Yeah I know, kind of silly… and HIGHLY doubtful he will ever read this, or care for that matter.
Let me start by saying I love The Newsroom. One of my favorite shows on TV. There aren’t many Aaron Sorkin films/TV Shows I don’t like. The West Wing is still a staple in my house. The American President… my husband kills me when I put it on, again, for the millionth time. So my beef has nothing to do with his shows, his politics etc.
One of the things I most loved about The West Wing, and this is the geek in me, is the lighting. The lighting in that show was just so… dramatic and well, art. In fact, I wish I could somehow employ that lighting in my own home. Yeah, geek. This brings me to the reason for my letter.
I tried to figure out a way to contact Sorkin, hoping there would be some kind of place to leave feedback. I could probably find his agent and send the letter there, but would it get to him? Doubtful. I thought hey, maybe HBO would pass it on? Yeah right. So here I am writing it out on a blog in the depths of the internet where it will probably never be seen, but alas, I write it anyway.
Please, Mr. Sorkin, for the next season of The Newsroom (and hopefully there is a next season) could we please tell your DP (Director of Photography for those that don’t know) to stop with this fancy, trying to make a scene more dramatic by zooming in and out on a person, camera work? It’s distracting and quite frankly, annoying. For me, it detracts more from the scene than adds anything and every week I dread it. Like last night for instance, a guest via satellite on Will’s show, the DP decided that zooming in and out on the TV would make the scene more dramatic on the guest. Yeah, it didn’t. It just made me notice the camera work rather than pay attention to what the “guest” or Will had to say at that moment. It’s distracting and just not necessary. The actors and the writing carry themselves without need to this extra fancy footwork. If you were, say, Honey Boo Boo or some such show, then sure I get it, but you aren’t.
Now I realize all the shows for this season are already in the can, but PLEASE PLEASE ask your DP to tone it down next season. This show is about the writing, the actors, the drama, not about what the DP has learned to do with the camera.
Thank you for never seeing this and much love from your fan if you do.