LOS ANGELES—The second season of “A Little Late With Lilly Singh” on NBC has had to reconfigure its production setup because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now shooting the late-night talk show at Singh’s home in Los Angeles, director of photography Carissa Dorson is utilizing a mix of Panasonic’s AU-EVA1, Lumix GH5S and GH5 cameras to create a dynamic look while following safety guidelines.
The entire show is shot with three EVA1 cinema cameras, two Lumix GH5S mirrorless cameras and one GH5. Two of the EVA1s are used as the A and B cameras, with the third serving as the C camera for wide shots.
The GH5S cameras are used for varying purposes, including mounting one on a DJI Ronin-S gimbal and one used for Singh’s monologue, which they call rants as it is done in a vlog style, according to Dorson. Dorson praised the GH5S’ dual native ISO technology and auto-focus capability.
Content is captured in full HD (1920x1080) at 23.98 fps. The EVA1s capture 10-bit 422 ALL-I files, while 10-bit 422 LongGOP is captured with the GH5S and GH5 cameras.
“We did some tests beforehand,” said Dorson. “I was able to choose picture profiles for the GH5S and EVA1s that matched as best I could. On the GH5S, I'm using the standard picture profile with the saturation and contrast dialed down. There are certain segments where we're pairing the two cameras together and to my eye they're matching pretty well. The GH5S really holds up to the EVA1, even though it's not considered a cinema style camera. It looks really impressive.”
Canon CINE-SERVO 17-120mm T2.95-3.9 EF zooms are used for lenses, as well as Lumix 12-35mm zoom lenses for the GH5S and GH5.
During celebrity interviews—with Singh on her living room couch and the guest on a Zoom call—Dorson captures a wide angle of Singh on the couch and the monitor with the guest and employs handheld cross-shooting of Singh and the monitor by the B-Cam and C-Cam operators. Sometimes the a full-screen shot of the Zoom screen is used.
“The cameras have been very flexible due to their small size, which helps our small crew. Our one AC/media manager, Iliana Ipes, does a great job juggling all of the cameras and footage,” explained Dorson. “The GH5S is perfect for running around on a gimbal, and for our rant camera in which Lilly is alone in a room talking to the camera. The EVA1s and GH5's make a good compilation of cameras that fit all of our needs.”
For more information, read Dorson’s blog on Panasonic’s website.
