CANADIAN SOCIETY OF CINEMATOGRAPHERS
$4 June 2020 www.csc.ca
Pierre Gill csc Shedding Light on
TRANSPLANT
Star Trek: Picard with Philip Lanyon CSC and Chris Mably CSC Treking Forward
FROM THE PRESIDENT George A. Willis csc, sasc
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lthough the opposites of positive and negative are well understood, the situation that we are now faced with gives cause for some confusion. Whereas under normal circumstances the positive is always viewed and perceived as a better choice, we are now looking for more negatives in our lives. This is not meant to be a glib statement because it is connected to and associated with the most serious event of our lives, COVID-19. I base my statement on the (now) wellknown and universally acknowledged medical practice of testing for the coronavirus. In other words, when one is tested for the virus, one hopes for a negative result. A positive result is not well received for obvious reasons. While we look for the negative outcomes as described above, it is hoped that as few other negatives as possible will result from this pandemic. That said, realistically we are all fully aware that many negatives are just waiting to make themselves known. But there is also the unknown factor, and that is what concerns everyone because nobody has the ability to make any predictions. I believe that we are familiar with the saying, “the only thing to fear is fear itself,” and the mention of fear is enough to raise many levels of concern. The fear of not understanding the true ramifications of this global catastrophe cannot be diminished even though reasonable logic might be applied. But how can one apply logic to something that in itself seems to defy logic? With the many negative issues people have to deal with at this time, it is difficult to drum up the much needed positive emotional and financial boost that we need more than anything else. Even in this time of adversity, we have much to be thankful for, especially our frontline workers and others who keep us safe. We have the ability to communicate in so many ways, and that alone gives opportunity for that much needed but so often ignored fellowship. Nobody has the ability to predict when all this will end, but as we see the light at the end of the tunnel, we will remain positive in the knowledge that it will not be a train. And with that optimism we remember when we had work. At the end of the day, crews looked forward to hearing the words, “It’s a wrap.” However, now is the time when we must be positive and know that soon we will hear the words that we are all waiting to hear, “We’re baaaaack!” That will be a day to remember, so look after yourselves and stay positive.
4 • Canadian Cinematographer - June 2020
Pierre Gill csc
Shedding Light on
TRANSPLANT 12 • Canadian Cinematographer - June 2020
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By Trevor Hogg, Special to Canadian Cinematographer
he title for the medical drama Transplant, airing on CTV and produced by Sphere Media, refers to both the personal and professional circumstances of the protagonist who is a refugee and a doctor. The series revolves around Dr. Bashir “Bash” Hamed (Hamza Haq), fleeing with his younger sister Amira (Sirena Gulamgaus) from Syria to Canada where he earns a residency at the Emergency Department at York Memorial. The first season of 13 episodes was conceived by creator Joseph Kay (This Life) and photographed by Pierre Gill csc, who collaborated with director Holly Dale (Mary Kills People) on the pilot, as well as directors Erik Canuel (Bon Cop Bad Cop), Alain Desrochers (Bad Blood) and Stefan Pleszczynski (Killjoys) on the remaining episodes. The series was recently picked up for a U.S. run by NBC. Inset: Pierre Gill csc on the set of Transplant. Main photo: John Hannah as Dr. Jed Bishop. Canadian Cinematographer - June 2020 •
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Inset Credit:Yan Turcotte Mainp hoto Courtesy of Bell Media and Sphère Média.
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The set was perfect. To be honest, it was a DP’s dream and an accomplishment.”
Chris Mably csc
spun around a whole bunch of times, so we made it feel like the ship had a power failure with lights flickering and then La Siena resets and cycles back on. It was so simple and easy to do because we had full control. Phil had worked tirelessly early on in prep helping to design a lot of this embedded light, and along with looking interesting on camera, a lot of it could be used practically for the actors.” Getting access to Matrix and Chapman M7 four-axis heads allowed for an infinite range of movement. “Both heads were on a Technocrane and have a Mimic handheld attachment with them so the operator could use a handheld brace and virtually operate the camera in a handheld manner,” Mably remarks. “There was one shot where the camera was flying through space and finds Narek’s [Harry Treadaway] ship, goes through the window, and lands on his close-up. You can point the head straight out from the Technocrane instead of dropping down underneath it or doing a top or low mount; that allows you to get it in small narrow spaces. It’s an incredible tool that the show used consistently, and we were fortunate to steal it for second unit a bunch.” A favourite moment is the battle scene in Episode 10. “Because of the motivation from the script, we got to move the camera a lot in some fun ways,” Mably recalls. “It’s a pivotal scene for Picard’s character development. It was an eye-opener because I had never worked on a big American network show. What is interesting about doing second unit is a cinematographer doesn’t often work with other cinematographers. With Star Trek: Picard, I got to work with and talk about everything with Phil; that’s unique and was an exceptional experience.”
24 • Canadian Cinematographer - June 2020
let him run with it, and he matched the look perfectly while adding his own special flavour.” Supervising the visual effects was Jason Zimmerman who is also responsible for Star Trek: Discovery. “Some shots would be previs; for the most part, I would check in with Jason during prep and he would let me know what was possible,” Lanyon says. “Jason really gave us the freedom to move the camera and think big. We had a bluescreen that wrapped almost 360 degrees of the Borg set. We used Cineo HS2s which have a blue spike in them, and they could be played at a low level and get an even light. It wouldn’t affect the talent or what you were doing onset.” A complicated scene to execute was when Raffi Musiker [Michelle Hurd] questions Captain Cristóbal Rios [Santiago Cabrera] and four holographic versions of him in Picard’s study in the holographic winery. “Director Maja Vrvilo and I strategically planned the two-day shoot and knew the exact number of shots needed. We had four stand-ins, so each would be able to double for Santiago and know his lines. Santiago would rehearse each part and switch with the doubles. We wanted some camera movement to sell the effect. We used a TechnoDolly to create repeatable moves, as well
as a repeatable Libra head and two other cameras that were not locked off that could get singles after the master. We would shoot a master on the TechnoDolly and a couple of singles of one character. Santiago would go through makeup and wardrobe for the next character. Jason Zimmerman patched it all together, and the end result was seamless.” Most of the colour palette was captured in camera. “We shied away from any high fluorescent colours like purples or electric blues and went for a subdued palette,” Lanyon says. “Stefan Sonnenfeld, who owns and runs Company 3, would have every face pre-windowed. The DI process was so streamlined and slick with him. I wanted to add some grain into the highlights so it didn’t feel like a noisy underexposed image in the shadows. Stefan showed me a bunch of options and we worked out a base LUT beforehand. Using the base LUT, the DIT Marc Clancy and I built looks on top of it for every set.” Lanyon is a Star Trek fan, so getting to help tell the story of Star Trek: Picard was incredibly exciting. “The writing and producing teams were so supportive and collaborative with the cinematography; they really let me have fun and explore ideas,” he says.
Credit: Trae Patton/CBS ©2019 CBS Interactive, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Caption
Credit: Marc Pierce
globe, which could be used as a sun. I needed a moving sun as La Sirena takes off and flies out to orbit. We put that globe on a 50-foot Technocrane and moved that around. But for the most part, the ship itself was lit with SkyPanels and a variety of other embedded LEDs. It was amazing because no matter where you were on La Sirena, you could quickly change the shape of the light through the dimmer board. La Sirena gets hit by a blaster and
Caption: (L-R): Sir Patrick Stewart as Jean-Luc Picard; Amirah Vann as Zani in Episode #104 "Absolute Candor".