the staging of the musicians, we also wanted to mount an overhead camera that could be operated and spun in either direction.”

Kuras chose Angénieux Optimo 24-290mm lenses to help with the range needed for most of the cameras, especially one in the middle of the orchestra level during a live performance.

OPPOSITE PAGE: AFTER SEEING THE LIVE PERFORMANCE IN PREP WITH DIRECTOR SPIKE LEE, KURAS REALIZED “SEVERAL SONGS HAD TO BE CAPTURED FROM THE BALCONY, WHERE THE CHOREOGRAPHY WAS MOST APPARENT.”

A meeting with choreographer Annie-B Parson allowed Kuras to solidify her intentions and to ask about specific songs.

“I was blown away by the dimensionality of Spike and Ellen’s vision and the totality of ideas,” Parson describes. “Ellen had chosen to place a camera at the top balcony because the floor patterns are beautiful, and, my favorite, a camera behind the chain in the background on the floor. She’s a master of being dynamic and spontaneous at the same time.”

What also helped Kuras make her choices was Parson’ notes for each song. In the opener, “Here,” Parson’ intent was all about scale – contrasting big and little.

“The hugeness of the lifting of the truss with the smallness of one man at a small table with one object, the brain,” Parson adds.

For “I Know Sometimes a Man Is Wrong,” she

says “there is a diagonal that is beautiful, like a path. The sadness of the figures in a kind of contemplative repose in this song is about regret and error.” For “Don’t Trust the Government,” it’s all about boxes. “You need to see the floor to enjoy the staging, as the image was tall gray buildings,” she explains. “At the end, where everyone lifts a different part of the body, it’s about suspending and shifting the imagination.”

Kuras calls the choreographer’s notes “invaluable,” adding enthusiastically that “our visions were in sync, from the flat twodimensional movements of ‘Naïve Melody’ to the three-ring circus of ‘Zimbra’ and her design for ‘Toe Jam,’ so that the audience could get to know each band member as they step in and out of the light.”

Lighting Designer Rob Sinclair also played a vital role. “The stage lighting was simultaneously simple and complicated, which in some ways is the story of the show,” Sinclair reflects. “There is a front-of-house bar and three overhead electrics that all hold Martin Mac Viper Performances. All of these lights are integrated into the BlackTrax system, and any of them can be assigned to follow any performer at any time, as well as being controlled by the lighting console in the normal way.

“The chain is lit from above by two lines of X-Bar 20; one generally lights the top and the other the bottom,” he continues. “We had to do some work to light the chain and simultaneously light or hide a musician or crew member standing behind it. There are also a few one-trick ponies – the TV is two X-Bar 20; the ghost light and the shadow light were built from an old projector bulb by Upstaging in Chicago.”

IATSE Local 52 Chief Lighting Technician Greg Addison worked closely with Sinclair to make a few adjustments. “With American Utopia, we were walking into a fully realized work of art,” Addison describes. “It was our job to bring the same experience to the movie audience as that of a live audience.

For me, that meant ensuring that the VENICE was accurately capturing the subtlety and excitement of the show’s look.”

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Addison adds that “the piece’s concept – performers in identical gray suits inside a ‘room’ defined by a curtain of aluminum chain – was simple enough. But what happened inside the room was not,” he continues. “The performers were completely untethered, wearing their instruments as they swarmed around, each song taking on its own look, both with choreography and lighting.”

Addison calls the lighting design “both stark and raucous; the contrast ratios could be tremendous, and I had to make sure that we weren’t blowing out the highlights. We wanted to keep David’s front light brighter than the rest of the performers, but I also had to watch the top light hitting his white hair.

Occasionally, the color palette got too saturated for the sensors, and we dialed back. The goal was always to be faithful to the live audience experience.”

One challenge was the chain curtain, where Addison says, “we couldn’t get the ‘walls’ to look the same. Despite trying to shade them differently to bring them into line, the back

THIS PAGE AND OPPOSITE: DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY ELLEN KURAS, ASC NOTES THAT AMERICAN UTOPIA IS NOT ONLY A MUSICAL FEAST, “IT ALSO INTEGRATES POLITICAL ACTION AND SOCIAL JUSTICE THAT COULDN’T BE MORE TIMELY.”

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‘wall’ always looked different from the sides.

We thought it might have been an optical anomaly, something about the cameras’ viewing the curtains from the side versus straight on, or the lights hitting them from different angles. But the truth was simpler than that: the chains had been manufactured in two different batches, so they had slightly different reflective qualities.” The theatrical producers opted not to correct because of cost. “I guess everyone needs to compromise,” Addison smiles. “Even David Byrne.”

DIT Mariusz Cichon was an important part of not only balancing the cameras and lighting but also in helping establish the look. He worked with Kuras from his DIT station using one of the cameras before a show and during rehearsal.

“We used Pomfort Livegrade in conjunction with Flanders Scientific BOX IO hardware,” Cichon explains. “When we established a look, I’d then copy that .cube file on SD cards, and

with the help of DIT [Artur Dzieweczynski] we would put the SD cards in all the remaining nine cameras and make them output that same look to all monitors.

“We were not doing live grade and not controlling cameras via Wi-Fi, although that was an option,” Cichon adds. “We just treated those cameras like film cameras using highsensitivity film stock. The cameras were recording Sony’s new codec 4K OCN-ST S-log3– based and S-Gamut color space, giving us the option to have access to all range of shades and colors that the camera can record, which is a lot of information.”

Cichon supplied ProRes Proxy files generated inside the camera on S×S media cards, giving the editors 1920-by-1080p files with audio synced, timecode and duration matching larger 4K RAW files. The look was burned in Proxy files, but the colorist still had the option to make any adjustments with Log files.

Adding to the excitement of American Utopia’s cinematic translation was the form of capture. Unlike Hamilton (ICG Magazine,

September 2020), which featured a narrative structure and script coupled with detailed character blocking and a meticulous “shot list” for each camera operator, American Utopia took its cue from the live music.

“Ellen gave each operator the freedom and flexibility to create artistic shots that followed with the organic flow of the performance,” shares 2nd AC Jordan Levie, to whom Kuras gave an opportunity to operate a camera in the upper balcony. “She designed the camera plot positions and lens choices to generate a variety of coverage options for each song and performance,” he explains.

Levie says Kuras created “a largely symmetrical plot” with high/low wide angles in central locations and then medium/close options (on long zooms) arrayed equally on both house left and house right. Handheld camera positions were also placed at opposing downstage corners for more kinetic coverage on either edge of the stage. There were also the remote-head cameras – one placed directly above the stage, the others placed upstage

behind the performers to break the fourth wall.

“Ellen called the show like a conductor with an orchestra, using 11 total camera positions,” Levie continues. “She was instrumental in helping the operators anticipate the show’s cues and to make amazing frames.”

All of American Utopia’s operators commented on how “calm and collected” Kuras was during the storm of two live performances, and a third day for specific shots sans audience.

Operator/AC positions included Gregor Tavenner, SOC/Eric Swanek in the center orchestra, Peter Agliata/Dan Casey stage right at the foot of the stage, Charlie Libin/Walter Rodriguez on stage left at the foot of the stage, Declan Quinn, ASC/Rick Gioia stage right orchestra, Sam Levy/Peter Morello stage left orchestra, David Waterston/Nina Chien stage right dress circle on dolly/track, Tim Ives/John Clemons stage left dress circle on skateboard dolly/track, and Kerwin Devonish/Adam Miller on the operated remote camera behind the curtain stage left and then stage right, with several no-operator cameras in strategic

positions. For the live performance day, when the theater was dark and without an audience, Kuras brought in a crane, dolly on platforms, and a Steadicam, operated by Yoshi Tang, SOC, with AC Filipp Penson. The budget and the presence of the Steadicam on the stage made only six cameras feasible to get the required coverage.

Each operator on the project had a favorite moment. For David Waterston, who had worked with Byrne as an AC on the “Lady Don’t Mind” music video for Talking Heads (1986) and operated on the concert film Between the Teeth in 1994, mezzanine, stage right, was a great position to anticipate interesting elements for the shoot. “‘Glass, Concrete and Stone’ starts as a blackout with just a down spotlight isolating a single performer upstage left, and then another down spot fades up to highlight David downstage right,” Waterston describes.

“Knowing the blocking allowed me to set my

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frame before the light cue. The ‘Blind’ number was probably the most fun. It was lit by a single source placed center stage to project shadows on the metallic chain curtain that surrounds the stage. My instructions from Spike and Ellen were to focus on the moving shadows that would elongate or shrink as the cast would move closer to or farther from the light source.”

Avid David Byrne fan Tim Ives says he begged Kuras for a camera position on American Utopia. “I was balcony stage left on a zoom and six-foot slider,” Ives recalls.

“I changed positions between the two shows that night, and Ellen was liking the more abstract things I was framing. Eventually, I ended up locking-off the slider and finding more deliberate frames. I followed David’s shadow, framing him out and letting him come into the shot. I traded off between him and his incredible band.”

Charles Libin, who has worked with Kuras on projects for Jonathan Demme, Michel Gondry, Martin Scorsese, and Julian Schnabel, says that “when Ellen calls, you know it’s a once-in-a-lifetime gig. I knew she had a long history with Spike, and that excited me. I was thrilled to be assigned handheld – and glad I’d been keeping up with my yoga practice.

Well into the show I was dripping in sweat, marveling at how lucky I was that Walter Rodriguez was pulling focus. He was in the zone, intuiting transfers with perfect timing.”

Libin says that half way through ‘Everybody’s Coming to My House’ he realized he was smiling, with tears streaming down his face. “The camera felt weightless; these incredible dancers playing instruments and harmonizing were skipping across the stage like a herd of gazelles. I was not operating so much as being in a Zen state with the lens taking it all in. Spike and Ellen were in my headphones cheering on the operators, and in that moment, I had an epiphany.

Those on stage, the crew, the audience – we were communing in this church/temple/ mosque/theater, and the spirits were taking us to glorious heights. It was a celebration of shared humanity and possibility.”

Rodriguez, who has worked with Libin for ten years, says their partnership was intuitive.

“We were on the longer end of the 19-90 zoom, often using the lighting cues to help us find what to do next,” he recalls. “If lights got dark, we knew the dimmer would come from one side of the stage. When they went bright, we had another move. Those cues helped smooth transitions between focus and operating.”

Navigating the choreography proved challenging for Steadicam Operator Yoshi Tang, SOC, as the band’s performance utilized dancing through the entirety of the stage. “My top priority was to capture their energy while not crashing into the cast,” Tang notes. “At times, I was so far downstage, half my foot was over the edge.”

Tang says he was fortunate to have Grip Lee Walker guiding and spotting him.

“My focus puller, Filipp Penson, kept the image sharp despite having no rehearsals and not being able to have a line of sight of me on the stage,” Tang continues. “Spike and Ellen had specific narrative and musical beats to cover for a sense of intimacy. I am grateful that they also trusted us to react instinctively in the moment. During the performance of ‘Toe Jam,’ the band performed in a line downstage, barefoot. I was able to get off the stage in front of the first row to track through the line of dancing feet.”

Sam Levy remembers being stage left between mid-house with a raking angle, and then center house two-thirds of the way back.

