Alias Gets a Feature-film Ambiance with DP Thorin

In a TV landscape dominated by brightly-lit sitcoms and reality shows, the spy drama Alias stands out as another kind of animal. Shadowy and moody, the show’s cinematography gives it a feature-film ambiance and nuance – "exactly the look we went after," says DP Don Thorin Jr., who came to Alias from The West Wing and is now shooting his second season. "We use a lot of half light and back light and try to underexpose the negative a little bit. Given the time constraints and very tough schedule of series TV, we try to give it as much cinematic depth as possible."

Alias is shot on 35mm and broadcast in HD. "We protect for the HD aspect but shoot the standard TV format of 4×3. Unfortunately we’re not able to shoot 16×9, which would do the show a great service," he adds.

Thorin and his crew carry two Panavision Millennium cameras full time. "Our B camera operator is also our Steadicam guy, and we carry a Steadicam package full time, as we shoot a lot of that," he reports. "We carry a full range of lenses, from 10mm to 600mm, and various zooms, so we have virtually the entire Panavision package at our disposal."

The show is posted entirely at Encore, Los Angeles. "I love the whole post process and I’m very involved," says Thorin. "If a show is set in a particular country and we couldn’t quite get the right look in camera, we’ll tweak the footage and manipulate it a bit in post. I have a great final colorist there, Gareth Cook, who does every final episode, and we use various daily colorists."

As every show uses a different director, it’s up to the DP and his team to maintain a continuity of look. "And we pretty much have a free hand with that," he says. "A portion of the directors come from within the show – producers or writers – so everyone’s on the same page with the look. And all the new directors have been great, too. No one’s saying, "The show’s too dark or too moody," so all the lighting and composition is left to us."

"The eight-day schedule per show can be daunting," says Thorin, "but it’s basically a dream job for a DP because of all that freedom."