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4 OCTOBER 2023 BROADCAST NEWS FEATURE 01 Season 3 of The Morning Show is ripped straight from current events; its ready-foranything Guild camera team wouldn't have it any other way. 22 SPECIAL The Product Guide 2023 .... 54 PRODUCT GUIDE DEPARTMENTS book review ................ 12 depth of field ................ 16 exposure ................ 18 production credits ................ 80 stop motion .............. 84 October 2023 / Vol. 94 No. 09 SPECIAL 01 THE PRODUCT GUIDE 2023 Apple TV+'s Lessons in Chemistry delivers a textbook example of creative collaboration via Guild Directors of Photography Zack Galler and Jason Oldak. FEATURE 02 40 54 IN HER ELEMENT CONTENTS

PRESIDENT’S LETTER

Baird B

Forever Partners

Throughout this summer's work slowdown, our Guild has been focused on how to endure the many challenges we faced. But we can't forget our many industry partners and how they, too, have been feeling the crunch. I’m talking about our forever support system – rental companies, gear manufacturers, and their parts suppliers – and the challenges they’re facing with a good chunk of the industry still not back to work. These are companies made up of people, including current Local 600 members who have transitioned into full-time gear production, who have made sure union film technicians are kept current with the many changing technologies – for decades.

We see their commitment every day on set, as well as throughout the year at trade shows like HPA, NAB and Cine Gear Expo, which I attended in 2022 at the L.A. Convention Center. The presentations of the many new technologies were incredible to behold. I was especially impressed by longtime Local 600 Operator Randy Nolen, SOC, who was at Cine Gear representing the company he started, ROVECAM Cine Stabilization Inc (based around the AGITO remote/robotic/ rover/ dolly, which won an SOC Technical Achievement Award in 2022).

These companies are not just people who sell or rent gear to our members. In the case of the ECA’s, which hosted its Silver Anniversary event this past weekend, we’re talking about 25 years of support for Guild operators and technicians who are striving to become directors of photography. And while the work actions may have slowed down production, they haven’t stalled the incredible commitment our industry partners have given to the ECA’s, year after year after year (or the creativity shown by this membership at the event itself).

The impact these partners have on this union cannot be overstated. They donate camera equipment, lighting elements, filters – you name it – to the ECA’s every year, as well as tens of thousands of dollars, which directly benefit Local 600’s Scholarship Fund. You could say the help they give is a winwin-win situation, as the ECA’s not only support the rising careers of Guild members but also the extended families of this union’s membership.

I’d like to thank all of our “forever partners” and the support they’ve shown for union filmmakers throughout these challenging last few months. It’s great to know someone has your back – not only in the best of times, but during the rough patches, too.

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Steptoe Photo by Scott Everett White National President International Cinematographers Guild IATSE Local 600

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April 13–17, 2024

WES ANDERSON: THE ICONIC FILMMAKER AND HIS WORK

REVIEWED BY DAVID GEFFNER

12 OCTOBER 2023 BOOK REVIEW

You can love Wes Anderson’s movie s (and you can be very perplexed by them). But most readers of this new biography will come away with a finer appreciation for a filmmaker whose 10 features (Anderson’s eleventh, Asteroid City, was released after the book’s publication) author Ian Nathan describes as “beautifully arranged…all put together with the precision of a Swiss watch.” Divided into 10 chapters, one for each film, Nathan’s book leaves little doubt of Anderson’s rightful claim (with a slight challenge from Tim Burton and the Coen brothers) of being the most idiosyncratic Hollywood filmmaker in the last 30 years. (Contrary to popular belief, all of Anderson’s films were either financed or distributed - or both - by a major studio.)

Personally, I’m a big fan of Anderson’s supremely stylized (sometimes bizarre) approach to cinematic storytelling. That includes a religious approach to art direction; the use of primary colors that would enthrall any first-grader; and the overly static, always center-punched framing that harks back to one of his heroes, Japanese master Yasujirõ Ozu.

But he’s not everyone’s cup of tea. And by placing the phrase “Unofficial and Unauthorized” on the book cover, Nathan lets readers know straight

away he hears the critics. The author, who says he threw himself “down the rabbit hole” into “the bipolar Brigadoon of Andersonland” after Rushmore (1998), writes like a doting parent who occasionally goes red-cheeked with embarrassment over his kid’s excessive habits.

Consider this passage from the chapter on The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004), which, at 56 percent on Rotten Tomatoes, is the worst-reviewed of Anderson’s films. “What once had been brilliant eccentricity was seen as meandering toward the purely annoying,” Nathan writes. “Anderson was dangerously close to ‘over-calculated, under-fed whimsy,’ reported Anthony Quinn in the Independent Questions were asked in film circles. Could there be too much Anderson for its own good?”

That’s a query Nathan mostly leaves hanging, as he’s more concerned with unlocking the mechanics (and sources) of the filmmaker’s gifts. That includes details (in the chapter on The Royal Tenenbaums) about the creative partners who have helped shape Anderson’s vision – actors and writers who include Bill Murray, Owen and Luke Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Adrien Brody and Roman Coppola. Real estate is also given to those contributions from the many behind-

the-camera regulars who give Anderson’s films such a distinctive imprint. They include Production Designers Mark Friedberg and Adam Stockhausen, four-time Oscar-winning Costume Designer Milena Canonero, and, most notably, Local 600 Director of Photography Robert Yeoman, ASC, who has shot every one of Anderson’s features going back to his debut film, Bottle Rocket, in 1996.

In recounting how the director and DP became linked, Nathan writes: “‘No one at that time had any idea that he would become what he has become,’ said cinematographer Robert Yeoman, who had received a polite letter from Anderson telling him how much he liked [Yeoman’s] work on Gus Van Sant’s Drugstore Cowboy and asking if he might like to join his debut venture (to this day the cameraman has no idea how he got his address).”

Nathan adds that “Yeoman has now served as cinematographer on all of Anderson’s live-action films, witnessing that idiosyncratic rubric evolve: the ninety-degree whip pans, the graceful dolly shots, and two techniques inspired by Martin Scorsese: God’s-eye view inserts of notepads and tabletops, and slow-motion montages to classic rock and roll.” The author devotes a standalone page to

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“the distinctive shots used to create the ‘Anderson touch.’” But before that illuminating breakdown on camera and framing (in the chapter on The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou), he explains the director’s signature shot: “the ninety-degree angle framing or Planimetric Shot.”

Within the chapter on Rushmore, Nathan offers a “concise history” of the Planimetric Shot, “as classified by the art historian Heinrich Wölfflin.” He writes that the technique has been utilized by giants of Hollywood filmmaking – Stanley Kubrick, Jean-Luc Godard, Buster Keaton, and, of course, Yasujirõ Ozu –among them. “This painterly method involves standing perpendicular to a background in front of which the actors can be arranged like clothes on a line or a police line-up,” Nathan describes. “In Anderson’s hands, a single character is often perfectly centered and looking outwards past the camera. The first thing cinematographer Robert Yeoman does on their latest film is figure out how to center the character in the frame; he then waits for his director to smile.”

Given the many pop-culture influences Anderson draws from (they range from French oceanographer

Jacques Cousteau to Peanuts cartoonist Charles Schultz), corralling so many ideas into a single scene, shot or even frame is no easy task. Fortunately, Anderson found a like-minded artist in Yeoman, whose contributions cannot be overstated. In “The Wes Anderson Toolbox,” Nathan breaks down the key shots in all of Anderson’s films. They include “perfect symmetry,” where “the frame is organized so that the most important elements are slap-bang in the middle, with the camera at ninety degrees to the subject. You could run a line horizontally down the center of the frame and each side would mirror the other.”

In explaining the composition (a favorite of Ozu’s), Nathan says “filmmakers tend to avoid such formalism because it feels staged (which it is). It also makes editing more apparent.” As for those critics who “snipe” at such predictable framing/staging, Nathan says the same charge was leveled at Ozu, with critics calling the Japanese filmmaker “stuck in his ways, producing the same compositions again and again.” But Nathan’s quick to add that what Anderson and Ozu share is “the principle that the unbalanced inner world of their characters is made both more pronounced and more poignant when [viewed] against pure geometry.”

Other repeatable frames Yeoman (and his camera operators) have executed over the years include “the long dolly shot,” which is done “as smoothly as possible” and almost always from “left to right” with “the camera restricted to an x/y axis.” The overhead shot used “to reveal key information” is another frequent motif. As Nathan writes: “The focus of such shots often comes in the guise of lists, letters, homework, open books, the content of cases, maps, escape plans, record players, control panels, and further Anderson paraphernalia.”

Given the level of control Anderson exerts over his films, what Nathan describes as moviemaking “on a molecular level,” it seems fitting his two stopmotion efforts rank at the top for many critics. In the opening of his chapter on Fantastic Mr. Fox, Nathan writes that “Anderson’s approach to live action is so methodical and hyperrealistic that it might as well have been shot frame by frame. So, it seemed perfectly natural to make a full-length stop-motion enquiry into the fissured psychology of a suave fox.”

While Fox may have been a natural progression, its production was anything but. Nathan describes how the slow, exacting process of stop-motion moviemaking (the movie took two years to complete

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at a rate of about six seconds of screen time per day) allowed the director little to do once animation was underway, so “Anderson chose to direct as much as he could from his apartment in Paris.” Nathan writes how “utilizing modern communications technology – ironically, for a film so determinedly analogue in its style, state-of-the-art Apple software would be required for Anderson to monitor the production from afar – he could have real-time access to individual frames, sending and answering hundreds of emails a day.”

While Fantastic Mr. Fox opened to what Nathan calls “a gush of career-best reviews,” its modest box office ($46 million worldwide) is lamented by the author, who calls it “a lovely, vibrant film…funny and charming well beyond the arthouse underground.” In trying to ascertain why the project didn’t break out, Nathan adds, “the fact of the matter is that Fantastic Mr. Fox was greeted as a Wes Anderson film: a winning formula for devoted fans, but one with no escape from the label of arrested adolescence.”

Which brings us to one of Anderson’s most grown-up and (strangely) controversial movies: Isle of Dogs. Devoting another two full years to refine his journey through stop-motion filmmaking, Dogs (co-

written by his The Darjeeling Limited partners, Roman Coppola and Jason Schwartzman) is Anderson’s most overtly political tale, questioning the nature of governments and democracy just as Donald Trump became our 45th president. Set in Japan twenty years in the future, the film also aroused what Nathan calls “accusations of a Western artist superimposing his droll agenda on another culture.”

In truth, the film’s story – dogs are exiled to a moldering trash heap of an island by an evil local politician (voiced by Kunichi Nomura) – was an extended homage to the nation that inspired Anderson’s career in cinema. With its robot dogs and many anime and video game references (the film’s human protagonist is named Atari), Nathan says Dogs “comes under the heading of Wes Anderson’s First Science Fiction Film. But it leans backwards in time, mixing ancient samurai movie iconography and the clunky, sixties doodads of his previous films.”

For me, Isle of Dogs is the filmmaker’s signature project. Every frame is controlled in a way that he’s yet to even achieve in his live-action films. Plus, the visual nods to his two creative muses, Ozu and Kurosawa, are so plain they could serve as key art for those masters’ best work (except for the dogs).

As for how Trash Island is rendered so compellingly, Nathan says the solution was pure Wes Anderson.

“How do you have twenty-five visually interesting areas on a garbage dump? Anderson’s answer was simple: ‘All garbage is super-organized.’”

Still, in the end, even an inventive (unhinged?) genius like Anderson (Dogs featured 2,200 puppets populating 240 sets built across 44 stages) is nothing without his production partners. And Nathan sums up Anderson’s visual bravado by quoting one of Isle of Dogs’ stars. “‘It’s an inspired molecular universe created by an immensely visionary and technologically crack team,’ boasted Tilda Swinton,” whom Nathan adds in what may be a logline for a typical Wes Anderson film, “returns [to Anderson’s stock company] in the part of a bug-eyed pug called Oracle, who can see into the future (basically because she is able to decipher television weather reports).”

Wes Anderson: The Iconic Filmmaker and His Work White Lion Publishing, an imprint of the Quarto Group

978-0-71125-599-9 (hardcover) $38.00

978-0-71125-600-2 (ebook) $25.99

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THE ENTERTAINMENT COMMUNITY FUND

BY PAULINE ROGERS

It's not just words – it’s actions. When industry members say they are there to support their brothers and sisters, they mean it in every way possible. And the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors' Fund) is a shining example of such words put into action, particularly during this current work stoppage crisis.

Just ask four-time Oscar nominee Annette Bening, chair of the Board of Trustees for the Entertainment Community Fund, who describes the Fund as a “safety net for everyone who works in the entertainment industry – especially during times of great need. And we’ve been helping for more than 140 years. As our community faces challenges and an interruption in work again, I just want you to know that the Fund can help.”

Bening told her fellow artisans, “If you or someone you know is affected by the current work stoppage and needs a hand, please reach out to us. We can provide emergency financial assistance to those in need to cover basic living expenses, including rent, medical care, and grocery bills.”

To date, the Fund, whose self-described mission is to “foster stability and resiliency, and provide a safety net for performing arts and entertainment professionals over their lifespan,” has raised and distributed more than $6 million to more than 2,885 film and television workers in need across the country, with California in the lead, followed by Atlanta and New York. It’s important to the Fund that industry members, even those in smaller regions away from production hubs, know there are peers and colleagues available to help. The Fund also helps professionals in disciplines other than film and television, providing support to those in music, theater, opera and dance.

One person at the forefront of the Fund’s effort during the recent work slow-down has been Keith McNutt, executive director for the Western Region. “We’ve been doing disaster relief for decades,” McNutt explains. “We’re always there for natural disasters, recessions, and work stoppages. Something happens, we gear up and put everything

in place for crisis mode.”

But COVID was something new altogether. Like the rest of the world, the Fund moved its services online during the pandemic, including the application process for emergency financial assistance, to make things smoother and faster.

“[Moving online] has also allowed our personnel and volunteers to provide one-on-one support,” McNutt continues. “Social workers are available to talk to people to find out what’s happening. Sometimes it’s about paying the rent, dealing with a mother who has cancer, or being able to connect our members to support like Medicare. It’s also about dealing with the anxiety and depression members feel but don’t understand. We know you can’t do it alone.”

On May 1, the day before the WGA began its five-month strike (just recently settled), the Fund went into crisis mode, using the program that was developed for COVID as a template.

“It was different this time,” McNutt describes. “[The strikes] happened so soon after the pandemic. People didn’t have enough time to build up the reserves lost during that crisis. So, we’ve had to expand the cone of applications.”

The Fund has tried to make the process as simple as possible and respond as quickly as possible. To those there to support industry members, the increase in grant applications was astonishing. In an average year, the Fund distributes about $75,000 of emergency financial assistance a week. It rose quickly to $200,000, then $400,000, and as much as $700,000 per week. The average grant is $2,000 per single person and $3,000 for a family.

While the application process (including an extensive conversation with a real person that often identifies more than a financial crisis) takes about two weeks – the Fund also allows for a crisis within days or hours. “If it’s eviction or the sheriff is on the way tomorrow, for example, we can distribute the money needed right into people’s checking accounts,” McNutt explains. The grants generally cover basic life expenses, including rent, groceries,

medical bills, and more. “We also can provide fallback support,” he adds.

What is also essential to the Fund, and for members in need, is that when it comes to health insurance, the expense of Cobra isn’t always the next step. “We have health insurance counseling programs people can explore before Cobra,” McNutt shares. “Our staff helps identify the best option. There are different Affordable Care Act options from our partners at MPTF. And other outside sources. Because our insurance counselors aren’t tied to one plan, they deal with honest brokers to fit just about every situation.”

Another area the Fund encourages members to explore is the mental health concerns that come with any crisis. It’s not a weakness to reach out – it’s a strength. “We know there is a tremendous fear about the future,” McNutt says. “There is a concern about how to support families, how long [a crisis] will last, the feeling of being alone and isolated. That’s why we have support groups actively running year-round, and why we’re here to help people find the right one.” Research for this and other areas, by the way, are available on the Fund’s website.

And it isn’t just during crisis mode that the Fund supports union members – it’s everyday issues, as well. They have people available to help when members need to look for a new job or build a different career in the industry. To date, donors have turned out in force to raise more than $7.6 million from more than 9500 sources, including The Katie McGrath and JJ Abrams Family Foundation, Stacey Abrams, Annette Bening, Tom Bergeron, Greg Berlanti, Rachel Bloom, Rosanne Cash in memory of Johnny Cash, Suzanne Collins and Cap Pryor, Minnie Driver, Vince Gilligan, Seth MacFarlane, Lynn Nottage, Michelle Pfeiffer and David E. Kelley, and Daniel Radcliffe and Shonda Rhimes, along with many other industry members who count themselves safe and are concerned for their fellow creatives.

As Bening concludes, “If you need help, or if you can give help – please visit entertainmentcommunity. org – and reach out.”

