Reality Check with Vanessa Holtgrewe MFA '06

Lately, Vanessa Holtgrewe MFA '06, has been receiving double doses of reality. She's been working long hours nearly every day for two months straight as a camera operator on “Sunset Tan,” the hot reality show that takes an inside look at an upscale tanning salon in Los Angeles, airing on E! Network.

And Holtgrewe lists among her extensive television credits “The Biggest Loser,” NBC's hit reality show that challenges overweight contestants to see who can lose the most weight.

Reality shows pose unique challenges for camera operators, Holtgrewe acknowledges: "First, there are usually no rehearsals. It's often run and gun. Always trying to be in the right place at the right time, with the camera on the right person. You have to move very fast, with few resources. Anticipate the lighting, know the story, and plan ahead."

Plan ahead? For an unscripted show? "Say there's someone with white blonde hair in the group; you have to plan the lighting ahead of time for that. Decide, depending on the story arc, what the audience should see. Sensitivity to the story line really comes into play."

Hazard Pay

“One of the best dinner-party-story shows I worked on was for the Discovery Channel/Pilgrim Films,” says Holtgrewe. "It was called ‘Hazard Pay,’ about people who do dangerous jobs, and I shot a number of segments. I spent two days in a coal mine, dodged falling trees for a segment on logging, and had flaming chunks of paper fall on me while shooting a pyrotechnician lighting off fireworks by hand. I learned what it feels like when an 18-wheeler starts to jackknife while downshifting too fast on a snowy Utah mountain, and how incredibly fast a champion car takes off from the pit after a tire change during a race.

“Talk about having to have a sense of story to point your camera in the right direction! In the coal mine, I had to remember to stand a few feet away from the walls at all times in case a wooden structural support, called a ‘rib,’ gave way and snapped. Needless to say, that show was one of my favorites in terms of new experiences.”

Nice Work if You Can Get It

Since graduating from TFT, Holtgrewe has worked steadily on reality television shows and documentaries for major network and cable stations. As Director of Photography, her work has taken her from sheepherding on a Navajo reservation to riots in India on the FX reality show, “30 Days,” with Academy Award-nominee Morgan Spurlock; to blazing infernos in Boston for "Firehouse USA: Boston," for Discovery/Pilgrim films. Also, this past year, she was Director of Photography for VH1's reality series, “Scott Baio is 45...and Single.”

Award Nominations

It hasn't taken long for Holtgrewe's work to get noticed. The UCLA student film “California King,” directed by Eli Akira Kaufman MFA '07, on which she was Director of Photography, was nominated for two of the top student awards in the industry: the 2008 Student Emmy Awards, for best drama; and the 2008 Student Academy Awards, as regional nominee in the Narrative category.

Of the film's two nominations, Holtgrewe says, "I was happy to have worked on such a well-written and smartly-acted piece. Making a student film is always a labor of love, and I’m glad that after all our hard work, ‘California King’ is receiving accolades."

Holtgrewe's own student film at UCLA, "American Fancy," a documentary about people who breed, raise, and show pet rats reveals her quirky sense of humor and outlook on life. "I wanted to show how these people express love for creatures who are despised by most of humanity," she said. "Many people may view it as an unusual sub-culture," she admits, “but I think it says something about the strength that love can provide."

She continues to apply the lessons she learned in the making of that student film to her work today. "Sitting in the editing room, I learned what variety and type of shots are needed to construct well-fleshed out scenes: pacing, interview techniques, how to gain the trust of people and maintain that trust," she said. "In return, they will give you the gift of telling their story."

As the only camera operator shooting on the Navajo reservation for an episode of “30 Days,” Holtgrewe addressed the art of solo work: “If there are five people at a dinner, I have to figure out where the camera needs to be.” She discovered the power of capturing—listening, not just talking: “Observing someone listening is sometimes more important than seeing lips move.”

But single camera work can be "exhausting," Holtgrewe cautioned. "I like to mix it up," she says, of her penchant for variety. On multiple camera shoots, as Director of Photography for shows such as “Scott Baio is 45...and Single,” she enjoys "determining with the director where all the cameras should be, and designing the coverage for the show."

Life in a Fire House with “The Brotherhood”

Holtgrewe cites “Firehouse USA: Boston,” a documentary series for Discovery/Pilgrim Films, as one of the most powerful experiences she has had, especially as it was her first "big" show as Director of Photography. With a 24-hour camera presence inside a firehouse in Boston, she was able to capture such edge-of-the-seat experiences as riding on the ladder and engine trucks, and frontline positioning for multiple alarm fires, as well as calmer times enjoying homecooked firehouse meals. "Working 10 to 12-hour shifts with the guys for nine months, was powerful. As a woman and a civilian, it was amazing to be inside the world of 'the brotherhood.' A tough year, but a great year of my life," she recalled.

Recently, Holtgrewe gained a new perspective on the impact of her work, when her younger brother watched the “Outsourcing” episode of “30 Days,” season II, about outsourcing in India, on which she had worked as Director of Photography. "He said he had never thought about outsourcing from another country's point of view. It made him think," she said. "That felt good."

Words of Wisdom

To students who aspire to become directors of photography or camera operators, Holtgrewe advises: "Don't be too proud. Be open to learning all aspects of the industry. You will have to pay your dues. Be pleasant, competent, resilient – and you will be remembered; people will want to hire you." She adds, "unless I feel like I am being misused or abused by the production, even on the longest days, I try to maintain a sense of humor."

“UCLA was a great fit for me," Holtgrewe observed. "In a nurturing atmosphere, UCLA provided, a well-rounded education, with theory, arts, the day-to-day reality of what it's like to work in this field, together with the real nuts and bolts you need to make it."

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Keywords

"vanessa holtgrewe" "remap" "becky smith" "sunest tan" "hazard pay" 

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