“During the second show, Ellen asked me to hold tight on a single of David Byrne, with the ability to cut to a close-up framing the brain,” Levy recalls. “Peter Morello was my incredible focus puller, and we were on an Angénieux Optimo 24-290 with a doubler. Due to no fault of Peter’s, the zoom control died 10 minutes into the shoot – and we just kept going, with Peter having to do the focus by hand. We didn’t tell Ellen or Spike – we just went with it.

I put my hand on the big zoom and operated it manually, knowing what was going to happen from having seen the show in prep. Peter had to hold focus on the close-up with no room to stop and troubleshoot. It was important to get the essence of the show; and because of Peter’s brilliance, we were able to pull it off.”

Every song in American Utopia tells a story.

Themes of community, inclusivity and racial harmony course throughout the show. “Spike challenged the musicians and David to join the audience while singing ‘Road to Nowhere,’” Kuras recounts. “It’s a march of musicians,

high on energy to the tune, who follow David Byrne like the Pied Piper as he moves through the audience and then out backstage to the street, taking us back into the real world – through Times Square and Sixth Avenue.”

The green-minded Byrne and his band ride their bikes to and from work.

“Spike wanted to shoot them while riding their bikes,” explains Operator Kerwin Devonish. “So Ellen asked me to help place 20 GoPros among 11 bikes. We had one on David’s bike ahead of them, and one on his back. We had four looking back toward David near the wheel, on the back of the seat, on the bike rack, and one on a stand eight to 10 feet up on a pole.

We also had one on the last bike pulling up the rear.

“Actually, we had 19 mounted cameras,” Devonish adds. “Ellen wanted to get in the mix, so she was in Spike’s SUV handholding with a GoPro, which is about two inches by two-anda-half inches. We had just started, when Spike, laughing, yelled, ‘Cut!’ The door flew open and out popped Ellen, who had dropped the camera.”

“It reminded me of the time when Spike and I were filming a huge Navy commercial in Hawaii,” Kuras smiles. “I was in a helicopter with a Tyler mount, and Spike was in the bridge with an admiral, directing a gigantic battleship through Pearl Harbor. Both the helicopter and ship had to sync up perfectly, but when Spike came on the intercom to ask, ‘Did we get it?’

I had to respond, ‘Nope, your admiral missed his mark.’ Suddenly, the ship roars into reverse and then backs up to the start mark.

“So here I am, on American Utopia, which is such a fun and wild experience, jumping out of the car to retrieve this tiny GoPro lying on the street, as the SUV backs back up to its start mark, and Spike is laughing and yelling at everyone to go back to ‘one.’ Perfect.”

“With American Utopia, we were walking into a fully realized work of art. It was our job to bring the same experience to the movie audience as that of a live audience.”

IATSE LOCAL 52 CHIEF LIGHTING TECHNICIAN GREG ADDISON

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LOCAL 600 CREW Director of Photography Ellen Kuras Steadicam Operator Yoshi Tang, SOC Steadicam Assistant Filipp Penson A-Camera Operator Gregor Tavenner, SOC A-Camera 1st AC Eric Swanek B-Camera Operator Peter Agliata B-Camera 1st AC Dan Casey C-Camera Operator Charlie Libin C-Camera 1st AC Walter Rodriguez D-Camera Operator Declan Quinn, ASC D-Camera 1st AC Rick Gioia E-Camera Operator Sam Levy E-Camera 1st AC Peter Morello F-Camera Operator David Waterston F-Camera 1st AC Nina Chien G-Camera Operator Tim Ives, ASC G-Camera 1st AC John Clemens H & I-Camera Operator Kerwin DeVonish H & I-Camera 1st AC Adam Miller 2nd ACs Jordan Levie Jeff Taylor Nate McGarigal Matt Cianfrani DITs Mariusz Cichon Artur Dzieweczynski Head Utility Joe Mancusi Digital Utility Danny Caporaletti Utilities Erik Ciminelli Anthony Benedetti Chris Conod Still Photographer David Lee, SMPSP

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P HE DO N PAPAMICHAE L , ASC , A ND HIS LOCA L 600 C REW BR IN G O R DE R TO CHAO S IN THE EERILY CURRENT NEW 1960 ’S DR AMA T HE TRIA L OF THE C HICAGO 7.

BY TED ELR ICK PH OTO S BY NIKO TAV ER NIS E

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Aaron Sorkin’s screenplay for The Trial of the Chicago 7, about the seven defendants charged with inciting a riot and other offenses related to anti-Vietnam War protests during the 1968 Democratic National Convention, was originally written in 2006 and was being developed by Steven Spielberg, who planned to direct the film. The 2007 Writers Guild strike, which lasted 100 days, shut the project down.

In 2018 the film was resurrected, this time with Sorkin tasked to also direct. It would be his second time in the director’s chair, having previously helmed 2017’s Molly’s Game.

Sorkin picked Oscar-nominated Director of Photography Phedon Papamichael, ASC, who was coming off another film set in the 1960s, James Mangold’s Ford v Ferrari (ICG Magazine November 2019). Shooting in Chicago and Paterson, NJ in 2019, Netflix opened the film for a limited theatrical release in September (and streaming in October) of this year, serendipitously timed with a Presidential election and just months after a summer filled with street protesting all over the U.S. To portray the many well-known reallife figures, Sorkin brought together a powerhouse team of actors, including Sacha Baron Cohen and Jeremy Strong as Abbie Hoffman and Jerry Rubin (co-founders of the counterculture Yippie movement); Eddie Redmayne as Vietnam activist Tom Hayden; Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as Black Panthers co-founder Bobby Seale; Mark Rylance

as constitutional-rights lawyer William Kunstler; Joseph Gordon-Levitt as prosecutor Richard Schultz; Kelvin Harrison Jr. as Fred Hampton, Chairman of the Illinois Black Panther Party; Frank Langella as presiding judge Julius Hoffman; and Michael Keaton as 66th U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark.

According to Papamichael, the film alternates from predominantly fast-moving handheld action outside the Democratic Convention to relatively static coverage for the intense courtroom drama. “About 60 percent of the page count takes place in a courtroom,” Papamichael explains. “And Aaron is all about the dialogue; he literally closes his eyes and just listens, which meant I had a lot of responsibility to ensure the editor had enough coverage. Aaron’s different than a James Mangold, who is very specific with the visuals.”

Sorkin concurs, calling the project “a much different experience for Phedon than [with James Mangold], who actually knows what a lens is! I’m sure I lean on the DP more than most directors. In my 25 years [in the film

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“I have never worked so closely with a director of photography as I did with Phedon [opposite] in the courtroom and also in the riot scenes in Chicago. It was amazing how we all worked so well together.”

IATSE LOCAL 161 SCRIPT SUPERVISOR SHANE SCOTT

industry], I’ve somehow managed to pick up none of the science of filmmaking. I’m a writer, with no real visual sensibility, who cares what [the film] sounds like more than how it looks – although I’m trying to change that.”

The writer/director describes Papamichael as “incredibly patient. I tried to make it clear that he would have a much better idea [of blocking and coverage],” Sorkin adds, “and Phedon was fine with that. What’s so amazing to me is that so much of the movie is in that courtroom, and he found ways to light and shoot the film so that we never get bored. It’s a big cavernous courtroom that Phedon made look like the government was always about to come down [on the defendants].”

Papamichael says it was certainly a different kind of shoot, “working so closely with [IATSE Local 161] Script Supervisor Shane Scott, on blocking and coverage,” he adds. “We had at least three cameras covering the courtroom – judge, jury, and the seven defendants. Along with all the Black Panthers and the audience.”

For her part, Scott says, “I have never worked so closely with a director of photography as I did with Phedon in the courtroom and also in the riot scenes in Chicago. It was amazing how it came together and how we all worked so well together.”

Papamichael, who describes Sorkin’s script as “fragmented,” adds that the storyline is often jumping timelines, with witnesses both recalling and experiencing the events at the Convention. “It’s what Haskell Wexler [ASC] did so famously with Medium Cool about the same riots and beating,” he observes. “So [Editor Alan Baumgarten] is using quite a bit of footage from Medium Cool that is intercut with our recreation of it.”

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Much of Chicago 7 was shot with a New York-based Local 600 camera team that Papamichael had not worked with before.

“A-Camera/Steadicam Operator Michael Fuchs [SOC] is really talented and did an excellent job,” Papamichael describes. “Although he’s less experienced than my regular operator [Scott Sakamoto, SOC], or some of the others I typically work with, I was very impressed with Michael’s understanding of camera and story.”

Papamichael has similar praise for A-Camera 1st AC Craig Pressgrove and B-Camera Operator Alan Pierce, SOC. “What was so great about Alan is that we had to design coverage that was more composed in the courtroom, and he’s done a lot of that in television. He’s also done a lot of handheld, which was needed for the demonstration and riot sequences.”

To capture the drama, the five-time ASC Award–nominated Director of Photography used his favorite combination of ALEXA LF and MINI LF, with expanded Panavision T-series anamorphic lenses. “It’s the same thing we pioneered on Ford v Ferrari,” he adds, “which has since become so popular, Panavision has expanded the line.”

Pressgrove says that “Phedon’s knowledge of optics is a real pleasure to be around. The lenses we used were handpicked and built for him by Dan Sasaki [including 28mm, 35mm, 40mm, 50mm, 60mm, 75mm, 100mm, C Series Anamorphic 35mm, 40mm, 50mm, 60mm, 75mm and Anamorphic Zoom 40mm to 80mm AWZ 1× 11:1]. You can see from Ford v Ferrari how the expanded T-series on that big sensor looks so cinematic.”

Production Designer Shane Valentino (Straight Outta Compton, Nocturnal Animals)

had three iterations of preproduction research at his disposal – the original 2007 Amblin attempt, a 2010 attempt, and then another attempt in 2018.

“I had a very small amount of prep time, so I had to rely on that research,” Valentino relates. “That was my basis for the understanding of these characters, the organizations they were associated with, and how it culminated at the DNC. “As a designer, I culled all that research down to what I thought were the most important aspects of those spaces and then added my particular color palette to the objects I chose,” he continues. “And, we’re also researching as we go. You come in and you want to look for specific cars, or even with particular sets like the SDS [Students for a Democratic Society] to make sure the protest posters and pamphlets were correct.”

The team was able to shoot in Chicago’s Lincoln Park, where so much of the demonstrations took place, as well as in front of the Hilton, where the many delegates to the Democratic Convention stayed. The stage that became a crucial point in the demonstrations had been torn down a few years before, so it was reconstructed for the film, in sight of the statue where students climbed to continue their protests. And shooting in original Chicago locations allowed for intercutting with existing stock footage and footage from Medium Cool.

“For the Chicago location work,” Fuchs begins, “Aaron and Phedon wanted as many extras as they could hire, and the majority of the coverage to be handheld, with some Steadicam in amongst the crowd. Usually, the later takes were a bit better because the

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beginning ones were chaotic trying to work it out with the extras, the background, and getting yourself into a position that looks like it’s accidental, that documentary-esque, liveon-the-fly feel.”

