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REMARKABLY BRIGHT CREATURES The Netflix feature Remarkably Bright Creatures is a book-to-film adap- tation of a grieving widow (Sally Field) and a directionless young man (Lewis Pullman) in a seaside town as their lives intertwine with the help of a remarkably-wise octopus named Marcellus (voiced by Alfred Molina). The feature received three Emmy nominations and won in the Outstanding Movie category. Director of photography Ashley Connor was tasked with bringing to life the POV of the octopus that is so vital to the book. Using custom camera rigs, she was able to collaboration with director Olivia Newman and bring the slightly-magical aura of the aquarium to life. "We worked with Panavision Vancouver and shot on the Alexa 35 with Primo primes and zooms," she recalls. "The Primos are probably my favorite lens set. They have character and softness without being too distracting." Any of the scenes with Marcellus were particularly challenging, as they were heavily storyboarded so they could be precisely shot. "We'd shoot the scene in our aquarium stage set with the actors, then fly the ceiling of the set and dunk in our designated underwater camera rig to shoot the POV, trying to minimize downtime so the actors could stay in the moment," she shares. "Then we'd come back around and release the actors and do VFX plates of Marcellus. It was definitely a logistical puzzle." According to visual effects supervisor Chris Ritvo, the goal was to always be able to cut between a real octopus and the digital version of Marcellus without the audience noticing. The CG character was based on a real octo- pus at the Vancouver Aquarium. "We based our look and actions off her, regularly taking side-by-side comparisons in animation to make sure everything Marcellus did could be done by a real octopus," Ritvo explains. "During shooting, we always had a plan for what actions Marcellus would take in each scene." MARGO'S GOT MONEY TROUBLES Apple TV's Margo's Got Money Troubles is a comedic family drama that follows recent college dropout and aspiring writer Margo (Elle Fanning), the daughter of an ex-Hooters waitress (Michelle Pfeiffer) and ex-pro wrestler (Nick Offerman), as she's forced to make her way with a new baby and a mounting pile of bills. The series also stars Marcia Gay Harden, Greg Kinnear, Michael Angarano, Rico Nasty and Lindsey Normington. The show is based on Rufi Thorpe's best-selling novel of the same name. At this year's Emmys, the show took home three awards for Outstanding Contemporary Makeup, Costumes and Hairstyling. The series was also nominated in the Outstanding Comedy Series category, and for its Cinematography (Tari Segal, ASC). In addition, its on-screen talent also gained attention, with Fanning (Lead Actress), Pfeiffer (Supporting Actress) and Offerman (Supporting Actor) all receiving nominations. Music supervisor Ciara Elwis says one of the most exciting creative chal- lenges for this series was finding a musical language that could hold all its contradictions at once: intimate and anarchic, deeply rooted in family, and wildly contemporary, poignant and defiantly alive. "Rather than approaching the soundtrack as a collection of needle drops, we approached it as a family tree," she shares. Playlists were built for the main characters, with a core focus on themes such as desire, resilience and the refusal to apologize for who they are. The series features over 80 needle drops across its eight episodes, with music that ranges from Dire Straits and Motley Crue to CMAT and Princess Nokia. "Needle drops are woven into the fabric of every episode as a narrative and character device," says Elwis, "tracking Margo's emotional journey, seeding the influence of her parents' worlds and bridging the multigenera- tional story with the very online contemporary world she discovers." HACKS HBO Max's Hacks recently wrapped up its fifth season, but not before receiving more than 20 Emmy nominations across its duration. The dark comedy's final season comes in the aftermath of mistaken and unflattering news reports that comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) has passed away, leading her and Ava (Hannah Einbinder) to return to Las Vegas with more determination than ever. Hacks took home the Emmy for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Single Camera Comedy series. Editor Jon Philpot was recognized for his work on the series' finale. The show was also nominated in the Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics category, with Carlos Rafael Rivera and David Stal receiving nominations, spe- cifically for their work on "Mis Figuritas." The duo's responsibilities for the series included shaping the show's musical language across the score and, when the story called for it, original songs. "We collaborate on both, and David also serves as scoring mixer, preparing and delivering the score for the final dub," Rivera explains. "The assignment can be as small as a :05 transition or as large as a fully-produced song or orchestral set piece. The challenge is knowing how much the scene actually needs." For the song "Mis Figuritas," the creators wanted the situation to be funny, but the song itself needed to feel completely legitimate — something Deborah believed could win her a Grammy. The comedy had to come from the song's absolute sincerity, not from making the music itself a joke. Jean Smart performs the song entirely in Spanish and commits to it com- pletely. Stylistically, the composers made sure it belonged in the intended Grammy category, and wrote a contemporary ranchera, working with Grammy- winning producer Áureo Baqueiro to ensure it was authentic and respectful of the category. The composers use Mac-based rigs that are centered on Logic Pro, with Native Instruments and other sample libraries available for composing, arrang- ing and creating detailed mockups. This season, they also recorded guitar, bass, trumpet and vocals in their own studios. David Stal's setup includes a Neve 1073 preamp, a Fender Telecaster, a Tokai Hard Puncher bass and an assortment of microphones. Carlos Rafael Rivera records through a Universal Audio Apollo Twin X, using Fender and Gibson guitars, and an MXL 770 micro- phone that has remained in his setup for 12 years. For the Emmy-nominated episode "The Garden," as well as the series finale, the cues eventually outgrew what samples could provide. Instead, they recorded the orchestra at the histor- ic Eastwood Scoring Stage on the Warner Bros. lot in Burbank.