By Robert Goldrich

One cinematographer is breaking new ground with a hybrid HDSLR platform camera. Another has made his mark on both sides of the Atlantic, with recent stateside recognition coming for a Nike spot he shot that earned AICP honors in both the Cinematography and Production categories this year. A third DP is embarking on a new chapter in his career, which is already quite accomplished with such seminal music videos as Police’s “Every Breath You Take” and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean”–not to mention assorted features and commercials. And a fourth has scored with the acclaimed Oasis Dig Out Your Soul In The Streets mini-documentary, part of a campaign from BBH New York that won a GRANDY at the 2009 International ANDY Awards, as well as AICP Next’s Integrated Campaign and Audience Award honors.
    Here’s a close-up look at cinematographers Shane Hurlbut, ASC, David Higgs, BSC, Daniel Pearl, ASC, and Sam Levy.
   
Shane Hurlbut, ASC    Shane Hurlbut, ASC, grew up knowing an honest day’s work. Raised on a 300-acre farm in Aurora, N.Y., Hurlbut–once he was old enough to chip in–helped his father man the farm. A typical day for the young Hurlbut was to be up at 5 a.m. ploughing, harvesting and handling other chores until about 7:30 a.m. when it was time to get on the bus for school. At the end of the school day, Hurlbut played sports in the afternoon, after which he was back on the tractor.
    “You’d never think some guy in Aurora on a farm, whose dad was a professor’s assistant at Cornell, would wind up in filmmaking,” said Hurlbut. “I didn’t have any aspirations of being a filmmaker until later on. But in looking back, the passion and intensity of hard work on the farm was probably the best preparation for becoming a filmmaker. It’s a work ethic and commitment that drives me still to this day.”
    That drive has fueled a ride that has taken Hurlbut up through the industry ranks from grip truck packager to grip, gaffer, assisting, and then a full-fledged cinematographer whose work spans multiple disciplines–from spots (Nike, MCI, Verizon, Vodaphone) to music videos (Nirvana, Smashing Pumpkins, Tori Amos), shorts (an American Express web film starring Jerry Seinfeld and directed by Barry Levinson), TV (HBO’s lauded The Rat Pack), features (Crazy/Beautiful, Mr. 3000, We Are Marshall, Drumline, the Will Ferrell-starrer Semi-Pro, Swing Vote, and Terminator: Salvation).
    Hurlbut’s education after the formal kind (graduating from Emerson with a degree in film and mass communications) encompassed working with the legendary still photographer Herb Ritts, gaffing for cameraman Joseph Yacoe (an experience which Hurlbut said honed his beauty lighting and a classic natural style) and DP’ing music videos for director Kevin Kerslake (whom Hurlbut credited with helping him to “hone my experimental skills” as well as a penchant for risk taking).
    “It was an interesting combination what I got from working with Kevin and Joseph–‘no fear with beauty’ in my approach to cinematography,” observed Hurlbut. “That’s what I feel I bring to my projects.”
    A big break came when Hurlbut shot a Donna Summer music video for the movie Daylight. Some bigwigs from Universal visited the set and at the time Hurlbut didn’t give their presence a second thought. But five days later he got a call from Universal and director Rob Cohen who liked what he had heard about DP Hurlbut. Cohen approached Hurlbut about a series pilot which ultimately didn’t get picked up. Yet the next project would be quite different–the alluded to The Rat Pack. Directed by Cohen, the HBO film earned Hurlbut an ASC Award nomination for best cinematography in the motion picture, miniseries or pilot television category. Centered on the genesis and heyday of the famed Rat Pack (Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., Dean Martin, Peter Lawford), the film was Hurlbut’s introduction to the character-based narrative arena.
    Hurlbut’s feature filmography began to build with The Skull (a return engagement with Cohen); the teen romance Crazy/Beautiful (directed by John Stockwell whom the DP would later team with for Into The Blue); baseball movie Mr. 3000 and the stirring Drumline (both directed by Charles Stone III), which captured the musical excitement of show style marching band competitions in the South; the inspiring sports film We Are Marshall directed by McG, and then a reunion with McG on the feature Terminator: Salvation.
