DP Vanja Cernjul shoots HBO's The Deuce with Panasonic VariCam 35s
16/09/2017
HBO's The Deuce is a drama series set in and around Times Square in New York and tells the story of the legalization and growth of the porn industry in the 1970s, as well as the rise of HIV and the drug epidemic. The series stars James Franco, playing twin brothers Vincent and Frankie Martino, who become fronts for the Mob. Maggie Gyllenhaal also stars as Eileen Candy Merrell, a sex worker who is drawn into the porn industry. Created and written by David Simon (The Wire, Treme) and crime fiction author George Pelecanos, The Deuce was shot by cinematographer Vanja Cernjul, ASC (Orange Is the New Black, Nurse Jackie) with VariCam 35 cameras.
Pernell Walker, James Franco, Maggie Gyllenhaal in The Deuce, photo by Paul Schiraldi/HBO
After finishing a few projects, Cernjul was planning on taking a break until he got a call from his agent, who sent him the pilot for The Deuce, which was shot by cinematographer Pepe Avila del Pino. Cernjul was blown away by the characters and the world they lived in. As soon as I finished watching it, I called back and told her I wanted a meeting, reveals Cernjul. I met with George Pelecanos and Nina Kostroff-Noble and we really clicked. I knew George and David Simon's amazing work from before so I knew they would want the series to feel as authentic as possible.
After reading some of the scripts, one of the challenges was figuring out how to move quickly from one location to another in New York City. Cernjul wanted to capture as much of New York for free because he knew he wouldn't be able to shoot in the distance for blocks since it was a period piece. The production had already created two sets and Cernjul wanted them to feel the same as the actual locations, so ceilings and practical lights were built into the sets.
For the look of the series, Cernjul had to decide whether to simulate the movies of the 1970s with a faded look, or make it feel like you're shooting on location with cutting-edge digital tools. Rather than trying to impose a found footage' style, I thought it would be more interesting to make it look real, as if it were happening today, explains Cernjul. That was one of the early choices we made.
I looked at all of the films that were shot in New York during the 70s, which is probably the most amazing period in American cinema, continues Cernjul. I used all of those films intimately, but I didn't want to simulate that look. I looked at them mostly to see what the reality of New York City streets looked like during the period. What kind of light sources were there and how did the city feel? I really tried to eliminate the filter of the medium it was captured on.
Cernjul used VariCam 35s for the series. Since HBO does not require 4K acquisition, he shot full HD ProRes files at 23.98-fps. The lenses Cernjul used were Panavision PVintage primes, which were also used on the pilot. I knew beforehand how unpredictable the lenses could be, explains Cernjul. Sometimes when you open them up, some of the lenses start to fall apart, which is why I knew I needed a fast camera. It was one of the reasons I gave the VariCam a try.
I tested the VariCam against the Alexa with a lot of different lenses, continues Cernjul. The results just blew me away. I tested all the different ISO ratings and I found the sweet spot for what we wanted to do with the LUTs, which Senior Colorist Sam Daley at Technicolor PostWorks NY helped create for the show, was 3200, dropped down from 5,000. I got a very clean and beautiful image that worked really well with the LUT we were using. The clean image was important for me because we made a choice to treat the whole series with a texturizer called Live Grain, which made it feel like a real film grain. I didn't want this grain to interact with the noise of the camera so it was important to have a clean image to begin with and texturize it to have more control.
Cernjul captured in V-Log and according to the DP, the LUT Sim Digital helped create was an emulation of a Fuji film stock from the 70s. All of the light cycs, gels, and colors were pretty much chosen for this LUT, says Cernjul. Once I have a LUT that I like, I do all the adjustments for that LUT and I stick with it for the whole show.
Vanja Cernjul, ASC, with the Panasonic VariCam 35
Instead of using native ISOs, Cernjul was all over the map. The beauty of the VariCam is the flexibility, he explains. I could have gone anywhere from 800 - 3200, even within a single scene and it will be perfectly matched. Basically, I could decide shot by shot. For example, I started at 800 and for whatever reason if I wanted to capture extreme depth of field, I could switch to 2500. Once you get used to having the flexibility and power, you start doing things that were unthinkable before - using filters indoors that you normally wouldn't use in a dark setting because you couldn't afford to lose two stops. Or you start using gels that would take too much light on small light sources. Switching to slow motion when you had no plans for slow motion and you're already lit for 24 frames. It gives you a freedom. Once experienced, it's hard to go back.
With more control over his camera, Cernjul says he uses less light on set, although he says it's essential to have control over every light source. If you have a very small space but want a soft light source, you can bounce a small tiny unit off a wall and get enough of a light level for it to be usable, he explains. Traditional light sources are too inflexible because now you're working with a tenth of a stop. If you use an 800 open face, you have to bring in so many scrims to bring it down to the light level of the other existing light sources in order for it to match. If you're working with available light sources as a base and then you have to bri
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet Appoints Santiago Solanas as CEO to Lead Next Era of Growth and Innovation
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet and Veritone Reach Agreement to Distribute, Transact and Monetize Media Archives
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
12/05/2024
Berklee Honors Ledisi, Q-Tip, and Gilberto Santa Rosa at Commencement
Berklee Honors Ledisi, Q-Tip, and Gilberto Santa Rosa at Commencement This years honorary doctorate recipients were recognized for their profound influence as...