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MIMI LEDER

EXECUTIVE PRODUCER/DIRECTOR THE MORNING SHOW BY PAULINE ROGERS PHOTOS BY ERIN SIMKIN / APPLE TV+

“The eyes are the window into our hearts and our souls. The eyes reveal the truth. Close-ups capture the emotion of the actor’s intent in that precise moment. There is nothing like a big close-up, lit perfectly, to achieve that,” explains two-time-Emmy-award-winning Director/Producer Mimi Leder, who also counts 10 Emmy nominations and three DGA nominations (TV directing) among her industry honors. The first woman to graduate from AFI in cinematography, Leder began as a script supervisor, directing small projects independently. A screening of her short film Short Order Dreams brought her to the attention of Steven Bochco and Gregory Hoblit, and earned Leder her first directing job on the hit TV series L.A. Law

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Later on, Emmys for directing/producing on ER helped Leder gain an introduction to Steven Spielberg, who facilitated her subsequent breaking of the glass ceiling for women in directing action/ VFX, with features like The Peacemaker and Deep Impact

However, when Pay It Forward didn’t perform to box office expectations, causing feature assignments to taper off, Leder moved back into television. Whatever the format – features or episodic series – two experiences stand out for Leder as turning points in her career – The Leftovers and On the Basis of Sex

Now, as executive producer/director of The Morning Show (page 22), she works intimately with her crew and also has fun recreating (or stealing) ideas from her own past work (in visual effects, for example).

“It’s like a jazz riff. The ideas keep evolving,” Leder smiles. And so does this dynamo’s career. In the works are several more features, including the story of her father, Paul Leder, and her filmmaking family. “It has the feel of Day for Night and Boogie Nights,” she shares. “I feel I grew up inside those movies –except for the porn!”

You were raised in a Jewish household in Los Angeles. Your mother was a Holocaust survivor. How did either (or both) influence your outlook/ career? I was raised in an unusual Jewish household. My father was an atheist, my mother an agnostic. Our home was filled with love, laughter, nourishment, books, storytelling and strangers who

became friends and family. Our home celebrated life and what it meant to be honest and grateful. My mother survived four concentration camps and the Death March. After surviving and losing her entire family, something most people cannot even imagine, she had a hard time believing God existed. If there is a God, how could he let this happen? Being a child of a Holocaust survivor definitely shaped the way I see the world and had a great influence on the way I live my life and the lens I see it through.

Many people don’t know that you majored in cinematography at AFI. What was it like to be the first woman to graduate from AFI in that discipline and why the switch from cinematography to directing? When I was 20 years young, I wanted to be a cinematographer and directed and shot a short film. I loved the camera, so I applied to the AFI as a cinematographer. They said: 'Why don’t you come in as a director?' But I wanted to come in as a cinematographer and learn as much as I could about the power of the lens. Of course, during my first year there, I realized I wanted to be a director. At the AFI, many greats – David Lean and Gordon Willis, to name just a few – came through and lectured. It was a phenomenal gift to hear them speak of their experiences. AFI gave me a great foundation and a great understanding of cinema. That was the beginning of my journey.

You started in the industry as a script supervisor for low-budget films and then TV ( Hill Street

Blues). What did you learn from that job that you brought to your directing? My father, Paul Leder, was an ultra-low-budget B-feature filmmaker from the 1960s into the 90s. Me and my siblings worked on a lot of his films, learning every job that it took to make a movie. It was an unbelievably fun and joyful time. My father was my mentor in life and filmmaking. I learned everything from him. Most importantly, a set runs on respect. On Hill Street Blues , I worked as a script supervisor as a means to make a living. Along the way, I learned from some of the best, like Greg Hoblit, as well as some of the worst directors who will remain nameless. [Laughs.] It was like going to school. I was constantly evaluating the methods and thought processes of how to tell a story. How would I tell this story differently? It was an invaluable experience.

You won several Emmy Awards for directing and producing ER. The last brought you to the attention of Steven Spielberg, to direct The Peacemaker How did his mentorship influence your work today? It’s no secret that Steven Spielberg is one of our most brilliant filmmakers. His body of work is astounding. His work certainly influenced my work on a deeply emotional and visual level like no other. Steven saw in me that I had the ability to tell any story I believed in. He saw my work on ER and knew I could direct an action film! I wasn’t sure I could, but he sure was. He saw the way I used the camera on a seven-page scene that I would shoot in one single shot. He saw my use of the Steadicam on ER, which

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became a signature of that show. Steven saw me. Not as a female filmmaker but as a filmmaker. Period. He believed in me enough to put Dreamwork’s first feature in my hands. It was quite an honor, and it was terrifying. It was one of the great experiences of my career.

How did the lack of success for Pay It Forward change your trajectory? I simply reoriented myself and went back to television, where I thrived creatively. I feel I was lucky to be part of the many groundbreaking shows I worked on. It was an experience that was painful and turned into one of my great creative outputs. My approach to directing television and features is the same, however. How best do I tell the story? What does it feel like? What does it look like? What is the color palette? If I had one single image to tell this story with, what would that be? The script gives you the breadcrumbs in search of that one single frame.

On the Basis of Sex was your first feature in 18 years. How did this come about? Was it in any way influenced by your childhood? I was offered quite a few films during that time, but not great ones. The stories on TV were far more interesting. I wanted to tell stories that mattered. My manager, Jon Levin, brought me On the Basis of Sex with Robert Cort producing, and written by Daniel Stiepleman, Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s nephew. I read the script and immediately jumped in and developed it with them. I loved it. I felt I had to do this movie. I felt

many commonalities with RBG. Not that I would ever compare my accomplishments to hers, but I understood the breaking of the glass ceiling, being a working mother, a woman in a long-term marriage, an equal authentic partnership, and inequality in the workplace. I understood her and Marty’s love story and how their relationship enabled RBG to follow her path and profoundly change the world. It was such an honor to bring her story to life on the big screen.

Was The Leftovers another turning point in your career? You were brought in by HBO as a firstseason episode director and then hired as a coshowrunner. The Leftovers was indeed the most life-changing experience I have had in my career. And it is because of the most brilliant writer on the planet, Damon Lindelof. [ The Atlantic , 2017] I would say I had a very deep connection to the mindbending emotional material; first, the novel, written by Tom Perrotta, blew my mind. If you haven’t read the book or seen the show, it is about what happens after a rapture-like event suddenly causes two percent of the world’s population to disappear. It’s emotional and character-driven and looks at how the family members left behind struggle to come to terms with their new reality and what could be the end of the world. The book took my breath away. Damon’s and Tom’s exploration of this inexplicable, mysterious event and the search for the answers, the questioning of religion and what it does for people emotionally, good and bad, was fascinating. The themes of what it means to be human – how do

we face our mortality, what are the answers – are there any answers? What are the belief systems we tell ourselves to survive in this life? Going on this journey of self-discovery, accepting that sometimes there are no answers. I loved the writing and the magnificent actors, all coming together on this meaningful journey.

Often, the DP (and showrunner) are the constants in episodics, and guest directors come in and out, adapting to the established style. Can you talk about the creative importance of the DP in episodic – and your approach as a director on something like The Morning Show today versus L.A. Law or China Beach 30-plus years ago? Greg Hoblit was the first director/producer in television. I was the second – on China Beach. So, the position has evolved over the years. When you direct the pilot of a show for television, it is just like directing a feature film. You set the tone. You set the look. You set everything. In the making of the pilot, you work very closely with your DP to create all of that alongside the production designer. In a series, you depend upon your DP to continue and evolve the look of the series. I work very closely with the DP and the directors I bring onto the show. You want the show to have a visual continuity and to also grow. The DP makes sure that happens. In series, you don’t want to reinvent the wheel, but I definitely want the directors who come on to direct to bring their incredible artistry so the show hopefully grows in its storytelling.

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BROADCAST

FEATURE 01

Season 3 of The Morning Show is ripped straight from current events; its ready-for-anything Guild camera team wouldn't have it any other way.

BY PAULINE ROGERS PHOTOS BY ERIN SIMKIN / APPLE TV+ FRAMEGRABS COURTESY OF APPLE TV+

BROADCAST NEWS

From a trip into outer space to an attack on The Capitol, Season 3 of Apple TV+’s critically acclaimed dramatic series The Morning Show amps up the excitement in the lives of its two on-air reporters (Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon) and the people who support them – or are out to get them. To help create a different look for Season 3, EP/Director Mimi Leder (Exposure, page 18) brought in two accomplished Guild directors of photography, John Grillo and Tami Reiker, ASC. Grillo says his discussions in preparing for the new season “delved into the intricacies of shooting locations; a significant portion involved capturing Los Angeles while portraying it as New York and Texas. Additionally, we embarked on the challenge of creating a spacecraft and visualizing zero-gravity in the first episode.” There were also conscious changes in the approach to lighting and camera that included a grounded aura and a touch of cinéma vérité, both of which aimed to dive deeper into the characters’ introspection.

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“Achieving this meant experimenting with longer lenses and physically immersing ourselves in the actors’ space, a choice that brought their emotions into sharp focus,” Grillo continues. “Given the web of secrets, consequential dilemmas and betrayals that define the season, much of the drama is in the nuances and realm of close-ups, particularly within the actors’ eyes,” he describes. “Mimi’s adage – ‘It’s all about the eyes’ – became our guiding principle.” Grillo notes that for specific scenes, his Local 600 camera team used rigs like the Skater Scope relay system in handheld setups. “A-Camera Operator Chris Cuevas fearlessly brought the camera within inches of the actors’ faces, capturing fleeting moments that hold tremendous significance,” the DP adds.

Second AC Kalli Kouf notes that “the Skater was always oriented differently for each Cory scene [UBA News Division President Cory Ellison, played by Billy Crudup]. Sometimes Chris would operate low to the ground, sometimes on his shoulder, creating a challenge for [focus puller] Dennis Geraghty and me to mount the handles for different operating. With such a shallow depth of field, controlled by Chris on the Skater Scope, Dennis would have to pull focus on the lens by eye, not knowing our shooting stop. It was a waltz between Dennis and Chris, with Chris leading the macro on the Skater, and Dennis following with the focus on the lens.”

Cuevas says the introspective approach to camera was drawn from working with director Michael Mann. “I like handholding these shots,” Cuevas recounts. “Being able to go from high to low, follow an arm, dig in on an eyeball. I like to manhandle the thing, but it is awkward, as you have to always consider the orientation of the lens to optimize your movement and what part of the shot is most important. For example, do I need to be at ground level and get up to this person’s eye? I may start in a squatted position, hunched over, and by the time I reach my final position, I’m not trying to hold the thing over my head.”

Grillo says they wanted to create a grounded and realistic look for Season 3. “So, I didn’t think we needed to shoot in 8K large format like they had done in previous seasons on the DXL,” he explains. “While it’s a fantastic camera, it wasn’t ideal for getting more intimate with the characters. You just don’t want a large-format 8K sensor two feet away from Jennifer Aniston or any other actor. I had heard about the new ARRI Alexa 35 that was coming out – it has a Super 35 sensor and shoots slightly above 4K, which is accepted by all the streamers. Best of all, because it’s Super 35, it opens the door

to using a myriad of lenses that have been forgotten because of the popularity of largeformat sensors.”

To complement the new Super 35 sensor, Grillo and his team shot an extensive blind lens test, about 15 different types of primes and zooms. “My second AC gave each lens a particular code name and kept the list a secret from me,” he recalls. “We had Jennifer’s stand-in with us and spent the entire day combining lenses with diffusion filters, coated and uncoated glass, flares, et cetera. In the end, the old ARRI Ultra Prime was the lens that came back with all the attributes we needed –softer fall-off in contrast, slight halation for less saturated colors, decent size for handheld work, and nice flare control. Those lenses came out in the 1990s and are basically an updated version of the classic Zeiss Super Speeds. We liked the idea of using glass designed for 35-millimeter film resolution on an S35 ARRI 4.6K sensor. It felt like going back to basics and being grounded in reality again, and there wouldn’t have to be more discussions about lens conversions that confused most directors and even myself.”

Grillo recounts one lens he added to the arsenal for Aniston and Witherspoon’s closeups. “The 65-millimeter Masterbuilt is so wellbalanced in color and contrast, and slightly warmer than the Ultra Primes,” he reveals. “It’s a large-format lens translating into a longer field of view on the Super 35, but it was too big and heavy to carry the whole set for our purposes. We called it the ‘Jennifer/Reese lens,’ depending on who was on set. Mimi and I mostly used the 40-millimeter Ultra Prime, which we called ‘the Gordon Willis’ because I remember reading that it was his favorite millimeter lens. If I had to pick only one lens to shoot an entire movie, it would be the 40 millimeter.

“The other thing I noticed with the Alexa 35,” Grillo continues, “was that shooting in high ISO settings, such as 3200 ASA, added noise, but in a pleasant way. It was almost imperceptible. I also took advantage of ARRI textures and used the Cosmetic setting for the entire show.”

Lighting changes were subtle and interesting. Locations needed to feel similar to past seasons but also slightly altered. Or as Chief Lighting Technician Walter Bithell describes: “Less polished, but Jennifer and Reese still had to look good. We chose a variety of methods to light the main actors based on space and time. We relied on ARRI SkyPanels with DoPchoice Snapbags and Snapgrids, Astera Helios and Titans inside Launais/Mall Design Lightsocks, LED Hudson Spider Redback & Mozzie units bounced into umbrellas, Creamsource Vortex 8’s and ARRI

OPPOSITE PAGE: FOR SEASON 3, DP'S GRILLO AND REIKER MADE CHANGES IN THE APPROACH TO LIGHTING AND CAMERA THAT INCLUDED LONGER LENSES TO GET DEEPER INTO THE CHARACTERS' PSYCHES. "MUCH OF THE DRAMA IS IN THE NUANCES AND REALM OF CLOSEUPS, PARTICULARLY WITHIN THE ACTORS’ EYES,” GRILLO DESCRIBES. “MIMI’S ADAGE – ‘IT’S ALL ABOUT THE EYES’ – BECAME OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLE.”

26 OCTOBER 2023

OPPOSITE PAGE: DIT SHANNON COOK, WHO HAS BEEN WITH THE SHOW SINCE SEASON 1, TOOK PRESSURE OFF GRILLO AND REIKER WITH ON-SET DUTIES LIKE MONITORING OF VIDEO SIGNALS, IMAGE QUALITY, AND MANAGEMENT OF CAMERA ASSETS. “WE RAN THREE CAMERAS EVERY DAY, AND USUALLY IT WAS ALL THREE AT ONCE.," COOK DESCRIBES. "THAT MEANT A LOT OF OFFAXIS SHOOTING, MIXING PRIME AND ZOOM LENSES, AND HAVING A PLAN FOR RECEIVING CAMERA VIDEO SIGNALS FROM THREE LOCATIONS. "

360s. And also a light Tami Reiker created.”

“It’s a light I had made in Vancouver,” explains Reiker. “It’s a 12-inch-by-12-inch bi-colored, wireless fixture with color temperatures ranging from 2600-6000 Kelvin. It’s powered by frontfacing LED’s and has a silky soft milked lens. It’s primarily used with a 24-inch snoot in addition to either a wide 90-degree or tight 40-degree grid, depending on the distance/spread intended. The ‘Tami’ has two circular mattes, which can be affixed to the front of the light, allowing the user to change the square shape of the light to a circle, as well as restrict the diameter size on the front of the fixture. Using different combinations of grid sizes and matte sizes, it can be used as a key, fill, or even as an eye light over the top of the camera. While using a circular matte, the light reflects as a perfect circle, which, depending on the setting, can be a natural or stylized reflection in the subject’s eye. One of the key benefits is its ability to pick up a fixed spot or subject without extraneous grip support.”

Bithell says that keeping the look of the show consistent from episode to episode, with two DP's, with two distinct styles was a fun challenge. "It's like two people agreeing to travel to the same destination, with the same arrival time," Bithell shares. "Each travels separately, chooses separate transportation, and picks different routes to the final destination. If all goes well, they arrive at the same time and place. The only thing they have in common are their drivers. The camera, grip and lighting team were the drivers.”

In describing Grillo’s and Reiker’s approaches, Bithell notes that “John liked to broadly light sets and locations and make tweaks and adjustments on the day. He wanted the flexibility to diverge from the plan and follow those unexpected moments on set. An actor’s look. The way a shadow falls across their faces or eyes. The things you don’t discover until rehearsal right before you shoot. John’s is an organic approach, so being flexible served that well.

“Tami, on the other hand,” Bithell adds, “likes to map out specific choices and have extensive plans to execute as intended. Choice of exact lighting instruments. Specific placement. Light levels and color temperatures. We used more lights, with multiple placements, to anticipate as many variables as we could logistically and financially accommodate, to give Tami what she needed.”

and meetings with the other DP. We synthesized as much information as possible from both DP’s, and came up with a unified plan that met everyone’s requirements within the budget.”

Also key were the contributions of DIT Shannon Cook, who has been with the show since Season 1. Cook’s concentration on on-set monitoring, video signal, image quality, and management of camera assets took pressure off Grillo and Reiker. As Cook describes: “We ran three cameras every day, and usually it was all three at once. That meant a lot of off-axis shooting, mixing prime and zoom lenses, and having a plan for receiving camera video signals from three locations. This season, our show’s loader, Emily Tapanes, supported me. We worked with some of the first three ALEXA 35 cameras to hit Hollywood. Key First AC Dennis Gereghty and Second AC Kalli Kouf were unboxing the new camera bodies from their manufacturing packaging at prep.”

Cook says one big technical aid came from using tools like those found in Blackmagic’s Ultrastudio. “I’m capturing a low-res [ProRes proxy codec] video file of each camera in that camera’s log signal [with Pomfort’s Livegrade Pro] for all of us,” Cook adds. “By capturing low-res files, I can hold onto hundreds of days of reference imagery without taxing hard drive space. I can make color correction decisions on set by capturing the files in a log signal format.

“We can also change my color work after the cameras cut,” he continues. “This allowed John and Tami to review important takes privately, where we could see if the take we just shot was as technically sound as we had perceived. We could see if we missed a faulty light source or a double reflection from a stacked filter. The stress of seeing all images and simultaneously judging their technical quality has been simplified since we began reference capturing.”

