RL: How do you start thinking about how you’re going to shoot a project?
SH: Talk with the director. Make sure you agree with the director’s vision.
RL: Just agree with the director? Ok, we’re done.
SH: But seriously, for the length of the project – whether it is one day, one week, six weeks, six months – it’s going to be a marriage. You have got to agree on the vision. Of course, things can change at a location for all kinds of reasons, so you have to be adaptable. But you start with a shared vision and work from there… add ideas from there.
RL: Add ideas…like what?
SH: Whatever the budget, I try to add at least one element that’s outside the box. It might be a different lens that I planned on…it might be a switch to all natural light for a particular scene…something that adds value…adds to the vision.
Take “The Rat Pack”…it’s the classic Vegas of the 50’s and 60’s…Sinatra, Sammy Davis, Jr. The Director Robert Cohen asked me what I had in mind, I said ‘Hurrel’. And Rob Said, ‘Right on.’ I wanted the lighting to be classic. My backlights were searing. I’d usually use Source Four Leikos with a little Hampshire Frost Diffusion. It’s one of my favorite looks.
RL: Once you agree on a vision, how do you prepare?
SH: I prep every project like it is a war.
RL: Seriously?
SH: Absolutely. It is me versus the budget. Me versus the schedule. Me versus the environment. Of course you’re prepping in a vacuum. It’s all best-case scenarios. Then you realize sometimes you have to throw prep to the wind. Just like war, you have to react on the spot. It’s a battle for a common goal.
RL: You shot Kiefer Sutherland for us… for Twentieth Television’s marketing presentation of “24.”
SH: Under your brilliant direction, of course (laughs).
RL: Of course (laughs)…how did you decide on your approach?
SH: Well, first of all, every project is different. Whether it’s a feature, TV Show, star interview, whatever. You have got to tailor it to the style of the show.
RL: Give me some examples.
SH: OK, “Out of the Blue.” It is a cool thriller about a discovered treasure and the fight over it. It’s action…it’s sexy…Jessica Alba in a string bikini, yeah…anyway, a lot of the action takes place underwater. This means besides the people…the ocean itself is a character! So to capture that, I had to take diving classes, train, get certified. It all paid off when we shot in these amazing deep-water caves…
When you see the movie you’ll see. It’s incredible…like I said; The ocean itself is a character! We are working onboard boats a lot, too. Choppy water, changing weather. My solution here was multiple cameras. You don’t have time for changing setups all day. Not on the water. So we got as much as we could shooting simultaneously from different angles.
RL: How about “crazy/beautiful?”
SH: Well, for ‘crazy/beautiful,’ the focus is on the love story. Two people, very different backgrounds. Malibu and East L.A. The vision was…make it natural, make it real. We spent a lot of time in the locations and basically shot it from the hip. Show how the characters are who they are because of where they grew up.
RL: Getting back to “24,” my goal was to match the Kiefer interview you did — who is the core of the presentation — with the show itself…
“24” is real high-energy. It’s a slick fast-paced show. So my approach was also high-energy…lots of compositional changes, new angles, constant flow, keep the camera moving, moving. I worked hand-held to add to more energy of the shots, too. And I knew the interview was going to be jump-cut together with clips from the show, so I wanted Kiefer talking to match seamlessly with the way “24″ is shot.”
RL: What about budgets? Most of our clients — actually, ALL of our clients –don’t exactly have big feature movie budgets to work with.
SH: Doesn’t matter. You can make something look great with two lights. Even one light. You just have to know where to put it.”
RL: Any other advice?
SH: Work with great people.
RL: (laughs) Like us?
SH: Hey, you’re smart enough to hire me.
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