Creating Intimacy on Screen for Somebody Somewhere
Brie Clayton July 7, 2023
0 Comments
A conversation with Cinematographer Shana Hagan, ASC and Harbor's Senior Colorist, Nick Hasson.
HBO's Somebody Somewhere is a popular American comedy drama series. The second season has just finished airing and fans were recently delighted with the news that the series will return for a third season.
The series follows Sam, played by Bridget Everett, as she struggles to fit into her hometown's mould and grapples with loss and acceptance.
The show's first season saw the beginning of a powerful collaboration between Cinematographer Shana Hagan, ASC and Colorist Nick Hasson and it would be easy to assume that the pair have been working together for some time.
Developing LUTs Hagan described the visual goal for the series as being a very unobtrusive, observational friend in the room approach, to allow the actors' performances to shine.
The show was shot on the ALEXA Mini and recorded to QuickTime ProRes 4444. Season one was played a little wider with a few well-chosen close-ups. And in season two, as the characters grew closer to each other, Hagan found the camera coming closer too.
No artifice, with mostly quiet, reactive handheld and the appearance of natural light, she explains. We want to make it look and feel simplistic and uncomplicated. The resulting visuals feel real and authentic - allowing the audience to connect with the story and our characters on a very deep level.
Hasson was bought into the production early on, right after the pilot was shot, and before the rest of the series had started filming - he and Hagan created two show LUTs. He conformed on Baselight from the original camera files and graded in Rec709 for an HD delivery.
Creating Intimacy Behind the Camera Hagan operated the camera for every scene of the series. In her own words, there was an intimacy that's created with me behind the camera . She described her love of being on the front line so she could make changes quickly, but also to vibe and feel out a moment with an actor or actress .
When Bridget is performing and giving her absolute best emotionally, I'm just there. I'm feeling it, explains Hagan. I might do a little slow push in or slow creep around, in a reactive way. I would naturally lean in to get a little bit more, as if I were a friend in the room. I want them to feel that human connection behind the camera. I want to be that emotion, that intimacy that we're creating.
An Unobtrusive Grade As the show is built around very observational, grounded and intimate camera work, Hasson and Hagan agreed the color should be a slightly desaturated look to match.
Hagan described how the arc of the color over season two follows that of the main character, Sam, as she grows more confident and begins to find her voice. Whether an intentional shift, the color becomes more saturated as Sam finds community.
The saturation starts to dial in for the second season, explains Hagan. In season two, Sam finds her voice, finds her community, and really solidifies deeper relationships with the people around her. Her world becomes a little bit bigger. Also, slightly more colorful. So, without going full Wizard of Oz - black and white to color - it's more of a slow shift from a deserted look at the beginning of season one where she's in a horrible dead-end job. As she grows, there's a slow increase in the saturation.
Hasson added that the color follows the emotional tone set as the series unfolds: you can find your somebody somewhere. Anywhere. And that that arc follows her as she starts to open up. I think the visual language opens up as well, with more color and light. The camera work even gets a little more open and intimate as we go along.
The overall goal of the grade for this series is, as Hasson put it, try hard to be simple. One of the great strengths of the show, the duo explained, was its insistence on character.
The look of the show should never be in the way of the emotion of the show, says Hasson. We wanted to keep the characters based in reality. I don't want to say it's like a doc look, because it's really not, but by stripping the cinematography down to the most raw and natural level, we can make you feel that you're in the room with these people - like they're your neighbors or your friends.
Captured in Camera Influenced by Hagan's strong background in shooting documentaries, 90% of the show was captured in camera and not edited a lot in post.
It's impressive, comments Hasson. Shana doesn't want to change what she shot. She shoots exactly what she likes, and obviously we polish, touchup, and clean.
Hasson remarked that there were instances in which he would have to stop himself from tearing the images apart. Deciding ultimately that this is the way that everyone's going to reach into the character, and this is what serves the story the best. That it's just kind of set from camera. We know what the mood is and obviously we're tweaking things for balance and to direct a viewer's focus here or there. But for the most part, I think Shana nails it.
With no DIT on set, Hagan relied on her own experience to keep the highlights under control - or blow them out, when needed - and to keep the lighting levels where she wanted them.
My amazing gaffer, Z. Alex Jones, would keep his eyes on our calibrated OLEDs to make sure we were in range with the color temp of the lighting on set, and I'd keep my eyes on the exposure and the in-camera color temp, explains Hagan. Most of the lighting for our interiors was source driven large heads thru existing windows and boosted on-set practicals.
The team shoot the series with two cameras and Hagan prefers to light the scene rather than the
Most recent headlines
09/11/2025
Dalet today announced a transformative leap forward for media operations: Agentic Artificial Intelligence (AI) that unifies the Dalet ecosystem under one natura...
17/10/2025
HBO Max is reporting that it has launched in 15 new markets, including Bangladesh, Cambodia, Macau, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Ukraine, boosting the streaming serv...
17/10/2025
Netflix said it will make a major push into video podcasts, inking a wide-ranging deal with Spotify through which it will offer 16 podcasts in the U.S. starting...
17/10/2025
Lexington, Ky. As part of a push to highlight its advanced advertising capabilities, Viamedia has launched a new AI-powered ad tech platform and officially rebr...
17/10/2025
NEW YORK QuickLink has announced the release of StudioPro Version 4, which the company is calling the most significant upgrade yet to its flagship video product...
17/10/2025
NEW YORK and CUPERTINO, Calif. Apple and NBCUniversal said they will sell Apple TV and Peacock streaming bundles to U.S. subscribers starting Oct. 20....