The riots were also physically challenging to capture. Pierce observes that when “Michael [Fuchs] would be shooting Steadicam, I’d be beside him shooting handheld. Phedon told me that I was ‘documenting what’s happening.’ It was a looser approach than Michael’s, who was in there for the dialogue. I was getting more of the fly-on-the-wall viewpoint. For example, for one scene, the demonstrators take the hill that all the Chicago Police have barricaded, and the crowd runs up the hill. The physicality of that was tough! Humping that camera up over five or six takes was a bear.”

Pierce says he added more weight to the handheld sequences with a Sharkfin battery bracket. “Where you would normally put a single battery, the Sharkfin is perpendicular to the body, so you can add two batteries,” he explains. “That added another six to seven pounds, bringing the total payload of the unit to about 35 pounds, which helps to counterbalance the weight of the large anamorphic lenses. I prefer the bare-bones approach, with the handles on the rods and the camera as close to my body as possible.”

Eve Strickman, A-Camera 2nd AC for the Chicago sequences, says the riots “with all the extras and smoke” created challenges for everybody. “It required a lot of stamina [from the operators],” she reflects, “being stormed by all the background extras and smoke so thick that sometimes you couldn’t see anything. I was always helping the operators to make sure they had whatever they needed, and just focus on the shot itself.”

B-Camera 2nd AC Brendan Russell says the riot sequences felt slightly surreal especially given the events of this past summer. “You have everybody running around, the smoke as simulated tear gas, the cops cracking open the heads of all the hippies and Black Panthers,” he shares. “I’m seeing imagery from some of the same places we were shooting, and it’s similar to what was going on. It was wild.”

B-Camera 1st AC Ethan Borsuk says the Light Ranger was a useful tool for the protest sequences. “In a style that is very loose and without any formal blocking, we would just line up and hear Al was going to cover so-and-so, as Phedon would be giving instructions over the HME system. So having the Light Ranger was very helpful with the format and improvised work,” he says. “As for the all the smoke, it was like a big cloud field where the actors would suddenly emerge and you’d say, ‘Oh, here they are!’”

DIT Patrick Cecilian notes that “the smoke dies down and then comes up. So we were working to maintain a consistent smoke level

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“ Aaron [Sorkin, opposite] is all about the dialogue; he literally closes his eyes and just listens, which meant I had a lot of responsibility to ensure the editor had enough coverage.”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY PHEDON PAPAMICHAEL, ASC

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and not chasing it – depending on exposure and light, it can look a little different as it gets heavier and thicker. Trying to maintain a consistent smoke level was always top of mind.

More smoke. Less smoke. Wait a second, wait a second. OK, now. That type of management was always tough.”

Despite the chaotic nature of these scenes, Pressgrove says the Chicago riots were safely executed and well-choreographed, “given the number of extras who were told to run and scramble around, and the camera is right in the middle of all that,” he notes. “There was a lot of impromptu framing because that was the feel they wanted. Within those impromptu framings, there would be choreographed moments that Michael would find, and the focus had to be nailed by myself and Ethan.”

Sorkin says the smoky haze of the protest footage, was a prime reason “why this film took so long to get made, as the riots were a budget-buster. And here is the only time you’ll ever hear someone say this: we were lucky to have tear gas [as part of the action], because the smoke camouflaged certain things. I think the only direction I gave to Phedon was ‘more smoke.’ He’s a phenomenally talented man, and I’m not so sure we would have figured it out without him.”

Regarding any safety concerns with the large amount of smoke used, Papamichael, who says he typically never uses such atmospherics, observes that “the smoke was always handled by the special effects team, who are very careful and professional in everything they do. And, of course, we’ve all attended the classes for hazardous materials.

For example, I know never to use Fuller’s earth again!”

For the courtroom sequences, the production moved to a converted church in Patterson, New Jersey. “I believe we were in there a little over three weeks,” Key Grip Tommy Prate explains. “We needed to build a large tent for the lighting outside because the windows were quite high. The tent was 30 feet deep, 50 feet wide, and 30 feet high. Inside the tent we hung two lighting trusses, one for three 18 K’s, and the second truss had a row of S60’s so that we could put ambient light in. Those lighting trusses were all on motors so we could adjust the height of the light for different looks during the day. And inside the tent, we also put up a painted backdrop so what we saw outside looked like it belonged to a part of a court building.”

The trial went on for months, spanning fall and winter. Papamichael, working with Chief Lighting Technician Bill O’Leary, created different lighting looks that would not only indicate the passage of time but were also story-appropriate.

“Day One had a sunny, warm look,” Papamichael recounts. “Other days were

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“What’s so amazing to me is that so much of the movie is in that courtroom, and [Phedon, above/below left] found ways to light and shoot the film so that we never get bored.”

WRITER/DIRECTOR AARON SORKIN

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overcast, rainy, then sunny again to also reflect the different witnesses in the stands. I created a logbook that tracked all the different looks [inside the courtroom], as we were also coordinating and balancing the different timelines. We wanted everything to look cohesive when the final edit was constructed.”

Scott, who was previously Sorkin’s script supervisor on Molly’s Game, calls the courtroom scenes “extremely challenging from a technical standpoint because we had a limited number of days, and it was a large portion of the movie. It was spread out in the movie across many, many months, so we had different looks for lighting, and Phedon created templates before we went to camera, which I helped him keep track of.

“One of the biggest challenges was blockshooting Aaron Sorkin’s written scenes because they are very long,” Scott continues.

“A lot happens in a 6- to 10-page scene with multiple characters, props, moves, multiple people standing up, sitting down, and walking by.”

Another challenge in the converted church location was the layout limitations. Prate recalls a crane shot in which “Phedon wanted to pull back from the prosecutor’s table to the back of the courtroom. Because we couldn’t get a Technocrane in the location, we built a ramp, about eight feet off the stage floor, that Michael Fuchs walked up backward.”

Fuchs recounts how the shot started on the prosecution, with the court crowd in the background hiding the ramp waiting for him at the far end of the room. “The camera starts to slide right and push down the aisle as I follow U.S. attorney Thomas Foran [J.C. MacKenzie] out of the courtroom,” he explains. “As I get into the aisle between the rows of benches, I pan right and tilt down to see the courtroom sketch artists drawing; the lens ends up 180 degrees from where the camera was pointed at the start of the shot.

That sends me walking backward through the crowd and up onto the ramp.

“I felt very safe with A-Camera Dolly Grip Joaquin Padilla spotting me,” Fuchs continues, “and giving me some extra fuel going up the ramp. He would help pull me up and then stop me right at the top of the ramp where I’d hold a high and wide lock-off of the courtroom. I believe we did three or four takes, and it was a fun way to close the film.”

A-Camera 2nd AC Marc Loforte, who worked the New Jersey portion of the shoot, says all the courtroom days were a benefit because it was like working on a soundstage, where gear did not need to be loaded in and out. “You can walk away and we’d be able to discuss a plan of attack for the next day,” Loforte describes. “We got together as a camera department so that everybody was on the same page. It made things much easier.”

Loforte remembers a shot where he had to pull focus on Joseph Gordon-Levitt coming from the table to the jury box. “We’re on a long lens, the T-series with an expander so there was a very thin depth of field. It was nervewracking,” he laughs. “So I felt pretty proud I was able to get it right.”

Sorkin (whom ICG Magazine interviewed as the screenwriter of The Social Network, October 2010) says his biggest piece of direction to Papamichael and all the department heads was, “Do not lean into 1968. This movie is not about 1968. It’s about today. Don’t lean into Sixties iconography, the peace sign, the tiedye shirt. We’re obviously shooting the period, but even Daniel Pemberton’s musical score, it’s not the Sixties protest songbook. It’s a contemporary movie with a full orchestral score. So the last thing I would have wanted Phedon to do is to make it look like it was shot in 1968.”

The filmmaker, who studied acting in college before turning to writing, concludes, “I can talk to actors. I know when we’ve got the performance. But I do need someone to help me make it look like a movie. And, as a director, you’re surrounded by experts – Phedon, the production designer, costume designer, props, everybody – who, as long as you’re able to develop a vocabulary with them, you’ll be fine.

Just run the set with confidence and don’t ever pretend you know something you don’t.”

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LOCAL 600 CREW Director of Photography Phedon Papamichael, ASC A-Camera Operator/Steadicam Michael Fuchs, SOC A-Camera 1st AC Craig Pressgrove A-Camera 2nd AC Marc Loforte A-Camera 2nd AC (Chicago) Eve Strickman B-Camera Operator Al Pierce, SOC B-Camera 1st AC Ethan Borsuk B-Camera 2nd AC Brendan Russell DIT Patrick Cecilian Loader Amber Mathes Still Photographer Niko Tavernise Unit Publicist Julie Kuehndorf

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HOW ON E OF TV ’ S M O ST- WATCHE D UN SCR IPT E D F R A N C H I S ES S A F E LY R E T U R N E D TO P R OD U CT I ON A M I D ST A N O N GO IN G PAN DE MIC.

BY PAU LIN E R OGE R S

P H OTOS BY CHRI STOPHER WI L L A RD

CIRCLING

THE

WATER

RS

In August 2009, a panel of investors, dubbed “Sharks,” sat behind a large desk in a cold blueand-white boardroom. Their task was to decide whether to invest in new products presented by various entrepreneurs. Often empathetic, sometimes curt, the Sharks found strengths and weaknesses in each presentation – winnowing down the herd until they chose products that might be worthy of financing (with their own money).

Shot with nine cameras (now 13), ABC’s Shark Tank, produced by MGM Television in association with Sony Pictures Television, was based on the Japanese Dragons’ Den format, created by Nippon Television Network Corporation. The hybrid reality series, unlike anything else on TV at the time, centered around pitch meetings, chasing dreams, meeting with opposition, and, hopefully, success. Although it got off to a slow (but promising) start, Shark Tank evolved into one of the most-watched unscripted series on broadcast television. It has garnered the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Structured Reality Program four times.

As the show gained in popularity, its look also evolved. Shortly after the pilot episode, the set was redesigned to create an intimate, warmer look. “We wanted the Entrepreneurs to feel they had access to the Sharks,” explains Executive Producer Clay Newbill, of moving the Sharks out from behind a desk to individual red leather boardroom chairs, fronted by low coffee tables. “In 2017, we modernized the set, making it even more intimate,” Newbill adds,

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bringing in collectible Eames white leather chairs that echoed a California mid-century modern feel.

T h e n c a m e COV I D - 1 9 a n d a n unprecedented challenge to every industry production, regardless of format or genre. To the credit of unscripted producers and crews, shows in that genre were among the first to start shooting again, with major network franchises like Shark Tank committing the resources (financial and otherwise) to create a “bubble” that would afford the maximum amount of safety controls for talent and crews alike.

Shark Tank Season 12 has become a shining example of how to deliver an ultra-high production-value series while complying with or exceeding current CDC protocols.

