June 12, 2026

Smoke, spotlights, Silicon Valley secrets in The Audacity

The Audacity DP Richard Rutkowski, ASC made Vancouver look like Palo Alto, used lens filters instead of special effects to create wildfires, and dramatized the themes of the show with spotlights and framing.

Podcast highlights include:
-How Richard and his crew made Vancouver look convincingly like Silicon Valley and why establishing a sense of place was a creative priority from day one.
-Why glass filtration is still one of the most powerful tools in a DP’s kit.
-Richard breaks down exactly how he built the show’s haunting wildfire look using physical filters in camera, with minimal reliance on post.
-His philosophy of handheld as intimacy, choreographing the camera to follow the actor so that performance drives the frame.
-How visual motifs like frame-within-a-frame compositions and strategic spotlight placement were purposeful to the show’s themes, rather than being visually inventive for its own sake.

Find Richard Rutkowski: http://see-no-evil.net/
Instagram: @richardrutkowskidp
The Audacity is streaming now on AMC+
Hear our previous episode with Richard Rutkowski on Masters of the Air. https://www.camnoir.com/ep255/

SHOW RUNDOWN:
02:02 Close focus
22:27-01:11:32 Richard Rutkowski interview
01:11:45 Short ends
01:19:14 Wrap up/Credits

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

By Illya Friedman

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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

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June 5, 2026

Bonus Episode: Peter Deming, ASC

Peter Deming, ASC on shooting Evil Dead 2 with director Sam Raimi and working with director David Lynch on Lost Highway, Mulholland Drive, and Twin Peaks.

Find Peter Deming: Instagram @peter_deming

Spider Noir is now streaming on MGM Plus and Amazon Prime.

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

By Illya Friedman

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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

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June 5, 2026

Shooting in the dark: the making of Spider Noir

Cinematographers Darren Tiernan, ISC and Peter Deming, ASC are the DPs of Spider Noir, the new MGM Plus and Amazon Prime series starring Nicolas Cage as the hard-boiled 1930s New York detective version of Spider-Man. The character is based on Marvel Comics featuring Spiderman Noir, and first introduced in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Tiernan and Deming created a series that looks like a classic film noir using vintage lights, custom LUTs and a “noir vocabulary.”

We dive into:
-How the production created a dual release simultaneously in both black and white and color.
-Lead DP Darran Tiernan worked for months on LUT development and a workflow that kept every department aligned on both versions from day one. Monitors on set showed what the scenes would look like in black and white.
-Why both Darren and Peter used old tungsten lights with Fresnel lenses instead of LEDs whenever possible. Not out of nostalgia, but out of necessity for getting the hard light that defines film noir.
-How rigorous preparation, from shot decks before the first meeting to photo boards and green screens on location, allowed creative freedom to take risks in the moment when the cameras were rolling.
-Why the goal was never to recreate classic noir but to absorb its philosophy of shadow, composition and expressionistic light and apply it to this specific story. That distinction is what makes Spider Noir feel fresh rather than like a period piece.

Find Darran Tiernan: https://darrantiernan.net/
Instagram: @dazt

Find Peter Deming: Instagram @peter_deming

Spider Noir is now streaming on MGM Plus and Amazon Prime.

SHOW RUNDOWN:

03:10 Close Focus
14:42-01:06:55 Darran Tiernan interview
01:06:58-01:39:36 Peter Deming interview
01:40:40 Short ends
01:53:43 Wrap up/Credits

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

By Illya Friedman

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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

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May 29, 2026

James Laxton, ASC Frames Class and Generation Gaps in Beef 2

James Laxton, ASC is the Academy Award nominated cinematographer of Moonlight. His latest project is Season 2 of Beef, the acclaimed Netflix series created by Lee Sung Jin. This season explores themes of love, class, and generational cycles.

Key Podcast Highlights:
-How James and Lee built a color palette of spring, summer, autumn, and winter that stays continuous through lighting, costume, and production design to give each couple their own visual world.
-Why shooting on the large-format ARRI 265 was a thematic decision, presenting characters as larger than life symbols of forces far bigger than themselves.
-How light and framing portray the power dynamics, from a harsh, undiffused backlit golf course confrontation to wide symmetrical frames of opulence that trap characters inside the class structures surrounding them.
-How James and Lee established a shared visual language, honoring the DNA of Season 1 while pushing the show somewhere entirely new.

