December 5, 2025

Alice Brooks, ASC returns to Oz in Wicked: For Good

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 336: Alice Brooks, ASC

For cinematographer Alice Brooks, ASC, shooting both Wicked and Wicked: For Good concurrently was a huge feat. The giant sets, precise camerawork and complex, live lighting cues for the musical numbers required detailed planning and prep. But first, Alice and her long-time collaborator, director Jon M. Chu, broke down the scripts and discussed the emotional intentions for each scene. “When we first start talking about a movie, we talk about emotion,” says Alice. “I love getting an emotional cue for the camera the same way an actor would. What is the emotional intention in the scene? An actor gets to tell the story through their breath and through their looks and through their being. And I get to tell the story, the emotional story, through camera and lenses and lighting.”

Separation, seclusion and surrender were the emotional themes in Wicked: For Good. “It became very clear that the first movie would live in this ever-present daylight,” explains Alice. “And the second movie would have this weight and complexity and maturity and density to it and live in the shadows.” 90% of Wicked takes place in the daytime, with the sun setting as Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) embraces her power, sings “Defying Gravity” and flies away. In contrast, Wicked: For Good takes place mostly at night, in the shadows, forest, and underbelly of Oz while Elphaba is in hiding.

Alice chose to frame the characters Glinda and Elphaba in contrasting ways for the story. Now separated from Elphaba, Glinda (Ariana Grande) is central to the world of Oz. Alice kept her center punched, carefully composed and choreographed. Elphaba is framed always to the right or left, with tight close-ups and static hand-held shots, to emphasize her loneliness. When the two are together, Alice repeated the same motifs from the first movie, with Ephaba framed to the right and Glinda to the left, often holding hands.

Though Wicked: For Good is a huge fantasy movie, Alice and the production crew tried to do as much practically and in camera as possible. The “Girl in the Bubble” dance sequence was done entirely with carefully choreographed mirrors and flyaway walls that were removed as Glinda dances. Alice planned it out using her daughter’s bath toys and her husband’s shaving mirror. The art department storyboarded it, then the special effects team was able to figure out all the mirror technology needed to pull it off. The camerawork had to be very precise, with many of the frames exactly matching the last, combining both a Technocrane and a Steadicam.

Unreal Engine was an indispensable tool for Alice to aid the film’s sophisticated lighting and shot design. She used the software to pre-visualize outdoor sets, making sure the sun was at the right angle for perfectly backlighting Glinda in her bubble over Munchkin Land. It also helped her discover where the sun would hit tall buildings and spires of the Emerald City. Unreal assisted with pre-lighting, finding where practical light sources could be integrated and built into interior sets. She even tested different camera lenses to see how they would look in the space under certain lighting conditions and at various angles and heights.

Alice is the cinematographer for the upcoming animated Spiderman: Beyond The Spider-verse as well as an animated version of the Dr. Seuss book, Oh The Places You’ll Go with director Jon M. Chu.

See Wicked: For Good in theaters.

Find Alice Brooks: Instagram @_alicebrooks_

SHOW RUNDOWN:
01:22 Close Focus
08:41-51:09 Interview
51:36 Short ends
01:01:40 Wrap up/Credits

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

By Illya Friedman

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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

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August 21, 2025

Art of the one shot: Adolescence cinematographer Matt Lewis

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 321: Cinematographer Matt Lewis

In the limited Netflix series Adolescence, each episode unfolds as a single, uninterrupted take, a cinematic choice that immediately immerses viewers in the unfolding drama. This ambitious format was a deliberate artistic choice. Both cinematographer Matt Lewis and series director Philip Barantini had previously collaborated on the independent feature Boiling Point, which also followed the one-shot format. This shared experience allowed them to bring a unique intensity and almost voyeuristic quality to the new series. As Matt explains, “A one-shot creates intensity. It creates slight paranoia that something might happen because you’ve got this lack of editing. We managed to deploy that technique for Adolescence to make it feel like the camera just happened to be there. It was an inevitable floating force. You never feel like the camera is a filmmaker.”

The decision to film Adolescence in one continuous shot was a massive undertaking that required meticulous planning, from the writing stage to the final take. The series’ writers, Jack Thorne and Stephen Graham, crafted the script with this format in mind, allowing the story to flow seamlessly from one character to the next. The crew and cast treated each hour-long episode like a live theatrical performance, knowing that any mistake would require a complete reset. For Matt, the process was similar to choreographing a dance. The cast and crew had about 2 attempts per day to get each hour long episode right. Matt chose a single, lightweight DJI Ronin 4D camera that was passed between operators and even mounted on a drone for one episode, emphasizing the camera’s fluid, continuous motion. “It forces a kind of energy on set, which is really palpable when you’re there,” explains Matt. “I think that also translates into the piece. A true one shot wasn’t any sort of flex. We wanted to try and see if by stripping back and actually not having those opportunities to cut camera, it ends up focusing more on the story.”

