ELP supply new series of Lewis shot in HD

Inspector Morse’s former sidekick will be back for a fourth series. Expected to start airing in February 2010 the latest series of Lewis is being shot in HD for the first time.

ELP have supplied the production with an assortment of lighting including Arri Fresnels and MSRs, fluorescent lighting including Photon Beard Highlight 110s and 220s and a selection of flood and soft lights.

As Director of Photography David Marsh explains, working with the new HD format has meant some subtle changes to the lighting inventory. “We’re now using more soft lights, more Kino’s and more Beard’s”
He continues “HD is so sensitive that a softer lighting approach is required, especially when lighting the actors. Increasingly, you have to wrap the light around people and take even more care. In general it’s a lot harder than before and the new HD format has made everyone’s job more intense”

Gaffer Vince Goddard remarks “With new generations of camera constantly evolving we adapt to complement them with different styles of lighting. Everyone is still learning. It’s a continuous improvement process. That’s where ELPs 18K remote heads are so valuable. Being automated they are quick to reposition. This saves so much time that it allows David to try alternative looks. Also, as we all know, Directors often change their minds. The remote heads mean we can react quickly if a change is requested.”
The Gaffer continues “During Lewis (as with Inspector Morse) Oxford is the third character. It’s such an integral part of the story lines that we need to show the buildings and architecture to their best. HD makes this more tricky. To cope with the wide range of contrast between the interior and the exterior, often requires the use of scrim on the windows and using netting on frames for areas such as doors. Otherwise the sensitive HD cameras will pick up on any variations.”

A positive aspect of shooting with the new HD format is that it allows the DOP and the Gaffer to work more collaboratively. Location monitors provide the production team with a ‘what-you-see-is-what-you-get’ view. They can discuss the shots and can combine ideas to make improvements.

Stylistically DOP David Marsh has tried keep true to the production values established by Morse and previous series’ of Lewis. “The idea is to keep things as natural as possible.” remarks David. “The Oxford environment helps to give the pictures a rich depth. The warmth of the local stone, the landscaped gardens in full bloom… Lewis is very much a production of its environment. Someone once described it as being like a ‘warm comfortable blanket’. This contracts with some of the more gritty detective dramas like Waking The Dead or Silent Witness which are much ‘darker’ and ‘edgy’.”

The DOP and lighting crew were full of praise for ELPs gear. In particular, their 40kw 4x4 Land Rover generator has been a real hit with the production team. Not only can it cope with hard to reach rural terrains but in the narrow cobbled streets of Oxford its able to get into tricky locations, past low gates, archways and generally all the places which would be inaccessible to a normal generator truck.

“I love ELP” concludes David Marsh. “I like the fact that they are small, friendly and adaptable. Consequently you get a high level of service. Hire manager Tanaya has bent over backwards to provide us with everything we need. If we ever come up against a production issue she works with us to solve it. You can’t ask for much more than that”.