Back in July, Christopher Manley, ASC, earned an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Cinematography For A Single-Camera Series on the strength of “The Doorway” episode of Mad Men. This marked the fourth time in the past five years that he has come up an Emmy nominee for his lensing of Mad Men.
Perhaps most gratifying for Manley during his Mad Men tenure has been the close collaborative bond he has formed with series creator Matthew Weiner. This is reflected not just in Manley serving as DP since season two but also in the recent directorial opportunities afforded him on the series. Manley made his professional directing debut in 2012 with an episode of Mad Men, helmed another this year and is slated to direct a third episode during the upcoming season.
Furthermore, to shoot his feature directorial debut, You Are Here, Weiner turned to Manley. The contemporary comedy stars Owen Wilson and Zach Galifianakis. Manley is no stranger to feature films. His past theatrical movie DP credits include the well-received Dahmer starring Jeremy Renner, The Big Empty starring Jon Favreau, and Gracie which was directed by Davis Guggenheim.
Manley’s TV lensing also extends well beyond Mad Men. He, for example, shot the pilots for Homeland (Showtime) and Revenge (ABC-TV).
Manley made his first major mark as a DP in the commercialmaking arena before diversifying into independent feature films, episodic television, telefilms and documentaries.
SHOOT: What does your latest Emmy Award nomination mean to you personally and professionally?
Manley: It’s always comforting to know that you haven’t slipped, that you’ve kept the standard for the look of Mad Men where it needs to be. And I know how tough the competition is. I’m a Television Academy judge but when my category came up, I had to leave the room. Still, I was very aware of the high quality of what was on the short list. There are great shows coming from more places: HBO; the emergence of Netflix for original content–House Of Cards looked amazing; brilliant work from BBC America, and so on. To make the final cut as a nominee means a great deal.
SHOOT: You have diversified a bit into directing recently. Last year you directed the “Commissions and Fees” episode of Mad Men. This season, you directed “The Flood” episode of the show. Clearly, you are still most active as a cinematographer. How does directing fit into your career?
Manley: I enjoy directing but my focus continues to be on cinematography. I think that directing has made me a better DP. You learn certain lessons. It can be painful as a director when you are in the edit room and realize you don’t have a shot you need. This makes me more committed as a DP to make sure the director gets everything he or she needs and quickly. I now have an even better grasp of the big picture. That also includes making sure the story is told well. If the cinematography adds to that in terms of creating mood or subtext, that’s wonderful. But now I’m more cognizant of the demand of the story than I ever was.
SHOOT: Are you going to direct any more episodes of Mad Men?
Manley: I’m directing another one this year, which will make three episodes total of Mad Men that I’ve directed. What that will lead to, if anything, I don’t know. I certainly wouldn’t pass on good directing opportunities. I hope the experience makes me more valuable as a cinematographer. I very much want to continue to shoot–that’s my focus. It would be great to balance cinematography and occasionally directing. It can be balanced a little while but those who have done it tell me it often comes to a point where you have to choose one or the other. I don’t know if I will reach that tipping point. I prefer now to keep juggling both balls in the air.
SHOOT: What was the biggest challenge that “The Flood” episode of Mad Men posed to you as a director?
Manley: “The Flood” was much more challenging than the first episode I did last year, ‘Commissions and Fees.” In that episode I had the suicide of Lane Pryce which was a challenge. But that was still just one character. By comparison “The Flood” was dealing with a major issue–the civil rights movement and white/black relations in 1968. I wasn’t even born then. Matt [Weiner] and the actors provided some good ideas but I had to arrive at a way to address this issue in the context of the show. This was an issue much bigger than the show itself so I opted to simply delve into each character and how he or she was impacted and dealt with civil rights. You had characters who cared, some who didn’t care or felt they were put in a position to act like they cared. I think we were able to shed more light on who the characters were. It was a spark for further character development.
SHOOT: You also shot You Are Here, Matthew Weiner’s feature directorial debut. What was that experience like?
Manley: It was a wonderful experience. Matthew has a reputation for being a micro-manager but when you’re talking to him directly, he is very collaborative, very open, just a joy to work with. The thing you can’t under value is how funny he is. Everyone on set is almost always having a good time and enjoying Matt’s humor and the whole process. It’s a great working environment.
The experience on You Are Here is very much like how I felt each time Matthew directed a season finale episode of Mad Men. The big difference, though, is that I was finally able to do it with him on a whole feature film.
Getting an extensive prep period with him that I don’t normally have on Mad Men was just a blast. I’m very proud of that movie. It debuted at the Toronto International Film Festival (last month) and the audience loved it.
SHOOT: What’s next for you?
Manley: More Mad Men, shooting the next season and directing an episode. I’d also like to shoot another feature film. This summer I was up for four independent features–one I didn’t get but the other three just fell through entirely. Financing for independent movies is so tricky. What I like about television is that when they say they’re going to shoot, they shoot.
For me to get into another series would take something special–especially after Mad Men. But you never know. There are some great shows out there and others being developed.
I’d also like to get back into shooting commercials once I’m completely done with Mad Men. I enjoy shooting spots and working with different directors.
