My celestial ride with Star Trek: Picard began when I was shooting Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 in Toronto. Thank you to Olatunde Osunsanmi, who gave me that call. He was running the show, and he was a director I had previously worked with in New York on the series Gotham. Also, thank you to Alex Kurtzman, the grand-master executive of the Star Trek franchise, who gave me the live long and prosper' thumbs up.
I wrapped my season of Discovery, and I was going to remain on the team for the next season, but after a few weeks of prep, the executives asked if I would entertain going back to L.A. to work on Picard Season 2 and 3 back-to-back seasons! I live in Los Angeles but had been away from home for most of the past seven years, working all over the country except for L.A. I said yes, and three days later I was in a conference room with the entire writing staff, producer Dylan Massin, and one of the showrunners, Akiva Goldsman. They were breaking down the next two seasons, but concentrating on Season 2, which was to start production very soon. Gulp.
I thought Picard Season 1 was fantastic, so I had a knot in my throat as I stepped in to help helm this ship that was already sailing toward Season 2 and 3. My rotating partner for Season 2, Jimmy Lindsey, ASC, was also hired, and guided by our Zen master and Wizard of Oz,' Alex Kurtzman, we began our prep immediately and diligently. Alex loves Panavision, especially their lenses, and so do I, so our conversations were immediately aligned regarding the look. He is very specific, meticulous, and had a very clear picture in his creative mind.
Look books were important to communicate attitude, emotion, feeling, colors, compositions, etc., especially during this Covid time of meeting over Zoom as opposed to being tactile and direct with meetings around the drawing table. I looked at all the Alien films and studies the colors and movements of their great DPs: Derek Vanlint, CSC; Adrian Biddle, BSC; Alex Thomson, BSC; Darius Khondji, ASC, AFC; Dariusz Wolski, ASC. These films were seeds to fuel my inspiration. And of course, the granddaddy of all sci-fi films for me is Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, photographed by the great Geoffrey Unsworth, BSC. I would watch this film before each season of work, just to keep it in to my DNA.
Jimmy and I were discussing lenses for Picard, and we're both huge fans of Panavision's T Series anamorphic lenses. I like the Ts because of their undeniable personality and presence, with an inkier bite of contrast I did not want to use softer lenses with lower contrast. In outer space and in the dark galleys of spaceships, I felt the darkness of the blacks should be deep and haunting, and the roll-off into darkness should be discernibly sharp and defined.
My chief 1st AC, Chad Rivetti, was key on executing the prep of our camera package for these next two seasons of work. We had an enormous amount of detail in our equipment, and Panavision's David Dodson made sure we had what we desired and needed, always with unconditional love and enthusiasm. This is the philosophical strength and backbone of Panavision: servicing their clients in a personal way.
I have been part of the Panavision family going on 40 years now, from when I was a camera assistant in New York, prepping at General Camera. As a Sicilian, family and loyalty are most crucial to me, and Panavision has always made me feel safe and secure. I've always known I can rely on them in any difficulty that may surface technically or even personally any time of the day.
We had three Panavised Arri Alexa Minis for Picard, one each for A and B camera, and the third was either built for Steadicam or crane. These tools were operated by a great team of camera operators: Nicholas Davidoff, SOC, on A camera and Brian Joey' Morena on B camera, with Brian Bernstein, SOC and Brooks Robinson, SOC, filling out our team of day players.'
Picard Season 3 mostly took place in our spaceship set, the USS Titan. When production designer David Blass and his great team including Doug Drexler, John Eaves, James Addink and Bill Krause designed this set for Season 2, it was the USS Stargazer, but we knew that we would be repurposing it as a new ship for Season 3. There were numerous discussions on the subject, led by Season 3 showrunner Terry Matalas. As mentioned, these two seasons were shot directly back-to-back we finished Season 2 on a Friday and started Season 3 that Monday!
