“It was a lot harder than shooting Armageddon, ” says cinematographer John Schwartzman ASC, about the Ron Howard comedy EDtv. “Not only were we lighting for the shot, we were also lighting for two video cameras that fed the images to a truck, which sent them back to various monitors located in each shot. This was the ultimate ‘making of’ movie, a film about a guy who’s on television 24 hours a day.”

The premise of EDtv involves a man whose life is being televised to the public in order to boost a station’s ratings. The difference between this film and last summer’s critically acclaimed The Truman Show, is that the character of Ed knows that his life is being televised. In fact, he interviews for the job.

“I was introduced to Ron Howard by my long-time gaffer and friend, Andy Ryan,” says Schwartzman. “Ron and I met while I was shooting Armaggedon. Originally, we discussed doing a western. But, that didn’t happen. So, when Ron green-lighted EDtv, he called.”

The script Schwartzman read was long—if properly formatted it would have run 172 pages—and the shooting schedule was budgeted at 68 days. It was a lot of work under normal circumstances; but add two video cameras, an unknown amount of televisions, and the live feed in every shot, and it certainly complicated the matter.

Schwartzman and Howard began to discuss this difficult concept. One of the first decisions they made was to shoot both film and video simultaneously. “We didn’t want to do a film run-through, then come back and take out all the normal lighting equipment,” he says. “That was the technical consideration. But all of it had to work together, at the same time. The dramatic pass would not be slave to pre-recorded video. If you were doing a phone scene, you’d have both actors in different locations and do everything live once.

Schwartzman admits that “making everything work together simultaneously was not going to be an easy job. One decision we made early on was that video should look like video. I encouraged the rawness of it, iris changes and all. Therefore, the film should be completely un-selfconscious, invisible, so that the only texture the audience is aware of is the video.”

Lighting had to work for every situation, whether it was a video store, Ed’s parents’ house, a restaurant, hospital, or a crowded street.

“There were no trick locations, I thought,” Schwartzman admits, looking back. “But every shot was tricky. The constraints were extensive. Although we wanted to see the Betacams and the actors in the shot, they couldn’t film any of our equipment. Yet, they behaved in a totally documentary style.”

Before breaking down the shots in an extensive pre-production schedule, Schwartzman and Howard needed to do a little ‘casting.’

“We went in search of video operators who could act, rather than actors who could operate,” he laughs. “We needed operators who could handle the camera and be in the spotlight as actors as well. We ended up with a three-time Emmy Award winning operator (Robert Pastoriza won his fourth Emmy for photographic news journalism while working on EDtv), and an operator from CNN.”

Schwartzman then went about testing his cameras, lenses, filters, and stock. He decided to go straight 1:1.85, using Panavision’s new Millennium cameras. “The reason for that was the video image. The RGB signal bypasses the ground glass, giving us a flicker-free image, without the ground glass markings that you normally would see on video assist. With this kind of sophistication, we were able to go straight from film to video on the nodule point of the lens, doing motion control-like transitions from film to video and vice-versa without any fuss.”

Schwartzman and the video effects team then set about deciding what video cameras were to be used in the shot for feeding material to the truck and video monitors. “We thought about using Sony’s Zero-Lux,” he says with a smile. “However, they are designed to work without light. If you put light in during the day, you can see through women’s clothes. This wasn’t that kind of movie! So, we opted for Betacams with digital, extended clearscan hyperhead fronts and standard Betabacks.

“We found that they would have plenty of light, if we held at a 4, with a 500 ASA, for night shots. Sometimes, the shots were simply too clean and we ended up turning the gain buttons, to give us a little grain.”

Schwartzman’s lighting tests were not that extensive. Essentially, he was about to shoot a three-camera show on location. “We needed to know what lights we could use with Kodak’s 5248, 5279, and 5293, that would give us color balance for film and television.”

It would become a delicate balance between the one-hour photo look, and a too- perfect look on screen. “The video image had to look like what you would see, if you were watching the television in your house,” Schwartzman explains.

To make this work, Schwartzman knew he needed the engineers out in the truck to add noise or Chroma shift on figures. “We even wanted to see reflections on the monitors,” he adds.

“Normally, I would flag the extra light off the monitors,” he explains. “However, there were times when we wanted ‘natural,’ so we decided to do things like light a curtain behind the television screen, or bring the sun in a window, and have it glare on the screen.”

