HBO series the News Room

[Michael Notar]

any idea of what camera the series is shot on?

[Bob Gundu]

http://www.cinegearexpo.com/wp/wp-co..._NEWS_2012.pdf

HBO’s much-anticipated, new series The Newsroom, created
by Aaron Sorkin, centers on a cable news anchor (Jeff Daniels),
his new executive producer (Emily Mortimer), his newsroom staff
(John Gallagher, Jr., Alison Pill, Thomas Sadoski, Dev Patel, Olivia
Munn) and their boss (Sam Waterston).
The pilot was shot by Barry Ackroyd, BSC, and the first season
was photographed by Todd McMullen.
“Like most new TV series, the goal is to mimic the style of
the pilot as your starting point,’ says McMullen. “The general
style was to use long lenses, judicious camera movement and
occasional frame adjustments to emphasize story moments. In
the course of shooting the rest of the series we applied other
techniques and elements where they fit into the new scenes and
locations. The overall objective was to keep the frames loose and
to give the actors freedom to maneuver through their space.”
The Newsroom was shot on three Alexas primarily with the
Angenieux 24-290mm Optimo zoom lenses. A Steadicam usually
carried the 28-76 Optimo lens.
For each episode, approximately seven days were spent in
the studio and two days on location.
“The story is set in New York so we obviously had to shoot in
New York for exterior scenes,” says McMullen. “I enjoy shooting
in New York and I believe these scenes add so much depth and
character to the show.”
McMcullen says production benefitted from the Meridian
Wireless System from Boxx Communications, which provides
4:2:2 uncompressed video with zero delay.
“In keeping with the simplicity theory, we were able to keep
the video village hot with an image, and not have to take the time
to run cables,” explains McMullen. “The camera operators and the
director could work out shots while I was lighting. Since we kept
the camera moving and we shot long lens, it was always a challenge
to even get the video village anywhere near the set. Also,
due to some of the small practical locations we would have to
have the video village a number of rooms away.
“However, the most important applications of the wireless
system were shooting exteriors in New York. We would put
cameras across the streets and shoot back through traffic. There
would have been no way to get cables to video village.
McMullen says the Meridian Wireless System helped with
efficiency, which is always a priority on tight TV production
schedule.
“The biggest advantage of this system is time and productivity,”
adds McMullen. “The Boxx TV system is quite simply the
most stable, user-friendly, HD wireless system I have used. The
image is absolutely amazing. And there is no lag time. The ability
to view a stable HD image without cables is fantastic, and the reliability
is a big benefit.”
The Newsroom is premiering Sunday, June 24.

[Michael Notar]

thanks i assumed it was the alexa as it seems to be prevalent in tv, esp hbo shows. i was suprised tho that i was noticing noise in images, in the darker tones in one room of the show and a little in a purple dress in a well lit scene.. perhaps its me or my cable provider...