Christian Sprenger on building the horror-comedy Widow's Bay

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 364: Christian Sprenger, ASC

Christian Sprenger, ASC and producer/director Hiro Murai first met right out of film school on a commercial. The two have spent the last 11 years collaborating on Atlanta, Mr. & Mrs. Smith, and now Apple TV+’s breakout hit, Widow’s Bay.

While working with actor Donald Glover on Atlanta, the trio decided to just make something that they thought was good, no matter what the network had to say. Sprenger says that freedom carries forward into all of their projects. “The language that we started building, and that we’ve continued building on Mr. & Mrs Smith, and on all Hiro’s other projects- it’s kind of a rare thing, especially in television, to have that be a philosophy of how to make something, but it’s incredibly freeing.”

That philosophy showed up most clearly in Widow’s Bay. The horror-comedy perfectly finds the balance between the two, and it wasn’t easy. Push too far one way and the show becomes farce, push too far the other and the dread overwhelms everything funny about it. Sprenger cites films by the Coen Brothers as a huge influence on the darker comedic aspects. He describes it as a “razor’s edge,” and credits director Ti West with fully understanding that tightrope when shooting Episode 6, “Our History.” West rehearsed scenes with star Betty Gilpin to find exactly how big a joke’s reaction should land before it broke the tension or undercut the scare.

Depending on the episode, Sprenger made lighting choices that ran against horror convention. Keeping certain scenes visually “straight” rather than moody let the comedy breathe without constant cues telling the audience how to feel. “There’s something cool about Jaws or the first act of The Shining. It’s very bright, high key and there’s something really interesting about that contrast.” Sprenger says. “The idea with the comedy was there are moments where we’re inside the town hall where it just feels utilitarian. We’re not injecting too much of our agenda as to how the audience should be feeling or if they should be afraid that something scary is about to happen.”

Though there’s plenty of VFX in Widow’s Bay, Sprenger and the crew pushed hard for practical effects when possible. They built a full lighthouse replica, constructing an elaborate (and expensive) staircase set for a single joke, even though VFX shortcuts were available. “That commitment to the realism is also what makes the show feel special and hopefully sets the show apart a little bit,” Sprenger says. “I don’t know if that’s become a brand of ours, but really over committing, like a very serious amount of work to something that is very clearly so dumb, philosophically I think we both really like that concept.” He believes audiences feel that commitment even when they don’t know why. “I think there’s a subjective understanding of, ‘whoa this is being done, there’s so much craft being put into this, I’m going to respect it’ even though it’s like clearly a silly joke.”

Sprenger’s favorite episode was also one of the season’s biggest swings. Episode 6, “Our History” was shot last on the large-format ARRI Alexa 265, a rare prototype 65mm lens set, and a wide 1.43:1 aspect ratio, all chosen before guest director Ti West arrived. “I felt so nervous because the worst thing that a DP can do to an incoming director is be like ‘No’,” says Sprenger. “But to Ti’s credit, he was understanding, like ‘okay great, this is the sandbox, I understand what the sandbox is, and this is how we’re going to play within these new boundaries.’ He was incredibly gracious and just an amazing collaborator.” Together, the two crafted one of the show’s most distinct episodes.

For Sprenger, good television is knowing when realism serves the story, when comedy needs room to breathe, and when trust, built over years, lets a wild idea actually land on screen.

Find Christian Sprenger: Instagram: @casprenger

Widow’s Bay is streaming on Apple TV.

CAMERA: ARRI Alexa 35, ARRI Alexa 265

LENSES: Tomashi, Olympus OM, Zoiko, Todd AO ASC lenses

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