American Cinematographer - July 2021 - 12

Shot Craft
Lee oversees the camera crew
of Fox's Call Me Kat.
of the first things we need to know
is how sound will boom the show.
Are they coming from the floor
[mounted to a] perambulator, like
Fisher booms, or are they booming
from the greenbeds? Either way,
the booms have to swing across the
stage, and we have to either create
alleyways for them to move through
from above, or simply clear lighting
paths on the ground so they won't
create shadows all over the place
as they move. When we put toppers
downstage, they have to be soft so
the booms can move through them. "
" Multi-camera cinematography is an underappreciated art form. Getting
four camera angles to look good simultaneously takes a tremendous
amount of effort. "
In addition, many multi-cam cinematographers
reach for " projected
fill. " These are the same types of
soft boxes that are found on every
set, such as " Croney Cones " or
Chimera-like soft boxes placed in
front of Fresnel fixtures. " I use a lot
of DVS Cones, which were designed
by gaffer Felix Williams, who worked
with the great Don A. Morgan [ASC]
for many years, " says Lee. " They're
like a Chimera in that they have
inner diffusion positions and a front
honeycomb to help shape and cut
the light, but still let it be soft. I
usually use them on our 2Ks; we
put the projected fills in the wings
to give us the extra light we need to
push into people's eyes, especially
when they're farther upstage, away
from the front fill run. "
Baum doesn't often use much
12 / JULY 2021
frontal bounce. " My contrast ratio
from front soft to back key is typically
about 2.5:1, " he says. " I like to
keep the bounce fill low and have
more modeling on the face, and
then use the projected fills where
needed. "
Adds Lee, " The lighting can be
very theatrical, but we're often
working to make it look more
natural - we bring light in through
windows, or if we're outside,
we're using more soft top ambient
bounce. We can work in some hard
sun streaks, but it can be tough to
work out the right position for that
to accommodate four cameras. "
Given the great need for flexibility
on multi-camera shows, one
might assume that productions have
completely converted to RGB LED
fixtures, but they actually haven't,
primarily for financial reasons. Multicam
cinematographers and their
crews often rig multiple sets for
an entire season of shooting, and
with the requirement for redundant
fixtures, the numbers grow quickly.
" I use about half tungsten sources
and half LED, but our budgets are
typically a lot tighter than [those of]
single-camera shows, " says Lee.
" Tungsten sources are significantly
less expensive and much more
readily available. "
Sound Strategies
Though all cinematographers
strive to incorporate sound needs
into their lighting and composition
strategies, sound is often the first
consideration for the multi-cam
cinematographer. " You've got to
get the booms in, " says Lee. " One
Maintaining the Schedule
The production schedule for a
typical multi-camera series is quite
different from that of a single-camera
show. Many shows operate on
a five-day week. The first day comprises
a production meeting, a table
read and sometimes a first rehearsal.
The next two days are reserved
for blocking and run-throughs, and
the fourth day involves a pre-shoot
for anything that needs to be played
back for the audience. The fifth day
encompasses final rehearsal and
shooting in front of the audience.
Lighting and grip crews work a
single show for five days a week,
but the DIT, camera operators and
video controller (a role unique to
multi-cam production) can effectively
work only two days on each
show; they can work on multiple
series simultaneously as long as
the schedules are staggered for
shooting days.
" During pilot season, especially,
we're all working on multiple shows
at a time, " Lee says. " Each show
will have a different crew - a lot of
us will have multiple crews, gaffers
and key grips - and we bounce
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American Cinematographer - July 2021

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