01/01/2010

When five-time Emmy Award-winning cinematographer Bill Berner signed on for Comedy Central’s new multi-camera series, Big Lake, the first piece of equipment he made sure would be in his package was Vinten.

“I’ve spent a lot of time dp’ing sitcoms and Vinten is a standard part of my package. It’s something every operator I work with just expects to see when they get to the set,” says Berner (Are We There Yet?, The Electric Company). “The reason is simply performance and reliability. The Quattro peds move and boom silently and smoothly, and the height range is terrific. I’ve become especially fond of the Quatro SL model because it is so easy to get through standard doorways and arches on sitcom sets like our new Big Lake series without any performance compromises.

“This series is about a trio of well-intentioned men whose best laid plans are always going awry. Keeping up with their antics is a challenge. Vinten is more than up to the job. My A-camera operator, Alain Onesto, loves the way he can switch the steering ring into the mode that raises the cable skirt. We are shooting on sound stages with inconsistent floor heights, so it saves lots of time and effort getting around.

“The Vector 700 heads are equally smooth and perform flawlessly,” he adds. “Adjustments for weight and center of gravity work beautifully.

“The stuff simply doesn’t break. It is gear that we can utterly take for granted, even ignore, and that we really appreciate, especially when we’re moving fast and up against the clock. Which feels like all the time these days!”

The first ten episodes of Big Lake, created by Will Ferrell/Adam McKay/Chris Henchy, will debut on Comedy Central later this summer. Produced by Gary Sanchez Productions and Debar-Mercury, the series is based on the proven Tyler Perry family sitcom style, and is the story of an out of work computer IT specialist who leaves the big city and returns to his small home town, where he moves back in with his parents and younger brother.

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