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
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
15/07/2025
Independent media outlets in Brazil and Colombia are invited to apply for a new programme aimed at strengthening the long-term resilience of journalism in the f...
15/07/2025
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival...
15/07/2025
Spotify une fuerzas con DiDi, la app l der en servicios de movilidad, delivery y...
15/07/2025
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
15/07/2025
L3Harris put its CORVUS-RAVEN counter-small UAS capability into the hands of soldiers at VANAHEIM, showcasing its ability to provide passive signal detect, enha...
15/07/2025
Netflix Viewing Up 13.5% vs. May, Represents 42% of Monthly Gain for Streaming
...
15/07/2025
SAN FRANCISCO and BENGALARU, India Sangeeta Chakraborty has been named chief revenue officer at Amagi, a cloud-based software-as-a-service (SaaS) technology pro...
15/07/2025
As part of its mandate, the Advanced Television Systems Committee the U.S. organization tasked with developing advanced broadcast TV standards promotes ATSC 3.0...
15/07/2025
QuickLink, the leading global provider of multi-camera video productions and remote contributions, announces the launch of two innovative control panels Studi...
15/07/2025
Chris Kontopanos has joined leading high-quality microphone solutions manufacturer, DPA Microphones, as the company's new Regional Sales Manager for the Mid...
15/07/2025
Magnifi by VideoVerse, a global leader in AI-powered video automation, has launched a major platform upgrade built to simplify live and archival video editing f...
15/07/2025
Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, will preview its latest innovations at IBC2025, Stand 7.B21. This year's showcase highlights how...
15/07/2025
IBC2025 is set to transform the onsite experience for its global attendees with the launch of a pioneering new feature: full integration of Amsterdam's GVB ...
15/07/2025
Music, sport and technology collided in spectacular fashion as ASB GlassFloor powered the debut of Beats N Buckets, Germany's first Basketball meets Hip-Ho...
15/07/2025
The Collectv, the Emmy award-winning broadcast solutions and workflows consultancy - and winner of Broadcast Tech's Team of the Year is delighted to announc...
15/07/2025
SipRadius, the expert in secure, low latency media transport, will showcase how broadcasters and media companies can take control of fragmented IP workflows at ...
15/07/2025
Appear, the global leader in live production technology, today announced its strategic partnership with beIN ASIA PACIFIC, a leading multi-platform sports media...
15/07/2025
Company marks 15 years of innovation at the show
Broadpeak, a leader in streaming and monetization at scale, will return to IBC (Hall 1, Stand F83. RAI, Amster...
15/07/2025
New software solutions extend trusted timing measurement across broadcast, venue, and professional AV applications
Hitomi Broadcast, the market leader in audi...
15/07/2025
SHENZHEN, China Telycam has added control options for its portfolio of pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras with a new plug-in for Elgato's Stream Deck family of con...
15/07/2025
MELVILLE, N.Y. Chyron said its Chyron LIVE cloud-native live production solution has successfully completed the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Foundational Technical...
15/07/2025
PHILADELPHIA The Xumo streaming platform joint venture between Comcast and Charter has announced the nationwide launch of a new line of Xumo TVs from Westinghou...
15/07/2025
LONGMONT, Colo. DPA Microphones said Chris Kontopanos has joined the microphone solutions provider as its new regional sales manager, Mid-Atlantic....
15/07/2025
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION IN OR INTO OR TO ANY PERSON LOCATED OR RESIDENT IN THE UNIT...
15/07/2025
Audiences and ad dollars are moving to streaming - media organizations are evolving to meet them there....
15/07/2025
U&GOLD has acquired the broadcast rights for Fawlty Towers: The Play (1x120'). Recorded during the show's run at the West End with its original cast, Fa...
15/07/2025
Live From MLB All-Star 2025: FOX Sports Aims To Capture Chatty Players on the Fi...
15/07/2025
Live From MLB All-Star 2025: From Live Event Coverage to Studio Shows, MLB Netwo...
15/07/2025
Live From MLB All-Star 2025: FOX Sports' Francisco Contreras and Tom Lynch o...
15/07/2025
Live From MLB All-Star: FOX Sports' Production Is Bigger Than Ever in Steamy...
15/07/2025
Live From MLB All-Star: FOX Sports Director Matt Gangl and Producer Pete Machesk...
15/07/2025
TV SIM builds for the future with high efficiency transmitter from Rohde & Schwa...
15/07/2025
News Corp Authorizes New $1 Billion Stock Repurchase Program and Intends to Acce...
15/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Announces the Start of Production of Los secretos de l...
15/07/2025
Harmonic's Hybrid, AI-Powered and Live Sports Streaming Innovations are Key ...
15/07/2025
The well-known and well-loved 4099 has been completely revamped. It features amazing CORE+ technology, which eliminates distortion and extends dynamic range, a ...
15/07/2025
Comscore Partners with HyphaMetrics to Launch Advanced Person-Level Audience Mea...
15/07/2025
Peak audiences of over half a million tune into both Kerry v Tyrone and Donegal ...
15/07/2025
PROTON Announces Production Facility Expansion Ahead of IBC2025 posted: 15/07/2025
Proton Announces Production Facility Expansion Ahead of IBC2025
Alongs...
15/07/2025
Submissions for NVIDIA's Plug and Play: Project G-Assist Plug-In Hackathon a...
14/07/2025
The Royal Moroccan Air Force hosted a C-130 award ceremony with L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert a...
14/07/2025
UK launch set for September, following on from recent US and Germany releases
London - UK, July 14, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, da...
14/07/2025
SHENZHEN, China Telycam has added control options for its portfolio of pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras with a new plug-in for Elgato's Stream Deck family of con...
14/07/2025
The awards are open to IBC2025 show exhibitors and offer a valuable platform for companies to raise awareness for the new products and solutions they will be la...
14/07/2025
Clear-Com is excited to announce a significant expansion of the award-winning Arcadia Central Station with new software updates. Together, these releases dram...
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.
