Just a couple of weeks ago, DP Gary Baum earned his fifth career primetime Emmy nomination, the latest one coming in the Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series category on the strength of the “Weekend At Peggy’s” episode of CBS’ Mike & Molly. This marks the third consecutive year that Baum has garnered an Emmy nom for Mike & Molly. In 2013, he was nominated for the “Molly’s Birthday” episode. The previous year he received two cinematography nominations–one for the “Victoria Can’t Drive” episode of Mike & Molly, the other for the 2 Broke Girls pilot. Back in 2010 Baum secured his first Emmy nomination for an episode of Gary Unmarried.
“It’s still always kind of a surprise to be nominated,” related Baum. “I’m especially proud of the work my crew does. They step up to the plate and give it all they’ve got week in and week out. Every episode is challenging. We’re doing work in two days that normally would take a week to accomplish. It’s a very ambitious show. The days of having four people sitting on a couch are gone. Sitcoms have taken on a new level of production value. We do a lot of blue screen and visual effects. But ultimately we’re blessed to have an incredible, brilliant cast led by Melissa [McCarthy] and Billy [Gardell].”
In the “Weekend At Peggy’s” episode–directed by Phil Lewis–Molly has a fight with her mom, resulting in Mike and Molly going over to Peggy’s house. Peggy is Mike’s mother. Essentially Mike and Molly are living in Mike’s old childhood bedroom, which is an inherently comedic scenario. Add to that getting locked out of the house, and their dog being lost on a walk during a heavy snowfall, leaving Baum with certain logistical challenges like trying to keep the desired effect of the snow and the lights contained in one area.
Baum has lensed all 90-plus episodes of Mike & Molly since its inception. Thus far on the show he has deployed Sony F23 cameras. However, for the coming season, plans call for Baum to switch to the newer Sony F55 with a 35mm sensor. “More and more we’re incorporating certain visual effects into the show,” said Baum, reasoning that the F55 will prove helpful in this and other respects.
Baum got the Mike & Molly gig in large part due to James Burrows, a 10-time Emmy winner (Taxi, Cheers, Will & Grace, Frasier). Burrows directed the pilot for Mike & Molly and asked Baum to join him on the series. Burrows has played an integral role in Baum’s career. The cinematographer’s first three Emmy nominations were all for series (Gary Unmarried, 2 Broke Girls, Mike & Molly) episodes directed by Burrows. And when Tony Askins, ASC, retired and recommended that camera operator Baum succeed him as DP on Will & Grace, executive producer/director Burrows afforded Baum that opportunity. Though Burrows did not direct any episodes of Mike & Molly this past season, Baum continues to work with him, most recently on The Millers with a return engagement scheduled for the next season of that CBS comedy which stars Will Arnett, Beau Bridges and Cole Ewing.
In addition to his continuing work on Mike & Molly and The Millers, Baum is wrapping his third summer on the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son starring Steve Byrne and Dan Lauria.
Neville Kidd
Nominated for Outstanding Cinematography for a Miniseries or Movie is Neville Kidd for the “His Last Vow” episode of the miniseries Sherlock (part of PBS’ Masterpiece presentation). An accomplished British DP, Kidd hopes his first career Emmy nom will help open some doors for him in the American entertainment market.
“As a British director of photography, getting an Emmy nomination is fantastic,” said Kidd. “It’s like a world benchmark to be nominated for an Emmy.”
“His Last Vow” also earned Nick Hurran his first Emmy nomination. Hurran is up for Outstanding Directing for a Miniseries, Movie or Dramatic Special category. It was Hurran who brought Kidd into the Sherlock fold for this single episode. Director Hurran and DP Kidd have been frequent collaborators on the popular BBC series Dr. Who.
Reflecting on the biggest challenge that “His Last Vow” posed to him as a cinematographer, Kidd related, “Sherlock has a very distinctive style. To just come in and work on one of the best looking shows on British television is inherently quite challenging. As a new DP on the show, I wanted to give it some of my style and an edge while maintaining the same visual standards and feel that have gotten Sherlock international recognition. I brought my own touch to it simply by emotionally involving myself with the storyline and characters so that would come across in my filmmaking and lighting.”
