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August 2017

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www.postmagazine.com 14 POST AUGUST 2017 ominations for the 69 th Emmy Awards were announced last month, with NBC's Saturday Night Live and HBO's Westworld taking the lead for the most nominations (22 each) in all categories, followed by Stranger Things and FEUD: Bette and Joan (18) and Veep (17). Leading the nominations in totals by platform were HBO (110), Netflix (91) and NBC (60). This year's seven drama series nominees include five first-timers distributed across broadcast, cable and digital platforms: Better Call Saul, The Crown, The Handmaid's Tale, House of Cards, Stranger Things, This Is Us and Westworld. "It's been a record-breaking year for television, continuing its explosive growth," says Television Academy chairman and CEO Hayma Washington. "The Emmy Awards competition experienced a 15 percent increase in submissions for this year's initial nomination round of online voting. The creativity and excellence in presenting great storytelling and characters across a multitude of ever-expanding entertainment platforms is staggering." The 69 th Emmy Awards will telecast live from the Microsoft Theater in LA on September 17 th on CBS. The Creative Arts Emmy Awards will air on September 16 th on FXX. In the meantime, Post takes a look here at a few of this year's nominees. WESTWORLD HBO's Westworld received 22 nominations in such categories as directing, visual effects, editing and cinematography. Earlier this year, Post spoke with Paul Cameron, ASC, director of photography who is nominated for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour). Cameron, along with colorist Shane Harris of Deluxe's Encore and show runner and co-creator Jonathan Nolan, established a dark and "moody cinematic look that was slightly desaturated" for the pilot and carried out throughout the series. One of the post and production challenges of the part western, part sci-fi series, which is shot on 35mm on Arricam Lite cameras, was in distin- guishing its various settings — the outdoor vistas and classic western town, the darker indoor labs an operations center, the underground storage area and the flashback sequences — so that each would have its own distinct look. "That's the beauty of a DP when you're doing a pilot and the show is not yet 100 percent sold," says Cameron. "You're developing the look, while also keeping in mind that somebody else will be matching those looks throughout the series. In this case, it was a little bit unique because there aren't that many shows shot on 35mm film anymore. We ended up with about three or four DPs who were experienced with film, and then Shane Harris and Jonathan Nolan kept the look consistent through- out the whole show." THE HANDMAID'S TALE The Handmaid's Tale, the critically acclaimed new series from Hulu that is based on Margaret Atwood's award-winning, best-selling novel about life in the dystopian Gilead, a totalitarian society in what was formerly part of the United States, received a num- ber of nominations in directing, visual effects and writing. Colin Watkinson, DP for the show, has also been nominated for Outstanding Cinematography For A Single-Camera Series (One-Hour). In conceiving the look for the series, director Reed Morano (Episodes 1-3), a cinematographer herself, worked with Watkinson to create a subtle, painterly palette with a visceral deployment of pri- mary colors focused on red and blue. As the show would deliver in High Dynamic Range (HDR) — an ultra-high-contrast format with brighter pixels and greater perceived resolution — it was critical that the creative intent of the subdued look carry through to all audiences, whether they view the show in standard definition or HDR. Watkinson notes, "We shot on Arri Alexa in 4K knowing Deluxe would take it to HDR in the grade. We chose particular lenses for the show and it was important to preserve that look." Deluxe Toronto colorist Bill Ferwerda worked closely with Morano, Watkinson and on-set grader Ben Whaley to maintain the subtle layers of color in the show and accentuate when possible. "The color red needed to stand out and be significant," said Watkinson. "Everything in the pro- duction design from the color of the houses to the specific peacock blue of the wives' wardrobe was selected really carefully." See the September issue of Post for full inter- views with both Watkinson and Ferwada. THE CROWN In Netflix's acclaimed new drama, The Crown, viewers go inside the story of Elizabeth II's early reign — all the real-life personal intrigues, ro- EMMY CONTENDERS N The Crown A LOOK AT SOME OF THIS YEAR'S HOPEFULS Stranger Things Stranger Things Stranger Westworld The Handmaid's Tale

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