"SUPERNATURAL" on CW

[Nick Morrison]

My wife and I have been binging on CW's cult hit "Supernatural" (we're up to season six), and I have to say...not only is it a super fun show, but it looks great too!

Anyone have details on how it's shot? Especially lenses and filtration?

From the look, I've been able to make some educated guesses:

1) LENSES: The bokeh in every season has had the signature Cooke serrated "star", so I'm guessing they shoot on the 18-100? Maybe a longer 25-250 too?

2) FILTRATION: From the faint flows in highlights and bright sources, and speckles in bokeh, since Season One its looked like they've been using filtration, which I've loved! If I had to guess, I'd say it was an 1/8 or 1/4 Classic Soft, HBM, or BPM. But love to know what exactly!

The series is super fun, and immensely creative. Not surprised at all they are up to season 11!

Thanks so much to anyone who can shed more light on this great series!

 

[Marc Wielage]

I believe Seasons 1-3 were shot on 35mm 3-perf Kodak negative; Season 4 was shot on an Arri D21 (sometimes augmented by a Red One or a Panasonic HVX-200); Seasons 5 & 6 were shot on Red and sometimes Alexa; and from Season 7 on, they're shooting on Arri Alexa, and sometimes augmented by a Canon 5D. Serge Ladouceur in Vancouver has done the lion's share of the cinematography, and Steve Arkle at Technicolor/Hollywood has been responsible for the look of the show in color-correction from the pilot on.

 

[Nick Morrison]

I believe Seasons 1-3 were shot on 35mm 3-perf Kodak negative; Season 4 was shot on an Arri D21 (sometimes augmented by a Red One or a Panasonic HVX-200); Seasons 5 & 6 were shot on Red and sometimes Alexa; and from Season 7 on, they're shooting on Arri Alexa, and sometimes augmented by a Canon 5D. Serge Ladouceur in Vancouver has done the lion's share of the cinematography, and Steve Arkle at Technicolor/Hollywood has been responsible for the look of the show in color-correction from the pilot on.

Awesome Marc! Thanks so much!!

 

[Jae Solina]

My wife and I have been binging on CW's cult hit "Supernatural" (we're up to season six), and I have to say...not only is it a super fun show, but it looks great too!

Anyone have details on how it's shot? Especially lenses and filtration?

From the look, I've been able to make some educated guesses:

1) LENSES: The bokeh in every season has had the signature Cooke serrated "star", so I'm guessing they shoot on the 18-100? Maybe a longer 25-250 too?

2) FILTRATION: From the faint flows in highlights and bright sources, and speckles in bokeh, since Season One its looked like they've been using filtration, which I've loved! If I had to guess, I'd say it was an 1/8 or 1/4 Classic Soft, HBM, or BPM. But love to know what exactly!

The series is super fun, and immensely creative. Not surprised at all they are up to season 11!

Thanks so much to anyone who can shed more light on this great series!

I have been watching Supernatural since the beginning. It will slow down and get old specially if your binge watching it. Dont get me wrong i love the show. One thing that i have been trying to research about this show is how they shoot their night time car-dialogue scenes. They have multiple lights passing by, smoke, etc. It just looks awesome.

 

[Nick Morrison]

I have been watching Supernatural since the beginning. It will slow down and get old specially if your binge watching it. Dont get me wrong i love the show. One thing that i have been trying to research about this show is how they shoot their night time car-dialogue scenes. They have multiple lights passing by, smoke, etc. It just looks awesome.

Agreed. The car shots at night ARE awesome. Noticed that too! Also the steadicam work is superb. Mostly the story is what we love - super well developed characters in a fantastic world that keeps getting bigger. Season 5 was amazing. Season 6 is a bit slower yes, but I give them a pass as I believe they were rebooting under a new showrunner - the creator stepped back after 100+ eps, yes? But the Season 6 plot that Sam has no soul, is still pretty entertaining...

Anywyay - like all good shows I like, I forgive their flaws - still totally fun!

 

[Jae Solina]

Agreed. The car shots at night ARE awesome. Noticed that too! Also the steadicam work is superb. Mostly the story is what we love - super well developed characters in a fantastic world that keeps getting bigger. Season 5 was amazing. Season 6 is a bit slower yes, but I give them a pass as I believe they were rebooting under a new showrunner - the creator stepped back after 100+ eps, yes? But the Season 6 plot that Sam has no soul, is still pretty entertaining...

Anywyay - like all good shows I like, I forgive their flaws - still totally fun!

Yea night time car dialogue scenes are top notch. Would really love to see their set up.

 

[Marc Wielage]

I have been watching Supernatural since the beginning. It will slow down and get old specially if your binge watching it. Dont get me wrong i love the show. One thing that i have been trying to research about this show is how they shoot their night time car-dialogue scenes. They have multiple lights passing by, smoke, etc. It just looks awesome.

I believe that's done in front of large LCD panels, plus moving light arrays creating the stray light reflections that hit the actors. If you want to see the best car interior scenes on television, watch House of Cards, Stunningly good. All shot in green screen with synchronized LCD panels on top carrying the "reflection" visuals seen in the windshield and parts of the interior.

 

[Jae Solina]

I believe that's done in front of large LCD panels, plus moving light arrays creating the stray light reflections that hit the actors. If you want to see the best car interior scenes on television, watch House of Cards, Stunningly good. All shot in green screen with synchronized LCD panels on top carrying the "reflection" visuals seen in the windshield and parts of the interior.

Have heard so much great things about that show. Kevin Spacey is awesome so I really want to give it a shot but im not really into politics that much.

 

[Marc Wielage]

Have heard so much great things about that show. Kevin Spacey is awesome so I really want to give it a shot but im not really into politics that much.

I initially stayed away from House of Cards for that reason as well, but after one or two episodes, I realized the show is really about morality, about the nature of evil and power, and about people who are willing to compromise everything to get what they want. Look at it this way: Breaking Bad isn't really about drug dealers. It's about people who make bad decisions that snowball into absolute disaster... and that's what made the show interesting. And the characters in both shows are compelling, believable, scary, and absolutely convincing. I now understand why House of Cards and Breaking Bad are pretty much the two most critically-acclaimed shows of the last ten years.

Supernatural, on the other hand, is a total goof but I think the thing that makes it work is that it's clear the actors are having a blast making the show, and their sense of fun is clear in every episode. And the chemistry of the regulars is very good. The show is actually funny as hell, at least when they're not trying to be serious.

 

[Nick Morrison]

Supernatural, on the other hand, is a total goof but I think the thing that makes it work is that it's clear the actors are having a blast making the show, and their sense of fun is clear in every episode. And the chemistry of the regulars is very good. The show is actually funny as hell, at least when they're not trying to be serious.

+1

This is exactly why I love the show! It's just super fun to watch. They are clearly having a blast. Reminds of Joss Whedon, etc.