    After wrapping the latter picture and taking a stretch to reconnect with his family, Hurlbut got a call from McG asking him to direct and shoot webisodes for Warner Bros. promoting Terminator: Salvation. The nine films, each three minutes long, were serialized, intended to leave fans with cliffhangers. The original intent was to have these cliffhangers lead up to the release of Terminator: Salvation in theaters. The webisodes wound up being cut down into a series of :30 teaser trailers but they are currently slated to have their full-length run as part of the DVD release of the motion picture.
    The webisodes are notable not only for their storytelling, visual sensibilities and perspectives but also because Hurlbut shot them with the Canon 5D Mark II digital camera.
    Hurlbut saw a demo of the camera–a hybrid HDSLR that shoots still work and HD video–at an industry function and while other DPs in attendance expressed mild interest at best, he saw enormous potential. Yet it was potential that could only be unearthed with months of work, sometimes running by the seat of your pants in the field, extemporaneous problem solving, and serious study, experimentation and reflection. Hurlbut brought his farmland work ethic to bear on the process, adapting high-caliber film lenses to the camera, lobbying for and getting Cannon to offer a manual operational update, and pushing the envelope creatively in production.
    “From the first day I saw the camera to where we are right now, we’ve taken the Canon 5D from a Yugo to a Porsche,” affirmed Hurlbut who is handled by Innovative Artists, Santa Monica. “You would not recognize the camera. It’s a complete high-octane moviemaking machine.”
    The moviemaking machine came into being not just on the strength of the Terminator webisodes but also a feature-length film on the Navy SEALs, both out of Culver City, Calif.-based production company Bandito Brothers. Hurlbut’s aforementioned extensive trouble shooting and problem solving on the camera spanned both projects.
    “With a new technology, there are inherently many quirks,” observed Hurlbut. “There are days you get punched in the face, knocked to the ground but you pick yourself up, brush yourself off and forge ahead. It’s exhilarating and frustrating at the same time. But ultimately the camera has developed into representing the wave of the future. It’s lightweight, portable, you can capture greater intimacy. For the [Navy SEALs] movie [directed by Mike McCoy and Scott Waugh of Bandito Brothers], we’ve shot complex sequences, 129 set-ups in one day, with relative ease–that’s the power of this camera. For the underwater scenes, the camera moves like nothing else.”
    Hurlbut has deployed 12 Canon 5D cameras on the movie (including a pair of Helmet cams, another in a Primo Studio Handheld mode, one in Underwater mode. etc.).
   “It’s the financially responsible camera representing the direction the industry needs to go in,” he contended. “The camera is green [eco-friendly], using its own cards. You don’t need chemicals to develop images. Everything remains in a digital space. You can transfer digital media from one server to the next. The camera has a small footprint using less light. It operates in real time. Because of its size, the camera requires a smaller size crew and shipping is less expensive.”
    The Navy SEALs feature is currently scheduled for an Oct. 2010 release. Hurlbut has also shot a couple of promo commercials for the movie with the Canon 5D. Speaking of spots, he sees great promise for the camera in the ad arena.
    “You can be so much more aggressive in the bidding process,” he contended, citing significant cost savings derived from a smaller crew, smaller lighting package, no film processing and no dailies telecine transfer. And the speed of this platform, continued Hurlbut, “will help commercial production companies–that are never given enough money to complete the task–some breathing room.”

David Higgs, BSC    A producer on the BAFTA Award-winning miniseries Britz, which David Higgs shot for director Peter Kosminsky, turned director Guy Ritchie onto the cinematographer. This resulted in a pair of collaborations, with Higgs first shooting Ritchie’s ’08 feature Rocknrolla, a Warner Bros. release.
    For the film, Higgs shot primarily with the digital Arriflex D-20, complemented by some 35mm lensing. (Higgs brought a familiarity with the Arri to the project, having deployed it in ’07 on The Stronger directed by Lea Williams, which went on to earn a BAFTA Award nomination for best short film.)
    On the basis of their positive collaboration on Rocknrolla, Ritchie and Higgs next teamed on Nike’s “Next Level,” a two-minute spot which garnered honors in the Production and Cinematography categories of this year’s AICP Show. The visually arresting piece–directed by Ritchie via Anonymous Content for L.A. area agency 72andSunny–had Higgs shooting with the small, lightweight Silicon Imaging’s SI-2K Mini camera, providing the hard driving POV of a soccer player in intense competition.
   “I love working in the different disciplines, on different projects, and now more often using different cameras,” related Higgs.