As Executive Producer Brandon Wallace relates: “More than a million square feet of The Venetian resort was dedicated to our Shark Tank safety ‘bubble,’ which allowed us to operate within a single secure facility,

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“ON-CAMERA TALENT ARE THE ONLY ONES ALLOWED TO BE WITHOUT A MASK, AND ONLY WHEN ON CAMERA,” SAYS EXECUTIVE PRODUCER BRANDON WALLACE. “IN BETWEEN PITCHES, OUR TALENT WOULD PUT THEIR PPE BACK ON. WE HAD STRICT HAIR AND MAKE-UP PROTOCOLS IN PLACE TO FURTHER MITIGATE ANY RISK FOR THOSE WORKING IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO ON-CAMERA TALENT.”

ensuring the safest possible environment for cast and production crew.”

With fast and reliable COVID testing, every single member of the show was tested before being cleared to depart for Las Vegas (from their Los Angeles base). Once in Las Vegas, staff and crew were then tested again and isolated in their rooms until they received a negative result. Only then were they cleared to enter the bubble.

“Once in the bubble, staff and crew were continually tested on-site, depending on their designated zone as laid out in the Safe Way Forward,” Wallace adds. “The same protocols in place for staff and crew were also in place for the approximately 200 Entrepreneurs who were selected to travel to Vegas and pitch to the Sharks.”

Staff, talent, and Entrepreneurs were housed within one tower at The Venetian, in approximately one-third of The Palazzo tower – which was dedicated to the bubble with strict access for production members only. A separate check-in area was created to ensure production members did not come in contact with anyone outside the bubble from the moment they stepped on the property.

“The Venetian staff who assisted us with food and other elements complied with all our

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guidelines and were tested regularly,” Wallace continues. “They were provided three meals a day by the kitchen and serving staff, who were tested weekly in accordance with our safety guidelines.”

The EP goes on to note that cast and crew were isolated at the hotel when not in production, and strict social distancing was maintained at all times.

“On-set, we had a COVID safety supervisor who helped consult on all of these plans and protocols as well as a medical advisor engaged by the production company – MGM Television,” he shares. “Even with a negative test, everyone was still required to wear PPE and keep an appropriate distance at all times within the bubble. On-camera talent were the only ones allowed to be without a mask, and only when on camera. In between pitches, our talent would put their PPE back on. We had strict hair and make-up protocols in place to further mitigate any risk for those working in close proximity to on-camera talent.”

As expected, the new COVID protocols had an impact on creative and technical decisions, and on departments ranging from set design to lighting and camera.

Production Designer Anton Goss took a look at his original design and, with Production’s input, created a new high-tech look that was COVID-compliant and visually exciting. “Originally, the Sharks were two feet apart and in a straight line,” Goss explains. For Season 12, host Kevin O’Leary and a rotating group of investors that include Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, and Daymond John, as well as guest investors, are seated six feet apart.”

First up for Goss was “opening up” the set. “If we curved it in an arc, we could get an interesting architectural look that would accentuate the distance and make it a feature,” he recounts. A glowing line with a step reinforces the arc. Goss built side-tables and furniture into the set, which were not too distinct or obvious but added to the visual language.

“Once we did that,” he continues, “we had to widen the set and expand it, extending the eyeline and adding extra columns. We also created a negative space to augment the set, tied in with an Asian influence, and also camouflaging the cameras placed there.”

Goss’ creative COVID-pivot in set design, while embraced, inherently created new challenges for camera and lighting. Multiple-

Emmy-winning Lighting Designer Oscar Dominguez says the changes impacted his lighting plot – but only to a degree.

“When we began the series, the lighting was for a high-end boardroom,” the longtime Local 600 member reflects. “Our challenge was to deal with the backgrounds for the sets, and the ‘walk-ups or -outs’ we keyed with our main lights, Source 4 Lekos.

“Today, our overheads and keys are probably basically in the same place,” he continues. “But we’re using LED Lekos and color and moving lights. What helps is that they are programmed into a board. We don’t have to get in there to change anything, and we can re-focus key lights very quickly.”

What type of lighting best served the design changes? Dominguez (who was based in L.A. for Season 12 and worked remotely with Lighting Director Ronald Wirsgalla, in the bubble, in Las Vegas) says the many different lighting elements used in unscripted programming today often serve a specific purpose. Everything from ARRI SkyPanels and Colour Blocks to Chroma Q, Elation, ETC, Hornets, NanoBeams, Vari-Lite, Wasp, Robe, VL-1000 Tungsten dimmers – and more.

Dominguez has also designed his setup – six ETC Irideons – in a circular ring on a large giant yoke. “The Irideon FPZ is a small Leko with a focusable edge,” he explains. “By putting six on a three-foot-diameter steel ring in a circular pattern, Ronny can pan, tilt and focus on a particular person or place, without reaching into the set or reprogramming other lights.”

Wirsgalla programs approximately 300 lights (in compliance with on-set COVID-19 safety protocols) as Video Controller Terence Ho balances the visual look.

“It requires a slightly larger crew and takes a little longer,” Wirsgalla admits, “because of the spread – and COVID rules. It’s hard to work in masks for 10 hours, so it’s important for my crew to take breaks periodically.”

ABOVE: DOMINGUEZ’ LIGHTING DESIGN, EXECUTED BY WIRSGALLA ON SET, CONTAINS MANY DIFFERENT ELEMENTS THAT ALL SERVE A SPECIFIC PURPOSE. BELOW: “BY PUTTING SIX [ETC IRIDEONS] ON A THREE-FOOT-DIAMETER STEEL RING,” DOMINGUEZ EXPLAINS, “RONNY CAN PAN, TILT AND FOCUS ON A PARTICULAR PERSON OR PLACE, WITHOUT REACHING INTO THE SET OR REPROGRAMMING OTHER LIGHTS.”

The Vegas bubble set is about 25 percent larger than in previous years. There are more elements to light – walls and lights that need to break up floor space. The spread of the participants and Sharks dictates a more intensive choice of specific lighting setups.

“We can’t do masters,” Wirsgalla adds. “But we have to make sure the Sharks are well lit.

Mark Cuban is no longer in a two-shot – he’s in a single, for example. We use ETC’s carefully placed, because they will turn in different angles, and we have to make sure their faces are well-lit, for example, when they turn left to right.

Wirsgalla says the Entrepreneurs stand on their marks in the pitch area, “and we have to make sure their heads and faces look good, and the product is sculpted carefully and not over-lit. When they walk on the stage, it’s moody – from the hallway into pools of light,

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then through the doors and onto their marks and pitch.”

Camera positioning also changed – but not dramatically so.

Season 12 was shot in two “pods” – two segments, as in other seasons. As Line Producer Alex Halatchev explains: “It’s about keeping the Sharks fresh and constantly looking for and vetting new Entrepreneurs.

While the camera set-up is similar to other shows, placement is a little different for COVID-safe spacing, carefully supported by Head Utility Charlie Fernandez.”

Shark Tank in the bubble was captured by 13 Guild operators, with one operator offset, shooting post-pitch interviews. Capture gear includes Sony HDC-4300s, with pedestal cameras using Canon’s ultra-wide field-box lens, the DIGISUPER 95, 86II Tele xs, and 100 xs lenses. The Steadicam carries Fujinon wide-angle ENG lenses, with handheld/sticks alternating Fujinon 4K UHD Telephoto ENG and 4K UHD Wide ENG. While the crew changed slightly from Pod 1 to Pod 2, placement was the same; only the operators changed.

“Moving parts” included Steadicam, jib, and Camera 4. Andrew Jansen or Travis Hays on Camera 1/Steadicam was charged with walking the Entrepreneurs into and off of the set and following their pitches. The Steadicam was then mounted onto a fixed rig between Camera 5 (jib) and Camera 4, framing a wide

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master cover shot for the majority of the pitch.

If the Entrepreneur moved into the hallway, the Steadicam covered that footage. Steadicam was also used for pre-taped generic shots of the Shark panels and the guest Sharks. This often involved “ramp” shots and “Hitchcock zoom” shots.

“What’s so great about working on Shark Tank is that it has one of the most iconic shots in all of television,” Hays describes. “That walk down the hallway is everywhere on social media, and I have to capture the emotion of them walking in and out. It’s about the immediate reactions of the Entrepreneurs as they turn and walk off with joy or walk away empty-handed. None of that has changed.”

What is more challenging for Steadicam was pulling focus while wearing protective gear like goggles or face shields.

The jib, operated by Greg Acosta or Joe

Coppola, was used to shoot product shots pre-pitch, along with Camera 3. During the pitches, the jib fed wide shots of the entire set, including over-the-shoulders from the Entrepreneurs to the Sharks, and widesweeping moves either into one or two Sharks from the OTS or a swing-away from the Sharks and sweep into a single/two-shot/three-shot of the Entrepreneurs. Like Camera 4, the jib provided movement to an inherently static show; during demos, the jib also supplied overhead shots.

Acosta, a relative newcomer having worked on the show for five years, says the change to COVID-safe production didn’t impact his freedom of movement, adding that the jib was already socially distanced. “We make the same moves, using a wide-angle lens that is at about 4.5. The only difference is, because of the spacing, it’s almost impossible

“Although working with a mask all day long is a bit of a challenge, once we got over the physical stress of masks, PPE stations, and plexiglass, we got into the spirit of being in Las Vegas for a great show.”

CAMERA OPERATOR KATHERINE IACOFANO

at times to get a true master, because the jib would bring the camera physically closer when it was swinging towards the talent,” he describes.

Camera 6, handheld on sticks and worked

by Bruce Green and Andrew Rakow, was an interesting dance. The pair fed shots of the Sharks in Chairs 1 and 2, primarily for their eyelines to the other three Sharks. Typically, Camera 6 is pre-framed before the pitch.

The operator moves to Camera 12, a pedestal behind the set next to Camera 2. Handheld is a rarity, but it has been called for. Before the pitch is over, the operator locks 12 on a wide shot and moves back to Camera 6. After pitches were over, Camera 6 primarily covered Shark Chair 1 (Cuban) and Chair 2 for their eyelines to the other three Sharks.

The remaining cameras were on pedestals, strategically placed around the set.

For lighting and COVID-safety, the entire set was situated within multiple 30-by-30foot black Duvetyne "shelters," which also provided sound baffling and anti-reflection. If two cameras were near each other, a plexiglass wall was added for additional operator safety.

Shark Tank veteran (and former ICG National Executive Board Member) Scott Kaye was on Camera 2, directly behind the center Shark, Kevin O’Leary. Kaye says he concentrated on coverage of the Entrepreneurs making their pitches and negotiating with the Sharks – mostly singles, two-shots, threeshots (when possible), and group shots. (This season, there was a family of five pitching.)

The shots typically start as a group and then move into close-ups, with pans between the Entrepreneurs or snap-zooms into close-up reaction shots.

Product shots were Phil Kerns’ domain

on Camera 3, after which he would switch to alternate coverage of the Entrepreneurs during the pitches, as well as taking over eyelines from Camera 2 when the pitch was directed to Chair 1 or 2. Kerns often worked in conjunction with Kaye, mixing up wide shots that included the product displays and the Entrepreneurs, or video display coverage and demonstrations.

Operator Lou Espinosa says he “got to move a little like a dolly” on Camera 4. Espinosa fed “gently moving shots,” i.e., rake shots of the Sharks. He also got close-ups of product in the Sharks’ hands or over-their-shoulder shots.

