Goodbye, Chuck Bartowski

On a crisp evening in early December, I was standing outside Stage 10 on the Warner Bros. lot with a few fellow tour guides. I was technically Dispatcher for the evening and should have been back at our base off the lot handling carts, but it was a particularly slow day and did not have any carts returning from tour for an hour or so. So, I justified my time away as being a special occasion, and I doubt any of my managers would have been surprised or reacted negatively considering the moment. As we few guides stood waiting, lit only by the sulfur lamps on top of the stages that special time of early evening, I looked behind me and saw none other than Adam Baldwin standing next to his trailer and golf cart, smiling and staring at us. When he noticed me glancing his way, he, without hesitation, walked our way, shook my hand, and said in a way much like only John Casey could say "Great working with you."

See, this "special occasion" was none other than the last day of filming for the series "Chuck." It was a series that quickly stood apart from the other shows on the lot, and became very popular among our growing tour center. After working around them, visiting their sets, talking with the cast, crew, and fans, it had created a certain type of reverence in my heart. And here we were, our little pack of four or so guides, waiting to give them one small farewell after a few gut- wrenching seasons. Upon first starting my training, I had honestly never even heard of the show. It was only after the hounding of my "classmates" that I began to watch and became instantly hooked. However, it was not just the show's qualities and traits that kept me talking about it throughout many future tours with people who probably had never watched an episode. Rather, they were one of the most gracious productions we had on our lot, always willing to say hi to our guests, give access to their sets, or watch filming when possible. I often say that they took lessons from their soundstage neighbors "ER," and they still both rank as the types of shows we still get excited about talking about years after the fact.

Even more so, the show made us excited to be working in Hollywood. Many of us were transplants from all over the country, and working at Warner Bros., even at the lowest rung of the corporate chain, was something that seemed almost out of the realm of possibility. But, we made it, and due the nature of the tours on the lot, we weren't just giving scripted content to hundreds of tourists at a time. No, we were right in the thick of things with our little groups of 12 trying to make sense of the industry like so many other newcomers. And, at every turn, there was "Chuck." There they were, blowing up cars or buildings or driving the Nerd Herd around the lot. Even when we had tourists that didn't care, that had no interest in any of our productions or would otherwise not talk for two hours, Zachary Levi was there with his "Hi, welcome to Warner Bros! Enjoy your tour!" It didn't matter if he was busy or talking on the phone with his agent; he would always wave and shout his little greeting. And, if anything, I hope he knows that it at least made our jobs as tour guides more enjoyable when everything else about the job or guests was dragging us down. The show reminded me of why I picked up everything and moved out here to the West Coast in the first place. It made me fall in love with the industry all over again.

And, of course there were hard times, which is partially what made the experience so special. Just as many people follow sports, I and many other fans had learned to follow Nielsen Ratings like the science it is. We writhed and squirmed each and every year around March, worried about that ominous phrase "On The Bubble." By all accounts, "Chuck" was not a show that should have made it. It was one of the very few shows (possibly the only show but I'll have to do research on it) that survived the Writer's Strike during its first season. We saw many other great shows on the lot become affected, including another darling with us in "Pushing Daisies." Somehow or another, though, the fans always came through. They ate Subway sandwiches. They wrote to the network. And the wave kept going as the sponsors professed their love right back. Even without great ratings, and with advertisers that knew the fanbase was not necessarily going to go out and buy a ton of Toyota Matixes, people in the industry could not let it go. They gave it 5 seasons because, when it came down to it, people just loved "Chuck." Whether it was the great personality of the cast and crew or the fun, nerdy void the show filled in for the internet generation, it was granted a couple extra lives. And, finally, it was granted a perfect ending.

It seemed like everything was leading to that night with our little group of guides and Adam Baldwin. You see, it was a special occasion. Our last tour of the day on Chuck's last day of filming had a 7-year-old girl on it. She was under our age limit, but she had come to the ticket counter with her parents holding one of the seasons of "Chuck" on DVD and a special note for the cast. Her favorite character was Sarah Walker, and she wanted to try and get an autograph or two on her DVDs from the cast. Normally, we would never even remotely consider hounding our cast members, and the girl would not have been allowed on tour due to her age, but our ticket counter knew that this was one last hurrah and let her on board.

So, our Field coordinator made some calls as best she could. Any other show, and we never would have even attempted. But, as I said, "Chuck" was always unique. And, sure enough, Zach Levi and Adam Baldwin were "conveniently" leaving from a scene rehearsal right as the girl and her tour were leaving one of the adjacent soundstages. I was standing next to Adam, both of us silent as we watched Zach make this little girl's dream come true. As they all took pictures together, it felt like the perfect moment, and a perfect example of their time here on the lot. Holding that girl on their shoulders for photos, Zach and Adam were just as they had always been: friendly, positive, and extremely fun to have on the lot. It was their last day, but they had been doing this for as long as I had been working with them on the lot. That's just how they were.

