Earlier this month, Jonathan Freeman, ASC, earned his fourth career Emmy nomination for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series, this time for the “Golden Days For Boys and Girls” episode of Boardwalk Empire (HBO). This marks the third nom he’s garnered for Boardwalk Empire, having won the coveted Emmy the first two times–for the “Home” episode in 2011 and “21” in 2012. Last year, Freeman was an Emmy nominee for the “Two Swords” episode of Game of Thrones (HBO).
Boding well for Freeman’s Emmy chances this year was his ASC Award win in February for the same “Golden Days For Boys and Girls” episode. This was the fifth career ASC Award win for Freeman, and his third for Boardwalk Empire. For the fourth time in the last five years, Freeman has won the ASC honor for his TV work, starting with the aforementioned “Home” and “21” episodes of Boardwalk Empire in 2011 and 2012, respectively, and then the “Valar Dohaeris” installment of Game of Thrones in 2014. His first ASC win came in 2005 for the telefilm Homeland Security. Freeman thus far has eight career ASC nominations, the remaining three coming for the TV movie Taken in 2003, Strange Justice in 2000, and the “God Bless America” episode of Prince Street in 1998.
Freeman got the chance to shoot Boardwalk Empire based on his lensing of the HBO series Rome. “It was a great experience through which I met Tim Van Patten [who became executive producer and one of the directors on Boardwalk Empire, earning assorted Emmy nominations along the way, including winning Outstanding Director for a Drama Series]. Tim told me he was looking for somebody to help with Boardwalk Empire and I got a wonderful opportunity.”
That "opportunity" translated into Freeman's involvement in the first two seasons of Boardwalk Empire and then his return for the fifth and final year of the show, which included the "Golden Days for Boys and Girls" episode.
Freeman's current nomination is just one of 10 which Boardwalk Empire received for its last season. Over its five-year run, Boardwalk Empire has amassed 57 nominations–with a total of 18 wins thus far.
View “Golden Days For Boys and Girls” episode of Boardwalk Empire (HBO) on IMDb here
While his eight ASC Award nominations are for television fare, Freeman has also managed to diversify into feature films, among the notable projects being 50 Dead Men Walking (directed by Kari Skogland and starring Ben Kingsley and Jim Sturgess), Hollywoodland (directed by Allen Coulter and starring Ben Affleck and Adrien Brody), Remember Me (also helmed by Coulter) and The Edge of Love (directed by John Maybury and starring Keira Knightley).
SHOOT connected with Freeman who reflected on his Boardwalk Empire experience, his latest Emmy nomination, and shooting film for the entire run of the series.
SHOOT: What was (were) the biggest creative challenge(s) which the “Golden Days For Boys and Girls” episode of Boardwalk Empire posed to you as a cinematographer?
Freeman: The episode is unique to what we have established in previous seasons on Boardwalk Empire. We jump from 1924 to 1931, nearing the end of prohibition. Seven years from the last time we saw our characters. As well, there was a new ‘flashback’ structure, recounting Nucky Thompson’s youth. Since this was the first episode for the final season to establish this, we had to consider whether we treated the flashbacks with a different look. In the end, we decided to keep it subtle, since we didn’t want to loose the ability to transition from present to flashback, without being obvious.
As well, seven years on, our main characters lived in contrasting worlds. Nucky was in vibrant Cuba, Chalky White was on a prison gang in a bleak West Virginia woods. We cut between this two worlds; one a sunset soaked paradise; the other, a winterized hell. That combined with new flashback structure, set a tone for how the new season would be different.
SHOOT: You’ve already won two Emmy Awards and three ASC Awards for your work on Boardwalk Empire. Now that the series has finally wrapped, could you reflect a bit on what the show has meant to you personally and professionally as a DP?
Freeman: I’ve been very fortunate to work on great HBO productions such as Boardwalk. The most important thing for me was the opportunity to create with some of the most talented and generous people I have had have ever worked with. From the inspiring direction, brilliant writing, stunning production design and costumes, amazing cast and crew, and a very supportive producing team who managed to put every dollar on the screen. As a DP, you could go to work each day knowing you were going to capture something unique.
SHOOT: What camera(s) did you deploy on “Golden Days For Boys and Girls” and why?
Freeman: Panavision Platinum with Primo Primes–Primo 11 TO 1, Primo 4 TO 1.
SHOOT: I believe your experience on Boardwalk Empire (10 or so episodes) has seen you shoot film over the show’s entire five-year run. If that is indeed the case, tell us about what that experience has been like while so many projects have for the most part gone digital?
Freeman: I was involved for the first two seasons, and returned for the final. Each year, the question was asked if we should consider switching to digital. We would shot comparative tests, and each year decided that film was too integral to the look of the show to abandon. We were grateful to HBO for supporting us in our vision.
SHOOT: And at the same time you have embraced digital, a case in point being your deployment of ARRI’s ALEXA on Game of Thrones? In fact you are currently shooting Game of Thrones. What has your ALEXA experience been like?
Freeman: I love the ALEXA. It performs beautifully, particularly in mids and shadow detail. Color dynamic range is impressive. That is critical in a show like Game of Thrones, where we often allow for shadows to fall off.
