VAN NUYS, CA — For the multi-camera TV series, The Exes, George Mooradian, ASC adopts what he calls a “European approach,” relying in part on the use of gear from Litepanels for the Emmy-nominated show, which airs on the TV Land network.
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“The show is a real challenge,” Mooradian says. “It takes place in the narrow confines of Manhattan, New York. To create an urban cityscape with dark, cool shadows amid the building canyons, and to make it as real as possible in the multi-camera world, is a daily balance of shadow and light. I’m not going for a bright and colorful saturation of the reds and oranges but for more muted, cooler and grainier tones, with less fill light. It’s more single direction source and minimal, if any, augmentation. Litepanels LED lighting helps me achieve this.”
For the Emmy-nominated episode, “Pirates of The Care of Eden,” the story takes place aboard a luxurious yacht on the Hudson River against a giant Manhattan tableau — on stage, of course. “To create the reality of an exterior night plus the tiny cabin below where the birth of a baby occurs, required clever lights and clever hiding places in its nooks and crannies,” Mooradian explains. “The cabin was a real challenge with a port window, but that accented the claustrophobia.
“Lighting was easy, thanks to Litepanels,” he says. “We simply used a 1×1 and a Croma, hidden in the set to give me illumination in the right places.” Mooradian is quick to point out that hiding the light in the shot is a “very non-multi-camera thing to do. I love doing it, and the camera operators don’t have to compromise because the fixtures don’t stand out. Litepanels helped deliver light — and the baby!”
Mooradian also used Litpepanels to achieve the right water reflections. Using the 1×1’s Bi-Color function he could instantly dial in to his eye and monitor to achieve the right contrast with the sodium vapors of the city background. “It all felt very real with LED’s being a 21st century source that this generation responds to,” he adds.
Mooradian is always looking for different ways to get his look. That’s why he now incorporates the Litepanels Sola Fresnel fixtures into his lighting strategy. “The extra punch of the Sola 4 has helped us penetrate venetian blinds in a very nocturnal way to light our bedroom sets,” he explains. “The contrast between the back walls and the bed give the scene dimension and separation. The quick set up and light weight of the fixtures, combined with the accuracy of whatever color temperature I want, makes Litepanels my go-to light source in high-pressure situations. And they are the difference between a well-lit scene to a great lit scene — with more nuance and detail.”
The Exes, from Hudson Productions, recently netted George Mooradian ASC his fifth Emmy nomination for Outstanding Cinematography.