One of the most important elements of this camera was to add movement to scenes of people standing on a rug and talking to five people sitting in chairs. He also covered wide shots of the Entrepreneurs and their product displays, trading off with Kerns on Camera 3. “ The relationship shots between

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Entrepreneurs and Sharks were much farther apart,” Espinosa recalls about the changes brought on in the bubble. “It put a bit of pressure on the operator because these encounters used to build an intimacy that adds to the excitement of the show. But, we adjust,” he smiles. “And, there is a bright side – for several weeks, we all had just a ten-minute walk to work – we’re well-rested, less stressed, and, most importantly, secure in knowing we’re in a safe environment.”

The remaining pedestal cameras were strategically placed to cover the Sharks. It is here where an operator’s instinct and creativity (valued qualities in the unscripted world) were most crucial, as they were encouraged to create movement with gentle zooms or close-ups of Sharks’ hands on product.

Jeff Watt on Camera 7 was close to Steve Thiel on Camera 8. They worked off each other, covering from behind camera “blinds” opposite Chairs 1 and 2. Watt concentrated on close-up coverage of Chair 1, Mark Cuban, and Thiel the Shark seated in Chair 2. Rounding out the team was Jeff Wheat on Camera 9, Katherine Iacofano on Camera 10, and Ed Horton or Tim Murphy on Camera 11. Each was tasked with a single Shark chair.

“Although working with a mask all day long is a bit of a challenge,” Iacofano admits, “once we got over the physical stress of masks, PPE stations, and plexiglass, we got into the spirit of being in Las Vegas for a great show.”

As with Shark Tank’s past, Season 12 offered many memorable moments for its Local 600 team – “like one pitch of a product for dogs,” Iacofano smiles. “After their opening pitch, they went to collect the puppies, and Mark Cuban refused to give his back. It sat in his

lap for the whole episode! Those pitches can last an hour or more sometimes. We were all waiting for an ‘accident’ to happen, but it didn’t. It was very sweet.”

Off-set interviews were also impacted by COVID protocols.

“We had to change the normal format of how the Entrepreneurs, producers, and Operator Jeffrey Wilkins [SOC] conducted interviews,” Lead AC Dave Hawes explains.

“With the lighting board operator and Audio A2 already more than six feet apart from everyone in the room, I had to think of how to keep the camera operator and producer apart from each other, and the producer, who is next to the matte box asking questions and checking eyeline, with the camera operator stacked directly right behind them.”

Wilkins says his solution was to take an onboard monitor and install it onto a C-stand, “and then run a line to it well past the safe six-foot distance, which the camera operator monitored, and made sure the focus and framing were correct,” he says. “That meant showing the Entrepreneurs their marks and where the eyeline would be while the camera operator would be framing up the shot. As soon as the camera operator called everything good to go, he stepped to the monitor.

“Then the producer would step into place next to the camera,” Wilkins continues. “If any issue occurred where the camera had to be adjusted, the producer would step away and let the change happen and then step back in to continue the interview when the camera was good to go. We created a very safe format and made it routine.”

Wilkins says field shots and updates, as well as profiles, were altered, mainly by the lack of travel. “My producer has a Pelican case with an iPhone and ring light so he can interview them for this ‘Update’ section,” he explains.

“Each Entrepreneur was instructed to film their footage to incorporate those package’s stories into the main program. We were able to do a few in the safe cocoon of the Executive Suites at The Venetian.”

One reason the Local 600 Shark Tank team didn’t let “the bubble” compromise its technical standards of excellence is that most of them have been together for most or all of the twelve seasons. They have helped to evolve numerous changes over the past decade, never more so than during the current global pandemic.

Many 600 members on the show give an enthusiastic shout-out to longtime Shark Tank Director Ken Fuchs (Exposure, page 38). Due to the format, layout and style Fuchs established, veteran director Don Weiner was able to step in to get Season 12 underway before Fuchs came in to finish up. Both men provided leadership that enabled Guild members to help execute the vision for the show.

“Production exceeded all essentials for talent, crew and entrepreneur safety, while also delivering the consistently high-quality material the show is known and recognized for,” states longtime pedestal operator Kaye.

“Our crew appreciates the extra lengths and expense to which Production went to ensure their safety and quality of life while living and working in a ‘bubble,’” he adds. “In particular, Shark Tank Season 12 has shown that it is possible to maintain very high production values while also protecting the health and safety of every participant.”

“Our crew appreciates the extra lengths and expense to which Production went to ensure their safety and quality of life while living and working in a ‘bubble.’”

CAMERA OPERATOR SCOTT KAYE

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LOCAL 600 CREW SEASON 12 Lighting Designer Oscar Dominguez Lighting Director Ronny Wirsgalla POD 1 CREW Steadicam Andrew Jansen Jib Operator Greg Acosta

POD 2 CREW Steadicam Travis Hays Jib Operator Joe Coppola Ped Operator Tim Murphy Handheld Operator Andrew Rakow

Jeff Wheat Scott Kaye Head Utility Charles Fernandez Steadicam AC Tikeri Thompson Utility Robert Brown Still Photographer Christopher Willard

Ped Operator Ed Horton

Utilities Jon Zuccaro Joey Gonzalez

INTERVIEW CREW

Handheld Operator Bruce Green

Video Control Terrance Ho

Camera Operator Jeffrey Wilkins, SOC

Utilities Kevin Fernandez, Jose Algandar

AC Sal Vega

AC David Hawes

Video Control Terrance Ho AC Candace Higgins

Peds Phil Kerns Lou Espinosa Steve Thiel Jeff Watt Kathrine Iacofano

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CROSSING THAT

BRIDG A PH OTO GAL L E RY O F T H E HO N O R ABL E JO HN L E WIS .

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PHOTOS & CAPT ION S BY R ICHAR D D UCR EE

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Lifelong civil rights activist, Presidential Medal of Freedom honoree, Democratic Congressman representing Georgia’s 5th District for 17 consecutive terms, and self-described “hard-core liberal” John Lewis lived a life of service to his country with few parallels in modern history.

Born in Alabama the third of 10 children to rural sharecroppers, Lewis first became cognizant of racial segregation on a trip north, to New York, with his uncle when he was 11 years old. At age 17 he met Rosa Parks; at 18 he met Martin Luther King, Jr.; and by his early 20’s he was an ordained Baptist minister. A founding member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Lewis had already been arrested two dozen

Wh en C ongressm an Lewis returned to S e lm a fo r th e 53rd A n niversary of “Bloody Sun d ay,” he wa s accom p an ied by an em otional group of s u ppo r te rs . his passion and urgency sh in e thro u g h, o n t he sam e sp ot wh ere he was beaten d ow n in 1 9 6 5 .

OPENING SPREA D p age 84 : Joh n Lewis’ words abou t fe ar le s s ly standin g for what is right were the canvas of his life . I fo u nd t his image, taken in th e dark ness of a pandem ic, p articula r ly ins pir ing.

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times when he was elected to lead that organization at the age of 23. He was the youngest of the “Big Six” civil rights leaders to head-up the March on Washington in 1963 (and the last speaker before MLK Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” speech), and he gained worldwide prominence in 1965 for his leadership in the first of three Selma-to-Montgomery marches across the Edmund Pettus Bridge – a day forever commemorated as “Bloody Sunday.” When Lewis and a group of 600 marchers stopped to pray at the end of the bridge, mounted police shot tear gas and attacked them with nightsticks, fracturing Lewis’ skull and leaving scars he would bear for the rest of his long, productive life.

LEF T: Joh n Lewis, who wrote to M LK, Jr. when h e was a teenager, was always a cham pion of young pe o ple .

Even in h is f inal days, he urg e d t he next gen eration to “lay down t he heavy burden s of hate” and se e k a “p eace th at will trium ph ove r violen ce, aggression and war. ” Lew is m et 10-year-old Tybre Faw ou t s ide a S elm a church in 2018, a f rien ds hip th at culm in ated with Tybre re a ding C ongressm an Lewis’ favorite po e m at his Atlanta m em orial service.

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Atlanta-based Local 600 Unit Still Photographer Richard DuCree has been photographing Lewis for the last decade, documenting events like the various anniversaries of Bloody Sunday, and most recently, the Congressman’s final journey, where his casket retraced the same route from Selma to Montgomery before subsequent burial in Atlanta.

Lewis always pledged to engage in “good trouble, necessary trouble” in order to achieve social change, and this photo essay bears witness to one of the most remarkable “troublemakers” the world has ever seen.

Th is was taken on e le c t io n n ight, at the headqu ar te rs of Georgia Congresswo m an Stacey A bram s, the f irs t Black wom an f rom a m a jo r p arty in the U.S. to r u n fo r a governor’s seat. John wa s a loyal f riend and ch a m pio n of A bram s, wh o, th at sa m e ye a r, foun ded Fair Figh t Ac t io n to com bat voter supp re s s io n.

This im age f rom Joh n’s m em orial, of a black p olicem en in f in al salute, represen ts a con trast to the historical m em ory of h im being beaten by white of f icers in 1965. Our n ation h as ch an ged in the last f ive decades, even if th ere’s still a lon g way to go.

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S elm a, A L was j u s t o ne of t he m any locations w he re Jo hn’s casket laid in sta te . Troy University ( whic h d e nie d him adm ission due to s e g re g at io n), th e n ation ’s C ap ito l Ro tu nda, M ontgom ery, A L, and f ina lly Atlanta were the o t he rs .

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Mo s t of the p h o to g ra p h e rs we re a t th e top of th e b ri d g e , s o I p o s i t i o n e d m ys el f d ow n n e a r t h e s p o t o n th e b ri d g e w h e re J o h n was a s s a u l te d . Th e ro se p e ta ls sym b o l i ze t he b lo o d s p i l l e d by the ma rc h e rs o n th a t i n fam o u s S u n d a y.

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A m u ra l t ha t we nt up on Jo hn’s ho m e dist r ic t in At lanta a few ye a rs ago , an d t he m any tribu te s a t it s bas e j ust a f te r he was laid to re s t .

