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Two top-rated American network TV shows through the eyes of their cinematographers, Billy Dickson and Dennis Smith.
THE MANY FACES TOF ALLY MCBEAL
he boss is raging at you but your face is care- Fuji 500 stock for his interiors, Primo zoom lenses and a fully blank. In your mind, however, you standard focus comfort zone at a 2.8.
scream back or beat him - or her - to a pulp. “We then began experimenting with Ally’s emotion- When an attractive person from your distant al elements,” Dickson explains. “We tried longer lenses, past enters your sight, you take a casual look, such as the 85mm and over. I wanted to keep the focus mentally putting him - or her - in, say, The on her face and what comes out of her mouth and still White House for example?. separate her and everyone else from the background.
We all do it. We do one thing, say one thing, and After all, David had written an incredible group of char- quite often think quite another. Finally, we can admit it acters that revolve around Ally, each one unique, each
because each week we can watch young lawyer Ally McBeal (Calista Flockhart)
do just that. Through flash-
backs and fantasies Ally
lets the world in to see what she really thinks about her clients, her potential suitors, her fel- low lawyers, her ex-boy friend’s wife, and every other personal and inti- mate aspect of her life as she lives it day in day out.
“I met director James
Frawley before we did the
pilot of The Big Easy,” says
cinematographer Billy
Dickson. “This is where we
started our working rela-
tionship. Jim told me about
Ally McBeal (recently
acquired for future transmission in the UK by C4), after we finished shooting the television movie Sins of the Mind. When he told me about the concept behind the show, I became interested, mainly in the idea of creating several looks within a show. Although I had been doing drama, I was confident that I could find the balance between drama, comedy and romance for the series.”
Dickson’s very first tests were with star Calista Flockhart. It was here that he began his design for the three separate looks, the day-to-day style, the flashbacks and the fantasy cuts. He immediately decided on using
one with his or her own story. This show is about faces, their expressions, dialogue. That’s why we chose to shoot masters on the 85mm and higher and close-ups are done most often on the 150mm to 300mm. I feel that it keeps our focus and atten- tion to the truth and integri-
ty of the show.” Fortunately, Dickson
joined the team behind Ally McBeal as the look for the sets was being designed for both pilot and series. This allowed him to work with production designers Lee Fisher and Peter Politonoff (who took over for Lee as the season began) as they were creating the sets at the
newly renovated Ren-Mar Studios in Hollywood.
One of the most often used and rather unusual sets constructed is the offices of the law firm. “We wanted something very colourful, very warm, with a romantic drama and a little comedy flavour to it. So we have a two- level set designed with the bullpen area open to the sec-
ond floor. Not unique but still a useful idea.
“We try to give the impression that the top floor is
open, lit by skylights that filter down into the bullpen area-to make it look like the harsh sunlight is coming from above. Fortunately it works very well indeed.
Photos: Calista Flockhart as
the young lawyer Ally McBeal, and above; Cinematographer Billy Dickson.
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