    A few weeks ago, for example, Higgs shot a Nike commercial–directed by MiniVegas of London production house Independent for the U.K. market–that required his going the 35mm anamorphic route. From 35mm anamorphic to the SI Mini to the Arri D-20 represents an expanding toolkit for cinematography. Higgs also is experienced in such other cameras as the Red (on the Phil Claydon-directed feature Lesbian Vampire Killers) and the Arri D-21.
    “The enabling technologies are growing and they can help us to tell stories in different and sometimes more exciting ways,” observed Higgs. “But at the same time they don’t replace film, which still carries so much storytelling value.”
    Higgs’ spot credits extend beyond Nike and across both sides of the Atlantic, encompassing such advertisers as adidas, British Gas, McDonald’s, Ford, Kellogg’s, and Orangina. He is repped by United Talent Agency (UTA) in the U.S. and by United Agents in the U.K.

Daniel Pearl, ASC    Though he’s an accomplished cinematographer spanning features, commercials and seminal music videos–and as his ASC designation reflects–Daniel Pearl is still opening up new chapters in his career. For one, he is gearing up for a spec Nike commercial that will enable him to put a major HD camera through its paces. “I’m primarily a film guy,” he affirmed, noting he hasn’t been one to jump on the digital bandwagon. “I still like the feel where it used to be something special when the camera is rolling. Now with digital it’s rolling all the time, which sometimes doesn’t let you get to that mini-crescendo of a moment, to have that concentration to build to a moment, capture it and then cut.”
    Nonetheless, Pearl is keeping an open mind on the digital front, and he’s looking forward to his spec run with an HD camera, the model of which was about to be decided upon at press time.
    The other new chapter for Pearl is that he has taken on talent agency representation, coming aboard William Morris Endeavor. Previously he handled his own representation but felt WME could open new doors for him, starting with reworking his reel to draw new opportunities with different directors in commercialmaking and branded content.
    Pearl has already started to spread his wings. The spot job he wrapped just prior to signing with WME was a :90 for Finland mobile phone company DNA, a bit of an homage to Almost Famous, directed by Markus Virpio of Helsinki production house Also Starring for agency Sek & Grey in Helsinki. The spot tells the story of a music group on tour that is living hand to mouth and shacking up in shabby places while their manager is in the lap of luxury at a penthouse suite in Manhattan. The rockers stay in touch with their manager via DNA and images captured by the mobile phone’s camera reveal the disparity in their lifestyles. Sek & Grey gravitated towards Pearl for the project given his legendary music video pedigree which includes such clips as Police’s “Every Breath You Take” and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.”
    The ad shop assembled a band for the DNA phone campaign, which included one of its own creatives complementing the talents of musicians/performers uncovered at casting sessions throughout Finland. Pearl shot in 35mm and 16mm, the latter for some of the documentary-style scenes capturing the band on the road. His footage went well beyond the fashioning of the :90; a full-length music video was also created along with multiple web-based tie-ins.
    Pearl enjoyed this multi-platform project and has also found his re-entry into the music video arena gratifying. Having shot primarily commercials over the past eight years–along with a feature film each of the past five or so years–Pearl found music videos being crowded out of his schedule. However, he made a concerted effort to take on some clips for high-profile artists as of late: Kanye West’s “Amazing,” P. Diddy’s “Angels,” and Mariah Carey’s “I Want To Know What Love Is,” all directed by Hype Williams via his Naaila Entertainment.
    On the heels of the Finnish :90 and the clips work, Pearl has lensed an AT&T spot, “Shedding Styles,” featuring Mary J. Blige and directed by Dave Meyers of @radical.media for BBDO New York, as well as an Alltel ad helmed by Greg Popp of Supply & Demand for Campbell-Ewald.  
    Pearl has an extensive spot filmography, among the notable entries being Motorola’s “Wings,” which earned an AICP honor for Best Cinematography. He has also lensed over the years for such clients as Bud Light, Ford, Aquafina, Covergirl, Sony Electronics, and Verizon.
    “Wings” was directed by Marcus Nispel who also helmed the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre in 2003. Pearl shot that movie as well as the original Massacre in 1974 directed by Tobe Hooper. Pearl has also lensed this year’s Friday The 13th remake as well as AVPR: Aliens vs. Predator-Requiem in ’07, among other features.
    Pearl values the mix of short and long-form work, observing that one informs the other, helping to make him a better overall cinematographer.

