Update: Cinematographer Shana Hagan

 

We here at YII sometimes like to check in with past profile subjects and find out what they’ve been doing since we originally talked to them. When we first spoke to Shana Hagan in April of 2009, she was on hiatus from her Camera Operator job on NBC’s “Parks and Recreation.”

Some people who work on TV series consider their hiatus an opportunity for “down time” to catch up on household matters or “vacation time” to spend a couple of months on the beach. Shana’s hiatuses are filled with work. And we don’t think she’d have it any other way.

In 2009, Shana was the Director of Photography on “The Right Stuff, ” a documentary series about NASA Shuttle Astronauts-in-Training, for TNT.

During the summer of 2009, she went to France to shoot footage for HBO of the anniversary of the invasion of Normandy, following some of the vets the “Band of Brothers” series was based on, accompanied by Tom Hanks, back to Normandy for the ceremony. In attendance were President Obama, Prince Charles, the French president and many other VIPs.

She also filmed the veterans touring the countryside for a few days before the ceremony, and getting inducted into the Legion of Honor. She was struck by how the French people welcomed the men, coming out and thanking them for what they did, bringing them to tears to see how much people there remembered and revered them.

Another highlight was working with the Muppets in April of 2010 for a cross-promotion with the TV show “Lost.” (Ed. Note- Both are Disney properties.) Shana shot four web spots with Kermit and several other Muppets visiting the “Lost” writer’s offices and chatting with Executive Producer Damon Lindelof.

Last summer, she worked on a documentary called STILL DREAMING about famous former Broadway actors (and some old time Hollywood stars) who live at the Actor’s Fund Home in NJ. She’ll be shooting more this summer.

In January, she did a web series called “Paul the Male Matchmaker” with Paul Bartholomew, a comic actor. It’s ten 7-minute episodes based on a character he developed who’s in a loveless marriage himself, but inherited a matchmaking service from his aunt. He’s a very misogynist character and definitely shouldn’t be a matchmaker.

In addition to the above, she is continuing to work on the “Married in America” series with Michael Apted. They are following nine married couples over the years. The third installment is coming up.

She’s still on “Parks and Recreation,” which starts shooting Season Four this summer. She says working on the show is a great experience. It’s long hours- about 65 hours a week- but it’s consistent, the weekends are free, and the she enjoys the work itself and the people she works with.

Overall, she’s very happy with where she is in her career. She likes DPing and Operating on a variety of different projects, as it allows her to use all of her skills. “Mixing it up keeps me fresh and keep my technical skills sharp,” she says.

Thanks, Shana, for bringing us up to speed. We’ll look for your work on the small screen and the big screen in the months to come.

 

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