MARIA: Hey, Shane! It's Maria from B&H for your 21 questions.
And, um--where are you going?
SHANE: I am making some chicken soup for the holidays for the whole family.
Come on out!
I gotta get my broth.
Check this stuff out.
Ooh, look at that!
This was boiling the bones for like eight hours.
It's delicious!
Somebody's gonna have to clean that up. [Maria laughs]
All right, let's get on the move here.
MARIA: So tell us what exactly do you do for a living?
I have the greatest job in the world. I'm a cinematographer.
I shoot feature films, television series, music videos, commercials...
Whatever! I love it!
MARIA: And what were you working on that you just came back from?
SHANE: I just came back from Vancouver
where I was shooting a movie called Love Hard.
It's a film with Nina Dobrev and Jimmy O. Yang.
It's a romantic comedy that is going to be out Christmas 2021.
MARIA: How has it been getting back to work during this pandemic?
The pandemic has been crazy,
in regards to you know the protocols in British Columbia.
You have to quarantine for 14 days,
and it was so well orchestrated.
When I landed, I got the call from the from the government.
They told me all my protocols, safety. I had to shelter in place.
I couldn't go out. I had to order in meals.
I had to get my groceries delivered.
All these things were in place, and then they checked on me every three days
to ask if I had symptoms and how I was doing.
Then, when we got to the movie set, the protocols were amazing.
We had, one of the best assistant directors in Vancouver
became the Covid 19 AD,
and she had an amazing group of nurses that just kept us safe.
Perfect testing.
We never got shut down. It was a hugely positive experience.
MARIA: dDo you think a lot of the change is here to stay for good on sets?
I...
I mean, I think the social distancing is going to be something that hopefully,
when the vaccine is more prevalent
is going to be kind of you know taken away,
but I think the protocols of the red zone where the actors are
and the yellow zone and the green zone, all these different zones,
and how we eat and the pre-packaged meals...
I think that's going to be around for at least another year or so.
So, what got you started in cinematography?
SHANE: Oh boy. What got me started? Well...
I...
I started out doing radio.
I thought I was going to be a DJ.
So I was constantly listening to music,
and I just loved music, and then everyone said I had a disc jockey voice.
So, I started doing different, uh...
What did I do? I started doing dances.
I started doing you know weddings and all this stuff as a DJ.
Then we started an air band.
And we had this air band where we had five of my best friends,
And we traveled all over New York state: the Catskills, the Adirondacks.
We played to four or five thousand girl scouts,
and I was the lead singer and lead guitarist in this thing.
It was so much fun.
So the entertainment industry was kind of cool,
and we shot our first music video for the band Devo.
And the song was "Whip it, whip it good"
And we dressed in these coal miner costumes and welding glasses,
and we had you know flashlights on our heads,
and we did this whole thing.
So it was really cool.
So that was my first video project.
MARIA: That's great! And what drew you to filmmaking and becoming a director of photography?
So, after I graduated from my two-year school,
I went home, and my friend Gabe Torres was making a movie
called The Legend of Firefly Marsh.
And I asked him, "Hey, can I be involved in this thing?"
and he's like, "Sure!"
So, I was like working during the day at Cornell University,
and then working on this short film at night
because the whole thing took place at night.
And I just fell in love with film.
I went to Emerson College after that and did a four-year film degree in two years.
I was so into it.
MARIA: That's amazing! And, not only are you busy with your day job,
but you also have your own education platform and youtube channel, right?
What made you want to educate people about your work?
Not so much about my work, but it's about being a great mentor.
I had amazing mentors when I was coming up the ladder,
and I wanted to be able to then pass that on to the future filmmakers of tomorrow.
[Maria laughs] Your youtube channel has such a large following.
MARIA: Did you ever think you'd gain so much traction when you started?
Well, the drama, the way we launched our blog was pretty spectacular,
so I kind of knew it was coming.
Imagine this:
We launch this two minute, 30 second sequence
of what we call the "mio takedown."
Back in 2009, I shot Act of Valor on the Canon 5D.
75% Canon 5D, 25% film,
and we launched our blog with this two minutes and 30 seconds.
It was the Mio Takedown,
and it was "Where's the 5D?" Like "Where's Waldo."
