Gary Baum uses Schneider Optics filters for Mike and Molly
Schneider Optics Classic Soft® for Baum on Emmy® Nominated Mike and Molly
Keeping a consistent and pleasing look on a multi-camera shoot is always a challenge. However, multi-Emmy® Award nominated cinematographer Gary Baum has found that shooting four HD cameras simultaneously, might not give him the luxury of multiple lighting setups within a scene, but he can get the lighting and lenses to match perfectly by using Schneider Optics Classic Soft® 1/8 and ¼ filters.
For the Mike and Molly episode “Molly’s Birthday” which was nominated for a Best Cinematography Emmy this year, Baum faced two nighttime street scenes. “There was snow, fire, and steam, 80 feet of dolly track, a blue screen and four cameras,” he recalls. “With all of the production expense and time, everything, including special effects, had to be coordinated and planned down to each camera angle.
“I had to fine tune the filtration to achieve a uniform look for the cameras, without imparting any artifacts that could potentially contaminate the blue screen and falling snow,” he explains. “I was able to achieve this by using slightly different grades of filtration at different focal lengths.
“It’s the Schneider quality control that gives me confidence,” he continues. “It is unsurpassed from batch to batch. I can always count on the same level of quality each time. The water white glass doesn’t impart artifacts, nor any additional color. The overall effect is subtle, while not blossoming the highlights or stepping on the contrast. The incremental strengths that the filters offer allowed me to do the tuning necessary to match the four cameras.”
This is Gary Baum’s fourth Emmy nomination. He was nominated for Mike & Molly and 2 Broke Girls in 2012, and for Gary Unmarried in 2010. He is currently shooting Mike & Molly, which airs on CBS and has just finished TV Land’s Hot In Cleveland. He will be using his Schneider filters on two other shows this season, Sullivan & Son on TBS, and The Millers, for CBS in the fall.
For more information contact Schneider Optics, 7701 Haskell Avenue, Van Nuys, CA 91406, telephone (818) 766-3715; fax (818) 505-9865; or at: 285 Oser Avenue, Hauppauge, NY 11788, telephone (800) 645-7239/(631) 761-5000, fax (631) 761-5090; www.schneideroptics.com
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Information Prepared by Lewis Communications: [email protected]