HBO Max series Hacks Season 2 proves the dark mentorship of Deborah Vance and young writer Ava Daniels to once again be a strong and entertaining partnership. This has garnered the series 17 Emmy nominations including Outstanding Comedy Series.
Hacks Director of Photography, Adam Bricker, contributes to this colourful comedy and it’s complex characters by exploring their journey visually through his lens with impressive results. In an interview with AwardsRadar.com he states: “It’s rare to find a half-hour comedy so rich with character-motivated, visual storytelling…We wanted the show to feel naturalistic, so we used subtle juxtapositions to subconsciously support the story.” He adds, ” We were excited to use the cinematography to help convey the emotional journeys of our characters and enhance the storytelling.”
Bricker recently sat down with RED’s Naida Albright to discuss his mission of utilising these principles established in season 1 and applying them to new environments, storylines, and character development to ensure a strong and emotionally expressive visual look as season 2 hits the road.
In order to achieve the natural energetic, run, and gun comedic feel of this season, Bricker chose to shift from Panavision’s DXL2 with MONSTRO sensor that was used on season 1, to RED’s new flagship, small-bodied V-RAPTOR system. “It worked so well paring this robust modern digital sensor with this older vintage glass telling the generational story of a young comedian and an older comedian.” Check out the whole interview, to find out more as Adam and Naida dive deeper into specific scenes and the impacts of set design, wardrobe, lighting, and smallest of details that made the biggest difference in achieving the looks that resulted in an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Cinematography for Adam Bricker and the Hacks team.