HAWAII FIVE (MARC)0!!!!!

Yes the secret is OUT.  I’m going to be on this week’s episode of the new HAWAII FIVE O!!!!!

I actually pulled in by the local coordinator, Angie, to coordinate a “beach photo shoot” as the episode was about a famous fashion photographer killed while on assignment in Hawaii.

Here is the synopsis of the show:   HAWAII FIVE-0 “Ho’ ohuli Na’ au” Season 1 Episode 22 – Five-0 focuses on several key suspects when world-renowned photographer Renny Sinclair is murdered while on assignment in Hawaii shooting the annual swimsuit edition of a top sports magazine, on HAWAII FIVE-0, Monday, May 2 (10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.

I was tasked to coordinate all photographic lighting and grip equipment for “made for TV photo shoot.”  Production relied on my skills to make it look believable as well as functional as I also had to assist Hawaii Five O director Brad Turner (Alias, Smallville, 24, and many others) during his real photo shoot.

Brad wanted to try his hand at actually taking still photos and the production again relied on my skill to make sure Brad’s photo shoots were perfect.  I sadly was not hired to push a button but all the work put in definitely gave the imagery my signature.  Brad did a great job and the images we shot on the beach and inside a studio were phenomenal.  Really nice work and, I must say, fantastic lighting.

But the best part of this job was actually playing a photo assistant on TV!  With all the hard work put in, production decided that they couldn’t rely on an extra to act like a real photographer/photo assistant so they had me be the on-screen assistant to the actor.  Sadly, no lines.  (Damn…I could hear myself screaming CARRY YOUR OWN *&^%! LUGGAGE, NATHANIEL!  And if any of you photographers I worked back in NYC and abroad read this, just substitute your name and your demands, you ^%#$!!!!)

And the actor, no less, was RICK SPRINGFIELD.  Yes, Jessie’s Girl, yes General Hospital, yes mega 80’s great.  How fun. Yes only being a young lad back in 1981 when Jessie’s Girl became the #1 single, I sremember the song as a kid and more so now due to the recent 80’s revival and subsequent playing of that song on lite rock radio and being a staple on classic 80’s music cds.  I found myself recalling lyrics throughout the long waits between filming to fill the void.

…Where can I find a woman like that…

The episode’s set was out on the North Shore and filmed for three days.  The early call times had us out in the chilly Hawaiian dawn setting up the photographic lights for the show.  For the first part of the job, my task was to dress a beach setting creating the feel of a real magazine photo shoot in Hawaii.  The directors wanted more flash than what I would call functionality but the key phrase was the “bigger, the flashier, the better.”  I set up my Profoto 7Bs and one Profoto 7A pack, an Elinchrome Octabank, a few umbrellas, and used several California Sun Bounce reflectors.  All the lights were synced to the set camera Springfield, who plays famed photographer Renny Sinclair, to fire when he faked his pictures.

I was surprised to also find that I actually had to coach Springfield in the art of photography.  He had very little experience knowing how to act like a professional so I coached him on how to properly hold a large DLSR camera, how focus and zoom in/out with the lens, how to properly stand when taking the pictures, and even what dialogue to use as he interacted with the actress Serinda Swan, who played the bikini wearing fashion model.  With the dialogue, I had to channel my inner Austin Powers and gave Springfield such key phrases as “right in the lens, baby” and “give it to me, baby” and other over-the-top phrases that make for good TV.  I kept quiet but I really wanted to teach him how to be a super fashion ass but it never came to be.  I did ask him if he was an ass in the show but he thought I called him an ass.  Funny.

During the filming,  I basically just held a Profoto Ring Flash above his head during the scene and acted as if I knew what I was doing.  I think I frowned most of the time feigning super interest in the lighting, exposure, etc…I had no dialogue and was loutishly dressed by wardrobe in a loud Hawaiian printed shirt along with a black muscle shirt.  I felt more LA than HNL, but I figured people would be looking at Springfield and not me.

Rick was sort of a cool dude.  As I’ve worked and photographed other celebrities, its really no big deal to be around people with fame.  We chattered about this and that, the models tiny bikinis and the likes.   He actually joked around with me as he thought I was surely just an extra but was surprised to see me actually taking test shots of him and testing the lights in several instances.  I think most of the crew were surprised to see that extra jump out and work grip and lighting.

With Brad’s photo shoots, we shot on the beach and inside a studio.  The show needed several still shots that would be published in a book of Renny Sinclair’s photographic work.  The book’s photographs held clues leading the detectives to Renny’s murderer.  I, along with several union assistants, set up several 9′ seamless backgrounds, numerous lights, and allowed the director snap fashion photographs of several of the actresses on the show including famed model and actress Angela Lindvall.  Brad actually threw me the camera in one of his shots to let me photograph Angela as he knew I could make her shine a bit more than he.  I can’t say any of the images they used for the show/book are mine but if you are keen you might spot a bit of my signature in the show as well.

On a side note, its no secret Renny is killed in the show as CBS released the show synopsis.  Without watching the show, can any of you 80’s kids guess who kills him?