05/03/2013
Veteran Director of Photography, Paul Maibaum, ASC has always been conscious of the importance of the best support for his projects. That's why he's chosen four Vinten Vector fluid heads and Vinten pedestals for his new ABC Family comedy, Baby Daddy. This multi-camera series follows three single guys living as roommates in Manhattan, New York, who find themselves collectively thrust into fatherhood, when a baby is left at their doorstep, the result of a one-night stand.
I wasn't a multi-cam sitcom operator, so my familiarity with the use of the Vinten heads and pedestals had been limited to how I see as them being used by the hands (and feet) of experienced operators like we have on Baby Daddy', says Maibaum. The shots seem so effortlessly executed.
In today's multi-camera sitcom environment, the camera operators are required to work with cameras on peds and are consistently tasked to deliver shots that are cinematic, where they must dolly, focus, zoom, pan and tilt on their own, he explains. The cameras (we use four Panavised Sony F3s) are loaded down with monitors, focus assist devices, thick cables, large zoom lenses and in the case of this show, eye-lights mounted above the camera lenses. It all adds up to a sizeable weight.
The Vinten Vector fluid heads can be so precisely balanced that the operators not only achieve very complicated shots, but in addition, they whip the cameras across the set on cue, to capture a close-up of an actor as he enters through a doorway or appears suddenly upstage from a back room. I have not seen another piece of equipment perform as flawlessly as the Vinten Vectors.
The members of the cast on Baby Daddy' are young and full of energy. The scripts call for scenes with a lot of movement from the actors and no matter how well rehearsed the operators are, there are always surprises, says Maibaum. On one episode entitled On The Lamby', Emma, the baby in Baby Daddy' loses her well-worn stuffed sheep affectionately referred to as Lamby'. The boys try to get Emma to sleep but she has never been able to do so without this stuffed animal. The boys go into a panic trying to find it. When one of them finds it, they toss the hapless toy like a football from one to the other in order to get it to Emma before she has a meltdown.
The scene is staged as if the guys are throwing a football, diving over furniture to make catches and they ultimately succeed in getting Lamby into the crib with Emma. In this scene all four operators have to follow the actors as well as the small stuffed sheep as it is tossed around the set. The action is fast and furious. The wing cameras with long focal length lenses have to capture the action as well as the center cameras with wider focal length lenses and since a real baby is part of the scene, there isn't the luxury of having a lot of re-takes. In my estimation, the success of the operators' execution of these shots within a scene like this greatly depends on the kind of equipment that is used. This is where we all can count on the Vinten heads to perform.
David Boomer Dougherty, Maibaum's C Camera Operator on Baby Daddy echoes Maibaum's sentiments. He is a firm believer in the Vectors. The fluid head, with its precision pan, tilt and fulcrum adjustments, becomes an extension of your being, he says. The most difficult shots on this show are always rising or sitting actors, and the fluidness of this head makes the action effortless. I tend to set the pan and tilt at a tighter setting than most, yet I can still whip pan and make delicate moves with out having to change the tension. I am a real stickler about balance of a camera. When I set the balance and fulcrum, the camera comes in to it's own zero gravity and I love that kind of precision. Whether I am zoomed all the way in on the lens, making a dolly move or holding a wide shot, I can trust that the Vinten Vector fluid head is always there to give back what I put in.
Baby Daddy, an ABC Family sitcom, stars Jean-Luc Bildeau, Tahj Mowry, Derek Theler, Chelsea Kane and Melissa Peterman. The series has just been picked up for a second season, with the new episodes being shot now, and airing early Spring 2013.
Director of Photography Paul Maibaum, ASC, who is best known for the recent hit Sons of Anarchy, has also shot series such as Samantha Who? and My Boys.
http://www.hdproguide.com/maibaum-chooses-vinten-for-baby-daddy/#.UMtw3GfhchE
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
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...
13/05/2026
New Adobe Premiere Color Grading Mode Accelerated on NVIDIA GPUs
Joel Pennington May 13, 2026
0 Comments
New NVIDIA RTX-accelerated features streamlin...
13/05/2026
Grass Valley announced that dB Broadcast has delivered new IP-based outside broadcast (OB) trucks for Cloudbass, featuring Grass Valley LDX 100 Series cameras a...
13/05/2026
Ikegami will exhibit the latest additions to its wide range of broadcast production cameras, control units, viewfinders and monitors on stand 5D3-1 at Broadcast...
13/05/2026
FISE, working with the founding members of the XR Sports Alliance (XRSA), Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. and HBS, have collaborated to develop an immersive...
13/05/2026
Canon Unveils New EOS R6 V Full-Frame EOS Camera and RF20-50mm F4 L IS USM PZ Bu...
13/05/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Honors Beth Morrison and Moses Pendleton at Comme...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
13/05/2026
Creative software developer Foundry today announced the latest developments on Nuke Stage. A purpose-built application for end-to-end virtual production and in-...
13/05/2026
A definitive portrait of one of Ireland's most influential musicians
New TV documentary airs Monday 18 May on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
Watch the...
13/05/2026
Agentic AI is changing the way users get work done. Following the success of OpenClaw, the community is embracing new open source agentic frameworks. The latest...
13/05/2026
Reinforcement-learning agents - AI systems that learn by trial and error - can c...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
05/03/2013
