camera department

May 22, 2024

Griselda cinematographer Armando Salas, ASC

Netflix’s gripping new series, Griselda, takes viewers deep into the world of Colombian drug lord Griselda Blanco. But behind the drugs and violence is a masterfully crafted world, built by cinematographer Armando Salas, ASC. Armando, known for his work on Ozark, brings a unique perspective to Griselda. His approach to color throughout the series tells a story that’s more about character than it is about the drug trade. “In the end, we’re making a work of fiction, and we really want to connect with the audience,” says Armando. “And the things you know and hear about Griselda Blanco is, you know, she’s a killer, a psychopath. There’s not a lot of redeeming qualities when you’re looking into the drug wars in Miami at that time.” Even through all the death and destruction in the series, director Andrés Baiz didn’t want Griselda to be too dark. He still wanted to find some joy and absurdity within the story.

Armando met with director Andrés Baiz, who wanted to hire a local Los Angeles DP who also spoke Spanish, since a majority of Griselda’s script is in Spanish. Growing up in Miami, Armando happened to know the story of Griselda Blanco very well. He also worked on a 2006 documentary called Cocaine Cowboys, about how Miami became the cocaine capital of the US. They did careful location scouting around LA for places that looked like Miami in the late 1970’s and early 80’s. Armando and Baiz wanted the show to have the right period look. “We didn’t take an intellectual conceit, I wasn’t only using lenses or camera technology that existed at that time. We were really more interested in finding the right feeling,” Armando explains. “And so, we looked at a lot of photography from the period, we looked at a lot of films from the period, we looked at modern films that were doing a good job of recreating the period, but we kind of landed our our own version. Again, it’s really just like capturing the vibe and building the world. And so we had a very aggressive and unique approach to the LUT and the color characteristics of our negative.” The Polaroid pictures Baiz took during location scouting became a big inspiration for the color palette of the show.

Throughout the six episode series, Armando used color to help tell a compelling character story. Griselda’s world is full of deep, rich colors as she’s living the high life. In contrast, Armando chose a bluer, more desaturated color for scenes with June Hawkins (Juliana Aidén Martinez), the Miami PD intelligence analyst. As she breaks the case and convinces law enforcement officers to go after Griselda, she enters a world of color. “And on top of that, we unleash the camera. We go flying down the sidewalk with her from multiple angles. It’s the fastest camera movements in the series. And over the course of the series, her storyline and Griselda’s storyline meet, and the color, the glitz and glamour of Griselda’s world has been mostly stripped out at that point. June has come into her own, and they meet in that world. The two arcs have now connected, and it’s one story.”

Griselda is available on Netflix. https://www.netflix.com/title/81133447

Hear our previous interview with Armando discussing his work on Ozark and more. https://www.camnoir.com/ep91/

Find Armando Salas: https://www.salasfilm.com/
Instagram: @cinesalas

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The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
Facebook: @cinepod
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Twitter: @ShortEndz

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

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras www.hotrodcameras.com

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Twitter: @ShortEndz

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/

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras www.hotrodcameras.com
Sponsored by ARRI: https://www.arri.com/en

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Twitter: @ShortEndz

By Illya Friedman

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May 1, 2024

Hundreds of Beavers director Mike Cheslik and cinematographer Quinn Hester

Hundreds of Beavers is a callback to slapstick comedies like classic WB Looney Tunes cartoons. It’s full of live-action wacky pratfalls, ridiculous situations, and a healthy dose of beaver-related mayhem. Shot on a micro-budget of $150,000, Hundreds of Beavers was made with passion, creativity, and a whole lot of beaver costumes.

Director Mike Cheslik and cinematographer Quinn Hester and most of the cast and crew are all from Wisconsin, where Hundreds of Beavers was shot. Everyone was comfortable with snow, loved physical comedy, and had the desire to make a film that would stand out as a true indie. After first meeting at the Milwaukee Film Festival in 2018, Mike called Quinn in October, 2020 to ask if he’d DP the film during the winter in zero degree weather. “It couldn’t have been anybody but Quinn because he’s just a tough guy and he’s used to the winter,” says Mike. In total, the film took about 8 weeks of shooting with a core crew of about 4-6 people over the course of two winters. The main location was a remote cabin in Northern Wisconsin. “We’re out there in the elements. It’s very rare to be on a production where you are not only making a movie and having to use all your energy, focus and creativity and meditate on how to accomplish certain looks and goals and shots,” says Quinn. “But you’re also trying to not die. All of us almost died at least once.”

