With the debut of Over There, the new military drama from
executive producer Stephen Bochco, Hollywood-based war scenes will
co-exist for the first time with the images shot by embedded
photojournalists. To satisfy Bochco’s demands for a level of realism in
both images and audio, key creatives on the series are meeting the
challenge of using craft, technology and not a little artistry to
create a stylized documentary look that gives the viewer the experience
of being there.

Rick Bota, one of the show’s two DP s, says the look was established in
the pilot, directed by Chris Gerolmo and shot by Kramer Morgenthau.
Working with Gerolmo, Bota and co-DP Bill Roe rely on the two-DP
process: one shoots an episode while the other is busy prepping. "You
can sit in on storyboard meetings, have input on colors, how sets are
built – you can try to have your opinion heard, although not always
executed," says Bota. "I feel so much more prepared, and it saves on
production overtime. The expense of keeping two cinematographers on
payroll is offset by the efficiencies."

The production uses three 16mm Arriflex SR cameras, shooting on Kodak
Vision 2 stocks. FotoKem colorist Joe Rocke scans dailies at 2K,
allowing the show to take advantage of a data-based post process. Since
more color correction happens in the dailies process, Rocke notes, the
time needed for final correction is halved, which gives the
time-strapped show an important leg up.

Key to the show’s unique look is a 16mm hand-cranked camera, designed
by Roe and based on the Arri S camera body. Using Kodak 7286 reversal
stock, the DPs under- or over-crank the camera or sometimes reverse it
for double exposure, usually for battle sequences. "I find the imagery
very jarring and very emotional," says Bota. "It’s an unusual POV- the
opposite of the documentary feeling. We use it to get inside our
heroes’ heads."

Cameras are almost always handheld. When the camera is dollied, the
operator puts the camera on top of an actual softball, which is placed
in the turret to accept the head. "It’s a modified handheld," says
Bota. "You have some support for the camera, but the camera is never
quite stationery." Bota also reports that, inspired by Saving Private Ryan,
the production relies on different shutter angles for "a choppy motion
look." When the production heads out to Lancaster, CA, Bota takes
advantage of Mojave Desert vistas to compose wide shots, the only real
establishing shots in the series.

The pace is fierce – every episode has at least one big battle
sequence, and the show is constantly on the move between sets in
Chatsworth and locations in Lancaster and Palmdale. At the high end,
says Bota, the crew has pushed through nearly 70 set-ups in a single
day.

Struggling with the weather conditions brings the crew- and cast,
suited up in full combat gear – closest to the environment endured by
U.S. troops in Iraq. Summer temperatures have topped 110 degrees
Farenheit and the combination of desert locales and wind machines makes
for a constant struggle against sand scratches on the celluloid.

The locations have, however, helped Roe and Bota devise a look for the
lighting. "This is one show where we wanted to embrace the hot, high
summer sun," says Bota, who reports that War: USA, Afghanistan, Iraq,
a collection of leading photojournalists’ work published by de.MO, has
been an inspiration. "Normally, you might start bringing out the silks
when the sun is overhead, but it works for the look of the show and the
look of Iraq not to have shade out there." The solution is a small
lighting kit that also helps speed through the daily number of set-ups.
Bota reports that he pushes night exterior shots until the "very last
bit of light in the sky," is gone. To speed up night lighting, he and
Roe use a 12×12-foot silk box stretched over two 1200-watt PARS and one
2500-watt PAR hanging off the bottom of an 80-foot Condor. "It’s an
uncorrected HMI blue, and to that we add green to get a less‘pretty’
quality," says Bota.

Supporting the harsh reality of the images is a soundscape composed of
lots of Foley, authentic walla and a judicious use of original music by
Ed Rogers (the show’s opening song is composed by writer/director
Gerolmo, whose band performs it). Todd AO supervising sound editor
George Haddad notes that the emphasis on gritty realism begins on the
set, where production sound mixer Jim Stubie mics the actors with boom
and strategically placed radio mics. Once in house, at Stage One at
Todd AO Burbank, Haddad says they don’t clean up the sound as they
normally would with NoNoise. "You can hear the gear the soldiers are
wearing when they’re running," he says. "It’s that real."

An episode of PBS’s Frontline gave Haddad, sound effects editors
David Barbee and Bradley Kontona, and dialogue editor Ed Lachmann a
good starting point for what it would take to create an ambience of
radio chatter, Humvees and local noises. Foley walkers wear Army
outfits complete with gun holsters and water packs, and another Foley
artist does all the gun movements and whizzing bullets. The loop group
features a native Iraqi and native Jordanian for additional
authenticity, as well as the sounds of the rickety diesel-fueled cars
in villages.

Battle scenes are a special challenge. They have to be intense, but not
unrealistically so. "We like to not be loud constantly but have peaks
and valleys," notes re-recording mixer Joe Barnett. Barnett and fellow
re-recording mixer Matt Waters have one day to mix, with a second day
devoted to playback and fixes designated by Bochco and Gerolmo. "The
biggest battle we have is time," admits Waters. "We keep our head up,
looking at what’s going on." The team gets to stretch its sound design
wings in the hand-cranked scenes. "It gives it an acid-trip look, so
we’ll do things like treat the voices with pitch-shifting and crazy
delay," says Barnett. "We’ll go wild with it- maybe even go a little
too far. It’s easier to pull us back than create more."

Selling the illusion of reality via audio makes for some unusual
television. "Sometimes what the characters are saying isn’t as
important as the battle blazing around them," notes Barnett. "It’s more
emotional for viewers to be on the edge of their seats when all hell is
breaking loose. It’s more important to not hear what the characters are
saying." To that end, another atypical feature of Over There is
its lack of wall-to-wall music. "It’s nice to be on a show where
there’s no music for 20 minutes," says Waters. "We are able to do
subtle things because of that more limited use of music. When it does
come in, it’s so much more powerful."