By Randi Altman
With Season 4 of the Shondaland show Station 19 in the books, we reached out to veteran cinematographer Christian Sebaldt, ASC, who was brought on to shoot this past season’s Episode 13, “Comfortably Numb.” While that was meant to be a one-and-done situation, Sebaldt was asked to stay on to help producer/DP/director Daryn Okada, ASC, shoot four days for his visual effects-heavy Episode 11, “I Guess I’m Floating.”
Christian Sebaldt, ASC
Let’s find out more about Sebaldt’s episode and shooting for Okada’s Episode 11.
How would you describe the look of the show in general and the episodes you worked on?
The look of the show is what I would call “Shondaland Network Beauty Look” — everybody looks gorgeous, and the cinematography must quickly engage the viewer with camera movement and energy.
You’ve worked on Shondaland shows before. How did that help when preparing for your episode? Was there a shorthand?
I had worked on For The People, Grey’s Anatomy and How to Get Away With Murder before. While they all have different looks, I am very familiar with the expectations of a big Shondaland show.
I was able to use my experience from over 150 TV episodes and over 35 feature films, which gives me the tools to accomplish what needs to be done with the least production effort. Economy in lighting and saving time on set while still delivering the needed production value is always the DP’s challenge.
Let’s talk about your episode, “Comfortably Numb.” Can you walk us through that?
It was a nine-day shoot with about a 10-day prep, and it was directed by Peter Paige. Peter enjoys the cinematic approach of letting the actors have the whole scene, with few stops and starts whenever possible. So we shot a dramatic seven-page scene in one Steadicam shot (operated by Taj Teffaha) that led us 360 degrees through a large apartment set on the stage. That required us to completely light from above the set in order to avoid camera shadows.
“Comfortably Numb”
In another challenging scene, we have actor Jason George playing multiple characters in an operating room, which required motion control as well as VFX. Since we had so many actors in the scene and had to repeat Jason’s performance playing different characters in different places, we used our three standard Sony Venice cameras as well as a 12K Blackmagic (set to 4K) to accomplish the day’s work.
I always use additional cameras, mostly the wide range of Blackmagics, to give the editors and the director extra shots to work with in editorial. Sometimes we hire an additional camera assistant to manage placing a Blackmagic here or there, and sometimes I sneak one in at the last minute. I found them to cut in flawlessly with the Alexas and the Sonys.
“I Guess I’m Floating”
How did you work with the director and colorist on the look for your episode?
Peter’s background is astonishing — he’s a writer, producer, actor and director, so he knew what he needed to make the episode visually exciting and flow well. So where we could combine shots we would. Where we needed to cut to specific shots to make a point, we would.
I had worked with the fabulous Technicolor colorist Roy Vasich on For the People, so that was an easy relationship. He has a great eye and knows how to make a Shondaland show look gorgeous. He also knows how to fix and erase all the little things we have to let go on the set, so I look like a genius DP when Roy is done with my work. All we did during the final color session was adjust a few shots here and there based on my personal taste.
“Comfortably Numb”
Can you describe the lighting on your episodes?
My intention is certainly to light the actors so they look as “Hollywood-gorgeous” as they are. This is a dramatic show, but not a gritty, grainy indie feature-style show, so there can be contrast and soft side lighting. But we have to see the eyes, and nobody wants ugly nose shadows. Also, warm and cool colors need to be mixed in a gentle fashion to keep it elegant. I asked for advice from Daryn Okada before I started shooting to keep this episode in the right realm and to fit in with the rest of the season.
Now more general questions….
How did you become interested in cinematography?
My dad was working for a big commercial production company (Domo Film in Munich, Germany), sometimes as a composer, sometimes writing copy, always on the set — those were different times back then. I would visit him and was always fascinated by the fact that they never shot the same thing twice, always different products and scenes in different locations or different sets. It was a magical world for a young boy. Once I had my own little black-and-white lab in the basement, experimenting with all kinds of looks, I knew that I had to get into photography and later, of course, cinematography.
“Comfortably Numb”
The greatest risk for every artist is status quo, being comfortable and set in your ways, knowing how to do something and repeating yourself. So when director Peter Paige says, “Hey, let’s shoot this seven-page scene in one Steadicam shot,” now that’s exciting. Our two actresses, Danielle Savre and Stefania Spampinato, lit up and were completely on board with this challenge, and they delivered. It was amazing to watch!
What new technology has changed the way you work (looking back over the past few years)?
That would have to be LED screens, which replaced going on location with the whole unit and lets us avoid driving scenes in real traffic with actors, lights, camera-car towing and, of course, the mandatory police assistance. Now we simply shoot them with interactive LED lighting on stage. If done right, it’s very convincing and saves a lot of time. And it’s safer for cast and crew.
What are some of your best practices or rules you try to follow on each job?
Always be prepared and never be on time — always be early. Always share any knowledge about anything to enable others to do a better job and quickly establish a positive attitude on set to make everyone feel welcome and encouraged to do their best.
Christian Sebaldt, ASC,
Explain your ideal collaboration with the director or showrunner when starting a new project.
Some showrunners and directors have an incredible talent to use just words to describe their intentions and desires, while others use stills and moving images to guide me. Anything I can learn from them before we start is of great importance to me.
Once I feel I understand what they are searching for, I then do my homework and create my own look book or take stills or videos as proof of concept.
In a Jerry Bruckheimer episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (“Ghosts of the Past,” Season 13, directed by Brad Tanenbaum), we had a teaser that was all shot on location with actors in total darkness with infrared cameras. So I built little infrared lights, and we attached camera harnesses to their bodies that held infrared converted GoPros. We also gave them hand-held infrared cameras. Then we literally went to the location and shot a full test before production. We knew all the issues before we even showed up for principal photography. One thing I hadn’t considered was that the actors couldn’t see unless they were looking at their hand-held camera monitors, so if they weren’t doing that, they ran into things. I also immediately observed that if I didn’t put some visible light on the very outside of the industrial space we were in, then the space wasn’t defined and was just a visually unengaging black void. So that was important for me to learn in advance.
“Comfortably Numb”
What’s your go-to gear (camera, lens, mount/accessories) — things you can’t live without?
Whatever the most appropriate gear is for the challenge. I am currently prepping the MGM movie On a Wing and a Prayer, which takes place for the most part in a small King Air plane. My AC, Ryan Pilon, suggested the Sony Venice Rialto so that we can separate the lens and sensor from the recorder and make it super-small and still record in 4K or 6K Raw. Then, of course, we’ll hide the 4K and 6K Blackmagic Pocket Cameras in all kinds of places inside the cockpit and back in the cabin.
On my last feature film, Reagan, we couldn’t afford a Technocrane for the whole time, so we got a jib arm and hung a remote-controlled Ronin 2 on it and had that available at all times. This gave the film a lot of production value for an affordable cost.
I love battery LED lights. Anything we don’t have to plug in the wall and can control remotely for brightness and color I want on the set. We have even run the huge ARRI 360 Skypanels off battery power for downtown Los Angeles night exteriors — fast and flexible, any color, any effect, fantastic.
I love periscopes that afford me an angle I can’t easily achieve otherwise. It can be an Innovison Probe, a Century Precision Optics lens, a Cinemagic Revolution system, the Frazier lens.
I absolutely love wide lenses. The ARRI/Zeiss Ultra Prime 8R is my favorite. It’s a stunning optical accomplishment — rectilinear and super-wide, a T2.8.
Randi Altman is the founder and editor-in-chief of postPerspective. She has been covering production and post production for more than 20 years.
