DP Christopher Popp (l) and director Penelope SpheerisType: NewsCategory: NewsOptions: 
Cinematographers Reflect on Their Segments of Film Anthology Chronicling how Breast Cancer Impacts Lives for Sony Pictures TV/LifetimeLOS ANGELES, September 09, 2011, Robert Goldrich — on Oct. 10, the film five will premiere on Lifetime as part of its programming to commemorate and further the purpose of Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Much star power has been brought to bear in the creation and making of five, which chronicles the powerful impact of breast cancer on the lives of those diagnosed with the disease, as well as on their families and friends. five is a film anthology consisting of five shorts, each telling a separate yet connected story, the respective directors being Jennifer Aniston, Demi Moore, Alicia Keys, Patty Jenkins and Penelope Spheeris. Aniston and Moore are best known for their acting careers and Keys for her music while Jenkins (Monster, and this year nominated for best director of a drama series for the pilot episode of The Killing) and Spheeris (Wayne’s World, The Decline of Western Civilization) are accomplished directors. Aniston is executive producing five with Marta Kauffman (Friends), Paula Wagner (Mission: Impossible), Kristin Hahn (The Departed, The Switch), Kevin Chinoy (Warren The Ape, Greg The Bunny) and Francesca Silvestri (also Warren The Ape, Greg The Bunny) for Sony Pictures Television/Lifetime. Also in the Five mix are several notable cinematographers, with Eric Edwards (Knocked Up, The Break-Up, Cop Land) lensing the Aniston directed Mia segment/short of five (with Mia portrayed by Patricia Clarkson), Tami Reiker, ASC, shooting the Moore-helmed Charlotte (the title character played by Ginnifer Goodwin), Jim Orr serving as DP on the Keys-directed Lili (portrayed by Rosario Dawson), Guy Livneh shooting the Jenkins-helmed Pearl (played by Jeanne Tripplehorn), and Christopher Popp lensing the Spheeris-directed Cheyanne (played by Lyndsy Fonseca). SHOOT gained insights into five from DPs Livneh, Orr, Popp and Reiker who provided backstory on how they landed the gig, the biggest creative challenges it presented, their working relationships with the directors, and the cameras and technology deployed.
Tami Reiker Reiker shot the first segment of five, which is Charlotte. “The story is set on July 20, 1969, between 5 and 7 p.m.; it is the day of the moon landing,” said Reiker. in the first segment we meet Pearl, a seven-year-old girl, whose mother Charlotte is dying of breast cancer. Pearl is confused by all the activity in the house, no one has explained to her that her mother is dying, just that she has a “really bad cold.” We follow Pearl on her quest to get into to see her mother and give her a picture of the moon landing that she has drawn. Pearl turns out to be the connection to the other stories in five. she grows up and chooses a career to help those stricken with cancer; it is through her oncology clinic that we are introduced to some of the women in the other short films. Reiker related, “I became involved in the project through Demi Moore. she saw my reel and had the producers contact me. when we first met, we both felt strongly that the story be told and shot from the girl’s point of view–that Pearl would be the viewer’s eyes, the camera would lead or follow her through her journey and anything the camera saw would be from her perspective. One of the biggest challenges was only having Pearl, the little girl, eight hours a day; a seven year old can only work an eight-hour day–that includes lunch and schooling. Pearl is in every scene and almost every shot. The first eight hours of the day we had to hit the ground running, with the AD always announcing ’two hours left on the little girl,’ ‘one hour left on the little girl,’ ‘ten minutes left on the little girl.’ when her time was up, there was no negotiating, she was gone. after she was finished for the day, we could all breath again, we would pick up any shots that were from her POV. The little girl who played Pearl, Ava Akers, was amazing, the most poised and controlled seven year old I have ever met.” regarding Moore, Reiker described her as being “a great collaborator, very passionate, and with a strong vision of what she wanted the piece to look and feel like. for a cinematographer, this is heaven.” as for technology, Reiker noted that ARRI’s Alexa was chosen for Charlotte. “The show was set to use the RED for all the segments, but Demi and I felt strongly since ours was a period piece that we wanted the subtle tones and greater latitude from the Alexa,” explained Reiker. “Luckily my assistant John Connor owns two Alexa cameras and we were able to make a deal for our segment. We used the Cooke S4 primes. The camera movement was a combination of Steadicam and dolly moves. Demi and I really wanted to let some scenes play out in single takes. We did very little conventional coverage.” Reiker won an ASC Award in 2004 for the HBO pilot episode of Carnivale. she also garnered an Independent Spirit Award in ’99 for Best Cinematography on the strength of the feature High Art. her career spans features, TV and commercials; she is repped by Dattner Dispoto and Associates. Underscoring how her spot and long-form careers are intertwined, Reiker early on in her career shot spec work in New York for an agency creative who had directorial aspirations, Craig Gillespie. in ensuing years she shot numerous real-world commercials for director Gillespie of MJZ, as well as his feature filmmaking debut, New Line Cinema’s Mr. Woodcock which starred Billy Bob Thornton and Susan Sarandon.
Christopher Popp Popp lensed the Spheeris-directed Cheyanne short in which the title character, a young stripper, is diagnosed with cancer and undergoes a double mastectomy. she and her husband Tommy cope and try to redefine their relationship. “We decided on a very simple approach with the camera and to let the powerful story, the characters and the acting stand in the foreground,” said Popp. “We also wanted to make them a likable couple. he works in ‘outreach’ for a ‘local banker,’ meaning he ‘reaches’ out when people don’t pay
