HD EXPO Asks
Suny Behar: Cinematographer, Filmmaker, Instructor
by Christine Purse

Suny Behar has been teaching the intricacies of cameras to professional cinematographers at P2 Workshops and VariCamps around the country for more than a year.  We decided it was time to catch up with this much-in-demand filmmaker and teacher to see what was on his mind and what teaching professional students around the country has taught him.

HDE: Sometimes you can end up in a career that is far removed from your original goal. How did you end up as a cinematographer?

Behar: Having an undergraduate degree in Economics and Math  might not seem like the ideal pathway to cinematography and filmmaking, but in an ironic way, it really was for me. It allowed me to sit for exams, rather than spend weeks researching and writing essays, which then gave me the free time to explore other fields like the Theater, which was my main interest and focus at the time. It wasn't’until I enrolled at the UCLA Graduate School of Theater, Film and Television, to complete a Masters in Film and Television Production, that I finally focused on the work that would be my career today, and I'm sure glad I did, as it continues to take me to amazing places.

HDE: Tell us about your directing career. What are you working on?

Behar: I recently completed the writing on a new feature length script called "I am Superman"; it's a quirky family comedy about a customer service rep who wants to be Superman for his children. I'm extremely excited about it, and can’t wait to get it off the ground.   I hope to make that my next directorial project.

HDE: Did getting into a great film school like UCLA help to propel you as an artist?

Behar: Absolutely. Prior to entering Film School, I had no film experience at all. My background was in writing and directing for the stage, and while my shows were very heavily multi-media based, I had no sense of working with a camera as a storytelling device. At UCLA, I was able to experiment with visual storytelling as a concept, and gain hands on experience with all that is new in filmmaking technique and technology. It has definitely shaped the way I approach scripts, and the methods I use to prepare for them, both as a director and as a cinematographer.

HDE: You’re a very in-demand instructor, how has that part of your career evolved?

Behar: A little while ago, a friend was shooting a film and had asked me to stop by the set and consult on a particularly difficult green screen shot. It was there that I had a conversation with then-HD EXPO Education Director Jill Smolin. We talked about my background and in particular my experience with the P2 format, and she asked me if I would be interested in relaying some of that knowledge through workshops that HD Expo offers. And the rest, well, as they say….

HDE: It is clear from the feedback from the workshops that attendees learn a lot about the latest tools and cameras.  How about you, do you learn from the workshop attendees?

Behar: I always learn something new, and that’s what makes teaching so much fun. Some people say you don't really fully understand something until you can teach someone else, and I believe that to be absolutely true. I’ve learned a lot from our students, who are an incredibly diverse group of people. News guys, the Google Video department, the Air Force, the Cirque du Soleil video group, and so many really interesting people take these workshops.  It's quite amazing to see how far P2 has reached out in the production community.

HDE: Do you have any instructor anecdotes from these workshops around the country?

Behar: Every group has its own personality, and the workshops end up being very individual. I do remember a bunch of network sports guys who came to our Varicamp. The first day of Varicamp, I talk a lot about "painting" with the camera, and the various controls the camera offers.  These guys immediately scoffed "who has time to do that?"  Well, let me just say that on day 3, they were all into using the controls and getting the best look out of gear they had already been using for 3 years. It was very rewarding to know that they were going to go back out into the world and improve on the quality of their work.

HDE: You and your co-instructor Steve Beres have launched a podcast.  How do we sign up for it, and what’s motivated you to launch this?

Behar: Our podcast is called "The Tech Media Planet Podcast", it can be found at www.techmediaplanet.com

Over the course of teaching both P2 Workshops and Varicamps, and being out in the world where this technology is being used, there is a deep well of curiosity.  After every one of those workshops, I’d get follow up emails from attendees with further questions, sometimes on topics unrelated to the cameras we discussed, but always on the subject of production, cameras or on-set workflows. I respond when I can, but it can get difficult when my schedule fills up.  So, I decided, along with my P2 co-instructor Steve Beres (CTO of Plaster City Digital Post) to start a bi-weekly podcast that would deal with all things regarding acquisition, production, workflows and postproduction. Each show lasts about 45 minutes, and we start off by discussing any hot news, press coverage, new cameras, new support gear, etc. then we answer questions left on our hotline by listeners, and finally (for the bulk of the show) we invite a guest to talk specifically about their product., We’ve had Ted Schilowitz from RED Digital Cinema talking about the RED ONE, SCARLET, and EPIC, we've had Rick Robinson talk to us about the PHANTOM high-speed digital cameras, and Panasonic’s Steve Cooperman, recently walked us through the new line of Panasonic P2 Cameras.

HDE: Do you believe that professional training will become increasingly valuable as technology rapidly evolves?

Behar: Without a doubt. If you want to be competitive in this market place, you have to keep up with technological trends that have an immediate effect on your work. There are always going to be debates and discussions about digital vs. film, but the reality is that digital is here to stay and there is no doubt that solid-state recording is part of the new reality.

It’s simply imperative to be prepared.  Producers are increasingly relying upon their Cinematographers for thoughtful and appropriate information about formats and digital deliveries, so it is crucial to be in the know and make the right choices. High quality training, like the P2 Workshops, is an integral part of staying ahead of the curve.

HDE: Do you believe that the tapeless workflow is revolutionizing certain parts of production?  

Behar: I personally believe that Tape is already dead, but not everybody has gotten the memo yet. Once you've worked in a tapeless environment, you question how it was that you had to deal with tape for so many years. The advantages of tapeless acquisition are so numerous it would take 10 pages to enumerate them all, but for starters : No Ingest Time, No time-code breaks, No clogged/mis-aligned/non-maintained heads, No moving parts, IT Based workflow, Random Access to footage, etc.... etc.... etc....

HDE: As technologies evolve and production changes, do you have a "wish list" of production or post technologies that you would love to see?

Behar: I do, but I keep that list in a secret box, locked in another secret box that only myself and my 2 cats know the location of.