American Cinematographer - July 2019 - 49

"I select camera operators in collaboration
with a production's director. As an operator
once myself, I am very much interested in [finding] individuals not only with a skill set [that
includes proficiency with] all different types of
heads, but also who collaborate and make
suggestions. The camera operators for the pilot
and series were mainly John Boyd [pictured,
wearing cap], Eddie Fine, David Dechant, Ron
Hirshman, Brian Sweeney and Lance Billitzer.
"The camera coordinator is most responsible for the seamless blocking of camera shots
during a scene, but an involved operator and
assistant will often find an angle or suggest a
move that only improves the scene. I am involved with camera placement and shot design in rehearsal and
will also talk with each camera operator between takes; I do not, as a rule, communicate over a headset.
We will generally film each scene in a continuous take, and any given scene will comprise anywhere from
two to four takes - more than that would be the exception."
- Gregg Heschong, ASC

oped for 10K, 5K and 2K Fresnel
lamps, constructed with a fireproof
fabric over an anodized aluminum
frame. They can carry a combination
of color, diffusion and polarized gel
as needed."
The rest of the set's lighting had
to be rigged in a manner that felt
organic to the outdoor "backyard's"
design. "The idea was to keep everything looking as natural as possible,"
Heschong explains. "Because Abby is
a veteran, I talked to Glenda about
adding a flagpole so I could hide
some Leko units behind the
American flag, and we had a eucalyptus tree that could hide some more
Leko units. I couldn't have anything
overhead because we were doing
shots that would pull back and show
the sky. The electrical department
worked really hard in terms of hiding
cables, digging into the dirt, and
disguising cord runs." The cinematographer credits gaffer Bill
Holdsworth and key grip Kevin Dean
as key creative forces in orchestrating
the set rigging.
"Bill Holdsworth was bringing
in all kinds of different units -
household units, reflectors, LED
lamps - and we just tested everything," Heschong says. "We would
mix and match and place as needed

out of this bucket full of stuff." The
production also allowed for the main
set's lighting setup to continue to
evolve over the course of the first few
episodes, as Heschong and his crew
further refined their approach. "It
was more a process of taking things
away than adding them," the cinematographer explains.
One important piece of lighting
- a spherical lamp, made up of
hexagonal panels, that houses an
ordinary household incandescent
bulb and hangs over the bar - was
contributed by Rovello. "We called

the creation 'the Death Star,' since
that's what its shape suggested,"
Heschong recalls. "I believe Glenda
had it built long ago for another show
and it was never used. It was sitting
in a warehouse, but now it's a signature part of the show."
In the event that rain or other
conditions would preclude shooting
outdoors, an exact replica of the bar
set was built on a soundstage, but to
date it hasn't been used. That's not to
say, though, that the great outdoors
has always been cooperative. "There
are pluses and minuses to being

"Our approach would require all cameras to be dolly-mounted and served by a traditional operator
[and] first-assistant team," Heschong says.
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American Cinematographer - July 2019

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