So people had to--
It was a contest, and they had to pinpoint which was 5D, which was film.
And, it was such an amazing contest.
People slammed our website. The whole server went down.
And then, within four hours, I got a call from Captain Smith,
and I'm like, "Hey, Captain Smith! How you doing?"
He goes, "Shane, I got two options for you."
And I go, "Uh, what? Is everything okay?"
He goes, "One: you take the video down.
"Or two: we send you to Guantanamo."
I'm like, "Copy that."
[both laugh] MARIA: Wow
And a lot of your educational videos are about lighting.
How did you get so good at lighting a scene?
Well, I think it's because I came up on the technical side.
I started out as a grip truck driver.
And then I moved to a dolly grip, so I learned how to move the camera.
Then I moved to a key grip so I knew how to--
started to learn how to shape light and control light and do all these crazy rigs.
And then I moved to a best boy electric, so I understood how to run power and generators.
And then I moved to a gaffer, where I started lighting and understanding what every light did,
what things worked, what didn't.
And then I moved on to be a cinematographer.
So I think I'm very strong in the lighting sense
and that's something that very much excites me.
I love all the different gags and being able to light and camera emotion
because that's what's really...
Making these dramas, it's so powerful to use the camera and the lighting to assist the characters.
MARIA: [laughs] Wow
What are the typical cameras you usually use on set?
Well, right now, I'm using the RED Gemini.
I feel it looks the closest to 35mm film, so that's what I'm shooting.
It's like a super computer that you can create...
Um, it's like being in the photochemical process all over again.
and that's what excites me is you can bake stuff in.
MARIA: And do you have a favorite lens?
Oh, my favorite lens. When I'm shooting Panavision spherical, I love the 27 mil,
and when I'm shooting Leica spherical, I love the 29 mil.
That is the best steadicam and gimbal camera.
You're able to push in on drama and it doesn't distort the face.
You can go low and heroic. Awesome lens.
MARIA: And you run the Hurlbut Academy with your family, right?
What's it like having a family-run operation?
Oh my G-d! It's amazing! I mean, Kyra's behind the camera right now.
My wife, Lydia, is our CEO and runs the whole thing.
Nana over there, my mom, she does customer service and cooks for the whole crew when they're here.
And it's just been an incredible family experience,
and it really takes a village to deliver the quality of content that we're putting out there
and mentor over 4,000 members within the Hurlbut Academy.
MARIA: And do you have any projects you're working on or coming up?
Kevin Kerslake, a blast from the past.
He's the one that I did so many music videos back in the day.
He's doing a film called the Kroners,
and this one is all about the Rat Pack.
And that was my first feature film, The Rat Pack, that I did in 1998.
So it would be awesome to go back to that era and very excited about that one as well.
MARIA: Wow, so you have a lot going on.
And what has been the most impactful shoot you've been on?
Most impactful shoot I've ever been on...
Hm... Let's see...
I would have to say...
We Are Marshall.
That film was so empowering to not only all the filmmakers,
but to this town that literally, in 1970,
the plane crash that killed the whole football team
and a lot of the sponsors and people that supported the team, coaches.
And that town was kind of suspended in 1970.
And, when Mick G said that he wanted to go back to Huntington and shoot for four weeks,
I was like "Oh my G-d!" They were able to go back to this town,
and engage the whole village and the city and the university
and everyone that had been a part of it.
It's like we almost gave a rebirth to this city all over again.
And you know the tagline was "from the ashes we rise."
It was just seeing the everyone just wanting to do their very best
and deliver the very best for that project was awe-inspiring.
MARIA: Wow!
So, is there an actor or actress you've been dying to work with?
Julianne Moore.
I love her.
I love her instincts. I love how deep she gets into a character, her emotions.
Uh, and Gary Oldman.
That guy is just awesome.
Again, his dramatic sense. His instincts for the character,
where he goes. Absolutely unique.
MARIA: And what has been the most challenging shoot you've been a part of?
[Shane chuckles] This is a good one.
Well, they say they always come as you gain more and more experience.
So... [chopping noises]
Last year I shot a movie for Disney+ called Safety,
and it's about a true story that happened in 2005
with a Clemson player that became his legal guardian.
So he became his dad, brother.
