August 7, 2024

House of the Dragon & Jim Henson: Idea Man cinematographer Vanja Černjul, ASC

For cinematographer Vanja Černjul, ASC, finding creative inspiration within House of the Dragon season 2 wasn’t difficult. “House of the Dragon includes such a range of settings, from huge battle scenes to remote locations with just a small crew, a camera and tripod,” he says. “What’s in front of the camera is so strong that you really have to exercise every filmmaking or storytelling muscle that you have developed over the years.”

Vanja was the director of photography for episodes 6 and 7 and the production team chose to use the ARRI Alexa 35 for season 2. They knew that the Alexa’s superior sensor would retain all the details of candlelight and fire, showing the highlights of light without blowing out the source. Vanja was happy that House of the Dragon Season 2 included many more locations and amazing sets on a large backlot, with much less filming on volume stages. The volume stages were mainly used for the dragon riding scenes, on a stage in London with three large LED screens surrounding the actors on a mechanical device.

The pre-production and prep process for House of the Dragon season 2 was lengthy and extremely detailed. Five director and DP teams worked on eight episodes. They started with creating a shot list that was approved by the show producers, then shared with the visual effects department and storyboard artists. “In order to create the best visual effects, they needed to know what we were going to do on location as early as possible,” says Vanja. “It really streamlined the visual effects process and allowed enough time for them to build excellent visual effects.” Prep was just as intense as the pre-production period. House of the Dragon was a huge production that required multiple directors, DPs, and assistant directors to prepare each episode while others were being shot. All five teams had to shoot and share the same locations, so there was a rigorous schedule with little room for extending shoot days.

Episode 7 features a stunning dragon battle sequence, seamlessly done as what appears to be a oner. Vanja worked with director Loni Peristere to plot out the scene, which takes place in a huge cave where the dragons live. All the action was centered around the shot, and featured practical stunts. “There were 16 people on fire in a dragon battle in one scene. It’s really mind-blowing when you’re there in person, they really know what they’re doing- but it’s people on fire, falling from the ceiling!” says Vanja. Once the stunt person was ignited, they could only be on fire for a few seconds, so it was important to get the shots as fast as possible.

Vanja is also Emmy-nominated for the documentary Jim Henson: Idea Man, along with friend and fellow cinematographer Igor Martinović. Vanja grew up watching The Muppet Show, and is a huge fan of Jim Henson’s work. Vanja and Igor worked together to shoot all the interviews for the documentary, as well as the stop-motion sequences within it. Vanja had never shot any stop-motion animation before, so it was a fun and interesting challenge. All the interviews were shot first, in several different locations and over a long period of time, so it was important that all of the scenes matched. They chose a set design that could be reproduced no matter where it was located, keeping exact notes of the depth of field, camera placement, and lighting.

Find Vanja Černjul: https://vimeo.com/showcase/5574603
Instagram: @vanjacernjul

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By Illya Friedman

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July 31, 2024

Echo: Breaking barriers with Kira Kelly, ASC

Echo continues the journey of Maya Lopez, a skilled fighter who was first seen in the Marvel series, Hawkeye. After the death of her father, Maya escapes Kingpin’s gang by returning to her Choctaw Nation home in Oklahoma. It’s the first Marvel series to feature a Native American character and explore indigenous culture and history. As Maya Lopez, Echo star Alaqua Cox breaks barriers as a deaf, indigenous amputee.

Cinematographer Kira Kelly, ASC enjoyed crafting a Marvel story that didn’t require a rigorous backstory from previous Marvel movies or shows. The script included depictions of the history of the Choctaw, including the Choctaw creation myth. “What starts the pilot is the creation myth of the Choctaw people, which had never been shown before,” says Kira. “Sydney Freeland, our director, made sure we did it in a very respectful way, and a way that was authentic to (the Choctaw.) Being able to be part of that visual storytelling is not something that you get to do every day.”

Different parts of Echo are separated by a specific look and feel. Most of the series was shot using anamorphic lenses, but Kira chose 12 and 20 mm spherical lenses to depict the beginning of the Choctaw nation at the dawn of time. For Maya’s world in New York, Kira used darker and more desaturated lighting. She and director Sydney Freeland agreed that once Maya goes back home to her roots in Oklahoma, deeper, more saturated colors should be part of the visual story.

