Challenge

TheWrap Visionaries Season 1 debuted in 2024. In each episode, two creatives interview each other on the art of storytelling. Cinematographer Erin Hughes lensed the first season in a single location in Santa Monica using Aputure lighting. Hughes says, “We had two [Matthews Menace Arms] with Light Storm 600c Pros as cross keys. We had [Light Dome IIIs] on them, and that fell on the talent to make a warm, beautiful light. It looked really good. We didn't want to be too bright, like you feel like you're on a stage.”

The challenge with shooting celebrity interviews is time. Hughes says, “When the talent gets there, they're in hair and makeup, and then they sit in the chair, and they're like, okay, let's roll. We have 45 minutes to get this.” In addition, episodes need to be finished as fast as possible, so there is little time for post-production. The look in camera needs to be the look in the finished video.

For season two of the series, Hughes was tasked with delivering episodes with the same short turnaround, but now in multiple locations. This meant that, in addition to limited shooting time and color consistency, the lighting had to be versatile, repeatable, and quick to set up.

Solution

To simplify control and guarantee color consistency, Hughes again used all Aputure lights. Two Aputure STORM 1000cs with Light Dome IIIs on Matthews Menace Arms provided cross keys for the talent. This upgrade from the Light Storm 600c Pros meant an output bump that helped with a shoot on the Paramore estate, where Aimee Lou Wood and Patrick Schwarzenegger sat in front of numerous windows. Hughes says, “Having the output was really helpful. It gave us a lot of flexibility for that shoot.”

A Light Storm 600c Pro into a 6’ x 6’ Ultrabounce provided an even front fill, and to add additional granular control of edge lighting, Hughes placed two INFINIBARs off camera. Isolating each element made last-minute tweaks easy. Hughes says, “The Alan Cumming one, he had a white shirt, white hair, and we had to quickly go in and tweak because we weren't expecting something so bright. Being able to have all Aputure lights so they were all the same look, and being able to quickly tweak everything in Sidus Link to be the way we wanted was critical.”

To add background depth, the team used a gaffer slash from a Light Storm 600c Pro II with a Spotlight Mount. “One day, we were in a wooden room, and we wanted to accentuate the wood and the coziness of that room. Other days, we were on white cycs with a little bit of set dressing and [added a slash] so it didn't look like you were just on a white cyc.”

Results

TheWrap Visionaries Season 2 debuted in June 2025, with high views in particular for the Aimee Lou Wood and Patrick Schwarzenegger episode, as well as the Ben Stiller and Adam Scott episode. “TheWrap is super happy with how they all came out,” Hughes says.

Thanks to the straightforward, versatile approach to lighting, the production easily adapted from location to location while keeping a unified look. Hughes was even able to delegate the shoot in New York to an East Coast crew.

For Hughes, the best part of working on Visionaries was successfully creating a space where celebrities could relax and step outside of the press junket grind. “We really wanted it to be cozy and inviting. We wanted it to feel like the audience was sitting with these people.” The openness and play in the conversations are proof that the production worked. “I mean, they're all hilarious,” Hughes says. “They're insightful, and you're learning so much. They're awesome to sit through.”