Kidd continued with the camera of choice for Sherlock, ARRI’s Alexa. He deployed two Alexas, along with a Canon C300 (with Zeiss prime lenses) for additional footage, on “His Last Vow.”
At press time, Kidd was lensing the series Outlander which is on Starz.
Steve Arnold
Production designer Steve Arnold is another first-time Emmy nominee–in the Outstanding Art Direction for a Contemporary or Fantasy Series (single-camera) category for House of Cards, “Chapter 18” and “Chapter 24.” Sharing in the nom are art director Halina Gebarowicz and set decorator Tiffany Zappulla.
House of Cards marks Arnold’s first major foray into TV–or at least Netflix’s online brand of it. He feels fortunate, if not “spoiled” to have broken in with such a show after establishing himself in feature films as an art director on the first Spider-Man movie, Get Shorty, Face/Off and Unbreakable, among others.
Still, he noted, that most of the artisans on House of Cards are steeped in theatrical feature experience, from director/executive producer David Fincher and showrunner/executive producer/writer Beau Willimon on down. “It seems like we’re doing a feature film every month, every season nonstop,” related Arnold. “It’s like we’re making a really, really long movie.”
It was a movie that led to Arnold getting the House of Cards gig. Looking for work, Arnold recalled hearing about some additional shooting on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for which there might be some need for another art director. He knew one of the art directors on the film and got the opportunity to work on The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for six weeks. This in turn connected him with production designer Donald Graham Burt and Fincher. When Burt and Fincher embarked on the House of Cards pilot, Arnold got a call. Burt served as production designer on “Chapters 1” and “2” but needed someone to take the reins. “I hemmed and hawed for awhile,” said Arnold, “but ultimately decided to give it a go. I said to myself, ‘Fincher’s involved, Kevin Spacey, Robin Wright. It’s this new Netflix thing so I figured why not give it a shot?’”
Arnold noted that “everybody–MRC [Media Rights Capital], Trigger Street Productions and Netflix–wanted to do something extraordinary with this project. I wouldn’t say we have complete artistic control but we have a lot of control over the various sets we’ve done. I also have to give credit to Fincher. He has such a strong visual aesthetic.”
“Chapter 18” and “Chapter 24,” which earned Arnold, Gebarowicz and Zappulla the Emmy nomination, carried strong creative challenges. For example, “Chapter 18,” included a Civil War enactment sequence. “We had to make the encampments that the re-enactors were staying overnight in,” noted Arnold. “There was a big exterior for a battle sequence with horses, military equipment and cannons firing. This was just part of the many new sets we had to create.” The episode also necessitated converting an empty warehouse space into a data center. The storyline called for the character Gavin to break into a super secure data center in order to obtain Frank’s cell phone records.
Similarly “Chapter 24” required the construction of assorted new sets, including a big courtroom and congressional building corridors.
House of Cards introduced Arnold to his now trusted collaborators and fellow nominees Gebarowicz and Zappulla. “They’re local artists from Baltimore where we shoot,” he related, adding that it’s been “extremely refreshing” to find such talent working outside the so-called major markets.
While he’s in the Emmy nominees’ circle for the first time, Arnold is no stranger to industry awards. In 2012, he was part of an ensemble that won an Art Directors Guild Excellence in Production Design Award in the Commercials and Music Videos category for Activision: Call of Duty’s “Modern Warfare 3.” That same year he was a set designer member of a crew on Bridesmaids that copped an ADG Excellence in Production Design Award nomination in Contemporary Film.
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This is the sixth installment in a 12-part series that will explore the field of Emmy nominees and winners spanning such disciplines as directing, cinematography, editing, animation and VFX. The series will run right through the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony and the following week’s primetime Emmy Awards live telecast. In addition to appearing on SHOOTonline and in the SHOOT >e.dition, The Road To Emmy will also have its Part 7 installment in SHOOT’s July 25 print issue.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 12, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 11, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 10, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 9, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 8, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 7, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 5, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 4, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 3, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 2, click here.
To read The Road To Emmy, Part 1, click here.
To read Primetime Talent, Pre-Road To Emmy feature 2, click here.
To read Primetime Talent, Pre-Road To Emmy feature 1, click here.
