Johanna Coelho, AFC breaks down her favourite moment in Emmy-winning medical drama The Pitt
WORDS NICOLA FOLEY IMAGES HBO F ollowing the lives of healthcare workers at the Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, each series of The Pitt takes the audience through one 15-hour shift in real time. With a cast led by Noah Wyle (best known previously for his role in another acclaimed hospital drama, ER ) as Dr Michael ‘Robby’ Robinavitch, it’s been an Emmy standout from its first series. For cinematographer Johanna Coelho, AFC, one sequence in Season 2, episode 15 captures the show at its best. After saving a mother and baby during an emergency C-section, Robby is overcome with emotion. “This moment is told through a few intercut shots: some on Robby’s face and some over his shoulder to show what he sees – the baby being saved and Abbot watching
him,” says Coelho. “For me, it’s a perfect representation of the universe of The Pitt and the level of intensity and emotion they are going through. It also shows how much they care for their job and each other.” The scene unfolds from Robby’s perspective, so Coelho wanted to make sure his responses were centred. “The choice of shots here are the core of our visual language. To emphasise his emotions, we physically got closer to his face, forcing the audience to feel the intensity of his pain,” she shares. With lots of different elements to consider – a prosthetic belly, special effects to show the newborn breathing, blood and makeup – the big challenge was coordination. “Our storytelling is fast and precise, which forces the camera to
land somewhere at the right time and right place. We have to know the scene really well to be able to be invisible in our choreography, explains Coelho. “For example, when Robby sees the baby is breathing and starts having a moment, the OB-GYN enters and interrupts Robby, which forces him to move away from the table. This timing was hard to hit because of how precise and fast all of these moments are happening.” Once director John Wells had blocked the scene, Coelho worked closely with the AD team, makeup, prosthetics and VFX supervisors to get a handle on the sequence’s practical limitations. “It was important to know how many resets we could have with the belly prosthetic, as well as how we could capture the baby starting to breathe without seeing the
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