Sam Levy
    “I cannot be emphatic enough about how energetic, enthusiastic and yet laid back The Malloys [the directorial team of Brendan and Emmett Malloy from HSI Productions] are as collaborators,” said DP Sam Levy. “They have a great eye, great rapport with artists, and work so well under pressure.”
    The project bringing Levy together with The Malloys was the Oasis Dig Out Your Soul In The Streets mini-documentary, part of a campaign from BBH New York that was first covered  by SHOOT (11/7/08 and a follow-up on 2/20/09) and has since gone on to earn major accolades at assorted industry competitions.
    The documentary captured the New York street musicians and vocalists who were entrusted with songs from Oasis’ then-yet-to-be released album. The street artists interpreted the songs and performed them one day in different venues throughout New York–the first public exposure for the Oasis tunes, helping to generate a grass-roots buzz for the new CD while also promoting tourism for New York.
    “We had five units running around New York City covering different performances and aspects of the documentary,” related Levy. “The Malloys entrusted me with coming up with our second, third, fourth and fifth unit operators–all shooters I worked with before and trusted. They are young, hungry operators who offered the fresh perspectives we were looking for. Having guys from L.A. shooting gave us fresh perspectives that maybe New Yorkers wouldn’t have on the beauty and excitement of New York.  The Malloys were very clear about what they wanted–capturing the artistry and humanity of the performers, and also the appeal of New York.  We spent a lot of time prepping, scouting, diagramming and going around New York City. We took satellite photos of the city from the web and diagrammed out our approach, looking at subways, parts of Central Park and so on.
    “It was a big machine to organize,” continued Levy, “but The Malloys didn’t treat it like it was. They made it feel like just the three of us, one camera and a very organic feeling. Multiple units and a lot of logistics can overwhelm a director sometimes and then he or she won’t let you do your work. The Malloys embraced the challenge and gave me the freedom to help them.”
    For the mini-documentary, billed as being the first to debut in high definition on MySpace, Levy deployed eight Panasonic HVX 200 cameras–one for Levy, one each for the Malloy brothers and for five operators.
    Adept as a film shooter, Levy, who’s repped by Dattner Dispoto and Associates, has also gained extensive digital lensing experience, the Panasonic model adding to the mix of HD cameras he’s shot with, including the Sony F35, Arri D-21, RED, Phantom, Genesis and Viper.
    The same adjectives, “young” and “hungry,” that Levy used to describe those camera operators on the Oasis project could also double as an apt description of Levy himself who started out as a camera assistant working for many DPs, with cinematographers Harris Savides and Darius Khondji perhaps having the greatest influences on him.
    Levy served as Savides’ Photoshop tech and an apprentice on The Yards, a movie directed by James Gray. “I watched a master at work,” Levy said of Savides. “It galvanized me to go out there and do it. After The Yards, I sat down and planned out three spec commercials which I did on my own.”
    The spec reel began to build momentum for Levy who later got into music videos and then real-world spots.
    On this path to actual clips and commercials, Levy caught a pivotal break from Khondji who hired him for second unit work on a big-ticket Chrysler commercial starring Celine Dion and directed by Peter Arnell of The Arnell Group, New York.
    “I knew Darius from assisting him on a lot of commercials,” said Levy. “Darius gave me a chance because he wanted a new, fresh perspective. He set me up with a full union crew, precision drivers and we shot all over the place in New York. It was a twenty-day shoot. He gave me a laundry list of things to shoot but at the same time he cut me loose. After that job, I decided it’s time to stop assisting and to start shooting full time.”
    Levy’s DP credits include music videos for such artists as Beck, Garbage, White Stripes, Sonic Youth, Cat Power, They Might Be Giants, and Tortoise. The DP also has three features under his belt, the most notable being Wendy and Lucy, an independent art film directed by Kelly Reichardt and which premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival.
    On the spot front, Levy has shot among other jobs work for the Partnership for a Drug-Free America, Head Apparel, and a promo for A&E’s Chriss Angel Mindfreak series. The latter was directed by the Loyalkaspar duo via production house @radical.media and entailed shooting with both RED and Phantom.
    The alluded to Head Apparel viral spot “Speed,” which was for Germany out of Berlin agency A&S, helped helmer Paul Iannacchino, Jr., of Creative Bubble, New York, gain inclusion into this year’s SHOOT New Directors Showcase held in May at the DGA Theatre in New York.

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