Kira enjoys lighting, and a big part of it is speaking with the production and set designers about what can be built in naturally for success later. She purposefully changed the treatment of the light between the characters of Fisk (Kingpin) and Maya. For Fisk, she played with a direct, single source side light on his face that created more falloff and emphasized shadows to question his loyalties and motivations.

Echo was Kira’s first experience shooting extensive action sequences and working with a large second unit. She particularly enjoyed recreating the Choctaw Powwow in Oklahoma for the final sequence at the conclusion of the series. The crew had visited the real powwow on a scout, and some of the dancers were hired to perform for the show. “It was a really emotional sequence because we got to be a part of this thing that people who aren’t Native American never get to experience. We had created this space for it and the people who are a part of it came up and said, ‘This is like a real powwow. You guys created a powwow.’ And so it was an honor to be part of something that was visually fulfilling and a great challenge.”

Kira is partnering again with director Sydney Freeland for her film, Rez Ball, coming this fall.

Hear our previous interview with Kira Kelly. https://www.camnoir.com/ep67/

Find Kira Kelly: https://www.kirakellydp.com/
Instagram: @kirakellydp

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By Illya Friedman

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July 24, 2024

Illuminating In The Arena: Serena Williams with DP Ayana Baraka

In the Arena: Serena Williams is the second season of the ESPN+ documentary series. Through a series of intimate interviews with Williams and others, the show offers an in-depth look at the legendary tennis player’s life and career.

Cinematographer Ayana Baraka was the director of photography for the entire 8-episode series. She met with the production company, Religion of Sports, with her images and pitch prepared. “We had the same ideas about lighting. I was familiar with (Season 1 of the series) Man in the Arena: Tom Brady and so I know that we wanted to honor season one, but at the same time Serena is a a different person, a different athlete.” A few weeks later, Ayana was called to meet with Serena for lunch. It was very nerve wracking, but she felt confident in the meeting.

Once she was hired, Ayana researched and tested all the equipment she wanted to use. She selected the ARRI ALEXA LF with Cooke Anamorphic lenses. Illuminating Serena properly for the sit-down interviews was extremely important to her. She created custom LUTs for Serena’s skin to bring out her pinkish undertones. The falloff of the light from the backdrop also had to be just right. Ayana used rags (different thicknesses of fabric diffusion to modify light) and bounced the light for a 180-degree lighting setup. To set each episode apart, Ayana changed up the lighting slightly.

Growing up in New Jersey, Ayana initially went into the health care industry. While in college, she took a film class and made a short documentary about a person struggling with their mental health. Ayana pursued her career in health care, but didn’t feel like she was changing lives the way she wanted to. She started getting film jobs in New York and became an ARRI prep tech, which enabled her to learn the technical aspects of camera work and test into the IATSE Local 600, the International Cinematographer’s Guild. Ayana felt she wanted to learn more about film and storytelling, so she went to graduate school at USC. As a woman of color, she felt that director Ryan Coogler, who was a recent graduate of the program, had opened up a world of opportunity. “We have the success of Ryan Coogler, and I know it was different for people who came before me, people of color or black folks. My class, it was so diverse. And I think it was because he let that charge and he showed we have stories to tell, and people will watch our stories.”

Ayana also shot the documentary Uncharted, about singer Alicia Keys’ She Is the Music songwriting camp. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival last year and is currently on the film festival circuit.

In the Arena: Serena Williams is available on ESPN+ and Hulu.

Find Ayana Baraka: http://www.ayanabaraka.com/
Instagram @iseeflicks

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By Illya Friedman

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July 17, 2024

Capturing terror in THEM: The Scare with DP Brendan Uegama

The second season of the Amazon Prime horror anthology series THEM takes place in 1989 and 1991 Los Angeles. LAPD detective Dawn Reeve is investigating a horrifying murder. As she gets closer to the truth, a dark and menacing force threatens her and her family. THEM: The Scare explores themes of fear, dark family secrets and the supernatural.