To make Hundreds of Beavers, Mike spent years creating extensive storyboards and animatics. “People could watch the animatic on the DIT computer and they could also see the boards in my binders that I was carrying around,” he says.”But it still takes a lot of explaining and there’s a lot to wrap your head around because there’s so much in this movie. It is a lot. I was just thinking about it nonstop for years. And then just doing my best to explain it to the team. I was always surprised how much trust we got.” The film is very effects-heavy and made to look old-timey in grainy black and white. “The freedom of picking a grainy black and white style, it frees you up to tell a bigger story and to have bigger visual ideas. This style gave us permission to work that way in the modern day,” says Mike. Since they were shooting in the winter, they would have to wrap by 4:30 pm. Mike imported everything into Adobe After Effects and edited with Adobe Premiere every night. That way, Quinn and the crew knew exactly what they needed by the next day. Quinn shot on a Panasonic LUMIX GH5 camera that worked well even in extremely cold weather. All the footage could easily be imported into Adobe Premiere and After Effects.

Hundreds of Beavers is still playing in select theaters and is tons of fun to see with a live audience. Go to the Hundreds of Beavers website to find cities where it’s playing. https://www.hundredsofbeavers.com/

Hundreds of Beavers is also available to rent on Amazon and Apple.

Find Mike Cheslik: Instagram @mikeches

Find Quinn Hester: Instagram @quinn.hester

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras www.hotrodcameras.com

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Twitter: @ShortEndz

By Illya Friedman

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April 24, 2024

Working in small markets: DP Kyle Roberts

Kyle Roberts is a DP working in Birmingham, Alabama. One of the important aspects of working in a smaller market is to be skilled enough to function in multiple roles depending on what each project demands. “I’m a big problem solver,” says Kyle. “I feel like my career has taken off mainly because I’m the guy that can not just do multiple jobs, but it’s using my creative mind, doing the problem solving, that’s taken me far. That’s what still brings me to the job every day.”

After working in LA at Radiant Images, Kyle relocated back home to Birmingham to work for a local ad agency. He began shooting corporate video and regional commercials. Though he loves shooting narratives, commercials in this market are what pays the bills. Fortunately, production in the area has grown enough to support more work. Alabama is a pretty good central location for Kyle to work in Atlanta, Nashville and New Orleans, so he’s able to work as a local in any of those markets. He also finds and trains those who are eager to learn, so there’s more experienced crew available and work can be shared. With his partners, Kyle opened Next Level Productions, a rental house, and Moonmen DJS, a production studio with an LED video wall.

Find Kyle Roberts: Instagram @nextlevelfilm

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The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
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By Illya Friedman

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April 19, 2024

Amy Vincent ASC on A Nice Indian Boy, Hustle & Flow, Eve’s Bayou

Amy Vincent, ASC did not originally set out to become a cinematographer. While studying veterinary medicine at UC Santa Cruz, she got a work study job hanging lights for the theater department. She fell in love with the creative art of lighting, and soon transitioned to the theater arts department. Amy found her natural affinity for math and science matched the skill set needed for technical theater production. She began making short films at UCSC, moving to Los Angeles after college to pursue a career in film. Amy’s first job was as an assistant editor, but she really wanted to work in the camera department. So she began working her way up from camera intern to camera assistant, working with notable DPs such as Bill Pope on Clueless and Robert Richardson on Natural Born Killers.

A few years into her career as a camera assistant, Amy decided to go to grad school at AFI. She shot many student short films for free before meeting writer and director Kasi Lemmons. Amy could tell from page one that the script for Eve’s Bayou was something personal and special. They made the short film together, then over the course of three years, Lemmons raised enough money and interest to turn Eve’s Bayou into a feature. It was Amy’s first movie as a cinematographer and it became her first big breakout.

One of Amy’s frequent collaborators was director Craig Brewer. She was given a copy of his first film on VHS, then the two met to discuss making 2005’s Hustle & Flow. “I think the beauty of where my collaboration with Craig and the process of making the movie was what the movie was about. The two folded over on each other. I mean, it’s the idea of making music or making a movie by whatever means necessary. And there was something that became so apparent in the process. For example, we tried on a whole bunch of different formats, like, what are we going to shoot? At one point we were going to shoot Mini DV, because that’s what Craig knew and then we settled into Super 16.” She and Brewer went on to work together on Black Snake Moan and the 2011 Footloose remake.

Throughout her career, Amy has enjoyed collaborating with directors on smaller movies. Her most recent project, A Nice Indian Boy, had a very low budget and it had to be shot quickly before the actors strike. “It is so cool to have a really funny rom com that’s gay and Indian. It would have been great to have more time and more money to make that movie, but I love all of the things that came together to make this simple little movie. It’s really important to me to be able to make a movie that means something to a slightly different community.”

