Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Funny Business

15/08/2022

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
LINK: https://www.panavision.com/highlights/highlights-detail/funny-business...
See more stories from panavision

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: Ikegami USA To Launch Two New Viewfinders, Refine UHD Cameras

Ikegami USA will launch a refinement to the UHK-X700 and UHK-X750 3-CMOS -in. UHD cameras in the UNICAM XE series plus two new 7-in. viewfinders at NAB 2026 in...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: NAB Leadership Foundation to Host Technology Students Career Mixer

The NAB Leadership Foundation and NAB PILOT will host a career mixer for technology students at NAB Show 2026 on April 18, 5-6:30 p.m., North Hall, Room N225/22...

07/04/2026

Survey: AVoIP Adoption Accelerating, With Interoperability and Security as Key Drivers

Audinate Group Limited and Futuresource Consulting have published results from a...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: Eluvio Announces Commercial Availability of Content Fabric Bucharest Release

Eluvio has announced the commercial availability of its Content Fabric Bucharest...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: Eluvio Introduces Inline AI Video Intelligence and Updated EVIE

Eluvio has unveiled a new architecture for video AI and an updated Eluvio Video Intelligence Editor (EVIE) ahead of NAB Show 2026. Eluvio AI runs analysis and i...

07/04/2026

Professional Fighters League Partners With Sky New Zealand for Exclusive Broadcast Rights

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) has announced a deal with Sky New Zealand...

07/04/2026

NBA, Enjoy Basketball' To Produce Live Game Altcast, Enjoy the NBA Trivia Show as Part of New Multi-Platform Collab

The NBA and Enjoy Basketball, the digital media company co-founded by YouTube cr...

07/04/2026

Beyond Golf: PGA of America, Ko-Mar Productions Offer Clients a Customizable Production Studio

The 4,000-sq.-ft. space in Frisco, TX, has produced live and packaged programmin...

07/04/2026

A New POV: RefCam's Rise in the Bundesliga Signals a Potential New Era for Soccer Broadcasts

What began as a referee training tool is evolving into a powerful production ass...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: Manifold Technologies to Join NEP Platform as Deployable Application

Manifold Technologies will announce at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C.1808) that its manifold CLOUD platform will be available as a deployable application within NEP Pl...

07/04/2026

Shaquille O'Neal and TNT Sports to Launch DUNKMAN Professional Dunk League in Summer 2026

Shaquille O'Neal, Authentic Brands Group, and TNT Sports, in partnership wit...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: Telos Alliance Unveils Omnia XII Audio Processor

Telos Alliance will debut the Omnia XII, a new FM/HD/DAB audio processor, at NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas. Built on a 2RU hardware platform, Omnia XII features a...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: AWS to Showcase AI and Cloud Media Technologies

Amazon Web Services (AWS) will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (April 18-22, Las Vegas Convention Center, Booth W1701), with demonstrations, speaking sessions, and int...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: Synamedia to Demonstrate AI by Quortex

Synamedia will demonstrate AI by Quortex at NAB Show 2026, a framework that applies AI capabilities to video workflows on demand rather than continuously. The s...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: TVNewsCheck Announces 2026 Women in Technology Award Honorees

TVNewsCheck will present its 15th annual Women in Technology Awards on Tuesday, April 21, at 5 p.m. PT at NAB Show, in the Media and Entertainment Theater (W146...

07/04/2026

NAB 2026: Akta to Showcase AI Video Platform

Akta will demonstrate its AI video platform at NAB Show 2026, highlighting new capabilities in media processing and vertical video formatting alongside its exis...

07/04/2026

ESPN Expands to Disney+ in Europe and Select Asia-Pacific Markets

ESPN and Disney have announced the launch of ESPN on Disney in Europe and select Asia-Pacific markets, bringing the offering to 53 countries and territories a...

07/04/2026

Announcing the 2026 Sundance Institute Native Lab Fellows

LOS ANGELES, CA, April 7, 2026 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the fellows selected for the 2026 Native Lab, the signature initiative of the ...

07/04/2026

Prompted Playlist Levels Up to Include Podcasts, Helping You Explore More Interests and Curiosities

Starting today, Prompted Playlist is expanding beyond music to now include podca...

07/04/2026

VSL release Synchron Harpsichord (Blanchet)

Launched alongside piano promotion The latest instalment in VSL's Synchron Series line-up captures the sound of a faithful copy of a Fran ois tienne Bl...

