Anyone from "ER"?

Andrew Brinkhaus

Andrew Brinkhaus

Veteran
Seeing as how this site is home to many industry professionals, I was curious if anybody here had worked on the show "ER". I am asking because I watched an episode tonight, and it seemed very fast paced (one of the first times ive seen it) and i'm wondering what the workflow and set up is like for shooting. What is the general cam and lighting setup? Just curious.
 
I worked on it last year as a patient when I was doing background work. ER has that fast paced feel, but it's all in the editing and pace, it didn't move any quicker than any other show really. In fact, it was a long, boring day with several takes and crappy crafty...for what it's worth. Nothing new here. Same set ups as most. All I can say is thank god I don't do BG work anymore...

Don't think that helped but hey, you asked if it was fast, and it wasn't.
 
Indeed, as John said I have worked sporadically on ER for about 6 years, as a fill-in A camera and Steadicam operator.

It is generally shot single-camera, with conventional camera (Panaflex Platinum) used for about 60% of the setups and Steadicam (Panaflex Lightweight II) for the rest. The ER set is virtually pre-lit, with practical ceilings--the fluorescents seen in the ceilings provide the base illumination, with larger units outside the windows for sunlight as seen in the outer rooms.

It follows a pretty typical TV schedule of 6-8 pages of dialogue a day. Since they have been doing it for so long, the long tracking shots take far less long to set up than many shows.

The trauma scenes (where a patient is being tended to in the exam rooms) take a while because the medical advisor will choreograph all of the actors to make sure that medical accuracy is being observed.

If you have any more specific questions, please feel free to ask.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top