St. Denis Medical
Exaggerating Reality

An interview with Jacob Pinger and Mande Whitaker, SOC
By David Daut

With a lineage tracing back to The Office, St. Denis Medical is the latest in a series of mockumentary workplace comedies from writer/producer Justin Spitzer, this time trading the setting of an office park or a big box store for an underfunded hospital in small town Oregon. In that way, St. Denis Medical manages to blur the lines between genres, being at once a mockumentary sitcom and a comedic sendup of medical procedurals.

For this video feature, Camera Operator got to chat with camera operators Jacob Pinger and Mande Whitaker about what their backgrounds in reality and unscripted television bring to a mockumentary series like this, how the camera operators work with the cast to deliver the show’s humor, and how the operating itself is heightened and exaggerated for comedy, in stark defiance of the traditional axiom that the camera is meant to be invisible.

Despite a paltry budget, and an overworked staff, executive director Joyce Henderson has big plans for St. Denis Regional Medical Center, aiming to make the hospital into something of a destination. Meanwhile, the doctors and nurses are doing their best to get by, dealing with occasionally hostile and often eccentric patients, interpersonal spats, and whatever Joyce’s latest scheme is to put St. Denis Medical on the map. St. Denis Medical is created by Justin Spitzer and Eric Ledgin and stars Wendi McLendon-Covey, Allison Tolman, Josh Lawson, Kahyun Kim, Mekki Leeper, David Alan Grier, and Kaliko Kauahi.

BEHIND-THE-SCENES

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S. Jacob Pinger

S. Jacob Pinger is a Los Angeles–based director of photography and camera operator known for fast-paced handheld, story‑driven work. Born and raised in Los Angeles just blocks from Paramount Studios, he learned the craft from the ground up, progressing from production assistant to lighting electrician, camera assistant, camera operator, and cinematographer. He has shot across nearly every genre, and nearly every continent, traveling extensively for film and television projects while emphasizing communication, collaboration, and mutual respect as the foundation of his set philosophy.

Jacob’s credits span network comedies, documentaries, reality series, and feature films including the Hulu comedy Bromates and the award‑winning short The Cycle, which earned the IA Local 600 Emerging Cinematographer Award in 2010. He holds a B.A. from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and studied cinematography at the American Film Institute.

In addition to his camera work, Jacob is the author of So You Want to Direct TV?, a collection of interviews with television directors aimed at encouraging aspiring filmmakers from all backgrounds. In his spare time he religiously roots for the Dodgers and is teaching himself woodworking “one splinter at a time.”

Mande Whitaker, SOC

Mande Whitaker is a two time Emmy-nominated Camera Operator and recipient of the Society of Camera Operators’ 2024 Lifetime Achievement Award for Unscripted Television. Over her 25-year career as a Local 600 Camera Operator, she has brought exceptional skill and versatility to a wide range of television genres—including scripted comedy, competition reality, live music/comedy, game shows, commercials, and documentaries. She divides her time between Los Angeles and Seattle.

David Daut

A writer and critic for more than a decade, David Daut specializes in analysis of genre cinema and immersive media. In addition to his work for Camera Operator and other publications, David is also the co-creator of Hollow Medium, a “recovered audio” ghost story podcast. David studied at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and works as a freelance writer based out of Long Beach, California.

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