Guest Editorial:
A CINEMATOGRAPHER’S VIEW OF THE FUTURE OF TELEVISION

I can testify that America is the land of opportunity. I was born in Jerusalem. My father was Greek and my mother was Lebanese. I came to the United States on a U.S.I.A. scholarship, and graduated from the Pasadena Playhouse, College of Theatre Arts. I studied directing, but pursued a career in cinematography at a time when it was nearly impossible for an outsider to break into the Hollywood camera guild.

I ran a successful training film business, My partner wrote the scripts, and I shot the films. We won a lot of awards, but I never gave up on my dream of working as a cinematographer in Hollywood. I got a break which led to an opportunity to work as a gaffer with several great cinematographers, including the legendary James Wong Howe. It was a wonderful opportunity to observe artists at work.

Danny Arnold took a chance and hired me as director of photography for a new TV show called Barney Miller. It was my first experience with videotape, situation comedies and the multi-camera format. Maybe that’s why Danny hired me.

In those days, most taped situation comedies looked like stage plays. Instead of being on the stage with the actors, the lighting director for the network was in a booth with the engineers. Their model for a successful sit-com was I Love Lucy. That show was photographed by Karl Freund, a great cinematographer who won an Oscar in 1937 for The Good Earth. Freund used three film cameras to simultaneously cover the acting from different points of view. He put all of the lights directly overhead to avoid blocking the view of the live audience. That produced a bright, high-key look that network executives believed was a metaphor for comedy

Danny Arnold told me to forget about copying the look that Karl Freund had invented during the 1950s. He told me to create dramatic lighting which put flesh and blood on the characters, and augmented the moods of the stories.

Barney Miller was my gateway into the camera guild. My next show was Buffalo Bill, which was produced on film. Throughout my career, I have moved freely between film and video programs, and I have encouraged others to do the same.

In 1985, my colleagues elected me president of Local 659, the Los Angeles-based camera guild. During the past decade, we made it a lot easier for talented and deserving people to become Guild members, and we have been aggressive about encouraging women and minorities who have the ability to pursue careers in cinematography and as crew members. We believe diversity is important, because the cinematographer’s point of view is a factor in determining the emotional content of any TV show.

We offer our members many seminars and other educational programs which help them keep pace with the rapid changes occurring in imaging technology. Just a few months ago, there was a successful merging of the three former locals in Los Angeles, Chicago and New York into one national guild. We felt that was necessary for us to speak with a common voice because of the rapid changes occurring in the entertainment business.

Instead of three major TV networks and several hundred local stations, there are now around 10 networks programming first-run shows. I am currently shooting two multi-camera shows, Sister Sister and Goode Behavior. Sister Sister is on the Warner Network and Goode Behavior is aired on UPN. Neither of those networks existed just a few years ago. With privatization of television in many countries, there are numerous new foreign channels with an insatiable appetite for American films and TV programs.

The future looks bright. The FCC is currently deciding upon standards for an Advanced Television (ATV) system which will replace the 50 year old NTSC system in the United States. The new system will feature digital transmission of programming which could link the personal computer to the TV set. That will make it possible to deliver television programming on the Internet. There is also an intriguing new home video format on the near horizon, the Digital Video Disk, which could provide an alternate way to distribute new content in addition to leveraging assets in film libraries.

Sister Sister is produced on videotape and Goode Behavior on film. I don’t let the fact that we are taping Sister Sister impose any unnecessary creative limitations. Every other episode, we leave the stage and shoot scenes on location or on the backlot. That gives the producers and writers the freedom to develop more varied storylines.

All video cameras aren’t alike. Each model has its own distinctive imaging characteristics. Most of them will give you a hard electronic edge that looks like news tape. The BTS CCD cameras come closest to matching the look of Kodak film.

My keylight on both shows is usually around 30 footcandles. That’s about the same brightness as your home at night with the lights on. Light generally comes from obvious sources, like a ray of sunshine pouring through a window, or flickering firelight, or a warm light seeming to come from a lamp. We use back crosslight to create a feeling of depth.

If it was up to me, I would shoot 35 mm film all of the time. However, I prefer 16 mm film to videotape because it is gentler on faces, and faces are everything on television. Today’s film shows are like money in the bank, because they will be compatible with the ATV system of the future. Today’s video shows are likely to be obsolete.

Some producers prefer tape as a cost-saving tactic. However, a big part of the below the line difference between producing film and video TV shows are the stipulations of an outdated contract with IATSE for taping shows. For example, some members of my video crew on Sister, Sister are paid at a slightly lower rate than the film crew on Goode Behavior, even though they are the same people doing the same jobs.

There is also a perception that video shows require smaller crews. That isn’t true. Crew size is actually dictated by the decision to use pedestals or dollies. The four video cameras we use on Sister Sister are on pedestals. The camera operator pushes the pedestal, composes and focuses the images. Other people handle the cable and put plywood panels on the floor to facilitate smooth camera movement.

The four film cameras used on Goode Behavior are on dollies. A dolly grip pushes the camera, the camera operator composes the images, and an assistant cameraman with the instincts and skill needed to follow every move the actors make is responsible for focusing.

I have used pedestals on film and video shows. The difference in crew costs is between $5,000 and $10,000 per episode. That is a significant savings, but it exacts a big price in creative flexibility which could decide the difference between success and failure.

If you are shooting off a pedestal, the camera operator is on his feet 12 to 14 hours a day, pushing the camera, trying to focus and operate the camera at the same time. Directors and cinematographers who know the limitations imposed by the use of the pedestal avoid sophisticated camera moves that keep the audience engaged in the action.

A young crew member recently asked me to share the secret of my success. I told him it is simple. I choose to work with good writers and dedicated producers who understand and appreciate the role played by the cinematographer. I will always be grateful for the opportunity and advice Danny Arnold gave me at the beginning of my career. He encouraged me to strive for excellence. If we work together, and follow that advice, we are going to be happier and produce more successful and more enduring shows.

(The author has been nominated for 11 Emmys and has won six times. He is president of the International Photographers Guild, Local 600, which represents some 5,500 cinematographers and camera crew members, a member of the board of directors of the American Society of Cinematographers, a member of the Directors Guild of America, and past president of the American Society of Lighting Designers.)