Find James Laxton: http://jameslaxton.com/
Instagram: @mrjameslaxton
See Beef s. 2 on Netflix
Hear our previous episode with James Laxton on Moonlight and If Beale Street Could Talk: https://www.camnoir.com/ep63/

SHOW RUNDOWN:

02:09 Close Focus
14:17-55:08 James Laxton interview
55:54 Short ends
01:07:09 Wrap up/Credits

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

By Illya Friedman

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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

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May 22, 2026

Evoking dread in Something Very Bad is Going to Happen

Krzysztof Trojnar is the cinematographer of the Netflix series, Something Very Bad is Going to Happen. It’s a genuinely unsettling horror show about a woman whose anxiety about an upcoming family wedding spirals into something far darker, with Krzysztof’s camera work enhancing the feeling of dread.

Key Podcast Highlights:
-How the visual language of the show deliberately evolves across episodes, moving from Steadicam to gimbal to handheld to body rig, mirroring the protagonist’s psychological deterioration in real time.
-Committing to a single lens for nearly the entire show. Krzysztof shot roughly 90% of the series on a 25mm, and he explains exactly why that choice creates presence without distortion.
-Fabricating a custom 360° body camera rig from scratch, because nothing like it existed as a rental. The rig used a Steadicam vest fitted with an industrial bearing to orbit the camera around the actress in the show’s harrowing final episode.

Find Krzysztof Trojnar: https://krzysztoftrojnar.com/
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: https://www.camnoir.com/ep269/

SHOW RUNDOWN:

02:17 Close Focus
13:35-58:31 Krzysztof Trojnar interview
59:14 Short ends
01:07:08 Wrap up/Credits

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

By Illya Friedman

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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

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May 15, 2026

Lawrence Sher ASC: filming Apex in the Australian wilderness

Lawrence Sher, ASC, is the cinematographer of Apex, the action thriller currently sitting at number one on Netflix. Apex stars Charlize Theron as a woman hunted through the Australian wilderness by a relentless pursuer, and it’s one of the most visceral and visually grounded survival thrillers in recent memory. The entire film was shot on location in the Blue Mountains of Australia.

Key Podcast Highlights:

-How the extreme remoteness of the locations forced a documentary-inspired toolkit, including the Sony Venice bodies packed into backpacks, lightweight lenses, very few lights and a skilled drone pilot.
-Building a visual philosophy around what you can’t control. Lawrence embraced shifting sunlight, unpredictable weather, and inaccessible terrain as creative assets rather than obstacles.
-Using a “documentary grammar” framework to justify camera angles and movement, drawing on the visual language of climbing films like Free Solo and The Alpinist.
-How streaming has changed a cinematographer’s relationship to their work. Lawrence sees Netflix’s democratizing reach as a genuine second chance for films that deserve a wider audience.

Find Lawrence Sher: Instagram @lawrencesherdp
See APEX on Netflix
Check out Shotdeck: https://shotdeck.com/
Hear our previous episodes with Lawrence Sher:
https://www.camnoir.com/ep350/
https://www.camnoir.com/ep293/
https://www.camnoir.com/ep56/

SHOW RUNDOWN:

02:32 Close Focus
13:01-56:48 Lawrence Sher interview
57:13 Short ends
01:07:44 Wrap up/Credits

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

By Illya Friedman

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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

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May 8, 2026

Tari Segal, ASC: visual magic in Margo’s Got Money Troubles

Margo’s Got Money Troubles DP Tari Segal, ASC approached the show with spontaneity, intimacy, and a creative way to bring static backdrops to life. Margo’s Got Money Troubles follows a young woman navigating an unexpected pregnancy, a complicated family, and some very creative ways to pay the bills. It’s one of the most visually inventive comedies currently streaming. Tari shot four of the show’s episodes.

Key Podcast Highlights:

-How Tari and the team built a shooting style rooted in spontaneity that allowed the actors freedom of movement on set.
-Using actual licensed music piped into the crew’s headset and actors earpiece so the camera could keep tempo with the final cut.
-Developing the visual language of the show, sometimes shifting from handheld, Steadicam, and studio modes {X} in the same scene.
-Shooting the entire Vegas episode in just three days, and the practical tricks Tari used to make four-walled L.A. sets read convincingly as Las Vegas.

