In Season 1 of the HBO Max original series Hacks, legendary but no longer irreplaceable Las Vegas comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and canceled television writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) reluctantly agreed to work together in a last-ditch bid to resuscitate their careers. Despite their initial misgivings, their collaboration proved a success, and in Season 2 they embark on a cross-country trek to workshop new material for Deborah's act and to continue workshopping their personal lives.
Created by Jen Statsky, Paul W. Downs and Lucia Aniello, Hacks has been photographed from the beginning by cinematographer Adam Bricker, whose work on the show has garnered two Primetime Emmy nominations (for the Season 1 episode Primm and the Season 2 episode The Click ) and an ASC Award nomination (for the Season 1 episode There Is No Line ). Bricker turned to Panavision Hollywood for his camera and lens package, opting for Panavision's Millennium DXL2 on Season 1 and Panavised Red V-Raptors on Season 2, with modified Primo 70 optics in front of the cameras for both seasons. The cinematographer recently spoke with Panavision about his approach to shooting the series' 18 episodes to date.
Panavision: How did you come to be involved in Hacks? What drew you to the project?
Adam Bricker: From the first page of the pilot, I could tell Hacks was operating on another level. It opens with a fast-paced, energetic oner that introduces us to the glamorous Las Vegas world of Deborah Vance, but soon pivots to the quieter, lonelier side of her fame. It's rare to find a half-hour comedy so rich with character-motivated visual storytelling, so I was thrilled when I got the opportunity to meet with Jen, Paul, and Lucia. We shared a similar sensibility from the get-go, and I was honored when they brought me on board.
Lucia Aniello has also directed 11 of the 18 episodes to date, including the pilot. How would you define the look that the two of you sought to create with Season 1?
Bricker: In that first meeting, we all agreed that comedies can be shot cinematically; they don't need to be bright or adhere to a certain look to emphasize a joke. If something is funny, it's funny. We were interested in using the cinematography to underscore our characters' emotional journeys and enhance the storytelling wherever we could.
Lucia's foundational visual references were a reflection of that ethos. She recommended I watch Judy, shot by Ole Bratt Birkeland, BSC, a film in which the lighting beautifully reflects the character's emotional state, and Bergman's Persona, for compositional inspiration. Lucia also wanted the look of Deborah's life in Vegas to have a nostalgic quality, and we both loved Soderbergh's Behind the Candelabra, which became another important touchstone. Building off those films, I put together a look-book that helped establish our visual language and that we could refer to throughout the shoot.
Season 2 takes the show on the road. Did the introduction of new environments lead to any particular evolutions in the look or your approach to shooting the series?
Bricker: Whereas Season 1 was about the grandiosity and glitz of Vegas, Season 2 was about Deborah getting back to her roots, taking us into the dive bars and small comedy clubs where she workshops her new material and, of course, the tour bus that is her chariot.
Shooting in the tight confines of the tour bus presented a fun creative challenge. First, we downsized our camera body to a Red V-Raptor to save space. We were actually the first major production to shoot on the Raptor, and Panavision machined a suite of custom accessories to accompany it, which is something I've always loved about Panavision they don't just buy things, they build them.
Then our art department, led by production designer Alec Contestabile, built a replica of the tour bus interior on our stages at Universal. I was looking for ways that we could realistically convey motion on this stationary set. I rode around on tour buses during prep, photographing the interiors as a light study. Chief lighting technician Daniel McNutt and key grip Randy Garcia were able to use those findings to program and rig concert movers to mimic the natural bounce and play of sunlight through a vehicle speeding down the interstate.
Lucia, Paul and Jen also made key strategic choices which helped add so much depth, texture, and atmosphere to our visuals. Though we mostly shot in and around Los Angeles, we took Jean, Hannah and a skeleton crew to the Grand Canyon to shoot at sunrise for a pivotal scene. We then sent second-unit DP Charlie Hoosier Panian on a road trip to film the actual tour bus as it drove through some iconic American landscapes, and his gorgeous frames made it feel like that bus was all over America, because, in a way, it was. In combination with every department's exceptional work, all of our visuals reinforced the sense of perpetual motion our characters find themselves in this season, both literally and emotionally.
How did you first start working with Panavision, and what brought you to Panavision for Hacks?
Bricker: I first connected with [marketing executive] Rik DeLisle at Panavision Hollywood when I was embarking on the indie feature Happily. It was a passion project with big ambitions and a very limited budget, but Panavision could not have been more supportive of what we were trying to achieve in the film.
Shortly thereafter I found myself back at Panavision for the second season of the show Sorry for Your Loss, which I was inheriting from DP Xavier Grobet, ASC, AMC. He shot the first season on a DXL2 and had worked with Guy McVicker [who now serves as technical marketing manager at Panavision Woodland Hills] to customize a lens package, which set the look.
I loved meeting Guy he is a true wea
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
29/07/2026
RT launches Unsolved, a true crime podcast, presented by crime journalist Barry Cummins and presenter Katja Mia.
Unsolved is a weekly podcast exploring unsol...
28/07/2026
Baxandall-inspired hardware EQ overhauled
TK Audio's Baxandall-inspired hardware EQ unit has just made a return, bringing the popular unit back into the...
28/07/2026
D700 system gains new live-focused rackmount surface
Asparion have just announced an expansion of their D700 control surface range, introducing a new model ...
28/07/2026
Contribution to Europe's technological autonomy in the key industry telecommunications
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, starts commercial shipments...
28/07/2026
Tuesday 28 July 2026
Football is back on Sky Sports following its most watched ...
28/07/2026
RT Raidi na Gaeltachta, RT Radio 1, RT One and RT Player to showcase the best of the reels, rhymes and rambles from Comhaltas Fleadh Cheoil na h ireann 202...
