Edward R. Brown

Edward R. Brown, , was the director of photography on the first and second seasons of .
His early career began in 1966 was spent as a camera operator. He started doing cinematography on feature films, beginning in 1972 with the Robert Redford vehicle The Hot Rock. In 1974 he worked on and later mini-series beginning in 1976 with Eleanor and Franklin (sharing an Emmy Award with Paul Lohmann), and regular series beginning in 1982 with by former Trek director Robert Butler. He also worked on many episodes of (starring Kate Jackson, with Corey Allen, Bibi Besch, Cliff Bole, Richard Cox, Daniel Davis, Paddi Edwards, Gregory Itzin, Winrich Kolbe, Richard Lynch, Sachi Parker, Robert Picardo, and Patti Yasutake).
His work on Scarecrow and Mrs. King was nominated for a Golden Globe "Outstanding Cinematography for a Series" and a "Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Regular Series" award by American Society of Cinematographers. Scarecrow and Mrs. King ended its fourth season after a time slot change and health problems of producer and director and star Kate Jackson. Brown became available to work on Star Trek. He became director of photography on on short notice after cinematographer Jerry Finnerman decided against returning to the new series. Initially, it was intended that Brown would photograph only the pilot, and that if the series moved into production a replacement would be found. In the event, he stayed for the entirety of the first two seasons, and taught at film schools after. 
Brown is different from modern Trek television cinematographers. He utilized single camera, hard lighting, and low key lighting which William E. Snyder, Finnerman, and Al Francis used. However, Brown shifted towards featuring much more muted color tones and extensive use of shadows as seen on . While perhaps more dramatically pleasing (and earning him an Emmy nomination for ), his tendency to completely hard-light scenes risked showing the deficiencies of the set construction, and necessitated sticking cardboard and tape onto the LCARS screens in order to prevent too many reflections off the studio lights. However, these cardboard and tape are still present at the beginning of Season 3. Brown also refused to adopt a single visual style, often drastically altering his visuals between episodes to best fit the mood of the piece. 
While popular with the show's directors (in particular Rob Bowman), his style occasionally irked the producers, as the practice took too much time. Some actors occasionally complained that his lighting was uncomfortable. Fans and critics include Brown's cinematography among the things to nitpick about. Bowman later suggested that Brown would likely have been replaced much earlier if not for the other infighting among the actors and production staff. While no longer being actively involved with the series, several cast members, including Jonathan Frakes and Patrick Stewart sought his advice while learning how to direct. According to Frakes, "One of the things that Ed Brown, who was the DP in the first season, said, was, "Never repeat a shot in a scene, if you can help it, when you're cutting." That encouraged me to get more sizes." 
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es:Edward R. Brown
Category:Cinematographers
Category:Emmy Award nominees