Schwartzman and gaffer Andy Ryan spent a lot of time in prep discussing the approach to these shots. They decided to do as much lighting as they could through the windows. “By using 20Ks through the windows to do the work of the sun, we got a natural look and kept as many units as we could out of not just our lens, but the lenses of the video cameras that were always rolling,” says Ryan.

Because there was always a large number of actors on every set, Schwartzman also decided to use a little fill. This is not his normal approach to shooting. However, he and Ryan came up with what they called the ‘Ed’ light as a compromise.

“The light was a two by four-foot rectangular space light with four 1K globes inside,” Ryan explains. The reason for the design was because many of the places were typical San Francisco apartments with small rooms and hallways. “We hung the ‘Ed’ lights over all the sets and controlled them on dimmers,” he adds. “That way, we could add as much fill as we felt was needed, if any at all.”

At the same time Schwartzman and Ryan were making these final decisions, video ace Matthew Morrissey was doing tests at Panavision on the Millennium tap, monitors and new sync gear. “We knew we would live or die by how well they would work,” says Schwartzman.

“I had to start with the initial image that ultimately would be fed to the 24 frame monitors,” Morrissey explains. “We choose BVW-600 Sonys for the extended clear scan and great lux rating. We would be taping 30 fps video and shooting in rooms with 24- frame sources. The ECS allowed us to shoot our own monitors seamlessly.

“The footage was always taped. We couldn’t microwave every shot back to the truck. All edited video had to be sunk-up to production audio,” Morrissey continues. “We were however, called upon to edit within our truck using the Trinity real-time video box. We would shoot a scene in the morning, edit it before lunch, and play back the morning’s work when we turned around the room.

“Since there were now lights and stands, we could cut to the shots of the room before we pulled the walls. Presto, one solid room.

“Within the playback truck there were TBCs, two Trinity systems, 6 to 10 Betadecks and a plethora of hybrid professional broadcast gear including 24 frame converters and full delayed audio patch bay. Oh, and about four miles of cable trunks.”

Once the final decisions were made, reality set in. Schwartzman and crew were about to be faced with a broad range of situations involving cameras and lighting. For the first 20 pages of the script, they could concentrate on shooting “normally,” meaning, “we could light the television station and offices for the shots, without worrying about the additional cameras. The story exposition moves quickly, however, and suddenly we were into the video complications.”

Shooting Matthew McConaughey’s (who plays Ed) audition tape was fun. “We shot it on Sony’s digital consumer camera,” he laughs. “It’s Matthew joking around with his brother Ray (Woody Harrelson) at the local bar.” This was the last time a shot wasn’t affected by the video. Lighting worked for the bar.

This was one of the easier locations for Schwartzman to light. He had key grip Les Tomita rig 100 black PAR Cans and 20 Leikos on a grid. With all the lights attached to a dimmer board, they could then control the lamps needed.

“We also used a lot of colors in the bar,” adds Schwartzman. “These colors were dictated by the practicals the art department designed for us. They were giant billiard balls, hanging from the ceiling with 213 inside. What we did was your typical bar location lighting, because, unlike a spectacle movie like Armageddon, this film wanted to feel typical.”

By lighting from the overhead grid, explains Ryan, “we were able to free up the floor for the video cameras and their shots.”

Schwartman adds, “If they were shooting off the set, the PAR Cans looked like something you would see in a bar. When we went in for coverage, we brought in a key and an edge light. Then we were ready to shoot.”

It worked so well that “we finished this set a day early. At that point, we moved into the rock-and-roll club where Ed and his girlfriend Shari (Jenna Elfman) are mobbed. That one was fun.”

Once again, the crew hung PAR Cans and Leikos from a truss and supplemented them with strobes and Lightning Strikes. “As the scene in the bar gets more and more intense, the lights and the strobe fade up. This was our first live video wall shot.” says Ryan.

“Three video cameras worked the bar, Ed’s two cameras and a third BetaCam that played as a Rock Club Cam. The Rock Club Cam feeds a four by four 20-foot diagonal video wall. As Ed and his entourage enter, the club switches to the Edtv shows live feed. Lightning Strikes take over. It’s a great scene.”

