The Cinematography Podcast Episode 355: Greta Zozula
The Testaments, a sequel series to The Handmaid’s Tale, revisits the visual language of an iconic world and makes it feel genuinely new. Cinematographer Greta Zozula, who shot six episodes of the series, established the visual identity of The Testaments in episodes 1-3. The show tells Gilead’s story from the point of view of young women Agnes and Daisy, who are students at Aunt Lydia’s school for future wives. “When Handmaid’s came out, I watched the first season. I think what they did with that show was pretty incredible,” says Zozula. “As a DP watching a show like Handmaid’s, you’re just kind of in awe.”
Stepping into the world was both exciting and daunting. With the visual grammar of Handmaid’s so established, Zozula chose to use the same camera and lenses to keep the look consistent. “The lenses were established in Handmaid’s. That was one thing I wanted to carry over, because even though the point of view changes, I felt like part of the DNA of Gilead is in the lenses,” she explains. The camera is the same, the Alexa 35, just a newer version.”
To shift the perspective of The Testaments, Zozula chose to focus on color and lighting. Agnes is a teenager who has never known anything other than Gilead. The regime isn’t a dystopia to her, and she has a future as a wife to look forward to. “We have this big world that people recognize. It’s quite dark and it’s very iconic and it has a very specific look,” says Zozula. “Obviously we have to create this completely different point of view that is much more optimistic, much more positive view of this world. And a lot of that was done with color.”
The crimson that defined the original series is conspicuously absent from Agnes’s world, replaced by plums, pinks, and greens. To find exactly the right shades, Zozula and production designer Martha Sparrow tested upwards of fifty different variations of purple and plum alone, finding the specific look and LUT treatment for the show.
Lighting was also well-planned. Where Handmaid’s used stark or dimmer light in smaller spaces to suggest entrapment, The Testaments opens those same interior spaces up, flooding the Academy, where the girls train to become wives, with warm, sun-drenched radiance. The effect is intentional to the point of being almost excessive, says Zozula. “We almost overuse this idea of really sunny and bright and beautiful, because we wanted to create this contrast that comes later. In their minds, this is exciting. There’s a lot of hope in their future.”
If Agnes’s Gilead is warm, romanticized, and controlled, the flashbacks to Toronto where Daisy is from is sharper, grittier and more realistic. The colors used in Toronto skew toward primary hues and neons. The natural light is contrasty, the way actual daylight is. “In Gilead, it’s kind of this idealized natural light that’s a little bit forced — these big, beautiful shafts of light coming in, kind of romanticized. And in Toronto, it is very real. It’s a mix of different lighting qualities.” The camera movement reflects this too. Handheld work in Gilead is purposeful and intentional. In Toronto, the camerawork is freer, following Daisy as she skateboards and hangs out with her boyfriend. Zozula explains, “In Toronto, she’s very free. It’s free as she could be. And we wanted to show that.”
Find Greta Zozula: Instagram @gzoz
Watch The Testaments on Hulu, streaming now.
CAMERA: ARRI ALEXA 35
LENSES: Spherical K35s, Anamorphic Atlas Orions, Todd-AOs
Close focus: GOOD NEWS? Production seems to be creeping up in Los Angeles, thanks to some of the film production monetary incentives by the mayor’s office.
Ben’s short end: Stagerunner LA, a website about production studio news.
Alana’s short end: Beef Season 2 on Netflix.
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SHOW RUNDOWN:
02:17 Close Focus
09:22-48:35 Greta Zozula interview
50:05 Short ends
53:53 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
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Host: Ben Rock
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Composer: Kays Al-Atrakchi
Check out Kays’ new YouTube Channel, Kays Labs, where he repairs old synthesizers.
Editor: Alana Kode
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