11/05/2024
Survey: Fubo Boasts High Levels of Audience Attention
NEW YORK FuboTV has released a new study from TVision, which studies TV and CTV viewer engagement, that found ads on Fubo get higher viewer attention levels tha...
11/05/2024
The Weekly TV Tech Product News Roundup
Missed any of our product news this week? Here is our new weekly wrap-up with all the product news we published in our newsletter between May 6 and May 10. The ...
11/05/2024
Enghouse Completes Acquisition of SeaChange
MARKHAM, Ontario Enghouse Systems Limited has announced it has successfully completed its acquisition of substantially all of the assets of SeaChange Internatio...
11/05/2024
Unreal for video Rendering for After Effects
Unreal for video Rendering for After Effects Graham Quince May 10, 2024 0 Comments Welcome to my series on learning Unreal Engine for video producti...
11/05/2024
CEO David Zaslav On How Warner Bros. Discovery Is Using AI
Warner Bros. Discovery is using artificial intelligence to improve ad targeting and help viewers find content, but not to create programming, CEO David Zaslav s...
11/05/2024
Allen Media Group Reaches Expanded Carriage Deal With Hawaiian Telcom
Byron Allen's Allen Media Group said it reached an expanded carriage agreement with Hawaiian Telcom....
11/05/2024
Good Morning Football' To Air on Fox Television Stations
Good Morning Football, an NFL-focused panel talk show that has aired on NFL Network since 2016, is coming to broadcast syndication with the Fox Television Stati...
11/05/2024
Andrea Robinson Joins WCMH Columbus as Weekend Anchor
Andrea Robinson starts on the weekend newscasts at WCMH Columbus, Ohio, Saturday, May 11, anchoring alongside Matthew Herchik and meteorologist Bryan Still. NBC...
11/05/2024
Streaming? No Thanks, Says Nexstar CEO Perry Sook
Perry Sook, founder and CEO of broadcast giant Nexstar Media Group, isn't a fan of streaming....
11/05/2024
Law & Order: Organized Crime' Moves to Peacock
Law & Order: Organized Crime is moving from NBC to Peacock for season five. The Dick Wolf drama follows the detectives of the Organized Crime Control Bureau as ...
11/05/2024
Harry Pappas, Station Group Founder, Has Died
Harry Pappas, Pappas Telecasting Companies founder/president/CEO, died April 24 at age 78. He was surrounded by his family when he passed. He had battled illnes...
11/05/2024
KXAS Dallas-Fort Worth, WTVF Nashville Pick Up Peabody Awards
KXAS Dallas-Fort Worth and WTVF Nashville have won 2024 Peabody Awards. Given out by the University of Georgia's Grady College of Journalism and Mass Commun...
11/05/2024
AMC Networks Earnings Drop To $48.5 Million in Q1
AMC Networks reported that its first-quarter earnings fell by half, with advertising revenue dropping 13%....
10/05/2024
The Greatest Night in Pop Proves That We're Most Powerful as a Collective
Lionel Richie (Photo by George Pimentel/Shutterstock for Sundance)...
10/05/2024
Give Me the Backstory: Get to Know Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurb, the Filmmakers Behind Agent of Happiness
By Lucy Spicer One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
10/05/2024
SBS announces Voyager lead singer Danny Estrin as Australia's spokesperson for the 2024 Eurovision Song Contest jury
SBS announces Voyager lead singer Danny Estrin as Australia's spokesperson f...
10/05/2024
UK Ministry of Defence Selects L3Harris T4 Robots to Assist with Explosive Ordnance Disposal Missions
The T4's best-in-class manipulator arm reach and lift strength, patented sta...
10/05/2024
A True Industry Partner for the Western Australian Police Force
L3Harris, together with partner Radlink Communications, is delivering communications terminals for the Western Australian Police Force (WA Police Force) leverag...
10/05/2024
Survey: TV Declines as Preferred Source of Local News
A major new survey and study of local news reveals a number of unsettling trends for broadcasters. Key findings from the Pew Research Center survey include a de...
10/05/2024
LOBO Launches Standalone Live-Action Division With Impressive Roster of Directors
LOBO Launches Standalone Live-Action Division With Impressive Roster of Director...
10/05/2024
Limecraft Announces New Platform Update and Preview of MI at MPTS 2024
Limecraft Announces New Platform Update and Preview of MI at MPTS 2024 Brie Clayton May 10, 2024 0 Comments Accompanying image shows the Limecraft Act...
10/05/2024
Berklee Announces 2024 Songs for Social Change Contest Winners
Berklee Announces 2024 Songs for Social Change Contest Winners Student songwriters shine in the annual contest that recognizes music with a socially conscious...
10/05/2024
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2024
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2024 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next. ...
10/05/2024
Zille Media aims to enhance media accessibility with Audio Description Editor
The company has worked with Motion Picture Solutions (MPS) on the development of the solution, which sits in the cloud-native Zille Platform By Jenny Priestley...