Amy recently received the ASC Presidents Award, which recognizes her long career as a cinematographer and a mentor to new cinematographers. She’s also an artist in residence at Loyola Marymount University, where she teaches film classes and mentors students making short films.

You can see Amy’s recent work on the show Parish with Giancarlo Esposito on AMC+.

A Nice Indian Boy premiered at the SXSW Film Festival to critical acclaim, and is seeking distribution.

Find Amy Vincent: https://www.amyvincentasc.com/
Instagram: @amyvvincent

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras www.hotrodcameras.com

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
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By Illya Friedman

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April 10, 2024

Strada CEO Michael Cioni: Using AI to simplify workflows

Michael Cioni is one of the film industry’s most influential people in digital cinema and post production technology. He is uniquely gifted at identifying and following fads that turn into trends, and trends that convert into industry standards. Michael was always drawn to the challenge of helping filmmakers figure out their best workflows. “I really wanted to embody knowledge to help workflows, so that I could inform customers, partners and filmmakers. And then together we would figure out what’s the best recipe for this particular film.”

Michael began his career at post house Plaster City, then co-founded the post house Light Iron, which was acquired by Panavision. He then worked for Frame.io where he found several workflow shortcuts, including Camera to Cloud. Shortly after Adobe acquired Frame.io, Michael started paying closer attention to a new trend: AI. Last year he decided to leave Frame.io and together with his brother Peter, they founded Strada. With Strada, Michael wants to enable creative professionals the freedom to work entirely from the cloud, using helpful AI tools. “The most lucrative, and I think the most useful forms of AI is in utilitarian tasks. The first major part of filmmaking workflow that Strada wants to use AI to eliminate is the mundane aspects of creating a story. If creative people can get rid of the boring, mundane, repeatable, low-skill stuff, then it means we have more time to do the satisfying, creative, fun stuff.”

Strada can transfer assets from cloud to cloud without having to download them and then reupload them. Using AI, Strada can provide a transcription and a translation of narrative content early and up front. It can also tag and analyze images so that it’s easy to search using just one word for a specific scene, saving hours in the editing process. Plus, all the work can be done remotely, from any location, because everything is stored in the cloud.

Strada is currently still in private beta but anyone can apply to try it. If you have a project you’re working on, go to Strada’s website to contact them about trying out the beta version. The company plans to start rolling out the public beta by fall 2024.

The entire Strada team will be at NAB Las Vegas next week April 13-17 at the Atlas Lens Co. booth in Central Hall C5539 to provide live demos of the AI-powered workflow technology platform and allow filmmakers to test out Strada’s capabilities firsthand.

Find Michael Cioni: Instagram: @michaelcioni
Strada: https://strada.tech/

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras www.hotrodcameras.com

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
Facebook: @cinepod
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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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Sponsored by ARRI: www.arri.com/en

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Twitter: @ShortEndz

By Illya Friedman

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March 28, 2024

Dynamics of a Working Camera Department with Greg Irwin, SOC

Gregory Irwin is an extremely experienced A Camera First AC who first got into the business 44 years ago. He received a 2016 Society of Camera Operators Lifetime Achievement Award for Outstanding Contributions as Camera Technician. His most recent project is the Joker sequel Joker: Folie à Deux coming soon.

Greg frequently gives talks on the importance of character and credibility in the camera department. The camera department is in a leadership role on any production. There’s always going to be challenges on set, but it’s important to remember that if the camera department seems like they’re panicking, it affects the rest of the production. A good camera department is always helpful, no matter what department needs it. Never be rude or show panic, even when things aren’t going to plan. Greg says, “I want my team to know everything at all times, and I want them to be better than me. If I can develop a young camera person into a rock solid, good human being as well as a good camera technician then I’ve done my job.”

Greg discusses:

Character and credibility in the camera department-remembering you are in a leadership role
Taking a business approach to the camera department
Interacting with the director, cinematographer, producers and showrunners
How to hire others in the camera department- be sure to vet your camera crew before hiring them
Be a “one minute manager”- choose people you don’t have to micromanage
Handling the first phone calls with the filmmakers and producers: save talk about rates, money, deals until about the 4th phone call so you can get to know the person who you’re negotiating with
Generally talk rates/business aspects for your camera team as well
Prep for the camera prep day: prep should already be done ahead, including what you need for your camera package
Prep and budget: build everything you need for prep based on meetings with the filmmakers & DP, timestamp prep lists to keep track of everything. By draft 10, you should be clear on what’s needed and camera budget should be very clear at that point
Look the part- better to dress like a professional
Be organized and don’t have a sense of entitlement
How to get noticed and move up in the camera department

Find Greg Irwin: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0410389/

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras www.hotrodcameras.com

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Twitter: @ShortEndz

By Illya Friedman

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