Building a nearly silent crime drama in Motor City

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 371: John Matysiak

Director Potsy Ponciroli and cinematographer John Matysiak had previously worked together on the 2021 indie Western, Old Henry. However, when Ponciroli first handed Matysiak the script for Motor City, it was a much different story. The 1970’s-set crime drama read less like a screenplay and more like a novel. “When Potsy first shared the script with me, it was 90 pages of prose,” says Matysiak. “It was this action-heavy, descriptive telling of this world, this underbelly world of Detroit. So it was always this idea of, ‘Hey, read this script- there’s no dialogue, let’s jump in.’”

That absence of dialogue became the film’s defining creative challenge: how do you hold an audience for 90 minutes using almost nothing but image and sound? Matysiak found the answer came down to rhythm and restraint. Early on, he and Ponciroli experimented with frame rate as a storytelling tool, testing everything from 36 to 96 frames per second, to find moments where slow motion could do the emotional work dialogue usually handles. The needle-drop soundtrack was built around tracks like “Nights in White Satin,” which Matysiak says the team wanted from the very beginning. It was so tightly integrated into the visuals that entire sequences feel choreographed to the music.

The crew was also committed to shooting everything practically, rather than using blue screen for the movie’s biggest set pieces. That included a fight inside a moving car and a brutal elevator brawl shot in a single day. “Our intention from the beginning was to do as much of this in camera and as real as possible,” says Matysiak. “There’s this fight sequence within a car. And that was real for real. Like we did that on a moving vehicle. We had really strong producers that were supportive along the way and being like, OK, how do we do it safely?” It required close coordination across departments but ultimately freed up visual effects resources for the shots that truly needed them. “Ironically, we’re able to shoot it more efficiently that way because we’re doing real for real and we’re saving money on VFX,” he adds. “There’s something about it that inherently feels richer or more tactile or more dangerous as an audience member.”

To nail the film’s period Detroit look, Matysiak started with film. He and the colorist ran side-by-side tests on 35mm alongside the Alexa Mini, LF, and 35, using the film results to reverse-engineer a digital emulation. The team chose detuned Master Anamorphic lenses because any extra flare or distortion would distract from the visual storytelling.

The film’s intense schedule wasn’t easy. With only six weeks of prep and just 27 shooting days across 44 different locations, the production faced several challenges. Scenes shot in a prison that was slated for demolition had no internal power, and an entire foot chase sequence had to be relocated at the very last minute. Luckily, the crew was able to pivot and adapt quickly, and the scene was finished smoothly.

In the end, Matysiak’s ability to lean into and embrace Motor City’s old-school, in-camera craft created a film he’s proud of.

Find John Matysiak: Instagram: @john_matysiak

Motor City is still in select theaters and available on pay per view.

Hear our past interview with John Matysiak and Potsy Ponciroli on their film, Old Henry.