Cinematographer Brendan Uegama was a fan of season 1 of THEM, and got a call from his agent to meet with writer, creator and showrunner Little Marvin about shooting season 2. As an anthology series, each season is its own standalone story. Brendan and Little Marvin’s guiding idea was not to make the show look exactly like it took place in the early 1990’s, and discussed how to create a feeling of warmth, contrasted with the feeling of terror in the shadows. Brendan decided to use just two lenses and two focal lengths on an ARRI Alexa Mini LF, with everything drastically changing look and tone for episode 7.

On Episode 7, “One of Us is Gonna Die Tonight” of THEM: The Scare, Brendan had the opportunity to fully unleash his creativity. Little Marvin decided to direct this episode, and he wanted it to feel utterly horrific, using all of the tools they had at their disposal: lighting, camera effects, and sound. They embraced using as much red lighting as they possibly could throughout the episode. “We had lights in different areas, and we had red from the toy store.” says Brendan. “We had red flares, red cop lights. And Little Marvin’s like, ‘Man, it would be cool if it was even MORE red.’ So I started adding red lights behind all the cop cars and uplighting things, really going heavy with the red. And once we started looking at that, we’re like, ‘Oh, yeah, now it feels like this is a hellscape.’” Brendan chose to use a 4:3 aspect ratio exclusively for episode 7 to make it feel like the walls are literally closing in. After strictly using the same lenses and focal lengths throughout the series, Brendan changed it up for almost half the episode with a Petzval lens, which creates a unique, swirly bokeh in the center of the frame. Along with the red lighting and aspect ratio shift, it helped create a distorted, nightmarish look. (Hear Robbie Ryan’s discussion of using a Petzval lens on Poor Things https://www.camnoir.com/ep248/)

Brendan enjoyed the creative opportunity to work on THEM: The Scare. “A huge part of it was the overall excitement to make something great,” he says. “It was exciting to push boundaries and not do formulaic television of any kind.”

Find Brendan Uegama: Instagram @brendanuegama_dp

Hear our interview with THEM season 1 cinematographer Checco Varese, ASC. https://www.camnoir.com/ep136/

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By Illya Friedman

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July 10, 2024

Building the world of Fallout: cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh, ASC, NZCS

The post-apocalyptic TV show Fallout is based on the 1997 videogame, which was a huge commercial and critical success. Centuries after a nuclear war, Lucy (Ella Purnell) must venture out of her sheltered underground Vault dwelling into the dangerous Wasteland of Los Angeles to find her kidnapped father (Kyle MacLachlan.) She encounters strange characters, including a Ghoul bounty hunter (Walton Goggins) and Maximus (Aaron Moten) a member of the militaristic Brotherhood of Steel.

Cinematographer Stuart Dryburgh is best known for his work on the 1993 film, The Piano, for which he received an Academy Award nomination. It opened up opportunities for him outside of New Zealand, and he frequently worked with women directors like Karyn Kusama (Aeon Flux) and Susan Seidelman (Sex and the City TV pilot.) Stuart also shot Bridget Jones’s Diary, The Runaway Bride, and the New Zealand indie film Once Were Warriors. He particularly enjoyed working with director John Sayles on the 1996 western mystery drama, Lone Star. Stuart’s cinematography captured the vastness and beauty of Texas. The low budget forced him to use “poor man’s process” an old film technique used for staging a driving sequence.

When Stuart read the script for Fallout, he watched play throughs of the game to get an idea of what it should look like. “I had some idea what the basis is, because the game has been around for 30 years. I pulled a lot of images and built a Pinterest board, which turned out to be completely wrong, because I’d gone very atmospheric, very gamey with my references.” says Stuart. “And Jonathan (Nolan) said ‘No, I don’t want to do it that way. I want to play it real, not too many tricks. There’s going to be enough crazy stuff in this movie content-wise- play it straight, and just make it nice.’”

