Shooting an episode of Charlie Rose
On-set with the President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi and Charlie Rose.
The day begins very early, because of the extremely high level of security screening. The location is The Waldorf Astoria and we’re here to tape an interview with the new President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi. We load in half a cube truck of video, lighting, engineering and grip gear, then we’re given a small two room suite.
One of the fun things about working as a camera operator is getting to opportunity to work with other gifted DPs. This day it’s Paul Koestner, the DP of the Emmy award winning show “Louis”. The lighting set up is very simple, but elegant. Two Diva lights for keys, over the head of each person with two 300 watt backlights a few feet behind them. In the next room, an interpreter’s booth is built, along with the video city. We’re shooting with two Sony PDW-F800 disc camcorders. The show is switched live and also recorded in iso at the cameras. Once we’re set up, we move out and the Secret Service comes in and does a sweep. Then Egyptian security does a sweep. Once everyone is happy, they bring in the President and he meets Charlie for the first time.
The interview lasts about a half hour and goes well. Then comes the long process of tearing down and repacking the gear. The long wait to load out after that is because of the even tighter security screen that follows our own leader. President Obama is in the building.
It’s challenging and exciting working on these jobs, because of all the protocol and politics. The security screenings can be annoying, but they’re in place for good reason. As long as you remember that they’re in charge and you’re a guest. At the end of the day, what matters is that we get the show on the air.