Okay. So he sacrificed everything for his family,
and they told him that he could either play football or take care of his family.
And he said, "No. I'm going to do both." And that's what he did.
So with that, one of the challenges we had on this film
was I had to shoot during a live half time.
And that live half time, we were given only seven minutes and 20 seconds.
And I had to do 59 setups in seven minutes and 20 seconds.
And that was with, let's see, 19 ESPN cameras,
nine cameras that we supplied,
four steadicam operators, a movi pro, a Ronin 2.
technocranes, jimmy jibs.
Everything had to be choreographed and practiced for days to be able to pull this off.
So, that would be it. 59 setups in 7 minutes and 20 seconds.
MARIA: [laughs] Wow, I don't even know what else to say!
And what is more difficult shooting a movie or making a youtube video?
Oh my G-d, come on! Shooting a YouTube video.
I'd say feature films are... I love it.
I would say that prep is the most difficult process.
Once you've prepped the movie, and you know it's in the pocket,
and you know your shot list, your blocking, all that stuff,
then making the movie is fairly easy.
And I like to prep like crazy so I can really enjoy the experience
and be very relaxed on set knowing exactly what we're doing.
MARIA: Great! And favorite movie you've ever worked on and why?
Well, I don't have one favorite. I have four.
MARIA: Okay, give me the four and that's it [laughs]
The Rat Pack, which was my first feature film.
The director was Rob Cohen, and he took me under his wing
because I had never shot narrative before.
And then Drumline, which...
unleashed and uncovered a whole subculture that we never even knew existed.
Then, I would say Greatest Game Ever Played.
Bill Paxton was the director of that.
And every single individual on that movie came with their A-game.
And we really had an incredible experience on that.
And then I would say Terminator Salvation
because I was able to take a Blockbuster and a franchise
and completely reinvent the language and the style and the photography.
So, we didn't do what they had done in the past.
We flipped the apple cart and went for it.
MARIA: Awesome, and if you weren't working in film, what would you be?
I would be a chef.
I love cooking.
It is the greatest...
I have to say the greatest expression of creativity that I find is cooking.
because like, when I light, it's kind of painting with light.
And it's like a little sprinkle there, a little dab here and a little pinch here.
And that's kind of what cooking is like.
You know, boiling these bones for eight hours,
so you get that broth to be absolutely perfect.
And then getting in all the different spices and all the peppers and zucchinis and everything into this soup.
It's my hobby, and I would do it if I wasn't a cinematographer.
MARIA: And what's the best piece of advice that you've ever received?
The best piece of advice that I've ever received would be
never be comfortable.
I have to say that you know every time I feel like I'm gonna be comfortable,
I flip it.
I'm constantly challenging myself.
Every movie I go into, I'm trying a different style of lighting,
a different style the way the camera moves,
different lensing.
Anything that's going to take that emotion of the characters higher.
And a lot of mentors, as I was coming up the ladder were always challenging themselves.
And I said, "Okay. Never be comfortable.
"Always push yourself." And that's my advice to all of you.
MARIA: If there were to be a movie about your life, who would play you?
Ah...
I would say Tim Allen would be me
because I'm like a MacGyver-esque.
It's like I have an artistic side, but I also have a very common sense and practical side.
So I can get in there with screwdrivers and oil.
I changed my own engine in my Subaru when I was a a young kid.
And then you know I would be out on the tractor plowing fields.
And then you know sweep into you know taking photographs and making movies.
So I would say Tim Allen would play me perfectly
because he's got that no-nonsense kind of charisma
of a MacGyver-esque person.
MARIA: Awesome. Last question, who should we interview next?
Let's see... I think you should interview Chris Hare
because Chris Hare started out with me at 17 year old scraping cases and cleaning toilets.
And I told them Chris, if you learn that gimbal, the Movi,
I tell you, you gotta eat sleep and crap it out.
And, while doing that, you will rise up to the top.
And he has, and he has an amazing business around him.
He's created all these different pieces and parts for his Movi and his is Ronin.
He's now bought a techno crane.
So his whole motion and being able to move the camera
has become an enterprise for him, and he'd be a great person to interview.
MARIA: Awesome! Thanks so much for answering all my questions.
We'll talk to you soon.
Aright, take care. Bye-bye! MARIA: Bye!