Fallout creator Jonathan Nolan chose to shoot on 35mm film, using ARRI cameras and anamorphic lenses. The show is set in three main spaces, each with its own distinct color palette and look: the underground vault, the wasteland, and the past, before the nuclear disaster. The vault is lit entirely by artificial lighting and Stuart worked closely with the art department to make sure the visible lighting provided enough ambient light to shoot film. It allowed the camera freedom of movement within the space. By contrast, for the wasteland, Stuart leaned into the Western genre the show evokes, balancing the washed-out, desolate surroundings with the vibrancy of pre-war remnants. The wasteland was shot in several different locations including Namibia, the Utah salt flats and upstate New York.

Find Stuart Dryburgh: Instagram @stuartdryburgh

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By Illya Friedman

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June 21, 2024

Bringing 3 Body Problem to life: DP Jonathan Freeman, ASC

Jonathan Freeman, ASC faced a unique challenge on Netflix’s sci-fi series 3 Body Problem. The books, written by Cixin Liu, are extremely intellectually dense novels. Translating them into visually compelling television seemed like a daunting task. Show creators DB Weiss and David Benioff had worked with Jonathan previously on Game of Thrones, and they leaned into filmmaking that was motivated by impactful storytelling rather than just “cool shots.” A key reveal moment in particular was achieved simply by pushing in on a photo of one of the characters in the first episode, revealing how the stories were interconnected.

Together, they decided on the look of the show and chose three distinct visual styles for 1960s China, modern London, and the virtual world of a videogame. The 2:3:5 aspect ratio and ARRI ALFA lenses helped differentiate these environments. The lenses were prototypes that Greig Fraser was developing on The Batman. “They had exactly all that beautiful bokeh that you would expect, but the center was optically pure,” says Jonathan. “They also had these chromatic aberrations to them. These distorted, stretchy little bits in the edges of the frame just looked funky and kind of otherworldly. I just like the idea that it could be interpreted as sort of an alien’s point of view.”

Filming the virtual world within a limited physical space required innovation. Jonathan’s “low-res volume” stage concept used a massive wall of SkyPanels and strategically placed lighting to create a realistic, immersive environment for actors. “Each (panel) was almost like a pixel, so we created an array of 110 feet by 45 wide wrapped around 180 degrees.” says Jonathan. “It was a very complex system, but overall the intent was to recreate these live environments the way you might be able to do in a regular volume. Then, there was the lighting on top, similar to the skylight, where we programmed animated lights to recreate sunrise, sunset, dusk, and dawn. It was quite complicated, but we were able to use a real space and transition in camera. It took a lot of minds to put it together, but I thought it was really successful.”

Find Jonathan Freeman: http://freemandp.com/

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By Illya Friedman

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May 15, 2024

True Detective: Night Country cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister, BSC

HBO’s True Detective: Night Country has captivated audiences with its chilling atmosphere and compelling narrative. Cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister, BSC worked with director Issa López to craft the haunting visuals for the supernatural whodunit. “The detective procedural is part of the brand and it’s part of the show, but it should not affect the cinematography,” says Florian. “The cinematography is never motivated just in terms of solving the mystery. We must be sure to show every important fact or clue, to understand the mystery or to build up a bigger mystery. But it’s important to follow the characters and their internal struggles and secrets, the relationships, the darkness, the supernatural as the case unfolds.”

When he first met with Lopez to discuss shooting True Detective: Night Country, Florian liked the feeling of eerie isolation and darkness of the location. The influence of nature adds to the supernatural and to the characters’ fragmentation from each other. Florian found inspirational images by photographer Alexander Gronsky, who took photos of Russian workers in mines near the Arctic Circle. John Carpenter’s The Thing and the movie Sicario were also influences for the look of the series.

True Detective: Night Country takes place in Alaska near the Arctic Circle, with Iceland as the filming location. Most of the show was shot outside during the winter months, although it happened to be the coldest winter in Iceland in a hundred years. They used a soundstage only for the scenes where characters had to be outside in the snow naked or barefoot. Florian enjoys shooting in extreme climates, noting that proper clothing for the temperature is what matters the most. Even with the extreme cold, the ARRI Alexa 35 cameras all functioned just fine. The filming was over a period of 112 days, starting in October on the soundstage. Once winter really hit after Christmas, they began shooting in the snow and darkness. Each day provided about four hours of light, with just about five minutes of sunlight, then a few blue hours of sunrise and sunset.

