American Cinematographer - March 2008 - (Page 50)

Tantalizing Television Left: Don tries to figure out what’s troubling his wife (January Jones) in the episode “Ladies Room.” Right: Director of photography Phil Abraham. Normally, you think of a low angle on someone as a kind of heroic vision, and there’s an element of that, but when you shoot everything that way, you don’t necessarily feel it.” Mad Men is a two-camera show, but Abraham strove to find unique ways to use the B unit — he wanted to avoid simply “spraying down” a scene with additional footage. “I’m not particularly fond of getting shots just because we can,” he says. “I want shots from B that work as part of the coverage plan.” Abraham shot Mad Men on Kodak Vision2 500T 5218 and used Primo prime lenses ranging from 35mm to 75mm, as well as a 4:1 Primo zoom. “We shot well over a million feet of 5218 on The Sopranos every season, so I know it intimately,” he says. “It holds the blacks really well and has great detail and excellent color rendition. “I think the nuances of film stocks can get a little lost in post because there’s so much creative latitude in what you can do on the back end,” he continues. “I timed all the shows I shot because that’s when you make sure your intentions on the set are carried through. It’s important for the crew to be onboard with what I’m doing, but it’s just as important for the colorist — in this case, Steve Porter at Encore in Hollywood — to be onboard as well.” While the first episode of Mad Men was being prepped in Los Angeles, Abraham was shooting another pilot in New York, so the Mad Men team had to use the series pilot as a guide. “I was constantly emailing and talking to [series production designer] Dan Bishop,” recalls Abraham. “It turned out they had a poorly transferred DVD of the pilot, so their references for colors and other visual elements were off. Dan was trying to up the contrast in the sets because he was looking at something bad. The cinematographer’s job isn’t done when the camera is turned off. It’s vital to make sure your work is maintained through to the master.” As a rule, Abraham avoided filtration on the lens, even on Mad Men’s frequent flashbacks. “By its very nature, a flashback is a stylistic conceit that calls attention to itself, and imbuing it with a special look is not something I like to do. Camera placement and point of view are of utmost importance in flashbacks.” The sets were designed to be dolly-friendly, even without laying track. “Steadicam and handheld work didn’t feel appropriate to the visual grammar of that time, and that aesthetic didn’t mesh with our classic approach,” says Abraham. Abraham shot the pilot and first four episodes of the series, setting a template that was later followed by cinematographers Frank DeMarco; Steve Mason, ASC, ACS; and Bill Roe, ASC. “On any series, there’s a visual grammar that has to be maintained from show to show, and the cinematographer and production team usually provide that continuity while the directors come and go,” observes Abraham. “On this show, the directors were happier coming than going! Mad Men brings out the best in directors because it’s clearly not just another TV show.” — Rob Feld Desperate Housewives With its tree-lined streets, manicured lawns and habitually sunny skies, Wisteria Lane seems the very model of the upper-middleclass American suburb. But beneath this tony surface lurk mystery and infidelity, secrets and lies, gossip and scandal, nearly all of which is played with tongue-in-cheek humor. Even the show’s title, Desperate Housewives, suggests a wry attitude. “Douglas Sirk with a comic 50 March 2008

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

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.