My personal approach shifted from Season 2 to 3 because Season 3 was a different beast: more visceral, bolder action, backstory drama, bringing back the world-famous Next Generation cast, and bringing on legendary actress Amanda Plummer, who entered our cast as the dark and unhinged Captain Vadic, commander of the Shrike.
For Season 3, Jon Joffin, ASC joined me as my alternating partner. I love executing close-ups with close-focus wide-angle lenses; I love that round, super-close, intimate feel when it's a very important line. Jon was awesome with his own aesthetics as well. We had individual thumbprints, but we collectively adhered to the story and the mission at hand. My personal Zen approach was to not be fearful and to conceive outside the box as much as I could without breaking the canon methodologies' the franchise adheres to so vigorously. I needed to remind myself with a mental pinch every now and then that this is the largest franchise in history!
I get so very excited to explore new chapters in my photographic life. Before the science-fiction world of Star Trek, I was photographing the DC Comics show Gotham, which allowed me to create worlds that were colorful and surreal, far from reality, filled with supervillains and inspired by a young Bruce Wayne's desire for justice. This is what keeps me inspired, learning from and bei
Europe Stories
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...
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
18/09/2025
Forget just hearing a new album; last night, London lived one. Together with Spo...
18/09/2025
Spotify and Sony Music Group today announced an extension and expansion of their long-standing, successful global partnership. As part of their ongoing collabor...
18/09/2025
18 Sep 2025
VEON Inaugurates JazzCash Experience Lounge in Islamabad Dubai and Islamabad, September 18, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital opera...
18/09/2025
Created by Tom Scharpling, Matt Berry and Natasha Lyonne, the new six-part serie...
18/09/2025
The eight-part sun-drenched thriller from Luther creator Neil Cross launches on ...
18/09/2025
Rohde & Schwarz announces new frequency models up to 54 GHz for R&S ZNB3000 vect...
18/09/2025
Individual phones could be tracked back to specific residential addresses
Sm...
18/09/2025
September 18 2025, 04:20 (PDT) Dolby Atmos arrives in Maruti Suzuki Victoris, e...
17/09/2025
It was the ultimate convergence of pop culture and literary prestige: Last night, Dua Lipa brought her Service95 Book Club podcast to the stage for a special li...
17/09/2025
Transatlantic collaboration combines experience and agility to drive innovation in network design and delivery
Luxembourg, September 16, 2025 - SES, a leading ...
17/09/2025
Wednesday 17 September 2025
UK artists capture icons of stage and screen, inclu...
17/09/2025
For the Moon Safari anniversary tour, AIR opened the doors to their backstage. Just a few hours before the Paris concert, DPA met with two key figures of the te...
17/09/2025
Auditions will be held in Dublin, Cork and Galway
The County Parade returns f...
16/09/2025
Hace una d cada, la m sica latina representaba apenas el 8% de las reproducciones globales en Spotify. Hoy, constituye m s de una cuarta parte (27%) de toda la ...
16/09/2025
A decade ago, Latin music made up just 8% of global Spotify streams. Today, it a...
16/09/2025
Spotify is expanding our video lineup with a new partnership with Zoo 55, part of ITV Studios. For the first time, acclaimed content from ITV Studios is landing...
16/09/2025
Calrec has strengthened its collaboration with audio metering expert RTW by integrating RTW's new TMxCore metering platform across its full range of Argo IP...
16/09/2025
Leading space solutions company will use optical ground stations to deliver faster, more secure data from space
Luxembourg, September 15, 2025 - SES, a leading...
16/09/2025
Comscore Unveils The Scoreboard: An Interactive Destination Surfacing Consumer B...
15/09/2025
Global K-Pop sensation aespa is redefining what it means to be rich with the r...
15/09/2025
Every day, millions of people around the world turn to Spotify to enjoy the audi...
15/09/2025
After months of intensive planning and implementation, Brembo SGL Carbon Ceramic...