True Detective: Night Country is available on Max.

Hear our previous interview with Florian Hoffmeister discussing his work on TÁR. https://www.camnoir.com/ep194/

Find Florian Hoffmeister: http://florianhoffmeister.de/
Instagram: @florian.hoffmeister

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By Illya Friedman

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May 8, 2024

Late Night with the Devil cinematographer Matthew Temple, ACS

The critically acclaimed horror movie Late Night With the Devil blends found-footage, mockumentary and 1970s late-night television into a movie with genuine scares. Cinematographer Matthew Temple, ACS used shaky camerawork, close-ups, and multiple video sources to add to the feeling of watching “behind the scenes” documentary found footage. Though they didn’t use vintage tube cameras for the 1970’s TV look, Matt and the camera operators used studio pedestal bases or a crane for the cameras. “Right from the get-go, (directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes) came at me with this word, ‘verisimilitude,’ which means to make something feel real.” says Matt. “And that was kind of the seed for the television show.”

During the preproduction period on Late Night with the Devil, the Cairnes brothers gave Matt a lookbook that they’d created referencing documentaries from the time. Matt had honed his craft on Australian TV shows like Comedy Inc., a sketch comedy show that spoofed movies and TV shows. He learned how to deconstruct a movie and replicate a specific look. Matt used the same approach for the film and watched several late night talk shows from the 1970’s to get the visual aesthetic right. As he learned and took notes, Matt made an extensive document setting out rules for the camera crew to follow to keep the look authentic. Using the studio pedestal bases and cranes were key, with Sony Venice cameras in 4K mode with Fujinon zooms. “We had three pedestal cameras. They were new Venices, but nonetheless they were on pedestals. Each operator had to do their own focus and zoom and trucking up the pedestals in shot. I was careful to hire two camera operators who really knew what they were doing with studio cameras because the last time I did that was 35 years ago.” Matt himself acted as the third camera operator. He would brief the other camera operators in preproduction, break down the scene, and map out how all the cameras would work together. It was critical that the cameras always have a logic and placement and appear to be moving together.

Growing up in Australia, Matt was impressed with the Australian movie Mad Max as a teenager. After studying some photography and stage production, he got a trainee job at ABC Television in Sydney. He slowly worked his way up as an assistant, operator, Steadicam operator and DP in Australian television. Late Night with the Devil is Matt’s first feature film as a cinematographer. He previously worked with directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes as a Steadicam operator on their first feature, 100 Bloody Acres. Matt thinks Australia is its own independent film and TV powerhouse because of their ability to innovate and work with very small budgets.

Find Matthew Temple: https://www.matthewtemple.com.au/
Instagram @dpwolfie

Late Night with the Devil is still playing in some theaters and is available on Shudder and VOD. https://www.latenightwiththedevil.movie/

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By Illya Friedman

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April 3, 2024

Dune: Part Two cinematographer Greig Fraser, ACS, ASC

Cinematographer Greig Fraser, ACS, ASC doesn’t see Dune: Part Two as a sequel, but as simply the second half of the Dune story. Shooting the second movie made Greig feel “emboldened, to make decisions that we may not have made in the first instance. We weren’t necessarily considering how to outdo ourselves. I think the fact that we were kind of riding a wave- no pun intended- but a wave of success for that last movie.”
Dune: Part Two was shot digitally on the ARRI ALEXA 35, the ALEXA 65 and the ALEXA Mini LF then printed to 70 mm film in post production for the final print. Greig prefers the look of film to that of raw digital, but he doesn’t feel like he has to shoot on film. He used a small set of spherical lenses that were easily transportable.

Lighting for the movie included plenty of hard light and open shade, since most of Dune: Part Two takes place in the harsh desert sands of Arrakis. Greig chose to uplight in order to illuminate faces, because harsh sunlight would naturally bounce off the ground and reflect upwards onto the characters. “I think that the most important thing in this movie is that everything feels honest. When you’re going to extremes in a story, if you’re running a thousand foot long sandworm in the middle of the movie, which is obviously fantasy, then you’ve got to also fill it with reality and honesty. You can tell Denis’ direction with the actors was absolutely honest. I needed to make sure that I had the same kind of approach for the lighting.”

