The Cinematography Podcast Episode 358: Krzysztof Trojnar
Something Very Bad is Going to Happen is Netflix’s slow-burn horror series about a woman whose family wedding spirals into something deeply sinister. DP Krzysztof Trojnar and director Weronika Tofilska had previously worked together on the series Baby Reindeer. The two knew the cinematography would be a key piece in creating the feeling of dread throughout the series. They wanted the visual language to deteriorate in lockstep with Rachel’s (Camila Morrone) world. From composed shots, it moves to Steadicam then to a gimbal, introducing a subtle instability as the show progresses. By episode eight, it’s handheld and then switches to a body rig mounted on the actress.
Trojnar had a clear idea that naturalism came first and horror second. “I don’t want to do fantastical horror,” he says. “I wanted to do a family drama. It’s a portrait of this woman. I wanted to treat it from a genuine place where you follow her, and in some way there is an element of naturalism that will make you believe that the story is happening as a drama rather than a horror.”
The show’s camera movement follows Rachel’s psychological state. The camera team created a visual guide in prep, establishing not just shot types but a progression of camera tools that would shift as the series moved forward. Early episodes use Steadicam and are fluid, controlled, and anchored to Rachel. Trojnar created “the Rachel shot,” a continuous move that never cuts away from her. “It’s a shot that is definitely subjective to Rachel,” Trojnar explained. “The other characters come into this shot, but it’s always following her.”
This approach extended to one of the show’s pivotal scenes: the wedding itself. Knowing they needed the camera to “break” at the exact moment Rachel’s fiancé wavers, they shot the scene twice: once on sticks, once handheld, to give themselves the editorial choice of precisely when the shift happens. “We definitely knew that we couldn’t start following her handheld from that point,” Trojnar said, “but exactly where in the scene — that’s why we shot it twice.”
Trojnar decided to shoot about 90% of the show on a 25mm lens. “With that lens you really get the presence of a character in front of camera,” he said. “You feel them breathing. You are close to them without exaggerating that presence. You’re just present with the character.” The final episode is the exception, shot on 21mm and 18mm, because by that point, exaggeration is exactly what the story calls for. “We just wanted to make it look a bit more immediate, a bit more hectic, a bit sort of exaggerated. Because obviously, what happens is quite wild.”
The show’s final episode required a shot that simply didn’t exist as a rentable piece of equipment. Trojnar wanted a body rig for actor Camila Morrone to wear so that the camera could orbit 360° around her rather than locking rigidly to her torso. A Toronto workshop built a solution. They took a Steadicam vest, wrapped it around Morrone, fitted a large industrial bearing around the outside of it, and rigged the camera to the bearing, which allowed it to spin freely around her while she wore it.
The result is one of the most disorienting and effective shots in the series: the camera circling Rachel as she moves through the atrium in the show’s climax, the horror of her situation literally surrounding her in the frame. “It had this feeling of being a body rig but also kind of shaky, like an almost handheld camera,” Trojnar said. “I’ve never quite seen a shot exactly like that.”
Find Krzysztof Trojnar: Instagram @krzysztof_trojnar
See Something Very Bad is Going to Happen on Netflix
Hear our previous episode with Krzysztof Trojnar on the series Baby Reindeer.
CAMERA: ARRI Alexa 35
LENSES: 25mm Panavision P-Vintage
Close focus: The cameras used on various films at the Cannes Film Festival. A film called The Beloved deliberately used many cameras and formats, sometimes within the same scene.
Illya’s short end: The book, Dungeon Crawler Carl, by Matt Dinneman- specifically, the audiobook.
Ben’s short end: Obsession, a horror film in theaters now.
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SHOW RUNDOWN:
02:17 Close Focus
13:35-58:31 Krzysztof Trojnar interview
59:14 Short ends
01:07:08 Wrap up/Credits
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