15/09/2025
Unique sports content orchestration platform builds momentum among SES's cus...
15/09/2025
-- Opens door to growth in renewable energy New Delhi, India - 15th September -- Global business and industry leaders from around the world are joining technol...
13/09/2025
Harmonic's Software-Based XOS Advanced Media Processor Provides Unparalleled Efficiency and Unlocks New Business Models SAN JOSE, Calif. - Sept. 13, 2025 -...
12/09/2025
For fans, we know how important it is to stay plugged into music culture and dis...
12/09/2025
Link ping, Sweden and Shipley, United Kingdom, September 12, 2025 - Agama, the expert in video observability and analytics for service quality and customer expe...
12/09/2025
Feature-length retrospective from Studio Crook to air in 2026
Sir David Jason returns to the nation's favourite comedy channel, U&GOLD, for Open All Hours:...
12/09/2025
Friday 12 September 2025
The Boomtown Rats, Nyah Grace, Soweto Kinch, Royal Ballet and Madness also announced to perform at the ceremony on Tuesday
Sky today ...
12/09/2025
Wuppertal September 12, 2025
Riedel Unveils Ultra-Light Bolero Mini Wireless Intercom BeltpackAt IBC2025 in Amsterdam, Riedel Communications unveiled Bolero M...
12/09/2025
Wuppertal September 12, 2025
Riedel Communications Acquires hi human interfaceRiedel Communications today announced the acquisition of hi human interface fro...
12/09/2025
CORE+ virtually removes distortion, setting a new standard for church sound and giving worship teams the clarity and confidence they need.
Read the full artic...
12/09/2025
The Late Late Show is back with a bang after the summer break, and Patrick Kielt...
12/09/2025
The World Athletics Championships, Ireland v France in the Women's Rugby World Cup quarter-final, the Irish Champions Festival, and two Sports Direct Men...
12/09/2025
The Records Show starts Sunday at 6.30pm on RT One and RT Player.
Katie Hanno...
11/09/2025
RADAR, Spotify's program for emerging talent, recently hit a major milestone...
11/09/2025
Link ping, Sweden, September 11, 2025 - Agama, the expert in video observability & analytics for service quality and customer experience, announced today the la...
11/09/2025
Under the USD 89.6 Million award, SES Space & Defense will provide global commer...
11/09/2025
Leading Balkan DTH provider adds capacity to consolidate its m:Sat TV platform at 23.5 degrees East and serve more customers across the region
Luxembourg, 11 S...
11/09/2025
UKTV's free streaming service U launches on Sky Q
Free streaming service U has launched on Sky Q in the UK, UKTV and Sky confirm today, expanding the footp...
11/09/2025
From the discreet 2061 lavaliers to 4099 and 4011 mics, the setup delivered clean, natural sound in one of the most challenging broadcast environments.
Read th...
11/09/2025
From rugged build quality to natural, detailed sound, the verdict is clear: big performance can come in a very small package.
Read the full review here!...
11/09/2025
Tonight on Prime Time
RT One and RT Player at 9:35pm
Tonight RT Prime Time...
11/09/2025
RT Statement: 2026 Eurovision Song Contest
At the General Assembly of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) in July, a number of EBU members raised concerns ...
10/09/2025
Lossless on Spotify Premium is here.
Lossless audio has been one of the most a...
10/09/2025
The Television Will Be Revolutionised Sep 10, 2025
Written by Sunit Kotecha, Director of Delivery and Operations, YouView
2025 marks a century since the f...
10/09/2025
First of Spains F110 frigates get future-ready with Rohde & Schwarz communicatio...
My celestial ride with Star Trek: Picard began when I was shooting Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 in Toronto. Thank you to Olatunde Osunsanmi, who gave me that call. He was running the show, and he was a director I had previously worked with in New York on the series Gotham. Also, thank you to Alex Kurtzman, the grand-master executive of the Star Trek franchise, who gave me the live long and prosper' thumbs up.
