Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/455278
www.postmagazine.com 12 POST JANUARY 2015 BC's The Blacklist has maintained a high-rating on the Nielson charts since its debut in 2013. The show, which has been as warmly received by critics as viewers with several Emmy Award and Golden Globe nominations, stars James Spader and Megan Boone as an unlikely international crime-solving duo. Spader plays former-government agent Raymond "Red" Reddington, now one of the FBI's Most Wanted fugitives, who negotiates deals with the agency to help capture a long "blacklist" of villains from around the world, with the one caveat that he partners with newly-hired agent, Elizabeth Keen (Boone). With its location formally placed in Washington, DC, The Blacklist is actually shot on-set at Chelsea Piers and on-loca- tion throughout New York City on Sony F55 4K cameras, with both production and post relying on a 4K workfl ow. "We're a Sony production, so it makes sense that we would use the Sony F55 cameras and 4K workfl ow," says show producer Jonathan Filley. "With the newer fi rmware [on the F55], we can run high-speed, and the 4K is a big help as far as our dynamic range and exposure," adds DP Mike Caracciolo, who shares his duties with DP Eric Moynier. "We get around 14 stops of exposure now, which really helps us for the way we shoot, because we have a lot of windows and we don't have to worry as much about blowing them out. The big diff erence with the 4K is the color. It has so many more variances of color, sometimes we don't even have to gel windows." According to Caracciolo, the "uncon- ventional" dark and "contrasty" look of the show starts in production during the shoot. "Our lighting is a little harder," he explains. "We don't do conventional beauty lighting. We do a lot of interest- ing framing, interesting shots, rather than conventional stuff , to tell the story. And we don't cover people in the convention- al manner either. We don't do straight on [shots], but more like three-quarter behind them or profi le. It seems to work. It's a little bit of our style for the show and we're sticking with it." Filley agrees, "We try to get a look for the show without saying we're going for a look. We did what we like; we did stuff that was diff erent. If it's visually interest- ing, we're going to shoot that. For the viewer, I think it's great because it keeps them interested in the shots without taking them away from the story. We try not to do anything that's too disturbing or removes the viewer from the story itself. We found our own niche, as far as style and look. That's one thing we talk to directors in pre-production about: the look and how we do it." Explaining that with a tight turn- around time on each episode — which can range between eight to 10 days and around 22 episodes for the entire season — Filley says the HDXAVC fi les are re- corded to SxS cards and then shipped to the West Coast to 24P and Colorworks for post. "Throughout the years, [the 4K work- fl ow] has become a much better pro- cess," says editor Christopher Brookshire. "There's a lot of refi nement every year. I worked on other productions — I was an editor on Law & Order — and the process has grown leaps and bounds since then." According to Brookshire, who edits the show on an Avid Media Composer, NBC'S THE BLACKLIST BY LINDA ROMANELLO EMPLOYING A 4K WORKFLOW FOR BOTH PRODUCTION & POST N Editor Christopher Brookshire gives The Blacklist (with stars James Spader right and below with Megan Boone) its signature quick pace. PRIMETIME