Star Trek: Picard and Schmigadoon! Cinematographer Jon Joffin, ASC

Jon Joffin, ASC has learned the importance of staying creative,
committed and inspired during shoots. In his long career as a
cinematographer, Jon has learned how to work on a team, manage
people, and surround himself with those who really care about their
craft. When he was first starting out, Jon was hired as a second
unit camera operator on The X-Files. Prior to that, he had only
worked on music videos and smaller films. The X-Files was a huge
show at the time, and Jon quickly moved up to DP for several
episodes. The dark and bold look was extremely cinematic, with its
signature scenes of bobbing flashlights in the dark woods. The
X-Files search for dark secrets set it apart from most high-key
sitcoms and workplace dramas that were popular at the time, and it
opened up many new opportunities for Jon's career. For the series
Star Trek: Picard Season 3, the series creators decided they wanted
a big, rich cinematic look for the show. In the previous two
seasons, the ship had been lit overhead with sky panels, giving it
a flatter look. Jon chose bigger, softer light sources and fewer
cameras that could focus on the faces of the well-known actors who
were reuniting from Star Trek: The Next Generation. He wanted to
get good close-ups that would capture their performances and their
ease of working together. It was also important to make it look and
feel like a realistic spacecraft and not a set. The crew rebuilt
the Starship Enterprise set for the show, and it needed to be lit
in a similar way that people remembered from Star Trek: The Next
Generation. Jon brightened up the lights on that set so that it was
a closer match to the original Enterprise. The Apple TV+ series
Schmigadoon! is about a couple who gets lost while backpacking and
find themselves in a magical world of musical theater. Season Two
finds the couple trying to get back to Schmigadoon, but they end up
in Schmicago instead. Jon was excited to work on Schmigadoon!
Season 2, because he loves musicals and had previously shot one
called Julie and the Phantoms. Schmigadoon! season 2 is based on
darker musicals than season 1, such as Chicago, Cabaret and Sweeney
Todd, interspersed with 70's musicals Godspell and Hair. Jon met
with showrunner Cinco Paul, who wrote the Despicable Me and Minions
movies and who wrote the songs and scripts for season 2. They
decided to use a bright, Technicolor look, with a soft contrast,
while also working in darker, vibrant tones for the more harrowing
musicals. Jon Joffin just received an Emmy nomination for his work
on Schmigadoon! Season 2. You can find it on Apple TV+ Star Trek:
Picard is on Paramount Plus Find Jon Joffin:
https://ddatalent.com/client/jon-joffin-asc-mini-series-and-tv-movies
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