‘Hacks’ Finale: How Adam Bricker, ASC Shot the Oner

It’s Hacks’ last day of filming onstage at Universal. With production nearly at an end, the team is leaving their longstanding studio home behind to finish up on location in Las Vegas and then Paris, where they’ll wrap for good. True to the creators’ vision, Season 5 will be the show’s last — and AC has been invited to observe the execution of the finale episode’s opening shot. When we arrive, cinematographer Adam Bricker, ASC, is working out framing with series co-creator and director Lucia Aniello and actor Hannah Einbinder, briefly filming with the Cadrage viewfinder app on his iPhone. A large backdrop of blue sky and clouds hangs behind them. Hacks cinematographer Adam Bricker, ASC at work on the finale episode’s opening oner. The shot they’re prepping is an extended oner, following Ava Daniels (Einbinder) as she speaks with a pair of actors on the set of the new series she’s showrunning, a reboot of the 1970s sitcom that launched the career of comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart). The camera stays on Ava’s back as she walks through the stage, fielding questions from crew and making last-minute adjustments before finally taking a seat in a director’s chair to call
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