Although the show would normally rotate DP’s by episode, schedules became complex (often due to new Season 3 actor John Hamm’s availability), and some days would be half Reiker and half Grillo. “Under these circumstances, it required major planning sessions between John and Tami,” Bithell continues. “Key Grip Richard Mall worked on every episode with me, and we'd break away while shooting with John or Tami to attend scouts

One challenge both DP’s had in Season 3 was cheating Los Angeles for New York City. “But, with the correct use of long lenses and selective focus, you can get away with a lot on certain streets in Downtown L.A.,” Grillo states. “Hot dog stands and steam are a must. I had a running joke with [1st AD] Anne Berger – “More cowbell!” – because she had loads of Yellow Cabs in all our shots. For wide shots, we needed help from VFX for some skyscrapers in the background. The quality of light is also different, although that’s something that most people wouldn’t notice. New York has a crisper look because of less smog in the sky.”

The team also had a challenge in Episode 4, making Cory’s mansion in the Pacific Palisades look like the Hamptons. “It was supposed to be a beautiful sunny day for a massive party scene with over 100 extras – in a span of five shooting days that starts in the afternoon and goes into the night,” Grillo recounts. “But we had to shoot the first day

29 OCTOBER 2023

in overcast weather with a 20-by-20 silk for rain protection outside for the party. Our open shot starts with a view of the [non-existent] beach and pans to a close-up of Nicole Beharie, whose hair is noticeably wet as she walks away from the view with Karen Pittman. As they turn and walk away, we reveal the party and the wet grass with puddles everywhere. It’s a testament to our VFX team, led by Eric Hayden, that they could take this dreary scene and fix Nicole’s hair, dry the grass, and create a beautiful Hamptons beach.”

Hayden adds that “Barnstorm VFX did a brilliant job of compositing the backgrounds as well as changing the olive trees into a species native to New York. The sky needed to be replaced in every shot to make it look like a beautiful sunny day. And Digital Domain came in to help us fix Nicole’s hair to keep her curls perfect for the scene.”

Polling The Morning Show crew as to what sequence was the most fun, the response is unanimous: “Staying Alive”! It’s a scene in Episode 4, where director Tucker Gates, a veteran Morning Show helmer, had the idea of shooting a oner to the tune of the iconic song that would introduce the audience to the “upfronts” (where TV networks preview upcoming shows to advertisers, reporters and local affiliate stations). It starts outside the theater in the parking lot and follows Cory inside the back entrance and through a maze of curtains and corridors as he greets some of the cast along the way and ends up downstairs in a makeup room.

“Tucker wanted to start low as Cory gets out of the limo, in an homage to Saturday Night Fever, and follow the feet as he approaches the door, then lift to eye level and continue inside,” Grillo recalls. “Chris [Cuevas] and I decided to use the Ronin 2 mounted on a Ready Rig stabilizer that he could use to start low and lift on the move. The next challenge was to operate the camera because Chris was going to be moving around Billy as he walked, going from behind to in front several times and also losing signal. We needed someone to follow him with a joystick and keep the camera lined up. Then, we had to do the same for focus.

“Dennis also had to walk close behind, and we had to add Chris’ dolly grip to keep him from falling and bumping the walls,” Grillo continues. “So, five people had to do this amazing choreography of twisting and turning, going down narrow staircases and into rooms. I love shots that you can easily achieve with your iPhone when designing them, but that is exponentially harder when you use real cameras.”

Speaking of effortless – the crew had to pull a zero-gravity look in the first episode that Grillo says “took a lot of preparation and about 100 meetings. We needed enough room to have a space capsule similar to Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin on a rotating

platform so that the stunt department could also rig wires to come down through the ceiling of the capsule and attach to the actors so they could float inside in zero gravity.”

First AC Alfredo Rosado (working with Operator Betty Chow) says most of the scene was built on stage with a giant wrap-around blue screen. “The platform and capsule were a massive metal architectural design made to duplicate the real thing,” Rosado recalls. “Even the capsule was made to size and specs of the actual craft. It was rigged with over a dozen GoPro-style cameras in the interior. There was a crane camera for the establishing shots.”

Grillo adds, “When it came time for the actors to start floating, Mimi wanted to feel the moment’s joy. So, we decided to let Chris go inside handheld and just be spontaneous and dance around the floating bodies. I then had Joey Morena [B-Camera] and Sarah Brandes [C-Camera] on long lenses capturing faces. I’m always amazed at the artistry when VFX has to remove wires, moving shadows of wires, and make the scene believable. That collaboration is the beauty and magic of what we do.”

Bithell says that to light the scene, his team used ARRI SkyPanels for the blue screens above, “and KinoFlo Image 78s to supplement from the floor when necessary,” he shares. “Even though there isn't ambient light in space, we built two 12-foot-by-20-foot light boxes above the capsule to provide ambient light and placed 12 Sumo Space+ LED fixtures inside each box. To create space sunlight from inside a spinning capsule,” he adds, “we mounted a 1700-watt Robe BMFL to a Technocrane. We controlled the BMFL wirelessly and remotely using the Robe RoboSpot remote follow-spot system. This allowed our lamp operator to control the follow spot, just as they would if they were controlling a real follow spot or a camera.”

There was also a camera mounted to the Robe moving lights, whose image was wirelessly transmitted to a monitor mounted to a tripod with handles. “It’s just like operating a camera remotely,” Bithell continues. “When you move the handles on the tripod, the corresponding movements happen with the light. The operator can ‘see’ where the light points by looking at the image transmitted from camera to monitor.”

To replicate the feeling of a single sunbeam, the operator kept the light pointed directly at the window facing the sun and focused the light on the window as the capsule moved, regardless of where or how it spun. The fixtures team also worked closely with Production Designer Nelson Coates to have lighting built inside the capsule.

“Time was a precious commodity,” muses VFX Supervisor Eric Hayden. “We had half a day for the scene, and to make sure every minute was used, we worked with Mimi to pre-vis the bigger shots

OPPOSITE PAGE: TO RECREATE THE JANUARY 6TH INSURRECTION, REIKER WORKED CLOSELY WITH DIRECTOR STACIE PASSON AND 1ST AD MATT JANSSEN TO "PLAN IT OUT LIKE CLOCKWORK BECAUSE THERE WAS NO GOING BACK,” THE DP EXPLAINS. “WE KNEW WE WANTED TO SHOOT HANDHELD AND CAPTURE THE ENERGY AND CHAOS IN THE CAPITOL BUILDING FROM THAT DAY.”

30 OCTOBER 2023

“THE PLATFORM AND CAPSULE WERE A MASSIVE METAL THE REAL THING. EVEN THE CAPSULE WAS MADE

METAL ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN MADE TO DUPLICATE MADE TO SIZE AND SPECS OF THE ACTUAL CRAFT.”

1ST AC ALFREDO ROSADO

OPPOSITE PAGE: LOCATIONS NEEDED TO FEEL SIMILAR TO PAST SEASONS BUT ALSO SLIGHTLY ALTERED. OR AS CHIEF LIGHTING TECHNICIAN WALTER BITHELL DESCRIBES: “LESS POLISHED, BUT JENNIFER AND REESE STILL HAD TO LOOK GOOD. WE CHOSE A VARIETY OF METHODS TO LIGHT THE MAIN ACTORS BASED ON SPACE AND TIME."

and structured the day to keep the capsule intact as long as possible, only removing the top piece when the stunt team dropped in their wire rigging. The fun was when we got on set, and we could execute all of the storyboarded shots and still have time to improvise. One of my favorites is when the rocket is launching, and you can see Cory in the capsule as it rises past the camera, a fun shot that John Grillo came up with on the day.”

Hayden adds that the capsule was “a tiny space with three cast members flying around on wires. To help balance them, stunt performers, dressed in blue, helped puppeteer the cast as they performed their wirework. This helped with the magic of looking weightless instead of just floating on wires. The VFX team’s biggest challenge was removing not only the wires but the stunt performers. Since we were shooting three cameras simultaneously, we had at least one camera operator in each shot. It was the only way to get as much coverage as we got on such a short timeline. FuseFX did a tremendous job of not only creating the rocket and bringing it to life but also taking care of all equipment cleanups and wire removals. The result was a beautiful view of Earth out the windows throughout the scene.”

A little bit of TV magic also factored into Tami Reiker’s big challenge in Season 3: the recreation of the January 6th insurrection. “We had LA. City Hall from 5 p.m. to midnight to art direct, light, shoot and wrap,” Reiker explains. “This was a difficult scene for Reese, recreating such an emotional moment in our nation’s history that is still fresh in everyone’s mind. It was difficult for the actors and crew as well. To be stepping into that environment and reliving what we had all seen on television from the actual day was…intense.”

Episode 5 Director Stacie Passon and Reiker made detailed plans for every minute they had in City Hall. “We worked closely with 1st AD Matt Janssen to plan it out like clockwork because there was no going back,” Reiker explains. “We knew we wanted to shoot handheld and capture the energy and chaos in the Capitol building from that day. In the middle of this glossy show, we needed to create the contrast of this intense, gritty scene. And to shoot 360 degrees when we followed Reese through the hallways.”

Reiker and Bithell designed a lighting plan for the scene that included helium balloons for the main hallway. However, on the day, there was a location issue with the balloons and they had to create a new plan on-the-fly. “Working with Eric Hayden,” Reiker continues, “we devised a plan to bounce the light, and Eric would paint out the stands. In the lower hallway, we zip-tied Astera tubes to the existing light fixtures, and we had a handheld eye light for Reese.”

“It was a crazy day,” recalls Bithell. “The

opportunity to shoot in L.A. City Hall came up with very short notice. On the scout, we learned we had limited time to rig, shoot and wrap. We would be doing handheld 360s up and down a 200-foot hallway. We couldn’t rig any lights on the ground without having them in the shot. The only place to realistically light was from above. But we weren’t allowed to rig or attach anything to the ceilings. On the shoot day, just before we moved to the balloon floor, the permission to use them was rescinded, and we had to come up with another way.”

Hayden recounts the scene as “another sequence shot over a very short period of time, where painting out lighting equipment was our biggest challenge, as it was the only way to get enough light in the environment. We also hung a large blue screen in the City Hall Rotunda so that we would be able to turn it into the much larger U.S. Capitol Rotunda. Throughout the shoot, we pulled aside the extras and shot them in front of the blue screen to increase the crowd’s density throughout the scene.”

Given all those limitations, the team still needed the freedom to shoot in every direction – with three handheld cameras. “Chris Cuevas did a brilliant job following and leading Reese down the stairs, where she’s hit with pepper spray and falls to the ground,” explains Reiker. “Sarah Brandes, on C-Camera, was on a long lens, capturing the roving crowds. The extras were chillingly convincing as the people who stormed the capital. All the planning paid off, and we wrapped ahead of schedule, excited with what we had captured.”

“So much depended on the background, but it was well choreographed by our director, Stunts, and the entire Production staff,” Cuevas concludes. “Our A-Camera Dolly Grip and Kalli, our second AC, would spot me or clear out background people in my path as needed. That freedom and trust I could put in my team to keep me safe allowed me to concentrate on capturing Reese and the shot. Dennis stayed on top of the frantic action as I might sometimes whip off Reese to some chaos in the riot.”

Grillo sums up the wild ride that was Season 3 of The Morning Show, noting that “stepping into an already established and popular TV series offers a unique set of challenges. It’s a delicate dance where you must pay homage to the established visual identity while infusing a new creative perspective into the mix. I was lucky to have worked with Mimi Leder before, who gave me all the freedom to shake things up. She is a director who comes to set well-prepared but also encourages creative exploration, which is a quality I appreciate. The crew was incredible; we managed to strike that perfect balance between putting in the hours and having fun on set. It’s funny how you miss all this when you’re not working [given the current work stoppage]. That camaraderie and shared love for what we do – it’s pretty special.”

35 OCTOBER 2023

OF THE "WILD RIDE" THAT WAS SEASON 3, GRILLO NOTES: “STEPPING INTO AN ALREADY ESTABLISHED AND POPULAR TV SERIES OFFERS A UNIQUE SET OF CHALLENGES.

IT’S A DELICATE DANCE WHERE YOU MUST PAY HOMAGE TO THE ESTABLISHED VISUAL IDENTITY WHILE INFUSING A NEW CREATIVE PERSPECTIVE INTO THE MIX."

LOCAL 600 CREW

Directors of Photography

John Grillo

Tami Reiker, ASC

A-Camera Operator/Steadicam

Chris Cuevas, SOC

A-Camera 1st AC

Dennis Geraghty

A-Camera 2nd AC

Kalli Kouf

B-Camera Operator

Brian “Joey” Morena

B-Camera 1st AC

Alfredo “Freddy” Rosado

B-Camera 2nd AC

Betty Chow

C-Camera Operator

Sarah Brandes

C-Camera 1st AC

Alicia Fairley

C-Camera 2nd AC

Andy Macat

DIT

Shannon Cook

Loader

Emily Tapanes

Unit Publicist

Sheryl Main

Still Photographer

Erin Simkin

IN HER ELEMENT

BY KEVIN H. MARTIN

39 OCTOBER 2023

PHOTOS BY MICHAEL BECKER / APPLE TV+

Apple TV+'s Lessons in Chemistry delivers a textbook example of creative collaboration via Guild Directors of Photography Zack Galler and Jason Oldak. ELEMENT FEATURE 02

FRAMEGRABS COURTESY OF APPLE TV+

Lessons in Chemistry, the Apple TV+ adaptation of novelist Bonnie Garmus’ bestseller, takes a hard but often amusing look at life in the 1950s through the eyes of protagonist Elizabeth Zott [Brie Larson, who also produced]. Trained as a chemist but relegated to underling status by the male establishment, the imperturbable blonde takes on all comers to make her way in a man’s world and finds a connection with her aloof boss Calvin [Lewis Pullman]. Even after being ousted from her profession and experiencing devastating personal loss, Zott breaks out as an early TV star, hosting the evening series Supper at Six, which proves to be a liberating force for other women and, ultimately, for Zott herself.

40 OCTOBER 2023

irectors of Photography

DZachary Galler (Briarpatch, The Girlfriend Experience) and Jason Oldak (Minx, Good Girls) divided up the series, with Galler shooting the initial two-episode block and then episodes 5 and 6. (Additional photography was handled by Tarin Anderson and Kira Kelly, ASC.) With a compressed time frame for prepping the first two installments (directed by Sarah Adina Smith), Galler settled on an approach he had read Terence Malick and Emmanuel Lubezki, ASC, AMC, had used for The Tree of Life

“Instead of a shotlist, we devised a set of rules for filming, intended to get us to the kernel of each scene while keeping the whole consistent,” Galler shares. “These were simple directions that still gave us the ability to take extra time when we moved in to sculpt the light for close-ups. We also decided that camera movement would be dictated by actor movement, which helped with viewer immersion.”

Both DP’s agreed on using the ALEXA Mini LF, in a 2.2:1 aspect ratio with K35 lenses. “I had tested K35s for season one of Minx, which was a show set in the 1970s,” Oldak recounts. “We didn’t end up using them, but I still really loved their look. When Zack mentioned the K35s for this show, I was totally on board, feeling they would work just as well for a project set in the 1950s.” Oldak says the pair usually shot “anywhere between wide open to a 2/2.8, creating shallow depth of field in the frame. We rated the cameras at 1600 ISO, to give the image some additional texture,” he adds. “In the past, if you’d gone that high, you’d get a lot of noise, but that’s no longer the case. The mix of the higher ISO, the K35s, and atmospheric smoke worked wonders for the image in our low-lit scenes.”

A-Camera 1st AC Ian Barbella had already worked with Galler and had known Oldak since moving to L.A. fifteen years back. Barbella says both men “not only hire people who know their jobs, but they also let them do excellent work without interference.” As for using the K35s, Barbella says, “They have a great look that, while made after the time period, was still able

43 OCTOBER 2023

to represent the 1950s quite well. They have a timeless quality that worked for period without being too much. We have plenty of lenses capable of such sharpness that you get a kind of clinical clarity, but with the K35s, you can mess them up – or clean them up – to push them in all kinds of interesting ways.”

Galler intended to capture as much of the show’s look as possible via lighting, rather than relying on post corrections. Light Iron Colorist Ian Vertovec met with Galler early on, recounting how “once a DP works out the show LUT, he or she knows how the contrast will look and feel and how the blacks roll off. From there, they can light more precisely and with some sense of assurance.”

Vertovec says the look derived from Galler’s references included some Midcentury food photography. “When he mentioned ‘Julia Child cookbook’ imagery,” Vertovec adds, “I was reminded of a Norman Rockwell painting [‘Outside the Principal’s Office,’ aka ‘Shiner’] and showed it to him, which conveyed how we were on the same path. We kept working along these lines and built up a LUT that resembled an old AGFA film look, warm but with room to cool things off when appropriate.” On-set image workflow was managed by DIT Scott Resnick, who, like Barbella, had worked with Galler on Paper Girls

Camera movement on the stage-heavy series was facilitated by an ARRI 360 stabilized head brought in by A-Camera operator Mikael Levin, SOC. The head enabled rapid and precise moves and was often mounted on a dolly or crane. As Levin describes: “A-Camera Dolly Grip Joe Ruiz and I frequently put that remote head on a Cobra dolly, which reduced the camera’s footprint in the various rooms but still offered me the control of the wheels. It also meant I didn’t have to contort myself into those awkward, tight positions that camera operators often find themselves in, even on stage. And the sets had smooth floors that accommodated our moves, even on sustained oners.”