10/05/2024
Meet the head of entertainment
From The Tube and Top of the Pops to head of entertainment at 1185 Films, Chris Cowey tells TVBEurope about his journey through the ranks during a time of chang...
10/05/2024
Dimension bolsters senior team with four new appointments
Dimension said its new hires signal its investment in creative new production techniques for feature films, episodic series, music videos and more By Matthew C...
10/05/2024
Allen Media Group, Hawaiian Telcom Sign Multi-Year Distribution Deal
LOS ANGELES Byron Allen's Allen Media Group (AMG) has announced a multi-year comprehensive portfolio agreement with Hawaiian Telcom for continued carriage o...
10/05/2024
LG Ad Solutions to Adopt Unified ID 2.0
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. LG Ad Solutions has announced that it has started to integrate the Unified ID 2.0 solution (UID2) into its platform....
10/05/2024
CBS Sports Expands Streaming Coverage of National Women's Soccer League
CBS Sports has expanded its partnership with the National Women's Soccer League by adding multiplatform coverage of 22 additional regular season matches. Th...
10/05/2024
Sinclair Prebooks $77M in Political Ads
Sinclair's Q1 2024 financial report once again highlighted the growing importance of political advertising for broadcasters at a time when core TV advertisi...
10/05/2024
Nexstar Reports Record Q1 Revenue
IRVING, TEXAS Nexstar reported record first quarter net revenue of $1.28 billion, up 2.1%, thanks to higher distribution revenue. But advertising revenue at the...
10/05/2024
Tegna Names David Loving President & GM of KHOU and KTBU in Houston
TYSONS, Va. Tegna Inc. has named David Loving president and general manager at KHOU, the CBS affiliate, and KTBU, Tegna's stations serving Houston, Texas, e...
10/05/2024
New FILM LOOK CREATOR in DaVinci Resolve 19 will put LUT creators out of business!
New FILM LOOK CREATOR in DaVinci Resolve 19 will put LUT creators out of busines...
10/05/2024
Spotted at CBC
Capitol Broadcasting employees frequently walk past photo shoots in progress when leaving work in the evenings. The WRAL Gardens and the striking architecture o...
10/05/2024
Berklee and Audio Engineering Society to Host Symposium on AI in Music
Berklee and Audio Engineering Society to Host Symposium on AI in Music The inaugural AES International Symposium on AI and the Musician will highlight excitin...
10/05/2024
LG Ad Solutions Integrating Trade Desk's Unified ID 2.0
LG Ad Solutions, the advertising arm of smart-TV maker LG Electronics, said it has begun to integrate the Unified ID 2.0 identity system developed by The Trade ...
10/05/2024
NBC Affiliates To Get Cut-Ins During Olympic Coverage To Promote Local News
NBC and its affiliates have worked out an arrangement that will give affiliates 90-second cut-ins during daytime network coverage of the Paris Olympic games....
10/05/2024
NBC Sends Leslie Jones to Paris for Offbeat Olympics Coverage
Comedian Leslie Jones is joining NBCUniversal's Olympics coverage this summer as what NBCU calls chief super fan commentator. She had a similar role at NB...
10/05/2024
Brooke Shields Stars in Netflix Film Mother of the Bride'
Brooke Shields stars in the rom-com Mother of the Bride, which premieres on Netflix May 9. Mark Waters directs the film, about a destination wedding in Thailand...
10/05/2024
Tonight on Scandal: Dintle stumbles upon a dangerous gift
Tonight on Scandal: Dintle stumbles upon a dangerous giftDon't miss Friday, 10 May's riveting episode of South African soapie Scandal! on e.tv on DStv c...
10/05/2024
Tonight on Skeem Saam: Mr Kgomo considers rehiring a former employer despite their rocky history
Tonight on Skeem Saam: Mr. Kgomo considers rehiring a former employer despite th...
10/05/2024
Skeem Saam: Friday's episode, 10 May 2024 [video]
Skeem Saam: Friday's episode, 10 May 2024 [video]Missed an episode of Skeem Saam? No problem! Watch the latest episode of your favourite South African soapi...
10/05/2024
Thuraya network coverage restored in the Indo-China region as recovery measures underway
Abu Dhabi, 10 May 2024: Further to our previous communications about the unexpec...
10/05/2024
Thuraya network coverage restored in the Indo-China region as recovery measures underway
Abu Dhabi, 10 May, 2024 : Abu Dhabi, 10 May 2024: Further to our previous commu...
10/05/2024
Tonight on House of Zwide: Mampho is hurt after catching Ona and Soka chilling in his car together
Tonight on House of Zwide: Mampho is hurt after catching Ona and Soka chilling i...
10/05/2024
SVG Rewind: NBC Sports' Senior Producer Lindsay Schanzer, Director Kaare Numme Reflect on Historic Photo Finish at Kentucky Derby
SVG Rewind: NBC Sports' Senior Producer Lindsay Schanzer, Director Kaare Num...
10/05/2024
SVG's Sports Content Management Forum Agenda Unveiled, Register Now for July 24 Event in NYC
SVG's Sports Content Management Forum Agenda Unveiled, Register Now for July...