The Cinematography Podcast Episode 367: Cinematographer Matt Ball
Emmy-nominated cinematographer Matt Ball has returned to the show to talk about Season 2 of Tucci in Italy. Shot over roughly seven months between January and July 2024, Season 1 and 2 were filmed concurrently. Hosted by actor Stanley Tucci, Tucci in Italy takes a different approach to travel and food, primarily exploring what can be found off the beaten path, rather than the heavily touristed areas. Season 2 features Italy’s islands and edges: Sardinia, Sicily, Verona, Naples, Campania, and Le Marche, a region popular with Italians but largely unknown to American or British travelers. “A lot of the concept of the show is to try to avoid the tourist places,” Ball explained, describing the pull toward sparsely populated regions like Abruzzo, where simply getting from one location to another could eat up hours of the shooting day.
That logistical reality shaped how the production actually operates. Despite the polish on screen, the crew stays deliberately lean: two camera operators, an AC and second AC, a one-person sound department, a couple of producers, and local Italian fixers and drivers. When the crew traveled to the small island of Tavolara, they stripped their gear to the bare essentials and carried it themselves. “Everybody chips in and everybody carries something,” says Ball. “And that includes Stan as well. Nobody stands alone with an ego- no egos allowed.”
The show is shot documentary-style, with cuts just for time, not for narrative reshaping. A three-camera setup includes a wide covering Tucci and the contributor, one on the contributor, and a third dedicated to food and texture detail. Ball tries to capture a scene in as close to one continuous take as possible, minimizing the need for pickups or staged re-takes. “What you see is pretty much how it goes on the day,” Ball said. This shapes the shooting style and how the crew interacts with characters, coaching them to do what they’d normally do rather than perform for the camera.
Often, Ball has to rely on his instinct for reading real emotional shifts, since he doesn’t speak Italian, and gauges the mood to know when to move the camera closer. “You can almost feel it, when there’s been an emotional shift and you know you’re getting something that is going to resonate with people,” Ball says. “That kind of human emotion just comes across straight away.”
Ball has been working on the next travel series with Stanley Tucci: Tucci in Great Britain, a new season exploring British food history and identity, including how immigrant communities have reshaped what “British food” actually means today.
Find Matt Ball: Instagram: @mattbcam
Tucci in Italy Season 2 is currently streaming on Disney+, Nat Geo, and Hulu.
Hear our previous episode with Matt Ball on Tucci in Italy Season 1.
CAMERAS: Canon C500 Mark II/ Ronin 4D Canon R5C/DJI Maverick Pro 3 drone
LENSES: Canon Sumire/ CN 18 Zoom/20-50mm flex zoom
Close focus: Despite the success of Toy Story 5, Pixar is getting the bulk of Disney layoffs, even after the company received a $26.2 million tax credit from the state of California.
Ben’s short end: Motor City, an independent film by Potsy Ponciroli and cinematographer John Matysiak.
Illya’s short end: The Odyssey and why going to the Magic Castle is a uniquely LA thing to do.
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SHOW RUNDOWN:
02:08 Close Focus
09:16-50:32 Matt Ball Interview
51:09 Short Ends
01:04:55 Wrap up/Credits
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