Gillian Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 I love television but I seldom have time to simply sit down and watch it when it?s on. Who does, right? Luckily now we have DVDs! As we all know, most television is very formulaic and does not vary from much from one episode to another. So, once you?ve watched one season, you?ve seen pretty much seen everything that they have to offer. Some shows are different-experimental and visually creative. I was wondering what television shows you thought were lit and filmed in visually interesting and innovative ways. Though I?m interested primarily in shows that can be purchased on DVDs (for region one) I am also just darn curious what shows you were interested in--what shows you find exciting and really enjoy watching! Thanks! It?s been a real treat reading these posts every day. Gillian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Wendell_Greene Posted June 2, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted June 2, 2005 CSI [- the first season photographed by Roy H. Wagner, ASC was amazing. I like the work of Nathan Hope the last two seasons] X-Files- Seasons III and IV Cold Case- great use of different formats to tell the story Sopranos - Season I & II - Alik Sakarov (sp?) and Phil Abraham Carnivale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ckulakov Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 Gillian, I think that the fox's O.C. has some very impressive 16mm photography. I think that there colorist comes up with some pretty good looking images. I really love the way the O.C. is shot because everything looks so glossy and lush. Every shot looks like a money shot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tristan Nieto Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 Six Feet Under always looks great, as does Carnivale & Sopranos... in fact, most stuff coming out of HBO looks great. Check out Band of Brothers, too. Thomas Del Ruth's work on The West Wing is great, but like everything connected with that show, it took a nose dive after Aaron Sorkin left... I don't think anyone was really excited about working on it after that. Lost is always inventive, and I totally agree about the X-Files - some pretty amazing DPs have worked on that show, including Del Ruth. Also see Millenium. If you can find it on DVD, Joss Whedon's ill-fated series "Firefly" is beautiful. There's a film soon to come out, but I think the DP is different. Buffy and Angel also had moments of greatness. Also, check out the British series of Traffik. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Tim J Durham Posted June 2, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted June 2, 2005 I love television but I seldom have time to simply sit down and watch it when it?s on. Who does, right? Luckily now we have DVDs! As we all know, most television is very formulaic and does not vary from much from one episode to another. So, once you?ve watched one season, you?ve seen pretty much seen everything that they have to offer. Some shows are different-experimental and visually creative. I was wondering what television shows you thought were lit and filmed in visually interesting and innovative ways. Though I?m interested primarily in shows that can be purchased on DVDs (for region one) I am also just darn curious what shows you were interested in--what shows you find exciting and really enjoy watching! Thanks! It?s been a real treat reading these posts every day. Gillian <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Deadwood on HBO is great looking. Every scene looks like it was shot au naturel. They make every practical feel like it's the key source and the sets are always perfectly realistic. Great show. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Rosenbloom Posted June 2, 2005 Share Posted June 2, 2005 "24" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Most Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 Agree on Cold Case (shot by Cort Fey, a very talented guy I worked with on a pilot last year). Although it's not often mentioned, I would also nominate Veronica Mars. Excellent use of color and framing for some really interesting storytelling. Shot by Victor Hammer, on S16mm, no less. To be honest, I think there's far more excellent cinematography being done for television these days than ever before. Feature level production values are not only achieved, they're almost expected these days. The cinematic virtuosity displayed weekly on shows like American Dreams (shot by Brian Reynolds), Lost (Michael Bonvillian and John Bartley), Without A Trace (David Boyd), and countless others is, all too often, taken for granted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J. Lamar King IMPOSTOR Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 Cold Case and Lost are my current favorites. I think some of the best TV cinematography ever done was by Bob Hauser on "Combat!" especially the first season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Charlie Seper Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 Cold Case and Lost are my current favorites. I think some of the best TV cinematography ever done was by Bob Hauser on "Combat!" especially the first season. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Oh my gosh, that was a great show! And you're right, it was filmed really well. It reminded me of the way the old Twilight Zone shows looked. Rat Patrol was another well filmed military show. Cold Case is starting to bug me. Every scene is lit the same. Everything is incredibly bright, with a ton of light bouncing off people's faces. It looks as though it were lit for a photography session. I'm not saying it looks bad. But I keep wondering how every room in every building these people show up in has this incredible light coming through the windows. After a while, it starts to seem very unrealistic. Again, I'm not saying its bad. Just kind of unrealistic. Its like all the fancy lighting becomes too much of a good thing at some point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Premium Member Wendell_Greene Posted June 3, 2005 Premium Member Share Posted June 3, 2005 Agree on Cold Case (shot by Cort Fey, a very talented guy I worked with on a pilot last year). <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Yes, Cort Fey is a very talented filmmaker. Both he and Nathan Hope worked on a show for Fox called "Fastlane" which was a real 'guilty pleasure" for me to watch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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