Director of Photography George Mooradian, ASC is setting up for the new season of one of his two TV Land hit series, “The Exes”. This contemporary take on the ups and downs of divorced single life features three men who share their common attorney’s spare apartment in New York, as they try to get their feet back on the ground.
“The series uses four Panasonic 3700s, all on pedestals, and thank heaven, all on Vinten Vector heads with peds,” Mooradian says. “They also feature onboard illuminators. With the help of these lights and Vinten support, we are able to get into the far reaches of the set.”
As with most multi-camera set ups, the “The Exes” sets are arrayed in optimum position for live audience viewing in real time. The seats are already in place so the sets are built to take advantage of sight lines instead of the other way around. “It can hinder swing set placement,” he admits. But they deal with the challenge. “The main sets are the men’s apartment with a kitchen, and their attorney’s apartment, across the hall. Both doors open up to the hallway with these two main sets interconnected in prime ‘real estate’ in front of the audience. To the right is the ‘downstairs’ bar, their main hangout, and across from the bar is the attorney’s office. All have backings of New York City – which makes it fun for me to create an urban, gritty feel with a slight coolness to the image.
“Vinten is an integral part of this (or any) multi-camera process,” Mooradian adds strongly. “It keeps the system efficient, tidy, precise and concise. And it can balance whatever weight we put on it.” Mooradian says that with authority. He learned about Vinten from a master – Vittorio Storaro, who used Vinten on their signature moves in films from Apocalypse Now to Stalag 17.
“For ‘The Exes’, Vinten is always conquering all contortions in image acquisition,” he says. “There are constant bedroom scenes, of course, with three virile men. The director loves those ‘birds eye’ views of the bed. So we get into a ‘man’ lift with our Vinten and camera, and groan upwards over the bed. The Vinten totally facilitates these shots with extreme tilt and tricky moves that require a head to get the job done without effort so the operators can zoom, focus and operate delicately from a rickety above. And do it with a grace that belies itself. Vinten easily supports the extra weight of our eye lights on camera without any extra compensation.”
The reverse is also true in that often the cameras need to get to ground level with composition towards the ceiling height. “Again, extreme angles,” says Mooradian. “Vinten easily provides one common thread for all these angles without requiring special equipment. Production is happy. So is the first AD, because we don’t spend extra time changing heads, and second, for being within and below budget because we don’t have to rent extra heads just for a special occasion.”
In this series, the pedestals frequently have to dolly. Mooradian wants the peds to behave like real Fishers and Chapmans. “Vinten has the right amount of finesse, weight, heft, agility, and touch to make dolly shots and absorb the uneven stage floors in the camera aisle.
“Case in point, our cast rounds the corner of an apartment hallway, walks upstage to the door and knocks. A gurney rolls out with the dead boyfriend. This could have been done on a zoom, which is the modus operandi for most times. But this director pushed and I supported a more filmic approach with a pure dolly through walls. The shot was more cinematic, engaged the actors with a wider millimeter, and it brought satisfaction and applause to and from the director. It had a different sensation, which totally appealed to me. Vinten allows crews to do these types of shots with more confidence and success.”
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