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

Submit your jobs online by visiting: www.icg600.com/MY600/Report-Your-Job Any questions regarding the Production Credits should be addressed to Teresa MuĂąoz at teresa@icgmagazine.com 100

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First Man / Photo by Daniel McFadden

Still Photographers, Publicists, Additional Units, etc.). Please note

20TH CENTURY FOX “911” SEASON 4

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JOAQUIN SEDILLO, ASC OPERATORS: SPENCER HUTCHINS, SOC DUANE MIELIWOCKI, SOC, PHIL MILLER, SOC ASSISTANTS: KEN LITTLE, CLAUDIO BANKS, ERIC GUERIN, DAVID STELLHORN, ERIC WHEELER, JIHANE MRAD CAMERA UTILITY: PAULINA GOMEZ DIGITAL UTILITY: DUSTIN LEBOUEF

“LAST MAN STANDING” SEASON 9 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DONALD A. MORGAN, ASC OPERATORS: GARY ALLEN, RANDY BAER, DAMIAN DELLA SANTINA, JOHN BOYD ASSISTANTS: MISSY TOY-OZEAS, SEAN ASKINS, AL MYERS CAMERA UTIITIES: JOHN WEISS, STEVE MASIAS DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: VON THOMAS STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: PATRICK WYMORE, MICHAEL BECKER

“STATION 19” SEASON 4 DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DARYN OKADA, ASC, SPENCER COMBS OPERATORS: RON SCHLAEGER, MARIANA ANTUNANO, BRIAN GARBELLINI ASSISTANTS: TONY SCHULTZ, HANNAH LEVIN, WILLIAM MARTI, GAYLE HILARY, GREG WILLIAMS, TIM MCCARTHY STEADICAM OPERATOR: RON SCHLAEGER STEADICAM ASSISTANT: TONY SCHULTZ DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ANDREW LEMON UTILITIES: GEORGE MONTEJANO, III, ROBERTO RUELAS SPLINTER UNIT DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BRIAN GARBELINNI

ABC STUDIOS

“GREY’S ANATOMY” SEASON 17 DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: HERB DAVIS, ALICIA ROBBINS OPERATORS: FRED IANNONE, STEVE ULLMAN, LESLIE MORRIS ASSISTANTS: NICK MCLEAN, FORREST THURMAN, KIRK BLOOM, LISA BONACCORSO STEADICAM OPERATOR: STEVE ULLMAN STEADICAM ASSISTANT: FORREST THURMAN CAMERA UTILITY: MARTE POST STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: LISA ROSE

“JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE!” SEASON 18 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

A VERY GOOD PRODUCTION, INC. & WAD PRODUCTIONS

“THE ELLEN DEGENERES SHOW” SEASON 18 LIGHTING DIRECTOR: TOM BECK PED OPERATORS: DAVID WEEKS, PAUL WILEMAN, TIM O’NEILL HANDHELD OPERATOR: CHIP FRASER JIB OPERATOR: DAVID RHEA STEADICAM OPERATOR: DONOVAN GILBUENA VIDEO CONTROLLER: JAMES MORAN

HEAD UTILITY: CRAIG “ZZO” MARAZZO UTILITIES: ARLO GILBUENA, WALLY LANCASTER, DIEGO AVALOS

AMERICAN HIGH “BLAN B”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: SANDRA VALDE OPERATORS: NEAL TEN EYCK, NICH MUSCO ASSISTANTS: CHERYN PARK, SYMON MINK, JADE BRENNAN, DAVE MASLYN, BRETT ROEDEL STEADICAM OPERATOR: NICH MUSCO STEADICAM ASSISTANT: SYMON MINK LOADER: JOSIAH WEINHOLD

BACK STREET PRODUCTIONS, LLC

“DIARY OF A FUTURE PRESIDENT” DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: LOWELL PETERSON, ASC OPERATORS: RORY KNEPP, SOC, PAUL PLANNETTE ASSISTANTS: JOHN C. FLINN, IV, JOHN POUNCEY, CANDICE MARAIS, DON BURTON STEADICAM OPERATOR: RORY KNEPP, SOC LOADER: BOBBY HATFIELD

“ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT” SEASON 40

LIGHTING DESIGNER: DARREN LANGER DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: KURT BRAUN OPERATORS: JAMES B. PATRICK, ALLEN VOSS, ED SARTORI, HENRY ZINMAN, BOB CAMPI, RODNEY MCMAHON, ANTHONY SALERNO JIB OPERATOR: JAIMIE CANTRELL CAMERA UTILITY: TERRY AHERN VIDEO CONTROLLERS: MIKE DOYLE, PETER STENDAL

“HUSTLE”

“THE NEIGHBORHOOD” SEASON 3

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ZAK MULLIGAN OPERATORS: STEWART CANTRELL, QUENELL JONES ASSISTANTS: ROBERT LAU, TROY DOBBERTIN, AUTUMN MORAN, KIMBERLY HERMAN DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: THOMAS WONG STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: SCOTT YAMANO

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRISTIAN LA FOUNTAINE OPERATORS: BRUCE REUTLINGER GEORGE LA FOUNTAINE, CHRIS WILCOX, KRIS CONDE CAMERA UTILITIES: CHRIS TODD, VICKI BECK ASSISTANT: CRAIG LA FOUNTAINE VIDEO CONTROLLER: CLIFF JONES

BEACHWOOD SERVICES

“THE TALK” SEASON 11

“DAYS OF OUR LIVES” SEASON 55 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: VINCE STEIB OPERATORS: MARK WARSHAW, VICKIE WALKER, MICHAEL J. DENTON, STEVE CLARK CAMERA UTILITIES: STEVE BAGDADI, GARY CYPHER VIDEO CONTROLLER: ALEXIS DELLAR HANSON

“THE GOLDBERGS” SEASON 8 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JASON BLOUNT OPERATORS: SCOTT BROWNER, NATE HAVENS ASSISTANTS: TRACY DAVEY, GARY WEBSTER, JENNIFER BELL PRICE, MICHELLE BAKER DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: KEVIN MILLS LOADER: DILSHAN HERATH

BONANZA PRODUCTIONS, INC “SHAMELESS” SEASON 11

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ANTHONY HARDWICK OPERATOR: SYLVAIN D’HAUTCOURT, KRISTY TULLY BOTTOMS ASSISTANTS: RYO KINNO, DARBY NEWMAN, DAVID BERRYMAN, TIM LUKE LOADER: MAYA MORGAN DIGITAL UTILITY: AMI MARISCAL

BON APPETIT PRODUCTIONS, INC. “JULIA”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DAN STOLOFF OPERATORS: AARON MEDICK, LAELA KILBOURN ASSISTANTS: MICHAEL ENDLER, JILL TUFTS, CHRISTIAN HOLLYER, TALIA KROHMAL CAMERA UTILITY: MCKENZIE RAYCROFT DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: KYO MOON LOADER: MATTIE HAMER

CBS

“BULL” SEASON 5 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DERICK UNDERSCHULTZ OPERATORS: BARNABY SHAPIRO, DOUGLAS PELLEGRINO ASSISTANTS: ROMAN LUKIW, SOREN NASH, MICHAEL LOBB, TREVOR WOLFSON DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: KEITH PUTNAM LOADERS: NIALANEY RODRIGUEZ, REBECCA HEWITT STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: DAVID RUSSELL

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

“WHY WOMEN KILL” SEASON 2 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL PRICE, ASC OPERATORS: SCOTT BOETTLE, JOHN HANKAMMER, COBY GARFIELD ASSISTANTS: DARRELL HERRINGTON, DREW HAN, MARK SASABUCHI, GARY JOHNSON, ERIC MATOS, JOSH NOVAK STEADICAM OPERATOR: JOHN HANKAMMER DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: MIKE RUSH STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: NICOLE WILDER

COOLER WATER PRODUCTIONS, LLC “BETTY” SEASON 2

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JACKSON HUNT OPERATOR: JOEY DWYER ASSISTANTS: MEGAERA STEPHENS, GOVINDA ANGULO, JOSH REYES, HELEN CASSELL LOADER: EMMA HING

DISNEY/FOX 21

“QUEEN OF THE SOUTH” SEASON 5 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ABE MARTINEZ OPERATORS: DOMINIC BARTOLONE, MATT VALENTINE ASSISTANTS: JASON GARCIA, DAN MCKEE, RIGNEY SACKLEY, ZANDER WHITE STEADICAM OPERATOR: DOMINIC BARTOLONE STEADICAM ASSISTANT: JASON GARCIA DIGITAL LOADER: ADAM LIPSCOMB

NOVEMBER 2020 PRODUCTION CREDITS

101

EYE PRODUCTIONS, INC.

KENWOOD TV PRODUCTIONS, INC.

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DONALD THORIN, JR. OPERATORS: STEPHEN CONSENTINO, GEOFF FROST ASSISTANTS: GRAHAM BURT, JACOB STAHLMAN, MARTIN PETERSON, KENNETH MARTELL LOADER: JONATHAN SCHAEFER

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JOSEPH W. CALLOWAY OPERATORS: KEN HERFT, BRIAN GUNTER, GARY ALLEN, JACK CHISHOLM DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ARMEN ALLEN CAMERA UTILITY: LISA ANDERSON, TERRY GUNTER, RYAN ECKELBERRY, ROGER COHEN JIB ARM OPERATOR: JOSH GOFORTH JIB ARM TECH: JEFF KIMUCK VIDEO CONTROLLER: KEITH ANDERSON BEHIND THE SCENES: DAVID LIZ, STEVEN PAUL

“BLUE BLOODS” SEASON 11

FLYNN PICTURE COMPANY “RED NOTICE”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MARCUS FORDERER OPERATORS: GEOFF HALEY, BILLY O’DROBINAK, MARK LABONGE ASSISTANTS: STEVE CUEVA, JOZO ZOVKO, HAYDN PAZANTI, MANNY SERRANO, TIM METIVIER, ROBIN BURSEY DIGITAL UTILITY: SAM CHUN DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JEROEN HENDRIKS LOADER: JEFFREY TIDWELL STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: FRANK MASI PUBLICIST: CAROL MCCONNAUGHEY

GOVERNMENT ISSUE, LLC

“SCREAM 5 AKA PARKSIDE” DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BRETT JUTKIEWICZ OPERATORS: MATT DOLL, MIKE REPETA ASSISTANTS: PATRICK BOROWIAK, DEREK SMITH, ROY KNAUF, DARWIN BRANDIS DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ANDY BADER LOADER: JILL AUTRY DIGITAL UTILITY: CATARINA MENDEZ STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: BROWNIE HARRIS

“JUST ROLL WITH IT” SEASON 3

MESQUITE PRODUCTIONS “AFTERPARTY” SEASON 1

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: CARL HERSE OPERATORS: NEAL BRYANT, KEITH DUNKERLEY ASSISTANTS: ANDREW DICKIESON, MELVINA RAPOZO, DAISY SMITH, JORGE DEVOTTO STEADICAM OPERATOR: KEITH DUNKERLEY STEADICAM ASSISTANT: ANDREW DICKIESON DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: CHRIS HOYLE CAMERA UTILITY: JULE FONTANA DIGITAL UTILITY: AMANDA HAMADAY STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: AARON EPSTEIN

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: LOREN YACONELLI OPERATORS: SCOTT DROPKIN, BROOKS ROBINSON ASSISTANTS: DAVE EGERSTROM, PATRICK BENSIMMON, ERIC GUTHRIE, CRISTY ARBOLEDA STEADICAM OPERATOR: SCOTT DROPKIN STEADICAM ASSISTANT: DAVE EGERSTROM DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JEFFERSON FUGITT DIGITAL UTILITY: GOBE HIRATA STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: EDDY CHEN

“MOTHER/ANDROID”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: PATRICK SCOLA OPERATOR: JOHN GARRETT ASSISTANTS: ZACK SHULTZ, JOHN MCCARTHY DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: KYO MOON LOADER: MARK JENKINS, II STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: SEACIA PAVAO

NARROW ISLE PRODUCTIONS “OUTER BANKS” SEASON 2

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: J.B. SMITH, GONZALO AMAT OPERATORS: BO WEBB, MATT LYONS ASSISTANTS: LARRY GIANNESCHI, IV, MATTHEW KELLY JACKSON, DOMINIC ATTANASIO LOADER: NICK CANNON CAMERA UTILITY: DANIEL BUBB STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: JACKSON DAVIS