Production Designer Catherine ‘Cat’ Smith notes, “Half of my job is often finding the perfect location that conveys what is called for in the story, and I have to give lots of credit to Location Manager Jesse Lorber in that area. Instead of having to fully furnish it, you can add a few finer details to suggest the time and place. But since most of this was done on stage, as to be expected with period pieces, we had to build for the long haul; the TV studio sets had to contain enough visual interest to sustain for a stretch of shows. Since your work is going to be shot by multiple directors, something the

camera doesn’t ever linger on for the first six episodes will be what the final director chooses to dwell on.”

Smith’s stage build for the Hastings Lab, where Elizabeth and Calvin meet and work, required a number of separate sets for administration and a lab that would feature expansive window spaces, all of which posed potential lighting challenges. “I didn’t know [Chief Lighting Technician] Len Levine before this,” admits Galler, “but he came so highly recommended. I figured anybody who had done Avatar: The Way of Water and an intimate relationship drama like Marriage Story would be perfect.”

Levine recalls the lab as a very large build, “with most of the light coming through windows from Q10s,” he notes. “But that wasn’t enough to ‘glow’ the blinds, so we added a row of PAR cans just 18 inches off the set, aiming downward to scrape the Venetians. That light also landed on desks and bounced around. To make the backgrounds brighter, we wound up using some T12 fresnels. We also brought in two Mole-Richardson Mole beams that traveled with us everywhere on the show.” Key to Levine’s workflow is his use of a Vectorworks program, where he says, “It can send out QR codes that provide 3D walkthroughs for each set, plus for presentations that can give you virtual panoramas in addition to the light plots.”

The world outside the lab was a combination of scenic art and greens. Smith notes, “We didn’t have anything in the budget for custom-made backings. But this is a Pasadena lab in the 1950s, which means one thing – trees outside. If you look at pictures of JPL, there’s nothing out there but trees. So that was an easy solution, as I gave them ideas about what would look right, and they could then figure out how to light it, along with the greens we put in front of the backing to suggest depth and hide the grommets at the base of the backing. We played with dirt on the windows too, just to soften the look that much more.”

The backings were front-lit by Studio Force 72s, which Levine describes as six-foot LED batons “that let us go from day to sunset to night – even to purple hour – at a moment’s notice,” he explains. “We had T12s, Maxi Brutes, and another row of PAR cans directly over the greens outside. The backings and lights got moved all over behind the various Hastings sets, though we went with a big translight outside the building’s cafeteria set, and that needed to be backlit with tungsten.”

Stick-on wireless LED’s augmented other Hastings locations that were mainly lit with LED-retrofitted fluorescent practicals. “We were

44 OCTOBER 2023

“BRIE [LARSON] WOULD OFTEN FINISH A TAKE BY ASKING IF THERE WAS ANYTHING TECHNICAL SHE COULD DO TO MAKE IT WORK BETTER FOR US, AND THEN DELIVER THE SAME EXCELLENT PERFORMANCE WITH WHATEVER ACCOMMODATION WE ASKED FOR.”

45 OCTOBER 2023

A-CAMERA OPERATOR MIKAEL LEVIN, SOC

LEFT: "THIS IS THE THIRD TIME I’VE DONE HDR FINISHES," CO-DP GALLER SHARES, "AND WHAT I’VE FOUND IS THAT THE HIGHER END IS NOT THE ISSUE; IT’S EASY TO PULL NITS DOWN TO THE POINT THAT NOTHING IS OFFENSIVE. BUT THE LOW END WITH HDR IS INTERESTING AS TO HOW YOU PLAY WITH THE SHADOW DETAIL."

lit for day and night at the push of a button,” Galler happily reflects. “I’d rather spend money up front on a big stage install, than wind up doing crew overtime because somebody wants to change something. Once everyone gets over that first hump of commitment, I find producers, crew and actors are very happy.”

Elizabeth’s story changes drastically in Episodes 3 and 4, shot by Oldak. As the DP recalls: “Zach started one and two while I was prepping. I came down to their set, just to see what he and Sarah were creating, as well as meeting the actors and seeing the sets. We had one montage that fed right back into Zach’s episodes, like getting to see how the dog made his way to their house, so we got to reshoot scenes from a different perspective. The work on my shows was completely shot-listed.”

Shot-listing was key for a later montage that appears as one continuous moving camera shot within Elizabeth’s home but is made up of multiple camera moves shot across separate days. The montage was the brainchild of directors Bert & Bertie [aka filmmakers Amber Templemore-Finlayson and Katie Ellwood], whom Oldak says have done “elaborate balletlike moves on other series. This one was meant to show a passage of time, with people appearing and disappearing and even a phantom presence manifesting at times.

"We had to show Elizabeth demolishing her kitchen and building a makeshift lab," Oldak continues." There was great coordination between departments – after we shot a certain portion of the move, the art department would move in to change walls and decorations to reflect the passage of time, and then we’d come back a day later and shoot the revamped set. The first movement was the easiest; our stand-in for Brie was seen walking away from camera, then Brie herself walked in, dressed differently, presumably at some later date and time. After that, we used various wipe moves like passing by foreground walls to help effect transitions.”

As Levin adds, “I remember Jason coming back from his initial meeting with the directors and being so excited by what they wanted to do. Though this moving-camera montage was an obvious exception, as we often ran two cameras. B-Camera would go find a complementary angle – that’s a bit of an understatement, as they carried a big part of the load – shooting in the same direction as A-Camera to not compromise the lighting. We had [Operator] Jan Ruona [SOC] for the first two blocks, then my brother Ilan Levin [SOC] did the rest.”

Smith notes that “a different location was chosen for the exteriors of Calvin’s house, and

then it suddenly became unavailable. But we still kept the general interior plan, which was an Arts and Crafts house featuring a staircase and open living room that is typical of that style. The thing to remember about period pieces is that you’re designing with all the periods preceding, in addition to the current one. Arts and Crafts houses feature a style from the 1920s and 1930s, so it was not a new build as seen in the 1950s – a teensy bit dated, but probably just right for these characters.

“And since Calvin was renting the house [which Elizabeth later inhabits for the rest of the story],” Smith adds, “only some of the furnishings would have been his, while others would have already been there and show more in the way of age. On many shows I’ve worked on, there has been lighting done for shelves and walls, but these approaches wouldn’t be appropriate for the Lessons in Chemistry era; to respect the period, sources were limited to table lamps, overhead lights, or whatever comes in through the window.”

Oldak says he “sometimes felt like a musical conductor trying to figure out how to get the orchestra to play a soft and gentle note. It was often about getting the light to form a certain edge, at which point the light wraps the edge. Traditionally you have your key at three-quarters, but we wrapped that around, so at its hardest point it would register on the ear and the backside of the head, then wrap slightly around the face. We never wanted to constrict the actors in their movement, so by bringing light in through windows we were creating general areas of illumination for them to appear.”

Key Grip Adam Kolegas was instrumental in helping shape the light on a cemetery exterior, bringing in large black solids to allow Oldak to deliver a visual riff on the look of the series Ozark. For nighttime walks taken by Elizabeth or Phillip, Levine retrofitted contemporary streetlights with Fiilex P3s to achieve a period low pressure sodium look. “We installed three units in each of the streetlamp housings provided by Set Decorator Lori Mazuer,” Levine states. “The great thing with these lights was that we could plug them into walls anywhere, like a nearby house if we couldn’t run cable.”

The next big change in Elizabeth’s life comes when she accepts an offer to become the host of a TV series on cooking. “Our first thought about the TV studio was to do it all with era-appropriate lighting,” describes Galler. “ But with our own TV show schedule, that wasn’t in the cards. Getting all these units balanced – not just on the section of the stage where her series

47 OCTOBER 2023

was filmed, but all the rest of the studio, like the control room overlooking her kitchen set – would have been time-consuming. That’s when Len suggested retrofitting contemporary sources into the old fixtures. He’s an early adopter with every kind of tech, and brought a lot to the table with how things got programmed.”

Levine calls the TV set “super-fun to work on. I did tons of research on the period lights, and found we could get them from MBS rental house and History for Hire — the latter through the set decoration department. It was a great collaboration between art and lighting, with Supervising Art Director Glen Hall having drawn up the set in Blender. Many of the period tungsten lighting units got retrofitted to take LED lamps so there would be no heat on set and we’d have more control. We had a coop over the set, but I put LiteGear LiteMat 4 in it. We used Aputure 600 Cs inside our big EYETeners, and all of the Bardwell 2Ks around Brie were retrofitted with Fiilex P3s zip-tied inside the heads; they could spot and flood just like a normal bulb.”

The TV station is revealed at the start of Episode 1 in a flash-ahead, via a oner spanning location work. It was shot at a former beauty school in Glendale and one of three Two Bridges stages utilized by production. “We shot from a 65-foot Technocrane on a track,” says Galler. “We scouted with a tape measure to determine just where our stitch would go to mask the transition between location and stage.”

“The oner had a lot of elements and planning,” Levin adds. “We rehearsed the Steadicam portion of the shot the night before with our crew acting as standins. Everyone got really excited seeing themselves on camera and knowing that we were creating a great show. The next day worked so smoothly, as the cast perfectly

executed the elaborate choreography, including Brie sprinting from one end of the set to the other behind camera to time out her reveal.”

Galler chose Ikegami HL-59 tube cameras to capture imagery that felt degraded enough to pass for 1950s television. “Traditionally, it seems like whenever you’re doing something unique – even if it’s just a security camera view – Production wants you to shoot with your regular camera and then do something in post to give you the different look,” says Galler. “But that wasn’t an issue for our show within the show. We had prop versions of the old RCA TK30s with their turret lenses. I put a lipstick camera on the turret so we could see what the operator was supposed to be capturing and play that back in the show’s control room overlooking the kitchen set.”

A rare departure from the K35 glass came when Elizabeth, about to give birth, experiences a vision of a deceased loved one. “To put that vision in the proper context, the first thought I had was to use a [Century] swing/shift lens,” Oldak recalls. “We did this show through Keslow Camera, but I’ve used Otto Nemenz in the past and I knew they had a lens created by Roger Deakins for his Jesse James film. The Deakinizer blurs out the sides like a swing/shift but affords flexibility. We did all of her vision views with this lens.” Barbella says the “alive quality of the K35 lenses seems to live right around a stop or so down from wide open,” he observes. “The dark interiors were challenging but fun; for me, it’s part of the joy of focus pulling.” Since 2017, Barbella has used a Cine RT Focusbug, an ultrasonic distance measure. “I mainly use it when ensuring I’ve landed the shot,” he continues. “I have all my marks together so I know my A and my B positions. When the actor – or the camera – is supposed to stop two-and-a-half feet away, the Cine

confirms for me it is that distance. Mika is a very good partner to have, with tremendous consistency, as he’s hitting marks just as well as this terrific group of actors.”

Levin agrees with Barbella’s assessment of the cast. “The level of professionalism extended well beyond just hitting their marks,” he declares. “One of my great joys with camera operating is seeing performers like Brie, who interpret their character so well and with such depth. This was true of Lewis as well, and they were very trusting of us and our process. Brie would often finish a take by asking if there was anything technical she could do to make it work better for us, and then deliver the same excellent performance with whatever accommodation we asked for.

“I felt that we were making something special as it happened, and there was an unusual synergy between crew and cast,” Levin continues. “Alice Halsey, playing Elizabeth’s daughter, made her acting debut; and from the first day, everyone was impressed. She took every technical note from us and incorporated them into her amazing performance without flaw. I believe it was the family dog’s first movie as well,” he laughs. “He was practically a puppy when we started and at first struggled to stay on his mark, but we watched him grow emotionally and physically across the 18-week shoot.”

Galler was shooting an indie feature in Ireland when he contributed his first pass to the DI process remotely. “That got things about 75 percent of the way there,” Galler recalls. “This past spring, I went to L.A. to do some final tweaks. This is the third time I’ve done HDR finishes, and what I’ve found is that the higher end is not the issue; it’s easy to pull nits down to the point that nothing is offensive. But the low end with

48 OCTOBER 2023

“THE THING TO REMEMBER ABOUT PERIOD PIECES IS THAT YOU’RE DESIGNING WITH ALL THE PERIODS PRECEDING, IN ADDITION TO THE CURRENT ONE.”

PRODUCTION DESIGNER CATHERINE "CAT" SMITH

HDR is interesting as to how you play with the shadow detail. How much information the viewer can see in the shadows benefits from the wider HDR toolkit, so it’s a disappointment to go back to SDR. Before the last couple of years, I felt exactly the opposite way, but technology has become more adept when finessing that lower end of the scale.”

Since Galler had specific notions for texturing, Vertovec employed LiveGrain to garnish the image with an appropriate level of film grain. “I knew Zach from other shows but this was my first time working with Jason,” Vertovec reports. “TV always makes for a bigger circle of collaborators, so part of the fun and the challenge relates to how the conversation expands to include more viewpoints. Each DP had shot flashbacks taking place in different time periods; Zach’s featured Elizabeth’s childhood in the 1930s, which required little more than a small LUT change; Jason’s origin story for young Calvin, set in the late 1920s, took more work, including blooming

of highlights and some desaturation.”

Vertovec took pains to ensure each flashback would not be confused with the other. “One was country/rural, and we kept that warm, while the orphanage flashback was where we chose a cooler look,” he adds. “We also had to make that work with the scenes toward the end of the series, where we see the orphanage in the 1950s.”

Balancing different looks was key throughout the DI process. “I colored Being the Ricardos [ICG Magazine December 2021], where we had a similar issue, shooting a show as well as the show within it,” Vertovec continues. “Owing to the lack of sensitivity of the older cameras, the very early TV series had to be seriously overlit, especially cooking shows. So, a disparity exists between how you want Lessons in Chemistry to look versus how you want the period cooking show ‘Supper at Six’ to look. What I found interesting was that since Brie’s character was often talking about things that had a subtext, one that her audiences start to understand, the look

might need to vary from a strict emulation of old TV to something that worked for the inherent drama of the moment.”

A melding of creative minds was evident from the start with Oldak and Galler. Oldak, who didn’t read the source novel until principal photography was completed, a deliberate choice to avoid undue influence on his work, concludes that “when Zack and I were presenting before getting hired, we each brought in our own mood boards. After exchanging our boards, it was clear we had very similar ideas about imagery for the show. I’d heard stories about shows with two DP’s, where one may not share certain details with the other. But this team-up was truly a dream. Not just because Zach was so collaborative, but also because he was so specific in explaining that each episode was a different chapter in this woman’s life. He encouraged me to depart from what he had done – when appropriate – all in search of delivering this story as best as we both could.”

51 OCTOBER 2023

CO-DP OLDAK SAYS HE FELT “LIKE A MUSICAL CONDUCTOR TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THE ORCHESTRA TO PLAY A SOFT AND GENTLE NOTE. IT WAS OFTEN ABOUT GETTING THE LIGHT TO FORM A CERTAIN EDGE, AT WHICH POINT THE LIGHT WRAPS THE EDGE.”

LOCAL 600 CREW

Directors of Photography

Zachary Galler

Jason Oldak

A-Camera Operator

Mikael Levin, SOC

A-Camera 1st AC

Ian T. Barbella

A-Camera 2nd AC

Amanda Morgan

B-Camera Operators

Ilan Levin, SOC

Jan Ruona, SOC

B-Camera 1st AC

Darrin Nim

B-Camera 2nd AC

Joe DiBartolomeo

DIT

Scott Resnick

Loader

Brittany Meadows Utility

Shay Holien

Unit Publicist

Andy Lipschultz

Still Photographer

Michael Becker

FOR THE TV STUDIO WHERE LARSON'S CHARACTER HOSTS A COOKING SHOW, CHIEF LIGHTING TECHNICIAN LEN LEVINE DID "TONS OF RESEARCH ON THE PERIOD LIGHTS, AND FOUND WE COULD GET THEM FROM MBS RENTAL HOUSE AND HISTORY FOR HIRE — THE LATTER THROUGH THE SET DECORATION DEPARTMENT," LEVINE RECOUNTS. "MANY OF THE PERIOD TUNGSTEN LIGHTING UNITS GOT RETROFITTED WITH LED LAMPS, SO THERE WOULD BE NO HEAT ON SET AND WE'D HAVE MORE CONTROL."

PHOTO COURTESY OF APPLE TV+

BY DAVID GEFFNER

I found myself at the 2023 NAB Show , which returned to a (not-quite) pre-COVID-strength vibe, talking a lot about virtual production (VP). However, walking into many display vendors’ booths, that wasn’t necessarily my launching pad for discussion. But, just like 3D, 4K, and many other in-vogue technologies that dominated NAB Shows of the past, VP was on everyone’s mind – and that included those folks whose main focus has been displays for onset monitoring, reference and finishing displays for postproduction, or even home theater environments.

Of course, some display experts, including Mike Smith, technical director for ROE Visual US, Inc., have been virtually-focused since LED’s and VP linked up some five years ago. “We were there, in 2018, at Manhattan Beach Studios, for the Volume that Lucasfilm built for The Mandalorian and other Star Wars episodics,” Smith shares. “For that first season of The Mandalorian, they used our Black Pearl 2 LED panel, which had mostly been employed for indoor live events, where you needed a high-quality screen. Turned out that after a series of shoot-outs, the BP2 performed really well on camera and could fit well in the Volume.