As if the moment couldn't even get any better, the tour was loading back on their tram and driving away from their stage. Right when the tram and the girl on it were next to the door, something we had not planned occurred: the rest of the cast started leaving from their rehearsals inside. Including Sarah Walker.

To all the fans who supported our studio's little show over the years, thank you. You were the best tours and some of the most genuinely friendly people I've had the chance to meet. The fanbase isn't just a collection of fans, it's a great community that has grown and connected in a way only yours could. But, of course, the most thanks to you, "Chuck," both as a fan and coworker of the studio. Thanks for so many great years and allowing us to follow you through your adventures. You've proven that it's not just ok to be a nerd sometimes but that it's actually pretty "awesome."

Digital Darkroom

One of the more difficult aspects of becoming a photographer of our generation is dealing with the slew of new technologies being thrown our way. With the advent of digital cameras, programs such as Photoshop have drastically changed the way that photographers create the visions they had in their minds upon pressing the shutter. While this new shift in dynamics has certainly ushered in some great aspects in the world of file storage, faster editing, and creativity, they have also forced the medium to ask what exactly defines what is photography and what isn't.

Such is the topic of the newest exhibit at the Annenberg Space for Photography: Digital Darkroom. The display focuses on 17 artists who have decided that extreme Photoshop and manipulation was necessary to achieve their artistic vision. Everything from people with dogs' faces to fantastic lenticular holograms are on display for the general public and connoisseurs alike. As with all exhibits at the Annenberg, there are a couple of short films to accompany the main gallery.

The Digital Darkroom feature was a particularly difficult one for me to visit, though not for any reasons due to the Annenberg. As a beginning photographer, I have tried to shy away from mass processing my photos. While just about any professional with adjust things like color balance, fill light and other basics, processes like HDR and cloning just do not feel like photography to me. They use multiple images or tricks to change a great deal about what the camera saw at the time of the shutter's close. So, to gather a great deal of photos featuring exactly those elements seems contradictory to something I would enjoy.

Indeed, the photographs themselves were probably the least favorite of the exhibits I've had a change to see so far. The quality ranged from professional advertising photography to pieces that would easily be trumped by the forums at Something Awful. Granted, the digital nature of the prints made some of them absolutely marvelous to look at with crisp, clear tones due tot he high megapixel count used. Jean-Francois Rauzier's "Abandoned Bicycles" and "Racines" pieces come to mind as favorites due to rich colors and print quality. However, when coming to the animal-headed portraits I found the quality dipped sharply. While funny and cute, an exhibit focused on Photoshopped art could have done better or found pieces where the manipulation was not so obvious.

On the whole, though, I did find that other aspects of the gallery made it one of my favorite exhibits so far. Where the art itself was lacking, the Space found other ways to make the exhibit entertaining and engaging. Probably the most obvious would be the inclusion of 3D artwork and a 3D film in addition to their main gallery. The 3D was impressive for being shown on what was essentially a high school projector screen, though several moments o the film were blurry. They did cover how the 3D works by using toned lenses to sync each eye up with a left or right image. I especially loved the almost moving piece in the middle of the film showing historical photos that had been made in stereoscope from the early 1900s, including a fantastic shot of early Yosemite. The film even mentioned the famous Viewmaster that many, including myself, had growing up. From there, viewers can also pick up a pair of red/blue 3D glasses for the still photos near the restrooms. I recommend checking out Christopher Schneberger's slideshow of "ghost stories."

Also included are a few pieces from Chris Levine using lenticular prints. These are essentially holographic prints similar to the ones usually collected by children as promotional items. These were much higher quality than a child's plaything, and to see Queen Elizabeth staring back at you is something that really must be experienced.

What I really enjoyed about the exhibit is that it did remain neutral about what should and should not be photography. Throughout the main film, it is echoed by the artists that what they do is certainly not traditional, but that they were more focused on the end result more that trying to define what medium they were in. For most, everything was about that final image and making great artwork that just so happened to use photographic elements. A common theme, such as those found in the work of Brooke Shaden, is that of trying to recreate fantasies and elements we cannot experience in real life. For some of the artists, like Khuong Nguyen, the gallery mentions that they mostly use their work as an advertising tool, which is certainly understandable. I don't think anyone would be surprised knowing that high-end shoes are using ads that are heavily manipulated. The gallery also made sure to note the display for Jerry Uelsmann near the front, an artist who has been using traditional darkroom techniques to manipulate photos since well before the advent of Adobe, showing that this is not necessarily a new phenomenon.

Overall, I did enjoy the exhibit. I found it to be entertaining and insightful, as well as even-handed about a topic that inspires a lot of great debate. It was educational about the subject of manipulation (I had no idea that Photoshop was created from ties to George Lucas' Industrial light & Magic), and while the artwork is hit-or-miss, the artwork that works is great to see in person. Whether you are skeptical about the use of digital programs or have already embraced them, Digital Darkroom will certainly open up plenty of discussion.

The gallery will remain on display until May 28, so I would recommend going to see it while there is still plenty of time. Also, the gallery now has guided tours at 3PM Wed-Sun and additional 1PM tours during weekend.