How Filmmakers Created Windowlit Drama With A View On "The Bear"

While much of FX’s The Bear runs viewers through the chaotic and anxiety-inducing kitchens of the culinary world, there are still moments of beautiful and emotional reprieve. Such is the case in episode 306, Napkins, where viewers witnessed a deeply emotional flashback scene between Tina and Mikey in the sunlit backroom of Mikey’s Italian beef sandwich shop in Chicago. We had a chance to chat with Key Rigging Grip Paul Ryan and Key Grip Dave Wagenaar about how they used RoscoVIEW to control the windowlight in that scene for Cinematographer Andrew Wehde.

Note: The Bear is for mature audiences only and the scene contains NSFW language.
Viewer discretion is advised.

RoscoVIEW To Control The Exterior Light

The scene was shot on location and, according to Dave, “Drew wanted to hold detail through the windows while still allowing our lights to stream in from outside.” Using regular or hard gel NDs would have made that more of a challenge. Powerful set lighting fixtures were mounted outside to create the shadows and edge-lighting desired in the scene. This amount of light, however, blew out the view in the window and it would have taken dark NDs to compensate for that. This created a circular issue that Dave and his crew had to solve because those dark NDs then reduced the effect of the light entering the scene. So, Dave pitched using RoscoVIEW.

Carla (Liza Colón-Zayas who won an Emmy for her work in this episode) – is side-lit from the windowlight camera-right as she breaks down during an emotion-filled scene in The Bear.

The RoscoVIEW window control system has two components – a large polarizing panel that is affixed to the window, and a matching polarized camera filter that is inserted into the camera. By rotating the camera filter, the amount of cross-polarization with the RoscoVIEW panel in the window can be increased or decreased - resulting in 100% control of the exterior brightness the camera sees through the window. At the same time, the RoscoVIEW panels only reduce the light coming in through the window by less than one stop. This enabled Andrew to control how much detail was seen outside the window while still allowing plenty of light from the outside to stream into the scene.

A Temporary RoscoVIEW Setup

While RoscoVIEW is typically installed on windows for long term window control solutions, Paul Ryan (the show’s Key Rigging Grip) was able to create a temporary solution by rigging three RoscoVIEW panels outside the windows of the location. He and his team constructed frames to hold the RoscoVIEW panels, then clamped those frames to a series of combo stands & pipe that were set up just outside the windows.

The one disclaimer Dave had about using RoscoVIEW is that you can't use it for handheld shots. This is because if a handheld camera with the RoscoVIEW Camera Filter pitches clockwise or counterclockwise, then the windows will appear to darken/lighten accordingly on camera. RoscoVIEW is best for setups where the camera is on sticks or rails (tripod or track).

Is RoscoVIEW The Right Window Control Solution For You?

Because the RoscoVIEW panels are constructed of wide-width polarizing material, they are considerably more expensive than traditional rolls of ND gels or hard gel ND panels. There are three filmmaking scenarios, however, where RoscoVIEW should be considered:

1. See Out The Window – But Let The Exterior Light In
   Just like the filmmakers in The Bear, if you want the camera to see out the window, but still allow the light to come into the scene – RoscoVIEW is the perfect solution.
   
   
2. Long-Term Location
   If the production is going to be in the same location for several weeks/months, then the upfront cost of the panels will pay for themselves in the reduced labor costs of constantly needing the lighting/grip crews to swap out the NDs depending on how bright it is outside.
   
   
3. In-Camera Visual Effect
   Because the camera filter and the window panel are made from the same polarizing material, the system can cross-polarize to near-extinction. This enables filmmakers to easily darken the windows for Day-For-Night effects or have the windowlight darken for a dramatic blackout effect – all in-camera.

The Bear is available to watch on Hulu. If you would like to see some of Dave Wagenaar’s fantastic grip rigs, be sure to follow @graveyard_grips on Instagram. To learn more about the window control solution that Dave and his crew used in The Bear – please explore the RoscoVIEW product page.

Production stills sourced from ShotDeck