American Cinematographer - March 2008 - (Page 54)

Tantalizing Television Top: Actors Huffman and Kathryn Joosten are shot against greenscreen in 3-perf 35mm on another day. Bottom: The start of the final composited shot (before the boom up into the sky). the frame and figure out how to change the perspective as they tilted up. But here, there was no perspective change. It was like a boom shot up the vertical frame — much quicker and easier to do.” By that point in the action, trees and bushes are blowing wildly. To achieve that effect, Peterson locked off the VistaVision camera, deployed a 30'x40' silk and the four wind machines, and shot each element one at a time — every house, every bush, every tree. “We just worked our way around the set and got everything in the shot both silked and blowing in the wind; the setup probably took four hours. Then the shots were tiled together in post. “I think our final shot consisted of 21 elements, plus the funnel cloud and sky replacement. It was cool, but with the wind and noise of all those fans, it was also pretty uncomfortable to shoot.” Additionally, objects falling around 54 March 2008 the characters, including a car that lands right beside Carlos [Ricardo Chavira], had to be shot separately and composited with greenscreen footage of the actors. According to Peterson, greenscreen shots are a common occurrence. “For example, the producers might see a cut of an episode and decide they want Teri [Hatcher] to say a different line, but we can’t go back to the location, so we shoot her against greenscreen. We routinely make plates on location with that very thing in mind.” One of the show’s most unusual greenscreen exercises occurred when Cross was pregnant — with two episodes to go before her story arc was finished — and her doctors ordered her to remain in bed. “We went to Marcia’s house and built two sets in her living room,” recalls Peterson. “We shot there for two days, and we also greenscreened every additional shot of her for those two episodes while she lay in bed. Later, we composited her face on a body double and inserted her into every scene for those two episodes. I defy anybody to tell me where the greenscreen was!” Desperate Housewives is shot on 35mm using Panaflex Platinum, Gold II and Millennium XL cameras and Primo lenses. It is framed for 4:3 and protected for 16:9 broadcast in high-definition. Peterson has used Kodak Vision2 HD Color Scan Film 5299 to film the show since the stock hit the market almost two years ago. “It’s basically [Vision2 500T] 5218 that has been optimized for telecine use,” he says. “It removes some of the color mask you don’t need for telecine, so it gives you more latitude.” The series is color-corrected at Modern VideoFilm, where colorist Shaley Brooks uses a da Vinci 2K Plus. Peterson says Brooks is a full partner in achieving the look of the show. He adds, “I’ve also got the best camera, grip and electric crew there is. [A-camera/Steadicam operator] Rory Knepp is a Steadicam god who is also wonderful on the A camera.” — Jean Oppenheimer Bones Set in Washington, D.C., and loosely based on the experiences of forensic anthropologist Kathy Reichs, the Fox series Bones follows Temperance “Bones” Brennan, M.D. (Emily Deschanel), and her forensics team at the fictitious Jeffersonian Institute as they help FBI Agent Seeley Booth (David Boreanaz) solve mysteries. As with other procedural crime dramas, every episode of Bones presents a new mystery and further develops a season-long story arc, but it’s the romantic tension between Bones and Booth that makes up a large part of the show’s character. Bones made its debut in 2005, and for its first season, the producers employed multiple cinematographers, notably Cort Fey; Michael D.

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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