“It’s been a little over a year since we introduced version two of the Black Pearl 2 line,” Smith adds. “Version 2 had updated electronics that allowed the display to run at a faster refresh rate, and lower scan rate, as well as an anti-reflective coating, which allowed for much deeper black levels when you’re working on set with very bright lighting. We’re proud to say it’s become the number-one LED tile for virtual production on the market, with more than 100,000 panels in use globally.”

Proof of concept for ROE’s new product was on display (pun intended) just a dozen or so feet away at

Disguise’s NAB Show 2023 booth. That’s where Addy Ghani, VP of virtual production [ICG Magazine July 2023], was presenting a VP demo that used ROE’s Black Pearl 2 V2 2.8-millimeter pixel-pitch display and a ROE Black Marvel 4.7-millimeter pixel-pitch display. The setup Ghani was detailing used two RED KOMODOS (Disguise’s platform is camera-agnostic) with two separate camera tracking systems – StYpe RedSpy 3.0 on a jib and Ncam Mk2 on a tripod. “Our rendering protocol is video over IP, which allows us to sync the camera’s movements to the virtual world you see on the stage,” Ghani explained. “For all of the real-time environments, we’re using Unreal Engine 5.1. Disguise has a unique and ultra-fast way to calibrate the camera tracking and LED color for an XR stage. That allows for amazing, fast transitions between different shows or lenses – something on a green screen that could take hours, if not days, to do.”

That kind of flexibility is also reflected (more pun fun) in the use of ROE’s displays in the Volume, where Smith notes that “although much of the heavy lifting to tune these displays – density, color space and color temperature, et cetera – is done on the processing side, shows like The Mandalorian have wrapped the entire stage with our displays. In that example, they’re not just used for in-camera background material, but more as how a traditional movie light would create added reflections, i.e., on the Mandalorian’s helmet.” Smith says such an approach varies with each use case “because you typically may not want to use a high-resolution display like the Black Pearl for something that won’t be seen on camera,” he continues. “That’s where we’ve seen filmmakers in the virtual production space adopting another one of our live event/touring products, the Carbon 5 or Carbon 3 panel, which are three- and five-millimeter products that are really

bright, just with a bit less resolution than the Black Pearl line. They provide an immense amount of light that is controllable with a video signal in a way that traditional light products are not.”

When asked about the recent evolution of LED in both displays and lighting, ROE says “traditional workflows are not going to go away. But everyone is trying to figure out how to fit LED products into their projects because it’s a very powerful tool, namely for virtual production. That’s pushed [ROE] to do R&D into figuring out better LED’s and better LED drivers that tune everything for a camera. We’re used to human eyes, which are slower and don’t pick up as much detail as these digital camera sensors. When filmmakers started pointing these cameras at our LED screens, we began to see artifacts that just were not as important to the industry – before the advent of virtual production – to eliminate. That’s when we started driving down the scan rate and multiplexing ratios, and getting the refresh rates higher, so there are no unwanted in-camera artifacts.”

When it comes to the evolution of displays for video walls, Smith adds that “we’re getting to a point of diminishing returns with the traditional specs everyone’s been hunting – pixel pitch, multiplexing or scan ratio and refresh rates, contrast ratio to a degree, which is an odd spec because there are various ways to measure it, and it becomes sort of meaningless in the field. One of the key things we’re looking at now is reflectivity – that’s a huge thing for the film market that we didn’t much care about in the live event or commercial installation space. That’s because when the wall goes black on a film or TV set, the DP’s want black. They don’t want elevated white or black levels.”

Smith also noted that ROE was debuting a RGBW panel at NAB Show 2023. “This is a huge development in the virtual production space,

58 OCTOBER 2023

AS LED DISPLAYS FIND NEW APPLICATIONS IN THE VOLUME, WILL THERE BE AN OVERLAP (OR A NEW BEGINNING) FOR TRADITIONAL ON-SET MONITORING?

DISPLAY

specifically for on-set lighting with LED panels,” Smith shared. “We currently have RGB in our traditional display products, and by introducing a white LED it will even out the spectrum of light hitting objects or talent on a VP stage. DP’s know these panels, as currently built, are not good lighting instruments. They have large spikes in red, green, and blue, so by adding that white LED and helping to even out those peaks, we feel it’s one of the most exciting areas of our product line for filmmakers to explore.”

Virtual production was so hot, I found vendors from more traditional applications eager to talk about their new VP-focused lines. Andy Beaudet, senior sales manager in live production/broadcast for LG Electronics, says he initiated a project with his team at LG “to develop a purpose-built virtual production LED product at a fine pixel pitch using technology that leapfrogs what’s currently on the market. Most of what’s out there today,” Beaudet told me at LG’s NAB Show 2023 booth, “was developed first as a rental product and shoehorned into a virtual

production environment. Rather than following in those footsteps, we went about identifying the key needs by talking with the end users and their suppliers. Meaning, not just the studios who are shooting in a VP volume, but those vendors who are building the volume, because they have their own set of needs as well.”

The end result of those efforts, Beaudet explained, was a product debuting at NAB Show 2023 called LBAG015 , a 1.5-millimeter LED tile with chip-on-board (COB), a technology that Beaudet says has the advantage of being “nearly indestructible. Most sub-two-millimeter LED products are using traditional SMD or even IMD technology,” he continued, “and if you sneeze wrong, you’ll break pixels. COB, on the other hand, is very resilient. And we’re building these COB modules in a plant in Korea that LG developed; it’s not coming from Shenzhen, China, where all the SMD tech comes from. It’s a factory dedicated to building micro-LED displays because LG and the Korean government have made it a strategic initiative to make Seoul [South Korea] the global headquarters for micro-LED.”

Beaudet explained that LG’s new VP display has a true-gloss finish to create excellent blacks, with superb uniformity, all packaged into a rentalstyle frame. “The goal is that this product can be set up, torn down and/or reconfigured as quickly as possible, in many different-sized production environments,” he described. “Users can build curved or flat walls – floor-standing or hanging with the rigging that goes along with that – all quite easily, which can accommodate different shows, scenes, or even builds for shot-to-shot. The third piece that makes this product unique is that we went to one of the industry leaders for processing – Megapixel VR [based in Valencia, CA] – who have done incredible things with LED processing in the VR, XR, and now the virtual production space.”

In a nod toward where virtual production is headed – on-set HDR capture in a large LED volume – Beaudet says the LBAG015 “has the bit depth and the range to do HDR.” Although, he added, “these are not IP65 rated [water resistant] for exterior use. Where the tiles tend to get damaged is during setup and teardown, so it’s rare to see a sub-two-millimeter display with COB tech in a rental-style frame.” As to

59 OCTOBER 2023

ARRI CCM-1

where LED display technology for watching VP-made shows and films is going, Beaudet noted, “That 97inch OLED you see on the side of our [booth] wall is the largest OLED display in the world. To be able to get that quality into a modular product, where it could be built on-site in a home theater, is, no doubt, where this technology is headed on the consumer side.”

Canon was another company eager to highlight some leading-edge VP solutions at NAB Show 2023. While displays like the 31-inch DP-V3120, a 2000nit HDR peak edge-to-edge luminance reference monitor, and the 27-inch 4K HDR DP-2730 are highly regarded by finishing artists and Guild DIT’s, Canon’s longtime marketing specialist, Len Musmeci, brought me over to see the company’s new Free Viewpoint Video System. “It’s a volumetric data-capture system,” Musmeci explained, “that, in this example [at NAB], has more than 100 cameras shooting a basketball court at the same time. All of those camera feeds are going out to our trucks parked outside of the arena and are being simultaneously stitched together to create a volumetric image of every frame. If you imagine the frame as a Jell-O mold, this system allows users to move/position their viewpoints anywhere within that Jell-O mold. In this example, you can see any angle on the court in near real-time [roughly a 3-second delay using an SDI broadcast signal] that is pretty much live.”

Musmeci says the Free Viewpoint system was used last year by the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets to capture a 46-point scoring game by the Nets (former) star Kevin Durant. “They created a social media post that went viral of what Kevin Durant saw for the first

40 points he scored in a game, and then the last six points he scored through the defender’s eyes,” Musmeci relayed. “We’re talking nearly impossible movements, with a hundred-plus cameras, where the camera and operator will never be in jeopardy of being seen in the shot. In this set-up, we’re using modified Canon C300 cameras capturing in 4K. That’s a lot of data, so much of the background will be stripped out to try and get those files more manageable.”

Sony Electronics is yet another mainstream display vendor jumping into the virtual production market. In a recent marketing release, Kevin O’Connor, Senior Director, Cinematic Production Solutions, touted the company’s new Crystal LED VERONA displays – ZRD-VP15EB/23EB and ZRD-VP15EM/23EM, both available in 1.56mm and 2.31mm pixel pitch – “as being purpose-built” and “a critical piece in creating virtual productions that frictionlessly marry the real and the virtual realms. Through the support of some of the most innovative filmmakers, we’ve developed a new high-quality technology that is poised to simplify and enhance virtual production through its ease of use and compatibility while enabling powerful new forms of expression,” O’Connor shared.

Key to the VERONA line is a new “Deep Black and Anti-Reflection Surface Technology,” which Sony says will “deliver deeper black-level expression” while greatly reducing contrast loss caused by light from adjacent LED panels and studio lighting equipment. “The new technology significantly reduces the difference in contrast between the image projected

on the LED display and the actor(s) performing in front of it on set,” O’Connor added, “blending virtual and real in a natural way, reducing time and cost required for post-shooting adjustments.”

The VERONA display has an impressive peak brightness of 1,500 nits and a color gamut that covers more than 97 percent of DCI-P3. The panel also employs high-performance LED drivers that enable refresh rates up to 7,680Hz, drastically reducing scanline artifacts on the camera. VERONA was designed to work with leading virtual production LED controllers, i.e., Brompton Technology’s Tessera SX40, and Megapixel’s HELIOS Processing Platform. The new VP-focused displays come on the heels of Sony’s recently announced Virtual Production Tool Set, which is designed to tackle common issues with virtual production. For Example, the Tool Set’s Camera and Display plugin uses Unreal Engine to connect the real and virtual worlds, achieving synergy between hardware and software through a fully virtualized VENICE camera to aid in design, and visualize and refine the virtual production shots during Previs. Likewise, the Color Calibrator tool, which provides a simple and rapid process to calibrate display-to-camera color, to ensure the LED panels match the specific camera’s color characteristics.

How the evolution of display technology in the virtual production space may impact more traditional applications is anyone’s guess. One train (besides VP) that continues to steam forward is HDR

60 OCTOBER 2023

BOLAND X-SERIES OLED DISPLAYS USED BY GAME CREEK VIDEO FOR AMAZON PRIME/NFL

monitoring (or a more cost-effective simulation) on set. Bram Desmet, CEO at Flanders Scientific, whose products have long been favorites of Local 600 DIT’s, was highlighting his firm’s new DM160, a high-contrast 16-inch OLED that’s very lightweight (5.8 pounds) and only draws 17 W of power, so it can run for a long time on a battery. “Most exciting for us,” Desmet explained, “is the built-in HDR preview feature that gives people on set working, for example, with PQ signals, an affordable option for monitoring those signals.” While not true HDR, Desmet says the DM160 can provide a tone-map signal, “so from zero to 100 nits it will map exactly like a mastering monitor. That means all the lowend detail will render just like a $30,000 reference display, which, a lot of the time, is what DP’s really care about – details in the low end.

“As for the highlights,” Desmet continued, “we have a Soft Roll and a Clip mode. Most of the competitors have the Clip mode, which is useful up to the peak luminance of the display. But without the Soft Roll function, you don’t know if the camera is clipping or the monitor. The soft roll allows you to see that highlight detail, assuming it’s in the signal. Also, the soft roll provides this nice tone-mapped image that looks very much like an appropriate HDR image. So, everyone else – hair, makeup, costume – can see things that look correct and not washed out, like on an SDR monitor. And, most importantly, you’re not having to bring out that 30,000-dollar HDR monitor for everyone on the show.”

Unlike other OLED’s, the DM160 “has no loading behavior,” Desmet said, “so it can do 400 nits full

screen, which means it’s a capable display for location work or brighter environments. Other OLED monitors, which spec at 500 or 750 nits, can only do 100 nits full screen. The most important thing we’ve done across the entire DM lineup is adding in our new autocalibration feature. You can plug a probe into anything we make, and calibrate the display without any stand-alone software. You plug it in, and it will profile the native response of the panel and build LUT’s on-the-fly for whatever color-management selections you make on the monitor. So, you can be on set and learn you’re not monitoring Rec.709 today but P3. Every position, every new color space, EOTF, color temperature, color matching selection, HDR preview selection will be a new, calculated look-up table that’s done on the fly and saved to the display without having to recalibrate.”

Kevin Lan, Marketing Manager for ASUS Global, was also touting a new panel that features autocalibration. The ASUS ProArt display is a 32inch 4K pure RGB OLED display that will do 99 percent of the DCI-P3 color space and will support HDR preview in Dolby Vision and HDR-10. The built-in motorized colorimeter supports self-/autocalibration, as well as Calman and Light Illusion ColourSpace CMS professional hardware calibration software. True 10-bit color depth and 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio give the display super-deep blacks and accurate highlight rendering. While Lan says ASUS uses different technology across a range of its products – single and dual IPS LCD and micro-LED among them, to fit any creative use case – “we feel choosing a pure RGB OLED panel is an advantage

over manufacturers that use white OLED. Pure RGB OLED can support good color accuracy and color saturation, while white OLED’s, although providing higher brightness, can decrease accuracy and color gamma. And for the creators we are targeting, color accuracy is more important than peak brightness.”

Speaking of brightness, Lan was also highlighting a prototype product, the massive 135inch micro-LED PQ07 Cinema Display with 4K HDR playback. “This has a 0.78-pixel pitch,” Lan noted, “and a peak brightness of 2000 nits, so it can easily resolve HDR and render 95 percent of Rec.2020. We’re going to offer it in 40 scalable designs, so the user can have many different sizes and ratios. It’s fully customizable according to request, and could be compatible in a virtual production environment, live events, broadcasting, and even education, as in a flight simulator or large conference setting. And, of course,” Lan laughed, “if you have a really big house, you could have a pretty great home-theater experience.”

At the end of the day, vendors seemed to mostly agree on what display technology may ultimately dominate the market – micro-LED – but such an event horizon is hard to predict. “Micro-LED is the technology that offers the most control over the light coming from the LED sources,” noted TVLogic Sales Manager Kevin Lee. “And if it becomes more cost-effective, it may eventually replace all the other display technology out there. Our guys in R&D are watching it closely and are eager, I’d say,

61 OCTOBER 2023

SONY'S CRYSTAL LED VERONA DISPLAY

to see where it goes. But it’s not just that it’s really expensive. Currently, it’s just not doable at all.

“People who come to our [NAB Show 2023] booth are looking for a true HDR monitor,” Lee continued. “So, when Panasonic stopped making dual-layer LCD panels [in 2021], we had no option but to discontinue our LUM-310X display, which was our color mastering monitor. We searched but just could not find a good enough panel to justify reintroducing that product line. The market in the 31-inch [reference display] is niche, and we have to offer the perfect monitor our customers will approve. There’s no OLED in that size that can do 1000 nits right now, and with LCD, other than dual-layer, there are no other options.”

What Lee was showing off was TVLogic’s LXM series, a single-layer 4K LCD panel that can do single and quad display. “It’s not necessarily an 8K monitor,” he described. “But we did want to build a monitor that could accept four 4K images in one picture, similar to a multi-view display. This emulates HDR, meaning it can show the maximum capability of the panel without losing the top and bottom ends of the image. We have an 18-inch that can do 500 and 1000 nits, a 24-inch that can do 500 and 1000 nits, and a 32-inch that does 1000 nits. One feature we added from the LUM line is you can compare SDR and HDR images side-by-side.”

Longtime NAB Show exhibitor Gary Litwin, with Boland Communications in Lake Forest, CA, says his company was “all in” with OLED for this year’s show. Litwin was talking up Boland’s X4K OLED line, which

includes six sizes ranging from 16- to 65-in. single- or quad-link 12G SDI that will resolve P3, Rec.709 and Rec.2020, with the 65 in. offering 1000 nits. When asked, “Why OLED?” Litwin quickly responded: “Black levels. Viewing angles, unlike when OLED was first introduced, are now terrific, best in class. The one challenge has always been using OLED displays for exteriors, because they’re shiny, and that still remains. But the contrast levels beat all other current technology.” Litwin also noted how OLED’s are now being used in a video-wall environment, “where you formerly only have had LCD’s,” he concluded. “We remove the front board and stick them on the back of the panel, so there’s no bright lights or buttons, and the customer will put 25 to 30 together to make an OLED wall. In that example it’s the Neutron, built for Amazon and NFL football. And there’s more of that coming.”

Whether it's LCD, OLED, Micro-LED, or some other technology yet to come, Local 600 camera operators still must depend on reliable and proven displays to support their craft. That’s where a camera-centric vendor like ARRI , who recently teamed with longtime onboard camera display vendor SmallHD, remains an important prime player in the market. ARRI’s early summer announcement of its new Camera Control Monitor CCM-1, which provides full camera control for the company’s ALEXA 35 and ALEXA Mini LF, will be welcome news to Guild camera teams. This temperature-resistant monitor, is constructed from lightweight aluminum and is weather-sealed. It provides a bright, high-

contrast HD image on its 7-inch IPS LCD screen, and has color-accurate ARRI image quality, and full ARRI camera and menu control. The unit replaces (or works alongside) ARRI’s MVF-2 viewfinder, and offers both customizable touchscreen and physical controls.