To navigate the complex, unbroken shots, Matt relied on detailed preparation and his extensive experience. He used the application Shot Designer to meticulously map out the camera’s path, memorizing specific lines of dialogue as cues for each movement. Fortunately, the cast and crew had two weeks of rehearsals. Matt used his phone to shoot the rehearsal for reference, in order to plan the camera’s route and see what would work. The lighting was also an integral part of this intricate choreography. Every fixture was practically built into the set and controlled in sync with the camera’s journey through the scene. “Every step the camera takes is choreographed,” says Matt. “There was no room to work it out in the moment. But ultimately, we’re creating a route, a path through a place. So there’s only a certain way you can do that. If you start moving one piece, then you can’t get from that piece to the next one suddenly.”

The one-shot format in Adolescence ultimately served the story, creating a powerful and intimate viewing experience. By stripping away the ability to cut, Matt and the team were able to focus entirely on the narrative, allowing the raw energy and palpable tension of the set to translate directly to the screen.

Find Matt Lewis: Instagram: @mattlewisfilm
Matt Lewis is Emmy-nominated for episode 2 of Adolescence.
See Adolescence on Netflix.

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: https://hotrodcameras.com/

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

By Illya Friedman

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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

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June 30, 2021

Cinematographer Alice Brooks on shooting In The Heights, Home Before Dark, working with director Jon M. Chu

Alice Brooks grew up on Broadway musical theater and movies as a kid, and loves shooting music and dance oriented films and TV shows. Alice has always been in awe of dancers, and though she isn’t a dancer herself, she is inspired by their work ethic and loves that she can capture dance with her camera.

Working on In The Heights has fulfilled a lifelong dream for Alice. She and director Jon M. Chu have known each other since college at USC. The two bonded over musicals- she shot his she shot his student short, a musical called When The Kids Are Away in 2002 and worked together again on the film Jem and the Holograms. Alice and Jon were shooting the Apple TV+ series Home Before Dark when he asked her to shoot In The Heights. Jon, choreographer Christopher Scott and Alice had also worked together on a Hulu series called The LXD: The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers for three seasons, and they got used to working together and working quickly, figuring out how tell a story and develop characters through dance. Jon, Alice and Chris Scott felt their whole careers came together to make a musical like In The Heights. The characters’ hopes, dreams, fears and anxieties can be played out not only through song and dance but in the environment around them, which sometimes shifts to where they are emotionally.

With just 49 shoot days, preproduction for In The Heights was essential. Alice and Jon Chu would location scout in the mornings and then spend afternoons in the dance rehearsal space with Chris Scott. They would share their input and make suggestions from each location scout on how to face and orient the dance. Alice and Jon thought at first many more locations would be done on a soundstage, but they found that shooting in real places on the streets looked and felt so true- even the theater and the subway station were real locations. During shooting, every Sunday they would meet and go through the coming week because the schedule was so tight and the camerawork so complex, looking at videos from dance rehearsal to discuss the shots and angles to use, deciding if a crane shot was needed, and how many cameras to use for each scene. Jon made animatics detailing each scene from storyboards and dance rehearsal footage. With 17 song and dance scenes in In The Heights, Jon had huge goals for the musical numbers, and Alice, the dancers and the entire film crew were able to pull it off.

Alice grew up in New York and got into acting at a young age. She and her family then moved to Los Angles, and she realized as a teen that she did not want to be an actor. Being on set around the camera crew made her realize that she wanted to shoot movies, and that being a DP was her true dream. After graduating from USC Film School, Alice asked many of the graduate students if she could shoot their projects, knowing that the key to honing her craft was practice, practice, practice. She shot about 20 shorts, including Jon M. Chu’s musical short, When The Kids Are Away. Alice thinks it’s important to find the right people to work with, since you’re spending so much time together, and forming that bond helps everyone. She wants to make movies that inspire her daughter. For anyone with a family, it’s important to pick the projects that are worth it, since filming can take so much time away from loved ones.

Find Alice Brooks: https://www.alicebrooks.com/
Instagram: @_alicebrooks_

You can see In The Heights in theaters, the best place to experience the film’s immersive sound design and visuals. You can also find it streaming on HBO Max.

Alice’s new musical film directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda is tick, tick…Boom! releasing in the fall.

Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: https://camnoir.com/ep130/

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com
Sponsored by Aputure: https://www.aputure.com/

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNQIhe3yjQJG72EjZJBRI1w
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Twitter: @ShortEndz

By Illya Friedman

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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

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