Week 25.15 - HACKS Special Edition
Posts from 07 April - 13 April 2025
Week 25.15 is all about shots from the first three seasons of Hacks (2021-current).
Using the Artifice
Hacks 3.01 "Just for Laughs" knows what we want - Deborah Vance!
So its opening oner teases us; swooping over Vegas into to a casino just as a familiar beehive and sequinned coat saunter in . . .
The thoroughly choreographed tracking shot — complete with hundreds of extras, interactions with a gushing minder and tourists, and VFX work to stitch it all together — goes for a full 90 seconds.
Just as I became convinced “Jean Smart was sick the day this shot was scheduled, so her stand-in did the walk and they'll cut to Jean into a closer setup" Deborah turns to reveal it's been an impersonator all along!
The reveal is timed *just* as four other impersonators walk up behind her, which starts the camera drifting backwards to segue into a slot machine unveiling, all clearly signalling 'we weren't trying to fool you, it’s an elaborate gag everyone is in on.'
Excellent use of oner to deliberately make us consider how much work and design and fakery is involved in TV production and celebrity as a whole.
The way the season opener has its cake and eats it too — faking us out, then inviting us in on the joke; seeming to hide Deborah while actually revealing the state of her career; an elaborate camera move calling attention to Vegas's artifice — is delicious.
Opposing Sides (of frame)
"Just for Laughs" has another scene just as good, but completely different.
Within this standard ‘shot reverse shot’ coverage, the scene does four simple, impactful things to demonstrate how Deborah (Jean Smart) and Ava (Hannah Einbinder) feel.
1. The scene moves from Wide to MCU shots as Deborah and Ava make each other laugh; demonstrating their tentative truce starts at arm’s length before moving closer.
2. Even in wider shots, the two are *barely* in each others' frame, and there's no OTS in the medium shots. They’re thawing, but while standing as far apart as the hotel room allows.
3. When Ava says "yes" to a drink, she shakes her head "no" — body language FTW
4. They do leave their respective frames walking towards each other, but note they're not looking at each other; the truce still in its most tentative stages.
Selling a Montage
Episode 1.08 “1.69 Million” gives us a delightful montage which sells Ava and Deborah having a lot of fun and ‘bonding time.’
In addition to constantly changing wardrobe and hairstyles (don’t underestimate the importance of either!), the shots vary two key things:
lighting: day and night, cool and warm, ‘broad’ and more shadowed or textured lighting)
angles: each mini-scene, short or long as it may be, has multiple shots, and often a ‘type’ of show as well, eg. shot-reverse-shot at eye level for rock-paper-scissors, top-downs to show Deborah laying next to a sprawling Ava, etc.
The edit often — especially at the beginning — moves from warm scenes to cool, the colours immediately signalling “this isn’t just a new shot, it’s a new scene.”
It also quite often edits on small motions within the shots, such as Ava turning her head (0:16-0:17) or (my favourite!) Deborah’s hand movements (0:22-0:23).
Framing a Scion
Hacks 2.01 "There Will Be Blood" shows-not-tells how Deborah (Jean Smart) asserts control as the only person standing in this impromptu staff meeting.
Even Jimmy is sitting when we see his side of the phone call!
Deborah is also often framed against the mirror — almost the only ‘wide open’ spot amongst all her interior design, which makes her stand out — and shot from approximately the eye level of Ava, Marcus, Josefina, and Wilson.