The Cinematography Podcast Episode 337: Eric Lin and Lyle Vincent
Rosemead tells the tragic, true story of Irene (Lucy Liu), a terminally ill single mother, and her son, Joe (Lawrence Shou). As Joe battles schizophrenia and urges toward violence, Irene is left isolated from her Chinese American community in Southern California, facing impossible choices without a safety net.
After decades behind the camera, director Eric Lin connected deeply with the personal nature of Rosemead. He grew up in Southern California and frequently visited the San Gabriel Valley, where the film takes place. Producer Mynette Louie, who he’d know since NYU Film School, sent him the script, and Eric decided to take it on as his first directorial feature. “I’ve shot a lot of features and I’ve been side by side with directors, watching how difficult it is to make a feature,” he says. “The thing that sort of lured me into the director’s chair was that it’s a story that I felt like I’d never seen before on screen.”
Recognizing the film’s nuanced demands, Eric knew he didn’t want to pull double duty as cinematographer. Instead, he asked Lyle Vincent, another NYU alum with whom he shared a cinematic shorthand. “Knowing what a DP does, especially on a film like this, where I felt like I had to be so present, that would be a fatal mistake,” Eric explains. Lyle appreciated the trust, describing Eric as a director who “is extremely visual and who has amazing visual references and language.”
Together the two shotlisted and discussed each scene emotionally and visually. To capture the film’s emotional landscape, Lyle chose a subjective camera style. Handheld camerawork and portrait lenses help mirror Joe’s psychological state and the looming sense of danger. Using E-series anamorphic lenses, he created a shallow depth of field that softened the background, forcing the viewer’s focus onto the characters. This gritty reality contrasts sharply with Joe’s memories of the idyllic time he spent with his parents in a hotel. His flashbacks are rendered in warm tones, evoking a surreal, dreamlike nostalgia.
See Rosemead in theaters.
Find Eric Lin: Instagram @holdtheframe
Find Lyle Vincent: Instagram @lylevincent
CAMERAS: ARRI ALEXA 35
LENSES: Panavision E series anamorphic lenses, Panavision Portrait lenses
Close focus: The Warner Bros. purchase offer by Netflix and the hostile buyout offer by Paramount.
Ben’s short end: Quentin Tarantino’s comments about actors Paul Dano and Matthew Lillard.
Illya’s short end: Christopher Nolan’s film The Odyssey is releasing the first 6 minutes of the film before select 70mm IMAX movies: Sinners, One Battle After Another, and Avatar: Fire and Ash.
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SHOW RUNDOWN:
01:38 Close Focus
13:20-01:03:54 Interview
01:04:13 Short ends
01:13:09 Wrap up/Credits
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Podcast Credits:
Producer: Alana Kode
All web and social media content written by Alana Kode
Host and editor in Chief: Illya Friedman
Instagram: @illyafriedman @hotrodcameras
Host: Ben Rock
Blue Sky: @benrock.com
Instagram: @bejamin_rock
Composer: Kays Al-Atrakchi
Check out Kays’ new YouTube Channel, Kays Labs, where he repairs old synthesizers.
Editor: Alana Kode
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