ARRI says the display came in response to requests from camera operators, “who prefer to judge framing and exposure with an onboard monitor rather than a viewfinder,” according to the company’s product announcement. ARRI’s product literature notes that “all functions are adjustable via the touchscreen or via buttons and a joystick that are positioned on one side of the monitor and can be operated with one hand, leaving the other hand free. The power and back buttons have unique tactile indicators that make them easy to find, with or without gloves on, while the dedicated menu button provides fast access to the familiar menu of the MVF2. Four user buttons allow personalized settings, and a lock slider disables the touchscreen and all buttons, preventing accidental triggering of functions.”

One interesting feature that may end up helping operators more easily jump on the VP train is that by using the camera’s VF connector, both SDI outputs are free for other uses. ARRI product literature adds that the “CCM-1 can alternatively be connected via SDI like a normal on-board monitor, allowing application of ALF-2 and ALF-4 look files, full access to the SmallHD toolset, and use with third-party cameras. Multiple other connection options facilitate different camera configurations and use cases.”

62 OCTOBER 2023

TVLOGIC LXM SERIES HDR/SDR SIDE-BY-SIDE MONITORING

63 OCTOBER 2023 FLANDERS SCIENTIFIC DM160

CANON'S FREE VIEWPOINT VIDEO SYSTEM FOR LIVE EVENTS

CAPTURE & SUPPORT

I opted not to attend NAB Show 2023 in person, gathering from my research that there wouldn’t be much (or anything) new in the cinema world and that the show was skewing back toward radio/broadcast. As for CineGear, as a WGA member, I chose not to enter a struck studio. For better or worse, many of my sources echoed what I was feeling about what’s (not so) new in new technology this year.

But that doesn’t mean there aren’t any new trends in gear being used by members, vendors, and rental houses. So, I reached out to my usual list of sources and got back some unexpected responses. (Many of those sources opted out of attending trade shows as well this year.) First up was the lens category, where there’s typically one person to start the conversation – Jay Holben. (His book The Cine Lens Manual with Chris Probst will remain an industry “bible” for quite some time.) Holben said one trend he’s seeing is toward adaptable lenses to give adaptable character – as with the Look lens, recently added to ARRI’s Hero series. “It has a third ring to adjust aberrations,” Holben explained. “It allows for instant and incrementally detuning the image, allowing the optical characteristics to be adjusted shot by shot, or even during a take. Otto Nemenz and P+S Technik did the same with the Ottoblads, which are rehoused

Hasselblad lenses with a third ring that alters field curvature.”

Holben also shared a new manufacturer on his radar – Module8 – that has introduced The Tuner, a behind-the-lens adapter for Sony, Canon, and prosumer camera s that allows for adjustable introductions of aberrations that mimic the feeling of vintage lenses. “More and more lens companies are introducing a singular option with variable looks to give filmmakers more freedom of choice of how much character they want on a shot-by-shot basis,” he added.

I laser-focused on True Vintage Lenses a few months ago, even though people were nudging me to add a vintage look. Somehow, I knew that was going to come up in another issue. Trust Jay to give me the perfect opportunity with his take on vintage-like options: “especially [relatively] inexpensive lenses for smaller cameras like the RED KOMODO with its native Canon R mount,” he continued. “Cooke Venus just introduced their SP3 series, which mimics the feel and matches the prescription of Cooke Speed Panchro primes from the 1930s and 1950s. In new housing with modern glass, it’s more compact in the DSLR form but intended for cinema use.” Holben also pointed out Gecko-Cam’s Genesis OPIA series, which, he said, “have a highly characterdriven vintage feeling, with all-new bespoke glass –

not rehoused or taken from existing lenses. They will offer the OPIA’s in multiple coating variations from uncoated – truly uncoated with incredible flare – to single coat and muti-coat. Looks like the world is swinging towards higher character.”

Filtering inside the lens is another new trend. As Holben told me: “Right now, it’s Angénieux-specific with their IOP [integrated optical palette], exclusive to the Angénieux Primes, which allows for inserting a filter into the lens and an incredible wealth of options. This allows for another somewhat in-the-fielded variation of lens character and look definition. But it is a bit time-consuming and not something many can afford to do on-the-fly.”

My next source was Guild Director of Photography Markus Förderer, ASC, who’s in sync with Holben. Förderer sees a strong trend in the variety of new compact lenses offered by new players in the market. “Names we haven’t heard of but are growing strong like Venus Optics, D20film, and Nisi ,” he said. “They offer small, lightweight lenses with great optical designs, perfect for gimbal, drones and handheld operation.” A case in point is Venus Optics’ Laowa line, which offers everything from Macro probes to the 000M 25-100-mm T2.9 Cine – the first cinema zoom lens from Laowa. The interesting add is an all-in-one zoom lens with a blend of vintage and modern characters with Super

66 OCTOBER 2023

ICG STAFF WRITER PAULINE ROGERS DIDN’T FIND A TON OF NEW PRODUCTS FOR 2023, BUT SHE DID FIND SOME FASCINATING TRENDS IN THE CAPTURE AND SUPPORT CATEGORIES.

35-mm coverage, constant T2.9, and a full-frame sensor with a rear anamorphic adapter to create 2.39:1 widescreen.

“And with Cooke’s announcement of their SP3 Speed Panchro lenses,” Förderer added, “we have the first traditional lens manufacturer offering a very compact form factor. These new, smaller-budget lenses offer high optical quality at a great price. Their main drawback – in my opinion – is a lack of precision focus marks and lens data. Lens data is especially helpful for virtual production [more on that later] and VFX. The metadata transmitted via SKI signal or ethernet makes it possible for the virtual environment to adapt to the camera field of view in real time. You could change the focal length on a zoom lens or adjust depth-of-field with the iris, and the render on the Unreal Environment will adjust accordingly.”

Förderer agreed that filtration is changing. “Behind-the-lens filtration is a growing trend allowing for lighter gimbal and handheld setups without a matte box, which contributes to making the camera system front-heavy. This allows for smaller lenses at the end of the optical path.” He also noted that electronic ND filters are on the rise. “RED is using an electronic ND filter in their PL mount for V-Raptor and KOMODO cameras. This makes it possible to fine-tune ND values without swapping ND filters. A

big time-saver. Their V-Raptor XL has the electronic ND built in. It is motorized and can slide out to clear in low-light scenarios.”

Other manufacturers Förderer singled out included KipperTie, Breakthrough Filters, and Canon, which all offer rear ND filters and polarized versions. “We’re learning that diffusion filters can also help to avoid moiré effects, a common issue with shooting LED video walls,” Förderer continued.

“ARRI’s Signature Primes is another one on my radar. They’re designed to have an additional rear optical element, making the addition of a filter or rear diopter a simple magnetic attachment. There’s also NiSi Athena Primes, which offer rear filter threads for their lenses. The options [among] traditional filtration in the matte box, filters attached to the rear of the lens and filtration inside the lens mount are exciting and open up various creative and technical possibilities.”

What’s the word on new trends from the manufacturer/vendor side? David Dodson, senior VP of client relations and business development, and Michael George, chief operating officer at Panavision, endured a rather long Zoom meeting to share Panavision’s point-of-view. Panavision is a company that is always at the forefront of cameras

and lenses. And if they don’t have a lens, trust their in-house expert, Dan Sasaki, to modify or build one.

Surprisingly, George’s thoughts were more about what Panavision is doing in the virtual production (VP) space, which, he said, “is taking root everywhere.” In fact, in collaboration with volumetric display companies, Panavision recently installed a large-scale LED wall in their Woodland Hills headquarters. The temporary installation was used to test a wide range of camera and lens combinations in a Volume environment. “We have optical engineers, mechanical engineers and image scientists working together to study and document the relationship between various camera sensors, lenses, and displays,” George explained. “We’re taking a scientific approach to recognize where moiré is caused and understanding how we can compensate optically to mitigate those challenges. We’re also comparing practical exterior shots with the same scene display on a Volume wall, studying the differences and determining the optical adjustments that can help enhance the realism of the stage environment.”

In conjunction with their work in volumetrics, Panavision has a new offering, the Array Rig and Array lenses. The Array Rig was built to capture background plates for VFX and/or volumetric stage content. It can be assembled in different

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PANAVISION ARRAY RIG AND LENSES

configurations to meet the production’s needs, and it provides perfect spacing to maintain correct overlaps between cameras. It’s used with dedicated optics, optimized to perfectly match one another.

As for venerable ARRI, they’ve raised the imagequality bar again with their recently announced ALEXA 35, which offers an unprecedented 17 stops of dynamic range and new Reveal Color Science. The company also has a new software release, SUP 1.2.0, to support its newly introduced Camera Control Monitor CCM-1 [see Display, page 58], which enables touch operation on the flip-out monitor of its MVF-2 viewfinder. And they’re continually pushing the limits of modularity and reliability in their lighting line, even establishing the newly founded Business Unit Solutions organization to support all the advancements.

ARRI, too, is riding the virtual-production trend, building its own department headed by Stephan Ukas-Bradley. ARRI Solutions combines ARRI products with third-party technology in the realm of virtual production, broadcast, and corporate studio application, offering design and engineering services as well as workflow innovation for these state-of-the-art production environments. ARRI Solutions also just opened a production environment focusing on corporate, advertising and promotional production at the ARRI Rental facility in Long Island

City. They also operate a commercial VP stage at their London location.

Since we’re talking about capturing images for background plates and VP, I want to take a quick left turn to talk about Rosco, one of the manufacturers I contacted for our lighting section. Marketing Director Joel Svendsen told me that “even though the [virtual production] market is expected to exceed $8 billion by 2032, the existing infrastructure poses several barriers – including high cost and logistical challenges – that prevent most projects from shooting inside an LED volume. Filmmakers desperately need tools that will enable them to successfully navigate the virtual production revolution. One of the major hurdles? Extensive time and cost to build the digital environment.”

Rosco’s answer is its RDX LABSystem , a scalable technology combining Rosco’s extensive digital library of cinematic backdrop imagery with cutting-edge VFX software from FuseFX. “It’s controlled entirely through an intuitive mobile app,” Svendsen shares. “The RDX System works with any LED wall system to provide affordable, production-ready background imagery that can easily be modified and activated on set. This makes virtual production accessible to more filmmakers by significantly reducing the amount of time and budget required to build those environments in

pre-production. The system enables creating and adjusting in real time as they capture the full image in camera. Not in post.”

As for other capture trends, Canon’s Len Musmeci says, “The market is at a pause [during the current dual work actions], and all that is happening is both a tragedy and an inspiration, as we see so many artists and creative spirits stand together in solidarity. From an equipment standpoint, there is little to discuss during this time. Still, we have seen many filmmakers and artists continue to fuel their creative spirit through indie projects; and there, we’re seeing smaller, affordable handheld equipment finding a home.

“Canon’s RF lens mount has also made its way into the cinema market, with companies like RED Digital Cinema using our RF mount on their cameras,” Musmeci continued. “Canon has produced some amazing RF-mount glass that is both high quality and affordable. This RF trend has also prompted Canon to introduce RF-mount cinema prime lenses.” Just released as of this writing is the first set of RF-Mount Cinema Prime Lenses for Cinema EOS Systems. The lenses combine high optical performance for 4K and 8K shooting, cinema-style operability, and RF-mount communications, pairing with Canon and RED RFmount cameras.

68 OCTOBER 2023

SONY BURANO FUJINON PREMISTA SERIES

I was lucky to hook up with Nobu Takahashi, Head of Cinema Line Cameras, Sony Tokyo, who took me through his thoughts on trends from live events to streaming to virtual production workflows. He sees several trends that are driving the industry at this time.

“Over the past year, we have seen a major increase in the use of high-end cinema cameras in live events, especially concerts and awards shows,” Takahashi described. “At first, we saw a dozen VENICE and VENICE 2 being used for events like the Super Bowl Halftime Show , but over the last year, we’ve seen major artists also adopt this cinematic look to bring the magic and artistry of their concerts to people’s homes in the way [they were] intended – even if it means using 30 VENICE 2 cameras. What started with using the VENICE 2 for these productions has now also included some of our smaller cameras like the FR7 cinematic pantilt-zoom camera.”

Another interesting trend is the use of highend cameras on smaller streaming productions. Takahashi says, “Many DP’s are working on an increasing number of unscripted dramas, documentaries, wildlife shows, music videos and commercials on the web. Big-budget streaming feature films and series are often renting VENICE, but more and more operator-owned equipment –

lighter, smaller, more handheld cameras of all brands – are used, like the Sony FX series for unscripted – creating that high-end cinema look at a fraction of the price.

“To help address this need for a small, mobile camera with a high-end look,” he added, “we just launched the BURANO. The BURANO has a sensor that matches the VENICE 2, but it is three pounds lighter and designed for a single camera operator or a small crew. It addresses the needs of these DP’s and camera operators, who must work fast and be mobile.”

Before we slip out of the capture world, a new system, high on Holben’s list, is the Big Sky Cinema Camera, a 316-mp, 3-by-3-in. sensor with an 18K resolution at 120 fps. Developed by Sphere Entertainment (which specializes in immersive dome screenings), it’s touted as “IMAX on steroids.” Sphere says it’s the largest sensor in commercial use to project on the highest-resolution LED screens. And the company is working to broaden the camera’s abilities – developing underwater and other lenses and using existing medium-format lenses.

When I reached out to ZEISS, I expected to hear about a new lens, but what I got was Senior Marketing Manager Tony Wisniewski’s take on metadata. “Once considered a luxury, lens metadata has become a standard requirement of image capture,” he described. “You are seeing a surge in the number of filmic elements tracked on the stage and beyond. This leads to more accurate control of design and provides greater creative freedom to the filmmaking team. ZEISS has extended our ability to include data to the creators by developing our Cinecraft digital environment to include easy access to lens metadata and user-friendly camera tracking. We foresee the need for additional data sets and will expand the Cinecraft universe to include them in the coming years.”

It’s something that Victor Ha, VP of Fujifilm North America, Optical Devices Divisions, is well aware of. “Manufacturers are showing a deep interest in understanding how metadata is used,” Ha told me. “That’s why you’re seeing things like Cooke /i Technology and ZEISS eXtended Data. This trend demonstrates a growing need for more refined use of metadata. Fujinon is making the necessary moves that will allow us to position ourselves to address the current and evolving needs of filmmakers and virtual production.

“The growing needs of metadata for virtual production have put lens manufacturers in a position to invest time and resources into those needs,” Ha continued. “Look at our Premista Series, designed with virtual production in mind. And we were the first large-format zooms to provide ZEISS eXtended Data. That speaks to our dedication to using market knowledge and customer feedback to make decisions about products that support our needs.”

On the more traditional side, Angénieux just released the EZ-3, which fits into the multi-tasking trend of converting between Super 35 and full frame. At a time when there have been plenty of

changes in lens mounts, the EZ-3 offers a modular approach, enabling compatibility with PL, E, EF and RF cameras.

As for Support, that’s a category that seems stalled in place. Most everyone I reached out to responded with “nothing new,” or worse, didn’t bother to return emails/calls.

Steadicam’s Andrew Tiffen did add to the thoughts several people shared about the proliferation of smaller cameras. “To support the needs of smaller cameras, we will launch two new Steadicam sleds – Aero Volt and Zephyr Volt –which include integral three-axis – roll, tilt, and pan – body-worn stabilization for the first time,” he told me.

Tyler Phillips at Matthews didn’t see any new trends per se. (And the new product he did have was embargoed, of course.) But when I brought up virtual production, Phillips had an interesting thought that many aren’t mentioning. “I would watch out for green screen to come back on big shows,” was his surprise take. “LED walls are too complex and not affordable for most, and then you are stuck with the look in post. With green screen, angles and backgrounds are easily modified and affordable.”

Last but not least, another surprise came from Jacques Goyard at Cartoni , who told me, “The evolving landscape of visual content creation, the automation and remote operation of cameras are the most significant changes in today’s ways of captioning images. The exponential increase of the PTZ sales proves it, and other new needs for movement in routine image gathering. Well before the pandemic’s impact, Cartoni detected this trend and designed a whole line of solutions for PTZ, from handy simple stands to the latest motorized column, the Lifto 25.”

Goyard says the next milestone in broadcast and digital cinematography will be the camera position data. “Not only for VR work but for editing, synchronizing, composing objects with backgrounds,” Goyard added, “as the existing position tracking technologies are not accurate enough for a real precise-position data collection. Cartoni invested over two years of research and development with ultraprecise optical encoders that can render the camera’s position and supply it in compatible data strings to any request or need for VR, SFX and more.” The result – encoded e-fluid heads that cover everything from the Magnum, Master and Maxima, to the Lambda 25 Third Axis and Jibo

In wrapping up this latest “chapter” of our 2023 Product Guide, I can say a lot of territory was covered, even if the frequency of new tools was lacking. Of course, it’s now a few days before IBC as I write this, and I’m betting that as I hit “send,” more tempting product releases will clog my inbox. Those will have to be fodder for our 2024 Product Guide when our members will be back to work in full and eager to dig into the latest gear and trends.

69 OCTOBER 2023

CARTONI JIBO

With many lighting products being held for announcement at IBC (after my deadline), I went searching for new trends in what has become one of the most innovative (and quickly changing) areas of filmmaking – lighting.

And like much of what ICG readers will find throughout this October 2023 Product Guide, the trends in lighting mirrored those in other areas we’ve reported on – capture, support, display, and workflow. Nearly all of them are centered around virtual production (VP).

