| An Interview with
Gordon Sweeney One of CBS Television's Emmy Award Winning Camera Operators By Gary Curtis
As Gordon Sweeney walked to the CBS set of The Bold and the Beautiful, he spoke with pride about the show's position in the worldwide television market. With 450 million viewers in 95 countries, it is the most-watched daily broadcast in the world. Gordon has been a cameraman here at Television City for 25 years and has won five of his six Emmys for the show. He explained the circumstances and methodology of taping a daytime network soap opera and then recounted his starting times. CL: The set seems very open because of that broad corridor down the middle of the stage. GS: Most soaps are shot using an alley with sets on both sides. Sitcoms usually have a studio with an audience and are relatively confined. Our show and The Young and Restless use 3 cameras for taping. Most of the soaps in New York shoot with 4 cameras. CL: How do you deal with reverse shots? GS: Everything is handled with pedestal cameras. A segment is first blocked and then taped. The blocking is a rehearsal for the actors and for the camera. We mark the scenes so we know where the actors will be standing and our own positions. We need to know how far to be from the actor. The blocking is also for the booms and for the lighting department. Then, we have a true rehearsal followed by a taping. So, we usually have two looks at the visuals before final taping. CL: Actors often talk about learning to be comfortable with the camera. They speak about a need to develop a relationship with the lens. GS: We have a lot of seasoned actors on The Bold and the Beautiful yet this is referred to as a showpiece presentation. That means we go for a look and a style. The story is based on a fashion design house. Consequently, we have a lot of good-looking people, many of whom are younger. We sharpen their abilities here If they aren't previously developed as actors. CL: What are the demands on the cameramen? GS: Most of us have been doing this for at least 15 to 20 years. We work well together and all are very experienced. We know what to expect from each other. You really must understand sizing of shots and things like that. It helps to know the other cameramen and participate in his actions. CL: On a given day, how many set ups do you have? GS: There are 12 scenes on three or four sets today; probably adding up to 250 to 280 shots for this episode. That would break down amongst the three cameras to 80 or 90 moves a day each. Most of the action falls on the two wing cameras - cameras 1 and 3. They probably make 3/4 of the moves. There are a lot of medium close-ups and carries. CL: How do you get establishing shots? GS: I have done a lot of helicopter shots around the downtown area and Malibu, for instance. These are stored in a library and in the Tape Editing Department. Today, the story goes to the Insomnia Cafe. The cafe actually exists since the show is set in Los Angeles. I think The Bold and the Beautiful is refreshing because it isn't about a fictitious town in the midwest. It's about fashion in this city and what goes on with the people. We're able to use landmarks that people recognize. That's why audiences around the world relate so well; Los Angeles being a fashion center movie mecca contribute something to the show. CL: Please say something about the business at the time your started? GS: I came to Hollywood from Nebraska. I had just graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with a degree in Broadcast Communications. I had $1500 in my pocket. Within 3 months I found a job as a grip at KTLA. I washed dishes during this time for the Dinah Shore Show. I did that for 3 months and in the process met Glen Swanson, the director. He helped me a lot and before long I went to ABC to work with Stephanie Edwards and Ralph Story on a local morning show. ln my three years at ABC I met great people, including some very senior cameramen who still work around town. I can really reflect on some great memories from that time. Just before The Morning Show ended, I shot the treaty-signing that ended the Arms Race. President Nixon invited Russian Premier Brezhnev to the Western White House in San Clemente. In 1973, I bounced over to CBS. I was in Telecine for a few months. One day, somebody was sick and didn't come to work, so I was assigned to All In the Family as a relief cameraman, for one day. It was a rehearsal. I hoped and prayed that the guy would return from sick leave because my only experience was an interview show. A sitcom was new to me. Plus there was a live audience. CL: Did cameramen have an equipment wish list in those days? GS: Everything was very heavy. Cameras were big and bulky, it was difficult moving those things around. CL: Was there much grievance over the larger cameras? GS: At the time, I thought shooting was easy. You didn't have anything to compare against at the time. But, if I were to go back, it would be really difficult to work those cameras. The gear today is light years ahead of when I started. CL: Could you explain the difference in numbers?
GS: Cameras weigh about 55 pounds with the lens. With a head, make that about 70 pounds total. In the period we're discussing, the big RCAs weighed 250 to 300 pounds. Those things were unbelievable to unmount. You had to take them apart when you did remotes. The gear today is light years ahead of when I started The pedestals weren't much larger than they are now, but they were crude. The air brakes on them didn't work dependably. It was really a strength thing to maneuver one. I can recall being impressed by a guy at CBS named Harry Titarian, who was short and stocky, but muscular in build. I remember the ease with which he pushed a pedestal on the Carol Bumett set and at All in the Family. He was so strong, he could glide the camera around, no matter how heavy. He was the exception, because it was hard. CL: How has today's gear, improved technology, changed the kind of shooting you do? GS:To begin, everything in television is a lot tighter now. Any slight movement becomes a lot more critical. Everything has to be feather-light, and not just the zooms and pushes. The demands weren't the same a few decades ago. So, I think if you compare present times to past, our jobs are made a lot easier by the lightness and the fluidity. The friction-free pedestals and heads make it possible to get tight shots, and trucks and carries, assuming you have nice, long cable. The pictures are a lot better and more plausible. CL: Did the equipment make this possible? GS: I think it just evolved with time, largely because of the directors. lf you look at the old movies,the tightest shot was a waist shot. They used standard lenses. We have the zoom lens and we can go from extreme close-up to a shot that carries the whole set. The lenses are just great and you can feather the shots. Our studio is unusual because we are entirely digital. The cameras and all the tape and editing machines are digital. Switching is digital and so is the audio. So we'll be compatible with the future standard anywhere in the world. I was speaking about the pedestals a bit ago, and there's an item I want to add. I developed a medical and physical problem after years of repetitive motion. The constant focusing has given me tennis elbow. Any reduction of friction in the controls helps. The Lencin® has helped me a lot because it is so easy and fluid. The steering is dramatically better. That's something I know by feel and is confirmed by the audio department. They've told me on more than one occasion that it is noiseless when I make small repositions. That's probably because the mechanism is belt-driven and there are no hard surfaces rubbing against other hard surfaces. As I said, I developed the tennis elbow from constant focusing, but you're going to eventually have pain from motion in other directions, especially repetitive motions. The Lencin is so nice since it's easy to operate. I've been able to get the shots that would otherwise be uncomfortable. |