28/07/2026
Through a wide range of perspectives, this documentary looks at how Ireland might navigate one of the defining political questions of the future
Wednesday, Jul...
27/07/2026
New app turns vocal percussion into polished loops
Vochlea, the company behind the voice-to-MIDI instrument Dubler 2, have just announced the launch of a ne...
27/07/2026
Latest MPE-capable instrument completes Pure Trilogy line-up
Sonora Cinematic have just released the third and final instalment in their series of acoustic ...
27/07/2026
Emulates four varieties of optical compression
The latest addition to the fedDSP line-up has just been announced, and packs four distinct optical compressor...
27/07/2026
Optical & FET compressors join 500-series line-up
At our recent GearExpo UK show, we heard from Drawmer that they would soon be launching a pair of new 500-...
27/07/2026
SES Space & Defense to provide always-on LEO Relay Services (LRS) to Starlab via...
27/07/2026
All episodes available Thursday 6 August on Sky and streaming service NOWMonday ...
27/07/2026
Apple today announced AppleCare One - a new way for customers to protect multipl...
27/07/2026
Yesterday witnessed truly memorable scenes in Croke Park, bringing the curtain d...
27/07/2026
Luxembourg, July 27, 2026 - SES, a leading space solutions company, issued the following statement following the U.S. Federal Communications Commission approval...
25/07/2026
New app turns vocal percussion into polished loops
Vochlea, the company behind the voice-to-MIDI instrument Dubler 2, have just announced the launch of a ne...
25/07/2026
Saturday 25 July 2026
First look revealed for YAGA, a seductive mystery thrille...
24/07/2026
First string library captured at Studio Richter Mahr
The latest sample library to be created at Max Richter's Studio Richter Mahr facility captures the ...
24/07/2026
Official emulation of Blackbird Studios reverb chamber
In their latest collaboration with Blackbird Studios, KIT Plugins have captured the sound of the Stud...
24/07/2026
Angela Gomez brings over 14 years of experience in broadcast communications and audio engineering, specialising in live outside broadcasts, live sports and larg...
24/07/2026
Article courtesy of postPerspective
Read the article
While Toy Story 5 maintai...
24/07/2026
Kerry and Mayo fans Up For The Match as excitement builds in Croke Park on the e...
23/07/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 23rd, JULY, 2026 - Yospace, the trusted leader in Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI), stitched 11.57 billion one-to-one addressable advertisem...
23/07/2026
Quickly creates reverse reverb effects
Low End Candy have recently released a new plug-in that offers a quick and simple way to create reverse reverb effect...
23/07/2026
New engines, resonators, effects & more
Expressive E's versatile soft synth has just been treated to an update that greatly expands its sonic range. Noi...
23/07/2026
SGL Carbon has further expanded its photovoltaic capacity at its Ort im Innkreis site in Austria. With the commissioning of new PV carports, the sites solar sys...
23/07/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents new software for three-phase power analysis on MXO seri...
23/07/2026
In our latest blog, Laura Rognoni explores how the launch of Play Snooker reflects a wider shift in sports economics - from monetising peak broadcast audiences ...
23/07/2026
Download Now!
To receive a short case study showcasing Vivid Broadcast's audio setup, please enter the following details:
--
First Name* First Name ...
23/07/2026
X-Rite Pantone and Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Partner to Advance Digi...
23/07/2026
Thursday 23 July 2026
New Samsung Galaxy Foldable range available now to pre-order on Sky Mobile
Sky Mobile, the award-winning network voted this year by Expe...
23/07/2026
Thursday 23 July 2026
Jason Statham leads Sky Original action thriller MUTINY in explosive new trailerTurn on cookies to view this content. Go to Privacy optio...
23/07/2026
Wuppertal July 23, 2026
Riedel Implements RefCam and Easy5G for the First Time...
23/07/2026
RT Commercial has today announced Centra as the official food partner once again of The Traitors Ireland, coming to RT One and RT Player later this year.
Ce...
23/07/2026
RT Commercial today announced Honda as sponsor of Today with David McCullagh RT Radio 1, weekdays 9am 11am.
Broadcasting directly after Morning Ireland in ...
23/07/2026
RT News is pleased to announce Barry Gallagher has been assigned as the new journalist covering news from Cork, Kerry and the wider Southern region
Working al...
22/07/2026
Library now available in Engine Player
Another of Eduardo Tarilonte's popular sample libraries has just been moved over to Engine Audio's Engine Pla...
22/07/2026
All-in-one mic & DSP interface overhauled
Cloudvocal have just refreshed the design of their all-in-one mic, audio interface and DSP processor, introducing ...
22/07/2026
The final boss of the lost dual-op-amp circuit
Electro-Harmonix have just introduced the Deluxe Big Muff Pi 2, which they say offers their latest take on t...
22/07/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
22/07/2026
A poisoned spy, a secret war, and a small English city contaminated by a deadly chemical weapon. Available on Sky Documentaries from 4 AugustWednesday 22 July 2...
22/07/2026
Audio at Parity: Comscore Launches Transcript-Level Targeting and Measurement wi...
22/07/2026
Arvato Systems and Lobster Enter into a Partnership and Combine the Integration Platform and Managed Services
Flexible integration solutions for cloud, hybrid...
22/07/2026
RT REPORTS NET SURPLUS OF 22.5 MILLION IN 2025...
In Season 1 of the HBO Max original series Hacks, legendary but no longer irreplaceable Las Vegas comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and canceled television writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder) reluctantly agreed to work together in a last-ditch bid to resuscitate their careers. Despite their initial misgivings, their collaboration proved a success, and in Season 2 they embark on a cross-country trek to workshop new material for Deborah's act and to continue workshopping their personal lives.
