Last month, DP Gary Baum earned his fourth career primetime Emmy nomination, this latest one coming in the Outstanding Cinematography For A Multi-Camera Series category on the basis of his work on the "Molly's Birthday" episode of the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly directed by Mike Roberts.
This marks the second consecutive year that Baum has garnered an Emmy nom for Mike & Molly. Last year he received two cinematography nominations–one for the "Victoria Can't Drive" episode of Mike & Molly, the other for the 2 Broke Girls pilot.
Baum's first Emmy nomination came back in 2010 for an episode of Gary Unmarried.
All four of Baum's Emmy nominations recognize his work on comedy shows. And he's had a significant tenure on Mike & Molly. Baum recalled, "Director James Burrows helmed the pilot and asked me to join him on the series when it was picked up by CBS. I have photographed 69 episodes. Entering our fourth season, it's always fun to pick up a new script and find new challenges which I look forward to."
Indeed Baum found challenges aplenty on the "Molly's Birthday" episode for which he is currently an Emmy nominee. The episode required some ambitious set building. "Due to the expanse of both streets, we built the exterior sets on a second sound stage. There were only a few days to get it done, so we had to work all weekend. There was snow, fire, and steam, 80 feet of dolly track, blue screen and four cameras. With all of the production expense and time, everything including special effects had to be coordinated and planned down to each camera angle, to be shot in a few hours. I have a fantastic crew, and it went off without a hitch."
When SHOOT interviewed Baum the first time around, for his pair of nominations last year, he shared that he had deployed Sony F23 cameras on Mike & Molly to better dovetail with bluescreen work and the VFX needs of the series. Asked now if that has since changed, Baum replied, "We have had success with, and are going to continue with the Panavised Sony F23s. In the near future we will probably be going to file-based acquisition."
Baum observed that being an Emmy nominee never gets old. "Even though this is my fourth nomination, it's always an honor to be recognized and included with my peers. It's an exciting time in multi-camera."
Baum's current nomination is the sole one for Mike & Molly this year.
As for what's next, Baum this summer has shot his second season of Sullivan & Son, a sitcom for TBS. And in the fall, Baum will be reunited with Burrows on the new CBS series The Millers starring Will Arnett, Beau Bridges and Cole Ewing.
Burrows has played an integral role in Baum's career. The cinematographer's first three Emmy nominations were all for series episodes directed by Burrows. And back when Tony Askins, ASC, retired and recommended that camera operator Baum succeed him as DP on the NBC series Will & Grace, executive producer/director James Burrows afforded Baum that opportunity. Baum regards both Askins and Burrows as mentors.
Arrested Development
This past May marked the resurrection of Arrested Development, the comedy with a cult following generated by its run from 2003-'06 on the Fox network. Seven years after the series that was born on Fox died on Fox, first-run shows of Arrested Development returned to the program schedule but not on conventional broadcast TV; instead the show's new life came with 15 new episodes streamed all at once via Netflix to its subscriber base.
The reincarnation of Arrested Development has since scored three Emmy nominations: Jason Bateman for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series; Kabir Akhtar and A.J. Dickerson for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Comedy Series; and David Schwartz for Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score).
SHOOT connected with the nominees in the latter two categories. Akhtar is now a two-time Emmy nominee, the first coming last year for the opening film of the 84th Annual Academy Awards (Outstanding Picture Editing for Short-Form Segments and Variety Specials). Akhtar's editing colleague on Arrested Development, Dickerson, now garners his first nomination. And Schwartz becomes a three-time nominee, the first two being for Outstanding Main Title Theme Music for Wolf Lake in 2002 and Deadwood in 2004.
Editors Akhtar and Dickerson each have established solo editorial careers. Yet at the same time, they have collaborated over the years, dating back to when they both attended the University of Miami and had to vie for the one Avid that was on campus at the time. They wound up moving to L.A. at around the same time with their paths crossing on varied collaborations, including initial rounds of the Behind The Music series on VH1 and later co-editing a Wyclef Jean pilot for HBO, the opening Emmy Awards ceremony film a couple of years ago, and some scripted comedy pieces for the MTV Movie Awards.
Some of those endeavors–including Akhtar's prior Emmy-nominated gig for the Oscars telecast–were done for producer Troy Miller, an executive producer on Netflix's Arrested Development. Miller thus gravitated to Akhtar and Dickerson for the much anticipated Netflix revival of the show.
Akhtar and Dickerson's Emmy nomination is for the "Flight of the Phoenix" kickoff episode of Arrested Development on Netflix. Akhtar and Dickerson teamed with one another on multiple episodes and individually teamed with other editors for other installments of the show. "The whole experience was really like one eight-hour episode," observed Akhtar. "There were pieces of every episode in every other episode, with scenes and storylines interacting. Editorially it just meant that we had to make all the pieces of the puzzle fit together so that everything flowed properly–the storylines and comedically. Plus there was a little more pressure with the first episode. It was so highly anticipated so we had to come out swinging."
Dickerson said that the Emmy nomination was like "icing on the cake. It was an honor just to get to work on the series. I've been such a huge fan of the show and to get to cut it for its return was just amazing. For me to then be nominated with Kabir–with the history we have–was wonderful."
As for what's next, Akhtar is scheduled to take on New Girl for Fox this fall while Dickerson is slated to cut some stand-up comedy specials for Comedy Central.
Dickerson added, "I'm looking forward to the next scripted comedy adventure, perhaps again with Kabir."
Meanwhile composer Schwartz brings a different perspective to Netflix's Arrested Development in that he worked on the first go-around of the show when it was on Fox. "I've written or co-written most of the songs for Arrested Development which chooses to use original songs instead of licensed ones–with few exceptions," related Schwartz who affirmed, "I love doing Arrested. I particularly appreciate the creative freedom I have from [series creator/writer/executive producer/director] Mitchell Hurwitz. I started working with him years ago. He has a million ideas himself and is an incredibly musical guy."
Schwartz observed that Arrested Development didn't become popular until after it was cancelled by Fox. "We spent six years in the netherworld wondering if it would come back. We came back and worked so hard on this season. Every waking moment was a lot of fun."
Some of that fun was reflected in the opening scene of the first episode on Netflix in which Schwartz is seen on a pier for just a few seconds as the lead mariachi playing guitar.
"Nobody recognized me…thanks to brilliant costuming," he quipped of his cameo. Initially Schwartz planned a dark mariachi music score but it didn't quite feel right. So he instead went with swing, noting that original swing tunes have become a staple of the show.
This is the fifth installment in a 12-part series that will explore the field of Emmy nominees and winners spanning such disciplines as directing, cinematography, editing, animation and VFX. The series will run right through the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony and the following week's primetime Emmy Awards live telecast. In addition to appearing on SHOOTonline and in our weekly email newsletter, The SHOOT >e.dition, The Road To Emmy will also have its Part 6 installment in SHOOT's August 16 print issue.
Click here to read The Road To Emmy, Part 1.
Click here to read The Road To Emmy, Part 2.
Click here to read The Road To Emmy, Part 3.
Click here to read The Road To Emmy, Part 4.
Click here to read The Road To Emmy, Part 6.
Click here to read The Road To Emmy, Part 7.
Click here to read The Road To Emmy, Part 8.
Click here to read The Road To Emmy, Part 9.
Click here to read The Road To Emmy, Part 10.
Click here to read The Road To Emmy, Part 11.
Click here to read The Road To Emmy, Part 12.