“DELILAH” SEASON 1 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ANKA MALATYNSKA OPERATORS: JESSICA LOPEZ, ASHLEY HUGHES ASSISTANTS: JAMIE MARLOWE, DANIEL TUREK, MONICA BARRIOS-SMITH, SAMUEL KIM DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JASON JOHNSON

“THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT” SEASON 1 DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JAY FEATHER, HILLARY SPERA OPERATORS: THOMAS SCHNAIDT, SANDY HAYS ASSISTANTS: ALEXANDER WORSTER, ANDREW JUHL, CAMERON SIZEMORE, ALEX DUBOIS LOADERS: FRANCIS MILEA, AMANDA URIBE, JAKOB FRIEMAN

JAY SQUARED PRODUCTIONS, LLC “MANIFEST” SEASON 3

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ANDREW PRIESTLEY OPERATORS: CARLOS GUERRA, RYAN TOUSSIENG ASSISTANTS: ANDREW PECK, WESLEY HODGES, CORNELIA KLAPPER, KAIH WONG LOADERS: WILL FORTUNE, PHILIP THOMPSON STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: ELIZABETH FISHER

102

NOVEMBER 2020 PRODUCTION CREDITS

“F.B.I.” SEASON 3 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MARC RITZEMA OPERATORS: AFTON GRANT, JAMIE SILVERSTEIN ASSISTANTS: LEE VICKERY, YURI INOUE, GEORGE LOOKSHIRE, NKEM UMENYI STEADICAM OPERATOR: AFTON GRANT LOADERS: RAUL MARTINEZ, CONNOR LYNCH

“NEW AMSTERDAM” SEASON 3 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ANDREW VOEGELI OPERATORS: SCOTT TINSLEY, GARETH MANWARING ASSISTANTS: PEDRO CORCEGA, JAMES MADRID, MATTHEW MONTALTO, ROBERT WRASE LOADERS: ANABEL CAICEDO, KATHERINE RIVERA

“RUTHERFORD FALLS” SEASON 1 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ROSS RIEGE OPERATOR: HARRY GARVIN ASSISTANTS: BIANCA BAHENA, VANESSA WARD, ALDO PORRAS LOADER: BRIAN WINIKOFF CAMERA UTILITY: CHRIS DE LA RIVA

MIRAMAX FILM NY, LLC

HORIZON SCRIPTED TELEVISION, INC. “ANIMAL KINGDOM” SEASON 5

ASSISTANTS: JOHN YOUNG, DON CARLSON, DAVID WIGHTMAN, JAMISON ACKER, KYLE BELOUSEK, NICK WILSON STEADICAM OPERATOR: VICTOR MACIAS LOADER: MARION TUCKER DIGITAL UTILITIES: CHRIS POLMANSKI, STEVE CLAY

NBC

NETFLIX PRODUCTIONS, LLC “HALSTON” SEASON 1

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: TIMOTHY IVES OPERATORS: MARK SCHMIDT, CHARLIE LIBIN, PETER AGLIATA ASSISTANTS: ADRIANA BRUNETTO-LIPMAN, ROSSANA RIZZO, ANDREW HAMILTON, MARC LOFORTE, MIKE SWEARINGEN, COREY LICAMELI LOADERS: AMBER MATHES, WILLIE CHING

“THE CREW” SEASON 1 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BILL BERNER OPERATORS: ALAIN ONESTO, MARK RENAUDIN, JIMMY O’DONNEL, MIGUEL ARMSTRONG ASSISTANTS: JASON KNOBLOCH, BRENT WEICHSEL, KYLE GORJANC DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: DAVE SATIN LOADER: SHAUN JOYE DIGITAL UTILITIES: ANTHONY BENEDETTI, LEWIS ROTHENBERG STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: ELIZABETH FISHER

“AMERICAN AUTO” PILOT

“THE HARDER THEY FALL”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BENJAMIN KASULKE OPERATORS: SHELLY GURZI, JACOB PINGER, ROBERT SPAULDING ASSISTANTS: FAITH BREWER, SUZIY DIETZ, NICO MARTIN, ALAN CERTEZA, ANDY SYDNEY, JOAQUIN CASTILLO DIGITAL UTILITIES: AMANDA PETRONE, RAMONE DAVIS DIGITAL LOADER: EMILIO MEJIA

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MIHAI MALAIMARE OPERATOR: DAVE CHAMEIDES ASSISTANTS: SHAUN MAYOR, LIZA BAMBENEK, MARCUS DEL NEGRO, KATY JONES STEADICAM OPERATOR: DAVE CHAMEIDES DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ELI BERG LOADER: JASMINE HARVEY DIGITAL UTILITY: OSCAR CIFUENTES STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: DAVID LEE PUBLICIST: CLAIRE RASKIND

“CHICAGO MED” SEASON 5 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: LEX DUPONT, ASC OPERATORS: FAIRES ANDERSON SEKIYA, JOE TOLITANO, BENJAMIN SPEK ASSISTANTS: GEORGE OLSON, KEITH HUEFFMEIER, SAM KNAPP, PATRICK DOOLEY, JOEY RICHARDSON, MATT BROWN STEADICAM OPERATOR: FAIRES ANDERSON SEKIYA LOADER: CHRIS SUMMERS UTILITY: ELIJAH WILBORN STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: ELIZABETH SISSON

“THE UPSHAWS” SEASON 1 DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DONALD A. MORGAN, ASC, CHUCK OZEAS OPERATORS: KEVIN HAGGERTY, VINCE SINGLETARY, DON DAVIS, CHRIS WILCOX ASSISTANT: AL MYERS CAMERA UTILITIES: JOHN WEISS, WILL BROWN VIDEO CONTROLLER/DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: VON THOMAS

“CHICAGO PD” SEASON 7

“TICK, TICK...BOOM!”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JAMES ZUCAL OPERATORS: VICTOR MACIAS, DARRYL MILLER, SETH THOMAS

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ALICE BROOKS OPERATORS: MICHAEL FUCHS, SOC, STANLEY FERNANDEZ

ASSISTANTS: BRADLEY GRANT, GAVIN FERNANDEZ, SUREN KARAPETYAN, CONNIE HUANG DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ABBY LEVINE LOADER: KYLE TERBOSS STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: MACALL POLAY

NMOG, LLC

“NO MAN OF GOD” DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: KARINA SILVA OPERATOR: CARLOS GONZALEZ ASSISTANTS: ERICK AGUILAR, CHRISTIAN COBB, BIANCA GARCIA DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: NICK FRY

JARED WILSON STEADICAM OPERATOR: ERIC SCHILLING DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: SPENCER SHWETZ DIGITAL UTILITY: SHANNON VAN METRE

SCRAP PAPER PICTURES PICROW STREAMING, INC. “MODERN LOVE” SEASON 2

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: YARON ORBACH OPERATORS: PHILIP MARTINEZ, LUCAS OWEN ASSISTANTS: WARIS SUPANPONG, BECKI HELLER, RANDY SCHWARTZ, NATHALIE RODRIGUEZ LOADERS: MATEO GONZALEZ, BRIAN M. LYNCH

ROCART, INC. NZK PRODUCTIONS, INC.

“THE BACHELOR” SEASON 24 DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DENNIS WEILER, CHAD GRIEPENTROG, ANDRE MARTINEZ OPERATORS: DOUG HENNING, MARK JUNGJOHANN, IVAN DURAN, MARTIN MOURINO, TIM STAHL, ANDREW RAKOW, EZRA EPWELL, NICK TULLY, ERICA SHUSHA, JEREMY GUY, SUZIE WEIS ASSISTANTS: YOGI NEELY, TYLER DETARSIO, DAVE OSTERBERG, THOR FRIDLEIFSSON, NICK MILLER, JAY STAMM, JEN CHMIELEWSKI, TAYLOR GILMARTIN CAMERA UTILITIES: APPLE SCHLOSSER, MICHAEL WILLIAMSON JIB OPERATOR: RANDY GOMEZ, JR. VIDEO CONTROLLERS: RICHARD STROCK, MARC SURETTE

“SIDE HUSTLE” SEASON 1 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL FRANKS OPERATORS: GEORGE LA FOUNTAINE, KRIS CONDE, ELI FRANKS, BOB MCCALL TECHNOJIB OPERATOR: ELI FRANKS TECHNOJIB TECH: COREY GIBBONS ASSISTANT: VERONICA DAVIDSON CAMERA UTILITIES: ERINN BELL, RICHARD FINE, CHRIS COBB DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: DEREK LANTZ VIDEO CONTROLLER: BARRY LONG

“AMERICAN CRIME STORY: IMPEACHMENT” SEASON 4 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: SIMON DENNIS, BSC OPERATORS: ERIC SCHILLING, JAMIE STERBA ASSISTANTS: DAVID LEB, NATHAN CRUM,

“YEARLY DEPARTED”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: PAULA HUIDOBRO OPERATORS: DAVID KISTER, BONNIE BLAKE, LAUREN GADD, JAMIE STEPHENS ASSISTANTS: AL COHEN, PENNY SPRAGUE, ROSIE OXNARD, MICHELE MCKINLEY, YEN NGUYEN, YOSHIHIRO KINOSHITA, JONATHAN STROMBERG, BEN PERRY, LOREN AZLEIN, JOEL FLETCHER DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: IAN SPOHR DIGITAL UTILITIES: WALLACE DIXON, GLENN AMPIL, TIM BALCOMB STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: NICOLE WILDER

SHOWTIME PICTURES

“CITY ON A HILL” SEASON 2 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JOSEPH COLLINS OPERATORS: EDGAR COLON, ERIC ROBINSON ASSISTANTS: JOHN REEVES, SCOTT KOENIGSBERG, SARAH SCRIVENER, MARC CHARBONNEAU DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JEFFREY HAGERMAN LOADERS: BRITTANY JELINSKI, MAX COLLINS

SAN VICENTE PRODUCTIONS, INC. “THE BLACKLIST” SEASON 8

PACIFIC 2/1 ENTERTAINMENT GROUP, INC.

