Exclusive! Our interview with Chris Haston
House Petrelli: What does a Set Photographer do?Chris Haston: My job is to photograph the scenes to make it look like the images are taken off the motion picture cameras. You cannot pull an image from a motion picture camera to use for publicity because you’re going from one frame to the next, so there’s lots of movement in it. A still photographer has to stop the action and get good clarity and a quality picture to use in magazines, papers, etcetera.
HP: Right, all kinds of publicity uses.
CH: Everything. They might use it in an ad, they might use it in TV Guide or Entertainment Weekly to talk about an upcoming episode, something like that.
HP: Right, we’ve used images from NBC directly, like in our Robert Forster interview on our website, we’ve used NBC images.
CH: Yep. So that’s what I do. My job is one of the most difficult. First of all, I’m not on set every single day. I’m there whenever there’s a specific thing we need. There have been times when I’ve been on four or five days a week, but then there have been times when I’ve been on like twice a month, just depending on what the scene is, what the action is. What’s difficult about my job is that I’m trying to find a place to shoot on set with sometimes two or three cameras, a couple of sound guys... so it’s tough for me to not only find a spot and get in there and get a picture, it’s tough because there’s equipment everywhere and you can’t just shoot it from the side, because there’s light stands and microphone stands and all this stuff.
HP: All this stuff just outside that we don’t see usually that gets in your way.
CH: And sometimes it’s like an inch above the actor’s head, so it’s tough getting the shots, but I’ve been doing it a long time and I’m pretty good at it.
HP: Well, if it’s any of the ones I’ve been seeing on the NBC/Universal site, and I’m sure they are, then they’re fantastic. So what’s the most fun you’ve had on set so far, and who do you like to photograph in particular?
CH: The whole cast is amazing. One of my all-time favorites is Zach Quinto, who plays Sylar. He’s a rock star, and just the nicest guy. For being such a hardcore killer, he’s the nicest guy, he’s one of my favorites. I love Hayden, she’s like everybody’s little sister. Milo and I talk photography all the time – he’s a very established, amazing photographer.
HP: Right, I saw his work on the USO tour.
CH: Yep. And Adrian Pasdar, he’s just a cool guy, very accommodating. Greg Grunberg I see a lot out on the town. My girlfriend, Kate Flannery, is an actress on the show The Office so I see a lot of the cast socially as well as professionally. Greg is just a nice guy and plays in that band, Band from TV, which is going to be in Heroes for Autism. And you know, going to work on Heroes is just unlike anywhere else. It’s hard work because it’s such an intense, amazing show, and it takes a lot to get it done, but when the cameras stop rolling, everybody is just so nice and so sweet, and they chat and hang out with the crew. Oh, and Noah is the sweetest kid, and he just came back from being off for a while and his voice changed.
HP: Yes, everybody’s commenting on that. (laughs)
CH: Yeah, I think that’s hilarious. And you know what, one other person, Brea, was just so awesome. I love working with her, she is so sweet and awesome, a total rock star.
HP: How very fun! What a great job, I swear.
CH: Now, let me say something... she died last episode, right?
HP: Yes!
CH: All right, so I can say it. It broke my heart the day we had to say goodbye to her. It was a while ago, a few weeks ago, but my heart just ripped in two when we said goodbye to her. But that’s the nature of TV, man, you gotta kill people off.HP: But why her? Everybody just loved her character and she was such a nice person.
CH: I know, but you know what, there’s so many characters that are deeper rooted I guess, and that’s why...
HP: I guess...
CH: But you gotta tear the heart out of your audience every once in a while to keep the show fresh.
HP: Yes. Well. I won’t comment on who I would like to see die.
CH: Yeah, I know, I can’t say either. (laughs)
HP: All right. Let’s get to your work and Heroes for Autism.
CH: I got a divorce and I had three kids, and my ex-wife decided to move out of state. If you go to my website, ChrisHaston.com or RidingWithMary.com, there’s a documentary on there, and if you watch that, I say things are going rough at work, and that’s true, but there’s more about my heart getting ripped out by moving my kids out of state. I knew that I needed to do something creative or I wouldn’t have lasted very long, and I decided to do this series just for fun of my friend’s wife who’s a model, just with some vintage cars and a little Virgin Mary statue on the dash of the car. And literally, I talked to her about that, and within two weeks I was putting my recycling out one morning and opened up the recycling bin and there was this Virgin Mary laying there. And if that’s not a divine intervention in your life, if you don’t see some connection there, you know...