Find Tari Segal: https://www.tarisegal.com/
Instagram @tarissegal

SHOW RUNDOWN:

02:22 Close Focus
11:34-01:00:43 Tari Segal interview
01:01:17 Short ends
01:09:22 Wrap up/Credits

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

By Illya Friedman

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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

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May 1, 2026

DP Greta Zozula on the look of The Testaments

DP Greta Zozula remakes the world of Gilead in The Testaments, a sequel to The Handmaid’s Tale. She chose a very specific color palette and brighter look to show the optimism for the young women at the school for future wives. Flashbacks to the world of Toronto are sharper, grittier and more realistic.

Key Podcast Highlights:

-How Greta kept the same camera and lenses consistent from The Handmaid’s Tale into The Testaments, while brightening and widening the look for the optimistic young women of Gilead.
-Establishing the aesthetic of The Testaments with a color palette of plums, pinks and greens rather than higher contrast reds and blacks. Greta also used different lenses and framing to separate Agnes’s world and Daisy’s world in Toronto.
-Using miniatures and a probe lens for the opening sequence of the show as the camera takes us through Agnes’s dollhouse.

Find Greta Zozula: https://www.gretazozula.com/
Instagram: @gzoz

Show Rundown:
02:17 Close Focus
09:22-48:35 Greta Zozula interview
50:05 Short ends
53:53 Wrap up/Credits

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

By Illya Friedman

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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

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April 24, 2026

The scrappy, indie production of Hunting Matthew Nichols

Hunting Matthew Nichols is an indie horror film that’s shot as a mockumentary/found-footage movie about a documentary filmmaker investigating her brother’s disappearance 20 years earlier on Vancouver Island. Writer/producer Sean Harris Oliver and DP Justin Sebastian shot the horror film in 12 days, then independently released it into theaters.

Key Podcast Highlights:

-How cinematographer Justin Sebastian used Sony FX9 cameras on autofocus, shot archival footage scenes on period-correct cameras, and then physically digitized the tapes for documentary authenticity.
-Keeping the camera crew small and the lighting natural, so that the film’s characters could realistically pull off the documentary.
-Detailed scriptwriting by Sean Harris Oliver, such as specifying who holds the camera in each scene. Sean scripted the film with cleaner, more deliberate camerawork that degrades into chaotic, survival-mode footage as events progress.
-How the team pushed hard for theatrical release against distributor pressure to go straight to streaming. They self-funded distribution and budgeted for marketing from the very beginning.

Find where to watch Hunting Matthew Nichols in theaters and play the interactive game on the website: https://www.huntingmatthewnichols.com/

Find Sean Harris-Oliver: https://www.seanharrisoliver.com/
Instagram: @SeanHarrisOliver

Find Justin Sebastian: https://www.justinsimonsebastian.com/
Instagram: @JustinSebastianDP

Listen to our episode with producer Ted Hope, who discusses similar approaches indie filmmakers can take to understand and control the entire filmmaking process from budget to shoot to distribution: https://www.camnoir.com/ep352/

Show Rundown:
02:45 Close Focus
13:04-01:02:59 Sean Harris Oliver and Justin Sebastian interview
01:03:19 Short ends
01:12:42 Wrap up/Credits

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

By Illya Friedman

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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

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April 17, 2026

Two horror films, one DP: They Will Kill You, Faces of Death

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 353: Isaac Bauman

Cinematographer Isaac Bauman captured the visual identities of two different horror movies in They Will Kill You and Faces of Death. Both films are currently in theaters. Bauman discusses the intricate technical gymnastics required to give each film a distinct, cinematic feel.

Key Podcast Highlights:

-Carefully developing the look of They Will Kill You and Faces of Death with each film’s director.
-Solving big lighting challenges for They Will Kill You’s climax, using a massive 18K light that had to be repeatedly moved.
-Working with practical puppeteering effects for the crawling eyeball in They Will Kill You, which gave the scene a higher sense of realism.
-Shooting on 35mm film for Faces of Death and intentionally reducing the camera’s visual capabilities. Isaac used wider lenses, stopped down, and embraced darkness to enhance the gritty, filmic quality of older movies.

Find Isaac Bauman: Instagram @isaacbauman
See They Will Kill You and Faces of Death in theaters.
Hear our previous interview with Isaac Bauman: https://www.camnoir.com/ep242/

Show Rundown:
02:12 Close Focus
10:28-01:00:24 Isaac Bauman interview
01:00:45 Short ends
01:07:34 Wrap up/Credits

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

By Illya Friedman

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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

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