There are scenes within film and television that are defined by their lighting – a quality that becomes a cornerstone before actors even speak their first line. Gaffer and lighting technician Jon Haney cut his teeth on films like Titanic and *The Negotiator, *and quickly came to understand the importance of an element in visual media that’s crucial but often overlooked.

Over the last three decades, Haney has become an integral part of designing lighting for television shows including CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Grey’s Anatomy, and How to Get Away with Murder, and witnessed his profession change with the rise of streaming.

LWLies: There were many Directors of Photography credited on the 15 seasons of CSI, but you remained. What was the collaboration dynamic over the course of the series? As the gaffer who was there from the beginning, you clearly brought consistency.

Haney: The initial plan from the producers, mainly Jerry Bruckheimer, was to make this a really contrasty show. This was a *CSI *working all night long. We wanted to get that feeling of darkness and serious mystery. Danny Cannon, who directed the pilot and many episodes, was also an executive producer on the show and was highly creative. He helped design these glass sets stretching roughly 130ft. You see through each room, revealing layer upon layer of light. We chose to convey depth and mood by changing colors, careful not to make it look like a Froot Loop Bowl, using Par cans and Source Fours. We kept the light off the walls and objects using the blades. We added practicals and aimed at metal objects for kicks.

How much of your strategy do you bring to interpreting the vision of a film or show? How did you learn to work with small light sources to create these layered setups?

I think outside the box in everything I do. It’s really cool to be able to work with different types of DPs. Some were really good at lighting, and I learned a tremendous amount from them. I’ve also had bosses who were really terrible at lighting. As I became better at lighting, they became more dependent on me.

The flashlight technique used on CSI came from working on the Titanic. We used Xenon Flashlights on the boat as a main source, and needed a way to soften the light. I went to the grips, sourced materials, and built a custom softbox with interchangeable diffusion. I showed Russell Carpenter. He said, ​“Amazing – make more”. I built four or five and became the guy who followed him. When the cops held flashlights on CSI, I lit the scene with the flashlight softbox. The light reflecting back in their faces added a kinetic feel. There’s movement to it. It’s not static.

What are the conditions and circumstances to get the best lighting for a film? What limitations are you up against?

Everything is important, but it literally starts with the budget. If it’s a small budget, you’re covering your weekly rental package for your lenses, camera, lighting, and manpower. A smaller budget also means more cameras working at the same time and further apart. When you start doing that, you’re sacrificing the lighting. They will sacrifice lighting to get more out of a day’s work. In a perfect world, the DP and the gaffer would use only one camera. It’s easier to light than two, but that takes more time and resources. You can get it to look great if you shoot it in two weeks, but if you need it done in three days, you compromise.

If you have a good DP, gaffer, and key grip, it should look stunning. Having a strong, talented crew, it’s amazing how much better it looks and feels in less time. Every department makes a difference. I have crew members who have been with me for over 25 years. It’s because they’re just solid. No one is dragging their feet. My electricians are in my pocket all day. They have to be forward thinkers. My crew makes me shine. I rely on them. Without them, I fall apart.

You’ve been working on Grey’s Anatomy lately, which is a completely different aesthetic from the lighting you’re known for. Has this change in genre been an adjustment? With a preexisting show, continuity and accuracy come to mind.

It’s definitely an adjustment. I came from How to Get Away with Murder, and before that, Lucifer. It was a complete shift. Going to Grey’s, you need more sky panels. This is the sky panel land. It’s okay to be big and flat here. I got reprimanded by production a couple of times, not in a bad way, but received remarks like, ​“It’s too dark. This is not our show. You have to make this brighter. It’s nighttime outside, not in the hospital”. I kept raising the levels until everyone was satisfied. They’ve been doing this for 22 seasons. Season 17, I’m the new guy on the show. Who am I to tell Grey’s?

**Have you noticed any changes in feature priorities that contribute to poor lighting? **

Every set is different, and you have to do things that weren’t discussed. When you’re watching it from the lens, you have no idea what restraints they had to work with. Sometimes there’s no room to light it. The camera is against the wall. You realize they didn’t have a chance. Some things you could never make look good. In post, they have much more control over lighting than they did 20 years ago. It’s pretty impressive. It’s easy to vignette everything, knock down a bright wall, and adjust for the cast after the fact. I have no problem using technology and the benefits of color timing, but I don’t rely on them.