1997's Emmy-nominated cinematographers reflect upon their outstanding work for the small screen.

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James R. Bagdonas, ASC
Chicago Hope — "Time to Kill"

The Emmy-nominated Chicago Hope episode, "Time to Kill," also earned James R. Bagdonas, ASC an ASC Award nomination earlier this year (see AC May '97). The cameraman remarks, "We use a lot of camera movement on Chicago Hope. We often follow action from room to room and from one person to another, and we take dramatic license with the lighting. We put bright slashes across someone's chest without worrying whether there is a window in the room. In other places, we let things go dark where there wouldn't normally be dark places in a hospital. We also use really warm lights in the hallways, which are normally lit by fluorescents."

Bagdonas, who is in his second season with Chicago Hope, fell into cinematography by accident. While working as a rock band roadie in Chicago, he was introduced to Roy Wagner, ASC, who offered him a job as a camera assistant on a film. After the movie wrapped, Bagdonas moved to Los Angeles and landed a spot in the camera department at Warner Bros. He assisted such ASC greats as Haskell Wexler, Conrad Hall and John Alonzo before moving up to operator and collaborating with cinematographers Chuck Minsky and Ray Villalobos, who became his mentors. Bagdonas picked up a 1989 ASC Award nomination for Hunter, his first series as a director of photography. After two seasons, he moved on to Lois and Clark; three years later he signed on with Chicago Hope.

The CBS medical drama has a slightly different look this season, courtesy of a new film stock. Although Bagdonas was quite satisfied with the original version of Kodak's PrimeTime 640T that he had been using, Eastman asked him to try out the latest version of the 640T emulsion: 5620. "We agreed to test it," says the cameraman, "and it turned out to be head and shoulders above the old version. It's a T-grain stock, and it's sharper, more contrasty and just all around better-looking."

The new stock also spurred other changes. Whereas Bagdonas used a Tiffen Soft/FX filter on almost every shot last season, he was so pleased with the look of PrimeTime 5620 that he decided to forgo all filtration on this season's installments. He now employs much less fill on the actors' faces, lets windows blow out a bit more, and allows some of the sets' dark areas go a bit darker. "We don't worry about justifying any of our light sources," he says, "as long as we think they look right."

— Jean Oppenheimer

Constantine Makris, ASC
Law & Order — "Mad Dog"

Four years ago, New York-based cinematographer Constantine Makris, ASC was pleasantly surprised to receive an Emmy for his work on Law & Order. "I'm a New York cameraman, so it was a shock even to get nominated," he says. When this year's nominees were announced, Makris again found his name on the list. "This time I was in disbelief, because I got nominated for the same show!"

Makris, a recent inductee into the American Society of Cinematographers, took over Law & Order during its first season when the show's original director of photography, Ernest Dickerson, ASC, left to shoot a picture for director Spike Lee. Makris has also directed several episodes of the show, which is now in its eighth season.

Makris came to television via features. After serving as an operator for nine years, he shot a low-budget film which caught the attention of producer Dick Wolf, who hired him to operate on the short-lived series H.E.L.P. (directed by Dickerson). From there, he moved over to Law & Order.

Nearly every episode of the dramatic series conforms to a two-part structure: each opens with a crime and police investigation, followed by the legal aftermath. Roughly 75 percent of the initial half is shot handheld, in order to convey the cops' rough-and-tumble world. Most of this section is shot at real locations, frequently on city streets. Makris notes, "You're gathering information in the first half, so scenes are designed to have more flow and less editing."

The second portion of each show takes place predominantly in offices and courtrooms, with people sitting across from one another. The coverage is more conventional, with a greater reliance on editing. But whether the camera is on sticks or a dolly, Makris makes sure the frame never remains steady. "We want to keep the handheld look alive so that the [two sections of the show] don't look too different," he explains. "Using a Panahead, operator Richard Dobbs will literally keep turning the wheels very subtly so it won't look as if the frame is ever locked. It will always breathe."

Since the show is grounded in reality, Makris aims for a naturalistic look. "A lot of people say my lighting style is gritty, but I don't particularly ascribe to that description. I would say my style is source-driven. If there is no visible source in the frame, I create one out-of-picture."

Makris favors cross light and/or side light over backlight, since he feels that the latter approach tends to flatten objects. When he does resort to backlighting, he tries not to make it look too slick. "I try to separate actors by putting them up against windows," he says. "But because my night exteriors are rather dark, I sometimes have to backlight to get the separation. In that event, I tend to use one huge backlight often generated by Maxi Brutes set up on a huge construction crane."

The courtroom set is rigged with 5Ks. For close-ups, other lights are placed on the floor and aimed through huge muslin frames. Makris also depends heavily on Kino Flo fixtures. "I find I can make the fluorescents do what I want them to and not be flat if I put them off to the side, [even though] it's difficult to get the light off the wall because they tend to spread all over the place. Another benefit is that they're fast to work with and cool, which keeps the actors comfortable."

— Jean Oppenheimer