Adds Schwartzman, “We were lucky to have an incredible board operator in Brian Lukas. He allowed us to make extensive use of our dimmers and added great ideas of his own.”

Since the story is about ‘transitions,’ the sequence in the first bar goes from the four-inch LCD monitor, through the screen, to the corporate offices and the decision to use Ed as their ‘star.’

The station offices figured strongly in this story. They were busy, complicated, and featured a series of video monitors. The centerpiece of the set was a conference room with windows on one side and offices on the other. There was also a wall of monitors at one end. “We had Translights out the windows, including one of the Bay Bridge,” Schwartzman explains. “Most of the action plays around the conference table. At one end of the office, outside the room, was Rob Reiner’s office. Again, with monitors.”

Schwartzman and his team faced an interesting and tricky shot in this location. “There is a scene where we see Ed and the station head, Rob Reiner, in silhouette. Behind them, we have a close-up of the two, projected on one of the monitors. We had to light this, without seeing a single piece of lighting equipment in the shot,” Schwartzman explains.

“To do this, we lit the scene with ten 18Ks coming through the set windows,” Ryan explains. “We diffused the lamps with light grid frames. Once again, it was ‘how do we do this to make it look like it would be in the real world?’”

“The answer was…ten 18Ks playing the part of the sun,” Schwartzman echoes. “The art department hung vertical blinds in the windows that we opened and closed to control the light. The blinds also helped to break up the Translight, when we were looking out the windows. In the outer offices, around the conference room, we had the art department put in ceiling grids.”

“This allowed us to rig Image 80 KinoFlos. This helped us move in a hurry, and gave the video guys their shots on top of ours,” Ryan explains.

“We were always relying heavily on the art department and set decoration to help us,” Schwartzman continues. “But this, at least, was a relatively ‘calm’ shot to choreograph. At times, things would get a little crazy. Many times we were dealing with our film cameras and video cameras. And, we kept everything moving.”

Schwartman, Howard, and Ryan would block a scene with the actors, the video operators, two camera operators and a boom man, then light it.

Since the video camera operators were real operators from television news, they rarely hit their established marks in rehearsals. “They were always moving and looking for the best shot, just like they were trained,” Schwartzman explains.

“So what we ended up with were two 24 x 36-inch flags in the shape of Betacams and a guy with a boom in every shot,” Ryan adds. “There were many times when John and I had our fingers crossed, hoping they wouldn’t block someone’s key light.” The challenge became how to light the actors and not have the video guys blocking them. Sometimes, it was as simple as moving the key a little bit. Other times, it was nearly impossible. “And, every now and then, it was just luck!” Ryan admits.

“While we were concentrating on the action, Matthew Morrissey would be ‘directing’ the actor/camera operators via headsets and radios that were, fortunately, part of the set decoration and show’s props,” Schwartzman continues. “Since Ron (Howard) wanted everything real, Matthew was constantly putting a little character into the video shots. It paid off.”

At one point in the story, Ed meets an actress (played by Elizabeth Hurley) backstage at The Tonight Show. ‘My place, Saturday night. We’ll make dinner and get nasty,’ is the gist of the conversation. What Ed doesn’t count on is the 2000 people lining the streets outside the actress’s apartment, cheering him on. “It is a big night for Ed and for us,” says Schwartzman. “We wanted to do this in a single Steadicam shot, starting with an insert car.”

Lighting the scene that was termed the ‘Superbowl of Sex’ was fairly easy, considering some of the other challenges the team had. “It’s lighting San Francisco on the whole that can be tricky, because of the hills and the overhead wires for the buses, it is nearly impossible to use Condors for the night shoots,” explains Ryan.

Since Schwartzman and Ryan had shot in San Francisco before (The Rock as well as several commercials), they knew what they were up against. Their solution was Dinos as far up a hill as they could get them for general back light. Add as many PAR Cans as possible on the ground as up-shooters on buildings and trees, and they were ready.

“In some cases, we rigged a lamp outside someone’s window,” Ryan adds.

Schwartzman maintains that the ‘Superbowl of Sex’ scene “was simple. It was five Condors rigged with one Dino light and 20Ks on the ground just out of frame.”