I went looking for input from lighting companies who are trying to stay ahead of the game, as well as some friends to help with some deep background.

The latter include Roberto Schaefer, ASC, who insisted I talk to Mitch Gross. “Mitch has been associated with many lighting companies – and knows everything,” Schaefer enthused. Naturally, I reached out to Gross (now at Prolycht, which was recently acquired by Aputure), who talked about an interesting two-theory approach to what we now call image-based lighting. “The big thing now from lighting companies is how do they approach lights that integrate with video walls,” Gross explained. “The ability to adjust the color and intensity depends on the technology of the light. The greater the range, the greater the speed, the more useful for virtual production. [Think backgrounds and size of the screen]. Until now, the screens themselves have

been limited to the red/green/blue world. That’s fine when the screens illuminate the image, but when the RGB light from the video walls shines onto a person or objects in front of the screen, much of the spectrum is missing.”

Gross said the trend in VP lighting is that “we’re now augmenting that light with proper cinema lighting – so we need lights that are highly adjustable in brightness and color and can actively change and shift quickly.” He mentioned several companies at the forefront of this trend, like KinoFlo [more from them later], which integrates lighting control and LED emitters into their own mini-walls, that then shine onto the subject using a Genlock (timing the light aligned to the timing of the video feed to the background wall).

“Creamsource originally did flicker with highspeed cameras,” Gross continued. “Their Vortex lights have the capabilities with a module where the video source is plugged in and takes the genlock signal from the video, matches the speed, and adjusts. And, both Aputure and Nanlux [more from them later, also] can work with such systems.”

Gross provided a quick and simple overview.

“There are two theories,” he started to explain about what makes lighting for VP unique (and challenging).

“The first is about using complex lighting control systems for virtual studios, which also control the video walls. The lights become part of that system –

pixels on the screen – bright, colored pixels directed to a certain spot in front of the screens to illuminate the actors. Many manufacturers are going that route as long as they have DMX control and can be addressed through the system. But that’s a limited solution because it requires a huge infrastructure to run it, and the lights are just a small piece. That means huge, expensive installations, which are great but not always appropriate for every production. Kino Flo has a different take on the MIMIK, as they’re trying to offer the light and the control system essentially as one. But while powerful, it’s also still complex and expensive.

“At Prolycht, we have a different system,” Gross continued, drilling down into his company’s approach. “Rather than relying on a complex system that’s busy running the background walls, tracking the camera, and running 360-degree virtual-space computations, Prolycht separated our lighting control into a simple interface. We created ImageTrack RT (real-time), a function in our free Chroma Link app for your iPhone or iPad, which controls the lights. It accepts video signals directly into the app through an inexpensive video adapter, the Accsoon SeeMo Pro box. It takes the signal in and comes up on the iPad screen –literally, whatever is on the wall or whatever video you decide to feed it. There is a target on the screen that you move around with your finger.

“Whatever happens in the video under the target

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NEW TRENDS IN LIGHTING ARE CENTERED AROUND THE FASTCHANGING (AND FUTURISTIC) WORLD OF VIRTUAL PRODUCTION.

LIGHTING

KINOFLO MIMIK-120

will control the light you assign it to,” Gross added. “For example, if it turns bright red in that spot, the light will shine bright red in real time. It’s ridiculously simple to use. ImageTrack RT can control up to eight targets and lights, all in real-time with an intuitive interface. Prolycht lights can be used in big installations, like other lights, with no problem. But using ImageTrack RT In a few minutes, you can set up a basic but powerful virtual studio with little more than an iPad.”

The technology translates an incoming RGB video signal into five individual emitters (warm white, cool white, red, green and blue), generating synchronized foreground lighting that creates realism on virtual sets. The MIMIK is controlled by the Megapixel VR HELIOS LED processor. MIMIK expands real-time and postproduction options, delivering 10,000 NITS and the ability to shoot as high as 900 frames per second and offer as many as 30 Alpha channels at 30 frames per second.

color in a non-standard environment, even when using other manufacturers’ lighting fixtures. “Our Evoke is offering impressive support for everything from multi-camera to feature and virtual production,” Bender shared.

One of my long-time go-to lighting experts has always been Frieder Hochheim, President of Kino Flo. Hochheim pulled Mark Primrose, engineering guru, into our conversation, to talk about five-color LED panels that are genlockable. The genlock signal tells the equipment when each frame starts. The LED panel uses the genlock signal to forcibly reset the LED PWM’s such that the LED’s on the panel generate light when the camera shutter is open and is acquiring an image.

Hocheim and Primrose shared that the indemand system right now is MIMIK 120, an imagebased video lighting tile that mirrors video content while applying a higher tonal and color-rendering range. MIMIK delivers extended spectral bandwidth and cinematic color fidelity when lighting talent and set elements in a virtual production environment.

MIMIK is not the end-all for Kinoflo or other lighting companies adapting to virtual production. As Primrose told me, “Lighting is going to hit P3 color space. It’s not there yet. It needs to be larger than Rec. 709 or sRGB. The problem, at the moment, is the challenge to refine the wavelength – in the green realm.” When asked if there was anything else coming down the pike, Primrose said “waterproof units. Not for the outdoors,” he smiled. “But for rental houses to hose off instead of wipe off – time and manpower equal big savings.”

A third take on virtual production lighting came from Mark Bender, general manager and vice president, Sales, at Nanlux Americas. Their Evoke 2400B, a 2400-W high-output bi-color LED fixture with a wide CCT range from 2700-6500K, allows for output equivalent to 10K tungsten or 4K HMI. The Evoke 2400B includes a wide range of greenmagenta adjustment that allows for more consistent

Nanlux is also addressing a new aspect of lighting for virtual productions: “high-power, dynamically responding full-color hard-light sources,” Bender continued. The Evoke 900C with its 6-color RGBLAC LED light source offers more than a 4K Tungsten Fresnel and is for the first time a useful, true full-color hard-light source. “It is a true hard light,” Bender explained. “It can be shaped with PAR reflectors and the ability to mount Leko lenses. This allows them to be cut and shaped even further as needed. This has never been obtainable on any set, let alone on virtual productions, where dynamic color responding hard lights have been missing. It lets the designer have total freedom in creating realistic lighting that will enhance the performance of the actors. It eliminates the limitation of only using soft light on a virtual set.”

Nanlux’s new hard RGBLAC LED’s were recently put to the test when Stargate’s Sam Nicholson, ASC, employed a 35-instrument package on a large project using Unreal Engine. “This video game is being pitched to be picked up as a television series,” Bender added. “The lights responded perfectly to Sam’s engineering requirements, and their high-

73 OCTOBER 2023

power output, with this ultra-extensive range of color space, was a surprise for crew and director.” Bender added that the application of lighting virtual sets for television show budgets is a breakthrough. “Scaling virtual production down to make it more affordable and agile has been key,” he noted. “It’s going to involve a very sophisticated array of equipment: integrated and responsive, but not overwhelmingly huge.”

Game-changing trends in lighting technology are not just limited to VP, as I found out talking to ARRI’s Stephan Ukas-Bradley. The company’s new modular SkyPanel X is an all-weather LED luminaire that is configurable into different sizes. It offers native soft, native hard, and open-face lighting, and sets a new standard in terms of dimming, color rendition, output, and beam quality. The SkyPanel X connects advanced LED technology with the diverse workflows of today – and is tailored to use by DP’s, gaffers, console operators, lighting designers and broadcast techs. The low-end dimming with flicker-free operation from 100 to zero is a must for direct, close-distance key lighting. It can emulate

the characteristics of sodium lamps or cloudy sunlight. Eight pixel zones per LED panel meet the requirements of advanced console programming, visual effects and virtual production environments.

Another pro I reached out to on my lighting journey was Stefan Karle of DoPchoice, whose company makes accessories and light modifiers for pretty much every manufacturer in the market. Karle told me that “so many brands are missing essential accessories at their launch.” I brought up virtual production, and one of his first choices is LiteGear’s Aurora, for which users are able to move on a frame for a customized array, in what Karle describes as a “super clever system.” Karle also mentioned KinoFlo’s better color rendition, especially for actors’ faces, and the company’s work with video-use processors. He then went a direction I hadn’t expected, mentioning Quasar Science tubes. “It’s their pixel mapping that caught my attention,” Karle shared. “Many other companies are working on pixel panels.”

With regard to virtual production, Karle explained that “recently, on a project in London, we were on a Volume stage and had to spray light on the background. We built a graded grid – with cells

smaller, narrower and closer to the screen. This way, with angled grids, we were able to get fill onto the screen and only hit the actors.” This concept sends light in different directions, preventing screen issues that used to be corrected in post.

What else do support companies like DoPchoice need to address in this ever-changing environment? “We’re all helping to combine all existing with new lighting technologies that need accessories to improve the creative lighting possibilities,” Karle responded.

As for what’s going outside the feature/episodic world, like in live-event production, Karle talked about the shift from board operators to complex programming and the current tool of choice to facilitate that change, the grandMA3 computerprogramming board

I decided to reach out to gaffers, lighting designers, and tech gurus about any other changes in live-event lighting (with even more on the way next month in ICG’s November Unscripted issue). One of my sources was Dan Boland, a lighting designer and programmer with Darkfire Lighting Design. Boland had a lot to say about the exponential changes in

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programming lights today and the go-to console line for major productions, the grandMA.

But first, he shared an interesting tidbit. “Lighting technology has gotten to a point where there is a growing divergence from the old dimmer boards with a handful of faders to full-on computerized lighting consoles that process mountains of data,” Boland described. “There is now such a multitude of lights and fixtures that there was a discussion at IATSE Local 728 to create a position for lighting programmers who work with a lot of automated lighting fixtures (moving lights) and need the technical knowledge to keep up.”

Full disclosure: Boland teaches classes on the grandMA series – so he may be a little more educated than most. But is he biased? Not really. There are legacy boards – PRG’s 676 is the latest for versatility. The Hog 4 and Full Boar 4 are extremely popular and cost-effective. ETC is the most popular for medium size or larger productions, and people are also purchasing Onyx Obsidians. Still, Boland explained how the grandMA console line hits all the right notes in the lighting industry. “It’s versatile and performs well in most situations. It feels like it

gears toward larger events – but that’s what we need when there are many stages and setups,” he told me. “Sometimes, it even maxes out the software with the sheer amount of lights and associated data that goes along with a show like The Voice.”

The recently introduced grandMA3 hardware and software basically doubled the data the console can handle. “And,” Boland laughed, “we’re hoping to break that soon, too.”

As for other exciting (and groundbreaking) trends, Boland answered immediately. “Phasers. Or what’s known as effects. Back in the old days, you would write a stack of cues and give them a chase time to create chases or effects, like a crackling fire. GrandMA and grandMA2 had stepped those ‘chases’ up with what they called ‘effects,’ where you’d only have to write a couple of steps instead of a stack of cues to get the same crackling fire. With grandMA3, they’ve stepped it up again with what they call ‘phasers,’ which expand the ability of the programmer to write more intricate crackling-fire effects with greater speed and diversity.”

What’s next for this much-in-demand board? A surprise, as Boland took me back to where I started

– virtual production. “Operating in 3D, I think, is going to be key as virtual production becomes more and more common,” he shared. “With previous software versions, the programmer could only set lights out in space in two dimensions, but on MA3, you can now put lights in the third dimension. Best example? A rig of lights hanging above the stage, and a wall of lights hanging upstage. The programmer could build out a 3D representation of such a rig and be able to run effects, or phasers, that reacted in the 3D, if that makes sense.”

Going into this year’s Product Guide, I was leery (but excited) about digging up new lighting tools that I’ve been very comfortable handling over my many years with ICG. But surprise! I got hit with a very different challenge and this brave new world of virtual production, where rules seem to be changing by the minute (and on-the-fly). Thanks, of course, to the many friends I’ve made over the years (how many of you have gotten my “honey, please” calls? A sure signal that my brain has frozen), ICG readers can get up-to-speed on both the science of and the thought processes behind today’s future-bound technology.

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WORKFLOW

CAMERA-TO-CLOUD CONTINUES TO OFFER BIG EXPECTATIONS FOR NEW WORKFLOW TRENDS HEADING INTO 2024 – WILL IT FINALLY DELIVER?

BY MICHAEL CHAMBLISS

The cloud’s promise of time compression, accessibility, and asset tracking has been teasing production teams for years now. And the big news for 2023 is that we just might be reaching a tipping point where cloud workflows are accessible without needing someone with an IT degree in your contacts. Even better, they look to be scalable, from run ‘n’ gun indie projects to major studio features. Cloud workflows are growing into an ecosystem of data appliances and software with limits that appear to be only assigned by users’ imaginations. There are big clouds, smaller clouds, private clouds, live clouds and streaming clouds. Now that we’re starting to gather some Legos, it’s going to be fun to see what gets built.

Production teams began testing the waters of cloud workflows in large-budgeted features, with this year seeing the possibilities to expand into every tier of production, at any level, happening all at once. Experts say that different parts of production will move into the cloud on different timelines, with the full transition for camera-to-cloud taking about eight years. And while technology adoption is notoriously hard to predict, this writer is confident there will be more cloud workflows, not less. The push will most likely come from both the big productions down and the smaller productions up. But it’s a transition that

requires a rejiggering of the traditional production silos (which, speaking from historical evidence, is something that many producers are not great at). But with the growth of almost-no-cost options, the emerging generation of filmmakers will be coming up with the cloud integrated into their creative DNA.

What follows is a small sampling of the cameracentric cloud technology that was on offer at the 2023 HPA Technical Retreat, 2023 CineGear, and the 2023 NAB Show. There’s way more out there once you start to dig in, with creative new workflows that will redefine how filmmakers communicate and collaborate, both on set and in postproduction.

Atomos made a splash on the NAB Show floor with its Atomos and Shogun Connect. The company calls it an “expansion accessory” for the NINJA V and NINJA V+ monitor/recorders that is, essentially, a data appliance connecting whatever camera you’re working with to the internet and iPhone while adding wireless timecode and control to a variety of devices. It’s the gateway to the cloud production systems Atomos is designing to serve traditional shoot-topost, streaming, and live-production workflows. At its core, the Shogun Connect is a WiFi 6 node that creates H.265 proxy files while recording fullresolution “hero” clips at up to 8Kp30 in DNxHR/HD, ProRes, and ProRes RAW. Its I/O ports are HDMI 2.0a and 12G SDI. 3D LUT’s can be applied to the outputs and routed to other gear via the HDMI.

The Atomos Connect has a feature called AirGlu for synchronizing other cameras, software, and audio devices with any other connected device acting as the timecode server. It also has an iOS and macOS app that enables remote control of a variety of functions, including playback, LUT management, and image analysis tools.

In addition to being able to interface camera-tocloud with Frame.io and Sony Cloud, Atomos has its own Cloud Studio. Cloud Studio is free to low cost and enables live streaming to social media services and custom streaming outlets, review/publishing, and editing. There’s a live production module in beta that will enable live show control with multi-camera switching from an iPhone or iPad.

Among the list of features in RED’s new flagship cameras, the V-RAPTOR and V-RAPTOR XL , is integration into Adobe’s Frame.io cloud production platform without additional hardware. Both the V-RAPTOR and V-RAPTOR XL have the capability of automatically uploading ProRes proxy files with full metadata and even R3D RAW up to 8K (if you have the bandwidth) directly from the camera at the end of each shot. In keeping with the RED tradition of not being shy about putting something out there that’s new and different, the V-RAPTOR system boasts of offering the industry’s first fully integrated direct camera-to-cloud high-end production cameras. Implementation of RED’s camera-to-cloud workflow

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is straightforward. The camera is linked to the Frame. io account, and there’s a menu page to select what kind of files to upload: R3D, log, CDL, ProRes Proxy, WAV and custom LUT’s. Frame.io associates each of the files with a particular take and its metadata when uploaded.

“ Blackmagic is here to kick down the gates to the country club,” observed President Dan May in talking about the brand’s new Blackmagic Cloud Ecosystem. And he may very well be right, with a goal based around “good designs that can reach the most people,” an approach that’s guided Blackmagic Design’s rollout of cloud services (as well as its many updates to DaVinci Resolve over the years, along with innovative high-resolution capture systems). “We launched the Blackmagic Cloud two years ago to sync Resolve projects for approval and chat,” May added.

Acknowledging that connectivity speed is the major bottleneck for most content creators when working in the cloud, the company began with a two-tiered system. Blackmagic Cloud keeps the small and ever-changing Resolve project files and active chat off-site in the cloud, while the much larger and more stable media files are stored on local networks and shared in the background via Dropbox or Google Drive. The Cloud Pod and Cloud

Docks are purpose-built network appliances for the unattended uploading of files from USB-C, SSD and U.2 storage. For local working media, their Cloud Store products are flash memory RAID-5 plug-andplay network-attached storage appliances with 10G ethernet connectivity designed for unattended bidirectional syncing of files with Dropbox and Google Drive, while simultaneously allowing for collaborative sharing within a local workgroup. The result is an efficient cloud workflow for those who don’t have fat pipes into the internet.

Connecting the brand’s cameras to the cloud was announced at the 2023 IBC Show. First out is Blackmagic Camera, a free digital film app for the iPhone adding Blackmagic’s digital film camera controls and image processing to iPhones. “When you hit ‘Stop,’ it automatically sends the file to Blackmagic Cloud and syncs directly to the edit bin in Resolve,” May explained. “With the Chat function, someone can be giving feedback while reshooting. If I want, I can go back to the dailies cart and review what was shot. The app turns an iPhone into something resembling a Blackmagic cinema camera ‘lite’ that will expand the number of people we touch who are interested in having better cameras. We can imagine how people will use this, but how they really use it will be interesting to see.”