The production featured a massive crew, shooting in four countries: Budapest, Italy, Jordan and Abu Dhabi. The second unit was essential for staying on schedule. Greig also relied on his DIT to help him match shots across different locations, sometimes months apart. He often had to choose whether to shoot on the sound stage or outside on location for the desert sequences. Though filming outside was best for daylight, the reality is that real sand is messy, uncontrolled, and harsh on equipment. The huge sandstorm sequence was shot on the soundstage, which was pumped full of atmospheric haze and color graded in post to be sand colored.

Greig enjoyed testing and using infrared black and white film for the gladiator-style fight scenes on Giedi Prime. He used a modified ARRI ALEXA 65 to shoot infrared. Since the people there have very pale white skin, he imagined that Giedi Prime has only infrared light from the sun, and no visible sunlight.

Greig partnered with actor Josh Brolin to create a beautiful art book of photography called Dune: Exposures. It features photos he took on the set of Dune and Dune: Part Two, with prose written by Josh Brolin. You can find it at Insight Editions or on Amazon.

Find Greig Fraser: Instagram: @greigfraser_dp

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By Illya Friedman

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March 20, 2024

Masters of the Air cinematographer Richard Rutkowski, ASC

Masters of the Air on AppleTV+ is about the pilots who served in the 100th Bomb Group in the U.S. Air Force during World War II. Cinematographer Richard Rutkowski shot episodes 107 and 108, which included both aerial flying, bombing and imprisoned airmen at a German POW camp. From the beginning, Richard was impressed with how everything was organized on such a massive scale. The props, set design and costumes were extremely exact to the time period. “I really am attracted to stories that have authenticity in them,” says Richard. “And they put the authentic on camera. It is all exactly what it’s meant to be, what it was at the time, as close as they can get.”

Richard worked with director Dee Rees on their block of Masters of the Air. The prison camp scenes involved working with searchlights, mud and absolute darkness at night, with up to 250 people in a scene. He chose to light in a way that would emphasize the dim lighting, gray atmosphere and unhealthy look for the POWs. Some of the Tuskegee Airmen, the legendary African-American fighter pilots, are also brought to the POW camp and the prisoners are integrated into the previously racially-segregated fighting force.

Shooting the action inside the planes involved large-scale LED volume screens surrounding the aircraft sections, with an LED roof overhead, which created most of the lighting for the scene. The actors were placed on a gimbal controlled articulated steel deck so they could react to the motion. The cameras tracked with the video system, and had GPS locators that allowed the background to respond to where the camera was so that it knew how much background to put in.

Richard was the sole cinematographer on the FX series The Americans for several seasons. The Americans was about a Russian spy couple posing as Americans in suburban Washington D.C. during the Cold War in the 1980’s. Richard established the look of the show, with the couple’s “normal” DC life leaning into bolder primary colors, in a kind of red, white, and blue cleanliness. By contrast, in their double life as spies, Richard chose a grittier, darker and grainy look. On The Americans, Richard says he learned the value of letting the actors do their work. “(There is) an unspoken connection being made about whether a scene is moving well, whether a take is truly finished. I would learn to stop reaching for that cut button. No matter who said what, if the actor was in it, we don’t cut. You leave the boom up, keep out of the frame. If the actor’s in it, we’re not cutting. We’ll go till they’re ready.”

As a kid, Richard’s father was a fine art painter and he grew up all over the country. He began making 16mm films in college and working with theatrical director Robert Wilson. After college, Richard started working on small budget films, working his way up through the camera department, including being a second assistant camera on School Ties with cinematographer Freddie Francis, a two time Oscar winner. After School Ties, Richard wrote Ed Lachman asking to work with him, and he went on to work with Ed on several movies. He feels that working your way up and learning all the different crafts in the camera department is a great education for a DP.

Masters of the Air is available on AppleTV+.

Find Richard Rutkowski: Instagram @richardrutkowskidp

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By Illya Friedman

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