17/10/2025
Q&A with Boston Conservatory Choral Conductor Stephen Spinelli How his research into the lost manuscripts of composer Florence Price led to a Grammy-winning c...
16/10/2025
SVG Sit-Down: FUJIFILM Execs on GFX ETERNA 55 Camera, Importance of Shallow-Dept...
16/10/2025
Squash's Most Ambitious Broadcast Production To Be Deployed at Comcast Busin...
16/10/2025
Main Street Sports Group Inks Deal With Omaha Productions, Launches Original-Con...
16/10/2025
A Historic Precursor? FIFA, HBS, DAZN Offer an Inside Look at Production of FIFA...
16/10/2025
Prime Video Offers Sneak Peak at New NBA on Prime StudioThe massive 13,000-sq-ft, two-story studio features a LED regulation half court and hoopBy Jason Dachman...
16/10/2025
SVG Remote Production Forum Draws Record Crowd for Visit to PGA TOUR Studios, De...
16/10/2025
BitFire's Ben Grafchik on How Growing Cloud Workflows Are Impacting the Live...
16/10/2025
AI technology is advancing quickly, bringing both new creative possibilities and...
16/10/2025
In 2017, Imani Ellis launched CultureCon, a conference that's become a must-attend event for more than 10,000 diverse creatives and Black professionals to c...
16/10/2025
It might still be a little early to break out the tinsel and mistletoe, but Spotify's already queuing up some holiday magic. This year's Spotify Singles...
16/10/2025
Earlier this year, our in-house publishing imprint, Spotify Audiobooks, put out ...
16/10/2025
VAMPIRE has been integrated onto GM Defenses Infantry Squad Vehicle (ISV), providing a mobile solution to effectively and affordably counter small drone threat...
16/10/2025
The AgilePod mounted on the host aircraft....
16/10/2025
60% say infotainment systems are a critical purchasing or leasing consideration,...
16/10/2025
NEW YORK The Broadcasters Foundation of America has launched its 2025 Year-End Giving Campaign, which seeks to raise donations from tax-deductible personal and ...
16/10/2025
Roku has added several new features to its user interface and operating system meant to make it easier to discover and personalize content, the company said....
16/10/2025
NEW YORK CNN has announced that its All Access subscription tier will launch in the U.S. on Oct. 28, providing audiences with a centralized destination for CNN&...
16/10/2025
Student Spotlight: Alan Villanueva The graduate student and saxophonist, who performed on Natalia Lafourcades Latin Grammy-nominated Live at Carnegie Hall alb...
16/10/2025
The XR Sports Alliance (XRSA) has announced the third cohort of members. The new members include Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the Vegas Golden Kni...
16/10/2025
NEW YORK The Broadcasters Foundation of America has launched its 2025 Year-End Giving Campaign which seeks to raise donations from tax-deductible personal and c...
16/10/2025
NEW YORK Australia's Nine Network and the NHL today announced a media partnership that will bring the world's premier professional ice hockey league to ...
16/10/2025
Parks Associates has released new data showing that nearly half (45%) of U.S. internet homes watch free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services and 89% of U.S...
16/10/2025
TROY, Mich. -New data from J.D. Power's 2025 U.S. Residential Internet Service Provider Study shows that residential wireless internet providers are growing...
16/10/2025
TV's most charming detective drama * Shakespeare & Hathaway: Private Investi...
16/10/2025
Back to All News
Thailand's Legendary Outlaw Returns: Tee Yai: Born to be ...
16/10/2025
Back to All News
Christmas Is Just Around The Corner: Home For Christmas Season...
16/10/2025
Back to All News
Trist n Ulloa Stars in El crimen de Pazos, the New Netflix Ser...
16/10/2025
ABS Completes Redomiciliation to Dubai Development Authority as Part of Strategi...
16/10/2025
This Saturday October 18 Katja Mia will burst onto the radio airwaves for the first time as she joins 2FM. Katja will be standing in for Bl thnaid Treacy on Sat...
16/10/2025
This October, RT is delighted to support Wexford Festival Opera, Babor International Arts Festival for Children, Open House Dublin and 36 other arts and cultu...
16/10/2025
GeForce NOW is more than just a platform to stream fresh games every week - it offers celebrations for the gamers who make it epic, with member rewards to sweet...
15/10/2025
Across the world, early-career reporters are interrogating systems that shape daily life, from mortuaries and classrooms to the corridors of legal education and...
15/10/2025
St. Louis Blues Pay Tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in New Pregame Open VideoThe NHL franchise worked with production firms 2WEI and 4th Floor CreativeBy Mark J Burns,...
15/10/2025
Cobalt Digital, G3DVu, Proxima Vision, and Telos Alliance Renew Premier Sponsors...
15/10/2025
By Paige Bethmann
Before my grandmother passed away in 2019, I went to visit her in the hospital where she'd been for a few weeks. When I arrived, the nurs...
15/10/2025
Two years ago, Spotify set out to grow the entire publishing industry by making ...
15/10/2025
People turn to DJ for a listening experience that feels personal, dynamic, and j...
15/10/2025
Las personas recurren a DJ para vivir una experiencia de escucha personal, din m...
15/10/2025
Rock legend Bruce Springsteen and luminary actor Jeremy Allen White came togethe...
15/10/2025
At Spotify, we're all about supporting rising talent and helping them connec...
15/10/2025
New SBS Documentary Series THE CANCER KILLERS Premieres 4 November on SBS & SBS ...
15/10/2025
SBS celebrates the Festivals of Lights with bold, illuminating stories across th...
Creating Intimacy on Screen for Somebody Somewhere 