The camera settings include choices for media management, recording format, lens selections

including anamorphic, programmed zooms, external microphone, zebra, focus assist, frame guides, histogram, audio metering, shot review, ACES and 3D LUT’s. And ever-mindful of changing set-topost workflows, shooting directly from a camera into the Blackmagic cloud is built into the 18.6 release of Resolve. Beyond Blackmagic Camera, the front end of the workflow is currently slated to be added to URSA Broadcast G2 cameras and the new Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K , which simultaneously records high-bit-depth Blackmagic Raw and H.264 proxies for cloud and linked mobile work. Resolve 18.6 also supports Blackmagic Cloud Storage with synced project and media files and automatic proxy generation.

Connecting cameras to the rest of production is what Teradek does, so there are a number of paths within their Teradek Cloud Ecosystem to push images into the cloud, broadcast live from cloud production hubs or stream from just about any camera in any conditions. The company also has the experience to understand the crowded RF environment of the set and real-world workflows.

Link AX is an update to the original Link with several notable additions, giving it the flexibility to be a data source into the cloud from just about anywhere. The Link AX is a ruggedized WiFi 6 MIMO router, adding three more configurable ethernet ports to the original Link design for a total of five,

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along with a USB-A port and 2-pin, gold, and v-mount power options. Routing the cameras to the Link AX through Teradek’s Serv 4K streaming appliances allows for multiple cameras to connect to Frame. io, PIX, Sony Ci, and Teradek’s Core. The USB port enables the connection of a Node II wireless modem for cell data links. The same signal flow allows for live color grading with Pomfort Livegrade and remote camera control. Teradek has other encoding options as well at the Serv 4K’s, with the choice depending on other variables in the workflow configuration.

Cellular data pipes have always held the promise of being a scalable path for production connectivity, but they’ve typically come with too many “gotcha’s” to be practical in many situations. The cell carrier business model of monthly plans and data limits doesn’t work very well for production, to say nothing of carriers each having different coverage areas.

Teradek is taking on that issue with Teradek Data, a suite of solutions with field-switchable multicarrier and native carrier SIM’s providing coverage in 32 countries with more on the way. Native carrier wireless data is a low-latency business class of service, and Teradek Data enables the same SIM to be reprogrammed from multi-carrier to native carrier and back depending upon the demands of the day. Teradek also gives productions the option of having tier-one data priority in crowded cell environments, putting the production’s data requirements at the head of the line right behind those of first

responders. Instead of a monthly bill, Teradek Data packages bandwidth in annual buckets ranging from 50 GB to 3 TB that are available across all of the production’s SIM’s with no throttling. Each SIM is managed and turned off or on using the Core data portal.

The Prism Mobile is Teradek’s new bonded cellular encoder for live field or studio coverage in 4K HDR. With two built-in Node II’s and the capability of adding a third external Node II, it is designed to maintain connectivity in the toughest environments. The Prism Mobile can simultaneously bond with up to nine different networks across four cell phone hotspots, two ethernet, and three cellular modems with multi-carrier capability from four software switchable nano SIM’s. It also keeps a backup MP4 on an SD card and has store and forward capabilities. The encoder is configured and monitored via the Prism app on iOS and Android devices. Teradek’s Core cloud software allows the live video feed to be monitored, routed, distributed, streamed, and archived from anywhere in the world. Productions are finding live from the cloud to be a much less costly solution than transmission by traditional fiber or satellite.

Another new product from the Irvine, CA-based firm is the Teradek Bridge, which allows up to four isolated PTZ cameras to be remotely controlled from anywhere in the world. It comes in both an ethernet model for studio use and an ethernet/

cellular-modular for remote use. The camera operator has full control of pan, tilt, zoom and camera configuration via an iOS app. The Bridge also eliminates transcoding by transmuxing the camera’s data stream in the cloud with the Core app, then enabling storage and forwarding of the video clips.

Given the (soon-to-be-realized?) promise of camera-to-cloud at all of the major 2023 industry trade gatherings, I’d be remiss not to include some mention of the elephant in the room, A.I. (artificial intelligence). Suffice it to say that ICG Magazine will be rolling out extensive, in-depth stories about this game-changing (and controversial) technology throughout 2024. So, for now, I’ll give the last word (and first thought in this story) to Blackmagic Design’s May, whose flagship product, DaVinci Resolve, has had an early history with A.I. technology.

May told me, “As Resolve ties all our products together, we know it’s an iconic tool. And when we first got it, I thought, ‘Boy, I hope we don’t break it.’

We started putting early forms of A.I. into [Resolve] nearly ten years ago with smart tools. Its neural engine [the advanced A.I. component] was released a couple of years ago, and we continue to develop it. Its purpose is to help creatives be more efficient, not replace them by making a movie. People create things. We want Resolve’s neural engine to help the creative process by handling the repetitive, boring chores like organizing, finding and rotoscoping, freeing up more time for inspiration.”

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PRODUCTION CREDITS

COMPILED BY TERESA MUÑOZ

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

Please provide up-to-date and complete crew information (including Still Photographers, Publicists, Additional Units, etc.). Please note that the deadline for the Production Credits is on the first of the preceding cover month (excluding weekends & holidays).

Submit your jobs online by visiting: www.icg600.com/MY600/Report-Your-Job

Any questions regarding the Production Credits should be addressed to Teresa Muñoz at teresa@icgmagazine.com

20TH CENTURY FOX

“AMERICAN HORROR STORIES: HAMPTONS” SEASON 12

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: TIM NORMAN, ANDREI SCHWARTZ

OPERATORS: AILEEN TAYLOR, GERARD SAVA

ASSISTANTS: BRADEN BELMONTE, JOHN REEVES, CAROLYN WILLS, SARAH SCRIVENER

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: GUILLERMO TUNON

LOADERS: OFELIA CHAVEZ, VINCE FERRARI

TECHNOCRANE TECH: CRAIG STRIANO

STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: MICHAEL PARMELEE, ERIC LIEBOWITZ

ADMIRATION, LLC

“COS” LIVE SHOW

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: SAMUEL KRETCHMAR

OPERATORS: MEGAERA STEPHENS, NADINE MARTINEZ, CHRISTINE NG, DANIEL HERSEY, CAI HALL, TYLER ISAACSON

ASSISTANTS: RANDY MALDONADO GALARZA, JORDAN LEVIE, DANIEL WORLOCK, NINA CHIEN, NATHAN MCGARIGAL, WALTER RODRIGUEZ, SAM ELLIOT, JEFFREY TAYLOR, YAYO VANG, PAT ARELLANO

STEADICAM OPERATOR: GEOFFREY JEAN-BAPTISTE

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: MICHAEL KELLOGG

“MK” LIVE SHOW

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: SAMUEL KRETCHMAR

OPERATORS: MEGAERA STEPHENS, NADINE MARTINEZ, CHRISTINE NG, DANIEL HERSEY

ASSISTANTS: RANDY MALDONADO GALARZA, DANIEL WORLOCK, NINA CHIEN, NATHAN MCGARIGAL, WALTER RODRIGUEZ, SAM ELLIOT

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: MICHAEL KELLOGG

DRONE PILOT: DEXTER KENNEDY

DRONE TECH: JONATHAN GRAHAM

CMS PRODUCTIONS

“CALVIN KLEIN” LIVE SHOW

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DARIUSZ WOLSKI, ASC

ASSISTANTS: RICK GIOIA, KYLE REPKA, JORDAN LEVIE, RUBEN HERRERA

STEADICAM OPERATORS: YOUSHENG TANG, RYAN TOUSSIENG

DIGITAL IMAGING TECHS: MARIUSZ CICHON, ZACHARY SAINZ

LOADER: ANTHONY VITALE

“IF I HAD LEGS I'D KICK YOU”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRISTOPHER MESSINA

OPEATOR: JESSE SANCHEZ-STRAUSS

ASSISTANTS: JAMES SCHLITTENHART, ALEC NICKEL

LOADER: LORENZO ZANINI

DIRECT PRODUCTIONS, LLC

“VERIFIED STANDUP” LIVE SHOW

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: NADINE MARTINEZ

OPERATORS: JENNIE JEDDRY, CHRIS WAIREGI, JORGE DEL TORO, LYN NOLAND, DAVID CASTELLANO

ASSISTANTS: MICHAEL CSATLOS, MICHELLE Q SUN, EDWIN SHIMKO, MITCH MALPICA, ELIZABETH CASINELLI, MICHAEL GUTHRIE, NATHAN PINHEIRO, AROLD ERKINS

CAMERA UTILITIES: ROBERT BENEDETTI, ANTHONY BENEDETTI, ERIK CIMINELLI, CHRISTOPHER CONOD, ANTHONY DEFONZO

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: LUKE TAYLOR

TECHNOCRANE OPERATOR: ROBERT BALTON

SONY PICTURES TELEVISION

“JEOPARDY!” SEASON 39

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JEFF ENGEL

OPERATORS: DIANE L. FARRELL, SOC, MIKE TRIBBLE, JEFF SCHUSTER, L. DAVID IRETE

JIB ARM OPERATOR: MARC HUNTER

HEAD UTILITY: TINO MARQUEZ

CAMERA UTILITY: RAY THOMPSON

VIDEO CONTROLLER: JEFF MESSENGER

VIDEO UTILITIES: MICHAEL CORWIN, JEFF KLIMUCK

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: CAROL KAELSON

“WHEEL OF FORTUNE” SEASON 40

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JEFF ENGEL

OPERATORS: DIANE L. FARRELL, SOC, L.DAVID IRETE, RAY GONZALES, MIKE TRIBBLE

HEAD UTILITY: TINO MARQUEZ

CAMERA UTILITY: RAY THOMPSON

VIDEO CONTROLLER: JEFF MESSENGER

VIDEO UTILITIES: MICHAEL CORWIN, JEFF KLIMUCK

JIB ARM OPERATOR: STEVE SIMMONS

STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: CAROL KAELSON

COMMERCIALS

1ST AVE MACHINE

“MBG VISTA 2023”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: VERONICA BOUZA

OPERATORS: JUN LI, SARAH PIERPONT

ASSISTANTS: AARON CHEUNG, CAITLIN BROWN, ALLAN RECINOS

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: MATT MAIO

“GOOGLE”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ROB HAUER

ASSISTANTS: TIFFANY AUG, VANESSA WARD

STEADICAM OPERATOR: SCOTT DROPKIN

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: RAFFI VESCO

ART CLASS

“DICK'S SPORTING GOODS”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ROB WITT

ASSISTANTS: NICOLAS MARTIN, ANDIE GILL

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: FABRICIO DISANTO

ARTX & SCIENCES

“ALDI”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MIHAI MALAIMARE

ASSISTANTS: SHAUN MAYOR, ETHAN MCDONALD, ARTHUR ZAJAC, JASON ALEGRE

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ELI BERG

BRIM & BREW CREATIVE, INC.

“PEACOCK”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: KARSTEN GOPINATH

OPERATOR: CHRISTOPHER LYMBERIS

ASSISTANTS: WILLIAM LIDE POWELL, MONICA BARRIOS-SMITH, JAMIE MARLOWE, TORI TURNER

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JASON JOHNSON

CMS PRODUCTIONS

“AT&T ICONIC BUSINESS”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: RICARDO DIAZ

ASSISTANTS: DAVE EDSALL, JASON ALEGRE

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ELI BERG

“HYUNDAI MOTOR AMERICA”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL SVITAK

ASSISTANTS: NIRANJAN MARTIN, EDGAR GONZALEZ

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: NINA CHADHA

CONTAGIOUS, LLC

“EASTERN MOUNTAIN SPORTS”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: NATHAN SWINGLE

ASSISTANTS: JILL TUFTS, CHRIS MALENFANT

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: MATTIE HAMER

GLP “TITLEIST”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID WILSON

ASSISTANTS: JILL TUFTS, AUD STEVENS, ANDREW BETHKE (HIGH SPEED TECH)

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: MATT DORRIS

GREENPOINT PICTURES

“BROOKS”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JARED FADEL

ASSISTANTS: JILL TUFTS, FELIX GIUFFRIDA, MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ TORRENT

ICONOCLAST

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: AUTUMN DURALD, ASC

ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, THERESA WONG

STEADICAM OPERATOR: CHRIS CUNNINGHAM

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: SIN COHEN

IMPERIAL WOODPECKER “NIKE”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: AUTUMN DURALD, ASC OPERATOR: JOSH MEDAK

ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, ANDRAE CRAWFORD, ARTHUR ZAJAC, KARLA MENDOZA

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“META”

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: LONNY DANLER

LOADER: ALEX COYLE

O POSITIVE

“AT&T ICONIC BUSINESS”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JOHN SKOTCHDOPOLE

OPERATOR: MICHAEL SVITAK

ASSISTANTS: MIKE FARRELL, KYMM SWANK, DAISY SMITH

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JAMES PETERSMEYER

“ESPN”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ERIC STEELBERG, ASC

ASSISTANTS: JOE SEGURA, JEFRI MEINTJES, SASHA WRIGHT

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: NINA CHADHA

PRETTYBIRD PICTURES, INC.

“MCDONALD'S SAUCES”

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JEANNE VIENNE, ADAM CARBONI

ASSISTANTS: NINA CHIEN, ELIZABETH JANE CAVANAGH, MITCH MALPICA

DIGITAL IMAGING TECHS: WILL FORTUNE, GEORGE MORSE

PRETTYBIRD

“VISA NFL NEVERENDING DREAM”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: RINA YANG, BSC

ASSISTANTS: COLE ELLETT, THERESA WONG

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: TIM ERICKSON

QURIOUSITY PRODUCTIONS, LLC

“USAF AIR NATIONAL GUARD”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MAX GOLDMAN

OPERATOR: CHRISTOPHER LYMBERIS

ASSISTANTS: WILLIAM LIDE POWELL, JAMIE MARLOW, TORI TURNER

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JASON JOHNSON

RADICAL MEDIA

“MAYBELLINE”

DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: SCOTT CUNNINGHAM, ALEXANDER ALEXANDROV

ASSISTANTS: WALTER RODGRIGUEZ, MATT DEGREFF, KYLE REPKA, NATHANIEL PINHEIRO

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: THOMAS WONG

“XFINITY”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ERIC SCHMIDT

ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, JASON ALEGRE

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JOHN SPELLMAN

SANCTUARY CONTENT

“ALDI”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DANIEL BOMBELL

ASSISTANTS: LUCAS DEANS, EDGAR GONZALEZ

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JASON BAUER

SIBLIG RIVALRY

“VERIZON”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JAMES WHITAKER, ASC

ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, ARTHUR ZAJAC

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: RYAN KUNKLEMAN

SOMESUCH

“UBER”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ALEXIS ZABE

ASSISTANTS: WAYNE GORING, PATRICK ROMERO

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: NINA CHADHA

SUPERPRIME

“CARNIVAL”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: POLLY MORGAN, ASC

ASSISTANTS: PAT MCARDLE, SYDNEY COX

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JORDAN LIVINGSTON

SWEET RICKEY

“MEET BOSTON”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: NATHAN SWINGLE

ASSISTANTS: JILL TUFTS, MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ TORRENT

UNTITLED, INC.

“USPS”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JAMES WHITAKER, ASC

ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, LILA BYALL, ARTHUR ZAJAC, CAMERON KEIDEL

DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: RYAN KUNKLEMAN

WORKING STIFF, INC.

“MHC”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: KYLE DEITZ

ASSISTANTS: AIDAN GRAY, SAGE NICOLE LARSON

YOUNG COLLECTIVE, LLC

“DISCOVER PUERTO RICO - LIVE BORICUA 3.O”

DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: SONNEL VELAZQUEZ

ASSISTANTS: CARLOS RIVERA, LIZZ DIAZ

STEADICAM OPERATOR: EDGAR COLON

OCTOBER 2023 PRODUCTION CREDITS 84

COMPANY PAGE URL AMERICAN FILM MARKET 2 WWW.AMERICANFILMMARKET.COM BAND PRO 5 WWW.BANDPRO.COM CAMERIMAGE 9 WWW.CAMERIMAGE.PL CINE GEAR ATLANTA 87 WWW.CINEGEAREXPO.COM ECA 7 WWW.ECAWARDS.NET MILL VALLEY FILM FESTIVAL 17 WWW.MVFF.COM MPB 3 WWW.MPB.COM NAB NY 11 WWW.NABSHOW.COM ADVERTISERS INDEX ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVES WEST COAST & CANADA ROMBEAU INC. Sharon Rombeau Tel: (818) 762-6020 Fax: (818) 760-0860 Email: sharonrombeau@gmail.com EAST COAST & EUROPE ALAN BRADEN INC. Alan Braden Tel: (818) 850-9398 Email: alanbradenmedia@gmail.com

MICHAEL BECKER

LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY

Lessons in Chemistry was a dream project to work on as a unit still photographer. It had an exceptional cast and crew, with beautiful work done by the art directors, set design, wardrobe, hair/makeup, and of course, masterful lighting by Local 600 Directors of Photography Zach Galler and Jason Oldak. For this image, we had just shot a scene where Brie Larson and Lewis Pullman’s characters (Elizabeth and Calvin) had fallen in the water. They are seen here flanked by the A-Camera dolly and the Techno-Jib discussing the next scene with director Tara Miele.

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cinegearexpo.com