Makris also plans shots that are filmed to be "edgy, rather than with beautiful, perfect TV framing." He also takes a decidedly different approach to framing for the standard TV frame and for HDTV. "I encourage my operators to frame for the 1.78:1 HDTV aspect ratio rather than 1.33:1," he reveals. "For TV these days, you normally frame for the 1.33:1 and 'protect' the area in the wider frame, but I tell the operators to frame things for the wide format. To me, that subtly gives the impression that the show was made for a bigger screen, and I think it adds visual interest. The viewers may not consciously know what's going on, but I hope they feel as if they're watching a theatrical movie on TV. We film in 35mm partially to have a feature look, so why not try to add some extra visual impact? As for the missing information, you don't miss what you don't see."
Like many cinematographers, Makris does not want to be pigeonholed for creating a specific type of look. "I cringe a little when people say I have a style. I truly hope that my style is different for each project and that it comes from what is written on the page," he explains.
Makris says that the show's reputation for being "gritty" is accurate, but also appropriate to the material. "In the first season there was an attempt to add grain in post, but that was quickly abandoned," he reveals. "Of course, if you're filming cops raiding a crack den, it should look gritty. You want a scene to look real for its moment. The show may have gotten that gritty reputation because in the first two seasons, the scripts focused more on street crime. We eventually developed more of what I call 'Claus von Bulow' stories, which concern rich people's crimes. Still, we'll often film in the seediest of flophouses and then at one of the fanciest hotels in the world, all within a few shows."
Makris uses Kodak's 200 ASA EXR 5293 for day interiors and some day exteriors. Night interiors and exteriors (and occasional dark day interiors) are shot on 500 ASA EXR 5298. "We move fast and still use the 400-foot mags for shots that are actually handheld, so I try to use only two stocks at any time," he explains.
Law & Order is shot almost entirely with Panavision Primo prime lenses. "We use the short 4:1 Primo zoom [17.5-75mm T2.3], as well as a complete set of Primo primes ranging from 21mm to 150mm. I've also got a Nikon 200mm and 300mm. Our day-to-day workhorse, however, is the 40mm. I just don't see the need for a lot of heavy, costly zooms. And after using the primes for so long, I think exclusively in terms of primes: 'This shot is a 21mm or a 27mm,' which are two lenses we use often, especially lately. I joked recently that I was going to use a telephoto for close-ups — a 35mm! That said, we will often handhold with a 75mm, but we normally use something from 27mm to 50mm."
Makris eschews lens filtration, noting, "I rarely use anything but color correction; I like to shoot with as little in front of my lens as possible."
While the show is closely identified with its New York setting and production base, it is produced by Universal Television, which is based in Los Angeles. This means that postproduction is done 3,000 miles away. The long-distance marriage has created some problems that Makris has recently taken steps to solve. "They literally take our unprocessed 35mm negative and put it on a plane to Deluxe in Los Angeles!" he exclaims. "The postproduction staff began getting a bit creative, changing things I'd done. The squad room walls are green — not blue, as they have appeared to be in some shows. If I say an actor should have an orange half-shadow on his face, well, he should, because I'm the person being paid to light this show. Sometimes I want to warm up a scene with a one-quarter CTO. But when I see the show, the scene is not warm — it's white. For that reason, I started using a 1/2 CTO where I previously might have used a 1/4."
"Steve Garfinkle, our Kodak rep, suggested using their Grey Card Plus system," he continues. "Up to that point, I had only been giving post a gray scale. With Kodak's system, with its calibration of the telecine, the colorists' job is to simply match his copy of the Grey Card Plus card to the card we film. If they do that, the show should look the way it was intended to when it reaches the home screen."
Makris is clearly passionate about his work, which he says is sometimes misunderstood. While the realistic lighting for Law & Order bolsters the show's credibility as much as the use of actual New York City locations does, the lighting is so authentic that some people outside of the industry think Makris's modus operandi involves simply showing up and filming with available light. In fact, the cinematographer was once asked to shoot some commercials for a politician because one of the media advisors was a fan of his Law & Order work. "This advisor said to me, 'I love the way your show looks, because you don't light it.' Well, that 'non-light' look probably involved four 10Ks!" Makris quips. "I'd say that was one of the greatest compliments I've ever received."
