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OUTSTANDING CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A MULTI-CAMERA SERIES

Dick Quinlan
Spin City
"Goodbye"

Dick Quinlan has shot the popular series Spin City for four seasons. Prior to becoming a director of photography, he served as chief lighting technician for many top cinematographers, including Owen Roizman, ASC and Michael Chapman, ASC. Spin City star Michael J. Fox persuaded him to enter the multi-camera world, and Quinlan's background in single-camera work helped him bring an adventurous perspective to his work. "Mike aggressively backed me for this position, and he always let me be aggressive with the lighting," Quinlan says.

Quinlan usually shot the show with six cameras, including one on a Steadicam mount. The nominated episode allowed Quinlan to play the visuals with a little more drama and contrast than usual. "We wanted to give it a bit more of a feature quality," he says. "I used the [Eastman EXR] 5293 film stock, because with all of the postproduction work, things can get flattened out if you're not careful. It's difficult to hold a contrasty look for all five or six cameras. Often you're cutting from one camera to the other, which can be 180 degrees. The 93 helps me control the contrast that I like, and it maintains good, rich blacks. That's the look of the show."

"Goodbye" was the farewell to Mike Flaherty (Fox), who leaves City Hall as deputy mayor. It also marked Quinlan's farewell to the show, because production of Spin City has shifted from New York to California this season. Quinlan is currently working on two shows, Welcome to New York and Madigan Men.

— D.H.