American Cinematographer - March 2008 - (Page 47)

nominations. After shooting the pilot mostly on practical locations in New York (with two days onstage at Silvercup Studios) using a crew that included many Sopranos veterans, the production moved to Los Angeles, where Abraham worked with an entirely different crew at L.A. Center Studios. Frequent Sopranos director Alan Taylor helmed the pilot and first episode of Mad Men, and that continuity helped, according to the cinematographer. “Once we moved to L.A., there was a continuity of style that came from Alan and me, and that was important to Matt [Weiner].” The lives of Mad Men’s characters are as conflicted as the era they inhabit — America was prosperous in 1960, and John F. Kennedy was poised to beat Richard M. Nixon at the dawn of great social upheaval. “1960 was on the precipice of change in terms of design and politics, and that was definitely something we were trying to capture,” notes Abraham. The protagonist of the show is the charming but enigmatic Don Draper (Jon Hamm), the star creative director at the fictional Sterling Cooper ad agency. Not even Draper’s wife (January Jones) knows much about his history, and as he navigates the treacherous waters of office politics and extramarital affairs, his dark past begins to seep into all areas of his life. “Don is a character right out of literature, and I was always looking for opportunities to suggest his air of mystery,” says Abraham. “I often shot from behind him or framed him so he was a bit obscured. However, I didn’t have a playbook for shooting each character; you go by intuition and see what you discover in rehearsals.” Abraham is a big fan of practical lighting, and the fluorescentlight grid in the drop ceiling of the main Sterling Cooper office is the primary source in that set. “The art department went with a 2-by-2 four-tube fixture, which they determined was period-accurate,” recalls Los Angeles gaffer Mike Ambrose. “But when our set-lighting crew came aboard, we discovered the fixtures were modern internally and had been designed to hold 2-foot T-8 tubes. Getting more than 800 2foot color-corrected T-8 tubes became a major issue, and none of the regular suppliers had enough in stock. Movietone stopped production of whatever bulbs it was making, retooled the plant and started manufacturing the T-8s we needed. The last shipment arrived the morning of our first day of shooting! “The bulbs had perfect color rendering, were consistent throughout the set, gave us plenty of stop and lasted the entire season. When we were working with Phil, we were rating at an ISO of 400, and we were able to meter a T4.5 at head height underneath a fluorescent fixture. We were reading a T3.2 between fixtures, so we usually shot scenes in the office at a T4 and let the hot spots burn an extra half-stop when the actors moved through the set.” To keep the overhead light from being unflattering, Abraham had to devise a light-control system as the set was being constructed. Unable to implement all the wiring necessary to control each light, the crew settled for controlling rows of lights. Key grip Pat O’Mara created 2'x2' and 2'x1' Coreplast blackout panels and frames of 216 that were fitted with small but strong magnets. When a scene called for an actor to stand under a fluorescent, a blackout or a 216 was quickly popped over the fixture and diffused sidelight was brought in to sculpt the face. “If somebody was walking through the office in a wide shot, I just turned the overhead lights on,” says Abraham. “But if Don was talking to someone at his desk and the office was the backdrop, I turned all the lights on and then selectively removed some; then, I brought the key around with Kino Flo Image 80s through 4-by-8 frames of 250 or 216, or sourced my key with a larger Fresnel through the window.” The perimeter offices of the Sterling Cooper set have windows looking out on a TransLite of the Manhattan skyline that’s lit by 5K Skypans on 8' centers. Ambrose’s crew rigged 25' trusses on chain motors and attached aluminum IBeams to accommodate traveling trolleys that held Arri T-12s. “The flexibility of the I-Beam trolleys and the chain motors enabled us to move quickly and efficiently in focusing the window look,” says Ambrose. Opposite: Don Draper (Jon Hamm), creative director of the prestigious New York ad agency Sterling Cooper, dallies with a model (Megan Stier) in the episode “Lost Weekend.” This page: Draper’s secretary, Peggy (Elisabeth Moss), strolls past the firm’s ad executives (Rich Sommer, Aaron Staton, Vincent Kartheiser and Michael Gladis). Mad Men photos by Doug Hyun and Carin Baer, courtesy of AMC. American Cinematographer 47

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - March 2008

American Cinematographer - March 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Short Takes: Bill Viola’s Ocean Without a Shore Production Slate: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days Production Slate: Chantal: A Night at the Pyramids Magical Mystery Tour Some Kind of Monster Tantalizing Television Making Sitcoms “Sexy” Post Focus: Mega Playground Helps Set Look for Sibling Post Focus: Visual Effects Society Launches White Paper New Products & Services International Marketplace Classified Ads Ad Index In Memoriam: John McPherson, ASC ASC Membership Roster Clubhouse News ASC Close-Up: Wayne Kennan

American Cinematographer - March 2008

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