07/04/2026

Roland announce SPD-SX Pro Version 2.0

Flagship sampling pad gets an update Roland's flagship sampling pad has just received a major update that kits it out with an array of new features and ...

07/04/2026

Sound Devices unveil the Astral Mini Plus

Popular compact wireless system upgraded Sound Devices have recently introduced a new and improved version of their compact wireless transmitter bodypacks, ...

07/04/2026

YEP November 2025 Newsletter

The November 2025 YEP Newsletter highlights a recent YEP Coffee Chat, offering members the chance to connect with industry professionals in an informal setting ...

07/04/2026

YEP December 2025 Newsletter

The December 2025 YEP Newsletter includes a Spotlight on Emily Vail, showcasing her career journey and work in the industry, alongside Mentorship Reflections by...

07/04/2026

US Space Force Selects L3Harris to Strengthen America's Defense with Advanced Space Surveillance

Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) telescope operated...

07/04/2026

Haivision Unveils Makito ONE Live Video Contribution Platform

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/04/2026

Neutrik To Unveil TRUE1 Data Connector Series At 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/04/2026

Chris Welcker Deployed Full DPA Arsenal to Record Live Mu...

Catgut Sound Owner and Production Sound Mixer Chris Welcker, CAS, has built a career at the intersection of music and film. A former musician and composer, Welc...

07/04/2026

SDVI Launches Next Generation Rally Platform to Give Medi...

SDVI Corporation today announced the next generation of its Rally media supply chain management platform, introducing a redesigned orchestration engine that rep...

07/04/2026

Avid to Debut Avid Content Core on AWS at 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/04/2026

Frequency Launches Smarter Ways to Operate Streaming Chan...

Frequency, the engine behind many of the world's leading streaming television channels, at NAB 2026 will be launching new Studio services to help content ow...

07/04/2026

Ikegami to Introduce Expanded Range of Broadcast Producti...

Ikegami USA has chosen NAB 2026 in Las Vegas as the launch platform for new additions to its range of broadcast-quality television production equipment. These w...

07/04/2026

Kiloview Advancing Broadcast IP Workflows with a Smarter...

April 19, 2026, Las Vegas Kiloview, an innovative provider of AV-over-IP technologies, will showcase its latest broadcast IP solutions at NAB 2026, presenting...

07/04/2026

Bitmovin Adds Support for SGAI in its Playback Products t...

Bitmovin has announced support for Server-Guided Ad Insertion (SGAI) across its playback products using HLS interstitials, enabling more advanced ad-supported s...

07/04/2026

Synamedia unveils AI by Quortex - a just-in-time AI-plugi...

Synamedia is unveiling AI by Quortex at The NAB show, a just-in-time AI plugin framework that applies intelligence only when needed across video processing, dis...

07/04/2026

Cuez Brings Four New Innovations to NAB 2026 From Story-C...

Cuez will showcase four additions to its cloud-based newsroom, rundown and automation platform at NAB Show 2026 (April 18 22, Las Vegas, Booth N1867): Cuez ...

07/04/2026

Barix Extends Transport Options for Multi-Engine IP Encoder

Barix Extends Transport Options for Multi-Engine IP Encoder Brie Clayton April 7, 2026 0 Comments New for NAB, Barix adds SRT and RIST support to Mult...

07/04/2026

Elite Media Technologies Selects Interra Systems' BATON File-Based QC Solution

Elite Media Technologies Selects Interra Systems' BATON File-Based QC Soluti...

07/04/2026

Tightrope Media Systems to Debut Cablecast LiveBridge for Simultaneous Streaming at NAB 2026

Tightrope Media Systems to Debut Cablecast LiveBridge for Simultaneous Streaming...

07/04/2026

Cuez Brings Four New Innovations to NAB 2026: From Story-Centric Newsroom to Open AI Agent Framework

Cuez Brings Four New Innovations to NAB 2026: From Story-Centric Newsroom to Ope...

07/04/2026

ASG Names Andrea Cummis VP of Systems Engineering

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/04/2026

KTVJ Completes Major Signal Upgrade

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/04/2026

Hearst's WDSU to Air Million Dollar Rodeo Competition

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/04/2026

Grass Valley Launches Future Playmakers Program

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

07/04/2026

Saranyu Technologies Launches MATCH - Multi-View Sports S...

Designed for synchronized multi-stream playback, low-latency delivery, and real-time analytics, MATCH introduces a unified viewing experience for sports broadca...