STEADICAM OPERATOR: DEVIN LADD STEADICAM ASSISTANT: MIKE GUASPARI LOADERS: HAROLD ERKINS, MARK BOYLE

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: SAADE MUSTAFA, MICHAEL CARACCIOLO OPERATORS: DEREK WALKER, DEVIN LADD, PETER RENIERS ASSISTANTS: DANIEL CASEY, MIKE GUASPARI, JAMES GOURLEY, EDGAR VELEZ, EDWIN HERRERA, KATHERYN IUELE

SONY

“CALL YOUR MOTHER” SEASON 1 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: GARY BAUM, ASC OPERATORS: EDDIE FINE, RON HIRSCHMAN, DEBORAH O’BRIEN, DAVID DECHANT, BRIAN GUNTER

NOVEMBER 2020 PRODUCTION CREDITS

103

ASSISTANT: JASON HERRING VIDEO CONTROLLER: DEREK LANTZ UTILITIES: RICHIE FINE, DAN LORENZE STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: JESSICA BROOKS

“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: GARY TAILLON 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 CAMERA UTILITY: RAY THOMPSON HEAD UTILITY: TINO MARQUEZ VIDEO CONTROLLER: GARY TAILLON JIB ARM OPERATOR: MARC HUNTER STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: CAROL KAELSON

STALWART PRODUCTIONS

“FEAR THE WALKING DEAD” SEASON 6 DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JALALUDIN TRAUTMANN, BVK, RAMSEY NICKELL OPERATORS: RAMON ENGLE, KRIS HARDY ASSISTANTS: MARK BOYLE, THEDA CUNNINGHAM, SAM PEARCY, DON HOWE STEADICAM OPERATOR: RAMON ENGLE DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JAMIE METZGER DIGITAL UTILITY: JASON HEAD LOADER: LOUIS WATT TECHNOCRANE OPERATOR: JOE DATRI TECHNOCRANE TECH: RYAN CROCI REMOTE HEAD TECH: JOE DATRI STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: RYAN GREEN PUBLICIST: SHARA STORCH

“KEVIN CAN F**K HIMSELF” SEASON 1 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ADRIAN PENG CORREIA OPERATORS: SHANNON MADDEN, JOEL SAN JUAN ASSISTANTS: GREG WIMER, DEAN EGAN, JAMIE FITZPATRICK, MATT HEDGES LOADER: AUDREY STEVENS DIGITAL UTILITY: ANNI ABBRUZZESE STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: JOJO WHILDEN

THIMBLE PEA PICTURES, LLC

“UNTITLED ANNA DELVEY ART PROJECT” SEASON 1 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: TIMOTHY NORMAN OPERATORS: GEORGE BIANCHINI, GREG PRINCIPATO ASSISTANTS: ROBERT MANCUSO, NICHOLAS HAHN, JUSTIN MANCUSO, EVE STRICKMAN DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: DOUGLAS HORTON LOADER: JONATHAN PERALTA STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: NICOLE RIVELLI, LIZ FISHER, CHRIS SAUNDERS

TOPANGA PRODUCTIONS, INC. “FOR LIFE” SEASON 2

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: CLIFF CHARLES OPERATORS: ELI ARONOFF, RICARDO SARMIENTO ASSISTANTS: DEAN MARTINEZ, JELANI WILSON, KELLON INNOCENT, BRIAN GRANT LOADER: JAMES ABAMONT

104

NOVEMBER 2020 PRODUCTION CREDITS

TRULY ORIGINAL ENTERTAINMENT “SHAHS OF SUNSET” SEASON 9

OPERATORS: JOSH BARNET, JEREMIAH SMITH, TJ YERKE ASSISTANTS: CARLOS CAMACHO, LANCE HARWELL, MATT HACKBARTH

JEANNETTE HJORTH VIDEO CONTROLLER: KEVIN FAUST DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: BENJAMIN STEEPLES STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: ROBERT VOETS PUBLICIST: MARC KLEIN

“YOUNG SHELDON” SEASON 4

UNIVERSAL

“LAW & ORDER: SVU” SEASON 22 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL GREEN OPERATORS: JONATHAN HERRON, MICHAEL LATINO ASSISTANTS: CHRISTOPHER DEL SORDO, MATTHEW BALZARINI, JUSTIN ZVERIN, EMILY DUMBRILL LOADERS: MAX SCHWARZ, JASON GAINES STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: MICHAEL PARMELEE

VERTICAL HOLD PRODUCTIONS, LLC “PRODIGAL” SEASON 2

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ANTHONY WOLBERG, CHRISTOPHER RAYMOND OPERATORS: MALCOLM PURNELL, BRIAN JACKSON ASSISTANTS: ALEX WATERSTON, HAMILTON LONGYEAR, WARIS SUPANPONG, KEVIN HOWARD, KATIE WAALKES, RANDY SCHWARTZ CAMERA UTILITY: MCKENZIE RAYCROFT DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: KYO MOON LOADER: MATTIE HAMER

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BUZZ FEITSHANS, IV OPERATORS: NEIL TOUSSAINT, SOC, AARON SCHUH ASSISTANTS: MATTHEW DEL RUTH, GRANT YELLEN, BRAD GILSON, JR., JAMES COBB STEADICAM OPERATOR: AARON SCHUH STEADICAM ASSISTANT: GRANT YELLEN DIGITAL LOADERS: BAILEY SOFTNESS, JENISE WHITEHEAD STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: ROBERT VOETS, MICHAEL DESMOND, DARREN MICHAELS, NICOLE WILDER

WAR PARTY/SCULPTOR. “COP SHOP”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JUAN MIGUEL AZPIROZ OPERATOR: ALEX ELKINS ASSISTANTS: ANDREW BRINKMAN, BESS JOHNSON, SCOTT FORTE, AUSTIN TAYLOR DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: CHRIS RATLEDGE LOADER: ERIN STRICKLAND

WOODBRIDGE PRODUCTIONS WARNER BROS

“ALL RISE” SEASON 2 DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID HARP, AMANDA TREYZ OPERATORS: TIM ROARKE, STEPHEN CLANCY, SHANELE ALVAREZ ASSISTANTS: MATT GUIZA, KRISTI ARNDS, RANDY SHANOFSKY, ADAM TSANG, COLLEEN LINDL, BENNY BAILEY STEADICAM OPERATOR: STEPHEN CLANCY STEADICAM ASSISTANT: KRISTI ARNDS LOADER: PETER PEI DIGITAL UTILITIES: MORGAN JENKINS, KAREN CLANCY

“BOB HEARTS ABISHOLA” SEASON 2 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: PATTI LEE, ASC OPERATORS: MARK DAVISON, CHRIS HINOJOSA, JON PURDY, MICHELLE CRENSHAW ASSISTANTS: JEFF JOHNSON, VITO DE PALMA, MARIANNE FRANCO, ADAN TORRES, LISA ANDERSON, ALICIA BRAUNS, LANCE MITCHELL, JORDAN HRISTOV VIDEO CONTROLLER: JOHN O’BRIEN DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: T. BRETT FEENEY STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: MICHAEL YARISH PUBLICISTS: KATHLEEN TANJI, MARC KLEIN

“B POSITIVE” SEASON 1 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: GARY BAUM, ASC OPERATORS: ALEC ELIZONDO, TRAVERS HILL, LANCE BILLITZER, EDDIE FINE ASSISTANTS: ADRIAN LICCIARDI, MICHELE MCKINLEY, JEFF ROTH, CLINT PALMER, JASON HERRING DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: DEREK LANTZ VIDEO CONTROLLER: JOHN O’BRIEN UTILITIES: RICHARD FINE, DAN LORENZE

“MOM” SEASON 8 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: STEVEN V. SILVER, ASC OPERATORS: CARY MCCRYSTAL, JAMIE HITCHCOCK, SOC, DAMIAN DELLA SANTINA, CANDY EDWARDS ASSISTANTS: MEGGINS MOORE, NIGEL STEWART, SEAN ASKINS, MARK JOHNSON, WHITNEY JONES CAMERA UTILITIES: ALICIA BRAUNS, COLIN BROWN,

“S.W.A.T.” SEASON 4

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: FRANCIS KENNY, ASC, CRAIG FIKSE OPERATORS: TIM DOLAN, BRIAN PITTS, MICHAEL OTIS ROPERT ASSISTANTS: RYAN PARKS, LOGAN TURNER, THANE CHARACKY, RILEY PADELFORD, JUSTNI QUACH, MIKE FAUNTLEROY CAMERA UTILITY: CARL LAMMI LOADER: TREVOR BEELER

COMMERCIALS

“FABLETICS 2020 LIZA” DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: COREY E. WALTER OPERATOR: NICK MULLER ASSISTANTS: PAYAM YAZDANDOOST, ERICK AGUILAR, JOSEPH ASHI DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ZACK MARCHINSKY

1STAVEMACHINE

“WALMART BLACK FRIDAY DEALS” DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: RYAN CARMODY OPERATOR: ELI GOLDSTEIN ASSISTANTS: EVAN WILHELM, NOAH GLAZER DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: KYLE HOLLAR

HOUND

BISCUIT FILMWORKS “FEDEX”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: COREY JENNINGS ASSISTANTS: NICOLAS MARTIN, JEANNA KIM DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: WILSON CHUNG CRANE OPERATOR: CHRIS DICKSON

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ERIC SCHMIDT OPERATOR: ALAN CAUDILLO ASSISTANTS: LILA BYALL, ETHAN MCDONALD DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JOHN SPELLMAN

HUNGRY MAN, INC.

“NICKELODEON”

SIBLING RIVALRY

“ESPN: THE MANDALORIAN” DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: GARRETT HARDY DAVIS ASSISTANTS: KEN THOMPSON, DANTE CORROCHER STEADICAM OPERATOR: KOREY ROBINSON DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: MATTHEW RICHARDS

TOOL OF NORTH AMERICA “BOB ROSS”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: COREY E. WALTER ASSISTANTS: PAYAM YAZDANDOOST, ERICK AGUILAR, CHRIS MARIUS JONES DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ZACH MARCHINSKY

“AT&T”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: KAI SAUL ASSISTANTS: NICOLAS MARTIN, ALAN CERTEZA DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: BEN HOPKINS

“SPECTRUM” DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ERIC SCHMIDT ASSISTANTS: LILA BYALL, CARRIE LAZAR, GAVIN GROSSI DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JOHN SPELLMAN

“VERIZON”

“TIDE” DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JONATHAN FREEMAN OPERATOR: VINCE VENNITTI ASSISTANTS: RICK GIOIA, JOHN CLEMENS, JORDAN LEVIE, SCOTT MILLER DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: IAN EDWARDS

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ROBERT CHAPPELL OPERATOR: CHARLIE LIBIN ASSISTANTS: PETER MORELLO, TOM GRECO, NATE MCGARIGAL DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JEFF FLOHR

RADICAL MEDIA “ARTISTRY”

CMS PRODUCTIONS

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: TRISTAN SHERIDAN ASSISTANTS: JOHN CLEMENS, SCOTT MILLER STEADICAM OPERATOR: YOSHI TANG

“WALMART XBOX”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ERIC SCHMIDT ASSISTANTS: LILA BYALL, KIRA HERNANDEZ STEADICAM OPERATOR: CHRIS CUNNINGHAM DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: STAN PAIK

“HYUNDAI” DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: OLIVER MILLAR ASSISTANT: CARLA SOSA STEADICAM OPERATOR: OSVALDO SILVERA, SOC STEADICAM ASSISTANT: CAMILO JARQUIN

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NOVEMBER 2020 PRODUCTION CREDITS

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11.2020

Niko Tavernise UNIT STILL PHOTOGRAPHER THE TRIAL OF THE CHICAGO 7

“For the riot scenes in Chicago 7, we had several hundred protesters and cops all running around through a giant wall of smoke. Finding a shot while trying to stay out of the path of A-camera operator Mike Fuchs [SOC] and B-camera operator Al Pierce [SOC] – both operating handheld – in a sea of charging stunt actors swinging batons was a fun challenge. Seeing the images from the actual DNC protests in 1968, and shooting at the very same location where that happened, was intense. Just trying to honor those photographers who risked their lives for images back then was humbling, to say the least.”

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NO VEMBER 2020 NO VEMBER 2020

THE U N S CRIP T ED I S S UE

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