Tony Flanagan is an underrated Director of Photography in Boston. Tony is a modest fellow and not given to shameless self-promotion, but to his credit he has several projects out now, including the Boston comedy feature OVERSERVED, which he shot in High Definition video (thanks to Rule Broadcast) with Director Joe Gatto. Tony is better known in town for his sports video work. He worked on THREE GAMES TO GLORY II, a DVD documentary on the Patriots path to the 2004 Superbowl, and STILL WE BELIEVE: THE BOSTON RED SOX MOVIE, which recently premiered in 16mm at the Loews Cineplex in Boston.
I met Tony Flanagan nearly 10 years ago as cameraman on the set of a Christy Scott Cashman production called “The Carrie White Show.” I was enchanted. In 2002 I met him again at the Boston Underground Film Festival where he screened his short film THE FREELANCER, a topic he knew about well working out of his home which he shares with his lovely wife and two young children. He’s been working in the industry for quite a while.
Tony said he is a perfectionist as DP and all too aware of every mistake. With that in mind it’s hard for him to take his abilities too seriously, though as anyone who has seen Tony’s work knows it’s obvious he has quite the talented eye. “When I look through the camera,” Tony said, “I am always thinking what the story is. I try to tell the story through the visuals, every frame. Every shot needs to tell the story. In a talking head, I try to frame the shot as to convey the attitude of the person, to make it clear for the audience. The goal for me is to eliminate dialogue from all film. I love the power of pictures. I love silent films. It’s the power to tell a story without words. It’s all about photography and actors. My favorite parts of movies are the silent scenes, the quiet scenes. Moments one can observe for oneself without having to be told what is going on.”
Okay, so Tony is not a sound guy. His ability to reflect back reality takes on a hit-you-on-the-head ride with his latest work on OVERSERVED, a scathing fictional comedic look at life in Boston’s bars from the perspective of people who work there. Tony reflects that some of the most fun jobs are where he is not being paid, is working extremely long hours, is fed poorly, and not getting the resources he needs. Of course it helps to be friends with the Director. In this case, Gatto and Flanagan have been friends for 15 years. He explained they often worked 18-hour weekends for several months in the heat, but he’s not complaining. “The whole shoot was fun and I did not mind the inconveniences,” he said, which included not having enough HD tape stock and having to scramble on a Sunday evening. Rule bailed them out more than once, we hear.
Tony regales us with the funniest moment on set, where Gatto had concocted a real messy prop to use on the table to simulate some of the garbage customer’s leave behind. The actor was supposed to put it in his hand, and then leave, disgusted. Tony said the actor was so convincing that after they said “cut” they went out to congratulate him, and found he had tossed his cookies all over the hallway. Another tale Tony remembers is when a shoot in a driveway in Woburn wraps just before dawn to beat the sun. The cast and crew are all sitting around the equipment drinking beers looking, as he put it, “like a bunch of degenerates.” He said the look of disapproval on the neighbors’ faces as they came out in their robes to retrieve their papers was priceless.
His goal is to shoot and direct documentaries full time. He has two that he has been working on as side projects. THE METRIC SYSTEM is about the United States government’s losing battle to convert Americans to liters and meters. And THE ORIGIN OF JINGLE BELLS, a look at how two cities Medford, MA and Savannah, GA claim its origins. Tony said he likes “the documentary of the ridiculous,” and he said he finds people arguing over the birthplace of the song JINGLE BELLS just one small example of that.
What medium did he prefer to work in-- film or video? Tony said he started
in video a long time ago, but said he found shooting OVERSERVED in 24P HD
felt comfortable to him, much more so than film. “I love 24P HD and DVCam 24P. I want to shoot everything in these formats. They both look awesome,” he said.
I asked him if he ever thought he would leave the area if he hit it big. His answer was no. “I love Boston. It is such a pretty city. I don’t think I could ever leave,” he said. He said he also loves Paris, since both look “beautiful in the light.” Spoken like a true DP! He said when New York and LA people come to town they complain about how much better the crews are there than here, but he said he has no way to tell if they are just being snobs or if he is missing something as he has only worked in the Boston area.
One thing is certain, Tony loves his work looking through the camera. He said since most of his work is short term he is looking to work on more features. “I love spending 20 days on one shoot,” he said. Contact Tony Flanagan at rhap@comcast.net.