HP: Yeah...CH: So I started doing this project. And I literally just planned on doing it for friends or family or for myself for sanity. And then after a couple of nights out in the city with Mary, I knew I had to show the whole world this. And I’m just really lucky in the path where this has all gone, and maybe I’m chosen (chuckles), but it’s all just been very organic and very natural, so I have this amazing series on the Virgin Mary. So when Greg Cohen asked me if I wanted to be part of... he and I have worked together on some other projects, he’s curated some shows that I’ve had pieces in. He asked me if I wanted to be part of this and I immediately said absolutely, because this is... I have three children, and my kids are now 8, 14 and 18, and when I see a kid in a wheelchair or a kid with autism, or any child that has any kind of affliction, I just almost cry on the spot. So the fact that my Mary series... I’ve been shooting Mary and I’ve turned around and there’s like grown men standing there crying just because they’re so moved by the Virgin Mary. And it’s not like my statue is anything extraordinary, but they understand what that stands for. So for me to know that I’m having an effect or making a difference just really... that’s what I’m on this earth for, I believe. For me to be part of a show like this, that might make the slightest difference in one kid is just so rewarding to me. And I hope that people have a little better understanding through shows like Heroes for Autism that they’ll find out what it’s about and maybe want to give, or help, or do something that might make a difference.
HP: Absolutely amazing, and it seems like there’s just something about Heroes too that just... the collection of actors is amazing, the people involved with it are amazing... it’s making things happen. It sounds crazy to say, but this TV show has changed my life in ways I never saw happening, and it’s like... what’s up with that?
CH: (laughs) Well, the fact that the word “heroes” is right in the title, you’d better be doing something to change the world! I think that the cast of this show is so big, and everyone is so giving and so nice... I mean, I work with a lot of actors, and the fact that they are so nice and giving... this is a perfect thing for the show to do, because it’s a chance to give back.
HP: And save the world at little at a time.
CH: Exactly. Exactly. One kid at a time.
HP: Exactly.
CH: I know a lot of actors do a lot of charity work, and a lot of them don’t, but you’re right, everyone on this show are all very giving people.
HP: So when people get to this event... and how’s it coming along, by the way?
CH: From what I can tell, fantastic. Greg is a good curator and he’s been able to pull this all together, and he rides it just right so that somebody who’s busy, like Hayden who doesn’t have a lot of time, he’s got her right on track. Me, I’m so into being part of it that my stuff’s ready to go, you know what I mean? When you actually show in galleries you’re kind of prepared. I’m like 90 percent prepared if somebody wanted to do a full show next month for me. But I have one specific piece printed specifically for this show that’s going to be auctioned off, and I’m showing two others. From what I can tell, all we need is the move-in date.
HP: Wow, that’s fantastic. So when people get there, what can they expect to happen?CH: There’s going to be a reception with the artists. They’ll be able to preview and early bid on stuff, I think, if they want, and I think that’s for an hour before the show, then they let in the general public. That’s when the music’s going to play, and all the artists will still be there. I’ve heard there could possibly be some live painting going on by an autistic artist, but I’m not sure. I know he was talking about that.
HP: Oh wow.
CH: Oh, here’s a side note. I’ve followed this one guy’s work out of Seattle, Washington out of Garde Rail Gallery. My kids live in Seattle, so whenever we’re up there we hit a bunch of galleries and Garde Rail’s one of them. And I’ve seen this one guy’s work, Gregory Blackstock, and it’s just phenomenal. You could just tell the guy has autism, because he’ll draw a fighter pilot out of pencil or charcoal, but he’ll do like 40 of them on the same sheet. Only a very devoted artist or somebody with autism would have the patience and the skill to pull that off. And every one of those planes is accurate and very well drawn.
HP: Yeah, I’m looking now at his page on the Heroes for Autism website.
CH: He’s a repetitious artist and I love that about him. I love that about photography. I love to see 200 light poles all in a row. I love to see 12 cupcakes lined up in a row. And for him to do that... and lo and behold, I get to show in a show that he’s in, and I get to be there, so I’m as excited to meet him as I am to meet any of the other autistic artists or any of the kids that will be there.
HP: That’s great. Is there anything else that you want people to know?
CH: If you can’t show up at the event... I know that the reception is a little expensive. It is tax-deductable, but...
HP: Oh, that’s good to know.
CH: Even if you can’t make it, consider this charity, because it’s like 1 in 150 children and that just breaks my heart. Let’s say you’re looking at a wheel spinning around, and you’re thinking of how the wheel’s spinning around. But an autistic kid cannot see it that way. Their mind is going either so much faster in reverse, or upside down, or... it’s truly amazing how this works, and I just hope that there will be a cure one day, and as common as autism is, I hope the cure will be just as common.
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