“By adding a few PAR Can up-shooters on the ground, we were ready to shoot,” Ryan adds. “We then cleaned everything up when we went for coverage. The cool part of this location in the Marina district, besides the level streets, was the fact that the entire neighborhood got into the spirit of the scene. There were parties going on in all the buildings around the location. I would send a lamp operator into an apartment to place a lamp, and he would return with a plate full of sushi and other party foods. Wisely, he declined the beer and sake!”

In the final edit, this shot will be peppered with cut-aways to different locations, St. Louis, Florida State University, etc., with everyone cheering Ed on.

Elizabeth Hurley’s apartment was also a challenge. With the whole world watching, the scene goes like this: Hurley throws Ed onto a table, and attacks him. Just as the situation is about to peak, he rolls off the table and crushes her cat!

Originally, this was to be shot on location in Los Angeles. But Schwartzman stood his ground and after a few tough arguments, he won, and a set was built on stage.

Having the ability to pull the walls, not just for lighting but for cameras, made a far better scene. “Matthew and Elizabeth were able to play the scene without the intrusion of the lights, flags, and cameras,” Schwartzman explains. “It gave us room to work and them to act. And, it makes for a better and funnier scene.”

Schwartzman and his team were always facing interesting challenges on this picture. Each element presented a different problem. There was the ridiculous, like the aborted sexual encounter. There was also the inevitable “trying to light Ed in the bathroom on the you-know-what, and make it interesting,” Schwartzman laughs. “The challenge was how to make it interesting and accommodate every element.”

Ryan admits that sometimes simpler is better. “We used a single light on Ed, and one coming through the window. It made a beautiful scene. That’s one of the things that I love about working with John,” says Ryan. “We both kind of feel that, in most cases, less is more.”

When Ed buries his father (Dennis Hopper), the scene is in a small cemetery. “We had Les fly a 40 x 60 silk off a construction crane. Of course, production questioned the need for it at first, but once we were shooting they thought Les was a genius, because it was quick and we never had to stop to jockey stands out of the frame for the film or video cameras. And, we lit everything with arcs,” Ryan explains. “As far as I’m concerned, it is the most beautiful light there is. John and I try to use them whenever we can.”

Ryan explains that both he and best boy Dave Christensen came up using arcs, so they both feel comfortable using them.

The other scene that sticks in the camera crew’s mind is the night Ed appears on The Tonight Show. Production used the actual Green Room and stage of the show. In the movie, it is where Ed first meets Elizabeth Hurley.

Edtv shot on a Friday, after the day’s taping. Schwartzman and Ryan were lighting the shot as the set was being dressed. The art department provided practicals for the Green Room. All Schwartzman had to add was China Balls in different areas. “When we went in for coverage, we softened the lights for key and worked in an edge,” Ryan explains. “Simple is better. That’s John’s rule.”

“The rush was fun,” Schwartzman admits. “It saved us, when we were doing difficult, I mean really difficult, shots like starting on a television and then pulling back to reveal Ed, while Ed is talking on the television. Tying Ed and the television together was a challenge,” he adds.

Schwartman feels that shooting in San Francisco is very difficult on the best of days. “I would have been dead without the help of the transportation department, Gary and Larry Shephard and Bill Ballard. I worked with them on Benny and Joon. They were so important in the making of this show. I felt I had to mention them.

“Another person I must mention is Mitch Amundsen, who has been my A-camera operator since Benny and Joon. He shot all of the second unit on this movie and did an incredible job. About six weeks into the show, for about six weeks, Mitch helmed the second unit with producer Todd Halowell directing. They did difficult and complicated work, which made me look great. Thanks guys!”

Schwartzman’s ability to produce wonderful work, often under stressful shooting conditions, comes from this philosophy. “I said to the crew once, ‘if this works, no one will know how hard so many people worked to pull off something that seems so simple, because live remote television is such an ingrained part of our culture. But to translate that to a motion picture is incredibly challenging.’”

Schwartzman admits that, while lighting a feature film is hard enough, the extra challenge of this film lies in the fact that “this was a three-camera feature on location, projected at 100 feet, not 19 inches. The little box hides a lot of sins that the silver screen doesn’t.”

Schwartzman hopes that “when you watch this film, you’ll think of the complexity of every scene. It was a bear to do, but a joy at the same time; especially when you’re working with a director like Ron Howard.”