May 10, 2023

Cinematographer Xavier Dolléans, AFC on the Peacock series, Mrs. Davis

Cinematographer Xavier Dolléans has worked extensively in France on films, commercials, music videos and the award-winning French series, Germinal. The Peacock show Mrs. Davis marks his move into working on more U.S. based productions. Xavier was the DP for the Spain unit of the show. He enjoys working in narrative storytelling, where he can tell longer stories and find a look that creates the rhythm of the story.

Mrs. Davis is a humorous, dramatic and action-packed science fiction show about a powerful artificial intelligence known as Mrs. Davis. The algorithm has taken control of most people’s every day lives, and they worship Mrs. Davis with cultlike devotion. An unconventional nun, Sister Simone, has made a deal with the AI to find and destroy the Holy Grail in return for it destroying itself.

Xavier began five weeks of prep in Spain for Mrs. Davis, which takes place across the globe. The production shot in several different parts of Spain to stand in for other countries, such as Scotland. The northern part of Spain looked enough like Scotland and was far less cold and rainy. Xavier worked with a mix of American and Spanish crew. The production used U.S. production standards, with very little overlap between departments, but with European labor rules of working just 8-10 hours per day.

When Xavier first read the script for Mrs. Davis, he could understand what was happening in each scene, but the overarching story was extremely complex, exciting and unpredictable. He enjoyed the depth of the story which is only revealed a tiny bit at a time. Xavier was able to give hints with camera framing and movement of what is really happening or what a character is thinking. A camera move can reveal a lot in each episode, and all of the visuals were intentional and carefully shotlisted. Xavier and cinematographer Joe Anderson used Caldwell anamorphic lenses, which created the flare and bokeh they were looking for.

Xavier began his career in filmmaking working in visual effects. He had the opportunity to spend time on set as an assistant director, and discovered he liked the job of DOP because it combined the technical with the artistic point of view of the story. Xavier sees filmmaking as a lifestyle for the mind and the body. It’s important to stay educated and up-to-date on new systems and techniques, and to keep your body healthy and well rested so you’re in the best condition for the job.

Find Xavier Dolléans: http://www.xavierdolleans.com/
Instagram: @xavier_dolleans

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com
Sponsored by Greentree Creative: www.growwithgreentree.com

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

By Illya Friedman

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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

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May 3, 2023

Comedian and director W. Kamau Bell on the new HBO documentary, 1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed

Comedian and director W. Kamau Bell has been a fan of documentaries as much as a fan of comedy. As a kid, he would sit down with his mom and watch documentaries on PBS, since there were only a few broadcast TV channels when he was growing up. He came of age at a time when lots of documentary filmmakers were putting themselves on screen and telling personal stories. For Kamau, it’s always about looking at the material and the story you want to tell.  As a comedian, he’s skilled at bringing humor into more serious subjects. But there is a clear difference between something personal that happened to him that he can joke about in his standup act vs. something with more nuance and depth that can be explored as a longer-form project.

1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed is very personal to Kamau, since his children are mixed race. He wanted to talk to his three daughters about their identity and experiences, something they discussed often in their household. He also included interviews with his wife, mother and mother in law. The production team cast several other kids in the San Francisco Bay Area, including friends of his daughters, to expand the focus of the documentary further. The intention was to keep it lyrical and light, and temper any intense or heavy topics with humor when possible. On set, Kamau made sure the kids were as comfortable as possible and that the cameras were always framed at their level so they could look him straight in the eye. The set was a rented house that they intentionally decorated to feel homey and welcoming, and Kamau made the children feel at ease by showing them the cameras and equipment first. The parents interviewed in the documentary found that the project led to them having deeper conversations about their racial identities with other family members. HBO and the producers decided to keep the edited time of 1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed down to just one hour, so that families could sit and watch it together.

Kamau thinks 1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed is just the beginning of what could become a bigger project. He would love other directors to talk to kids in different parts of the country, because there’s lots of kids out there with different experiences than those in the very liberal and diverse Bay Area.

1000% Me: Growing Up Mixed is currently available on HBOMax.

Find W. Kamau Bell: http://www.wkamaubell.com/
Instagram & Twitter: @wkamaubell

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com
Sponsored by Greentree Creative: www.growwithgreentree.com

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

By Illya Friedman

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July 13, 2022

Cinematographer Chris Teague on the Hulu series Only Murders in the Building

Cinematographer Chris Teague has shot many acclaimed television series and films such as Obvious Child, GLOW, Russian Doll and Mrs. America. His latest work is on the Hulu series, Only Murders in the Building, both Season One and Season Two, and he also directed episodes seven and eight of Season Two.

Only Murders in the Building has many different tones, ranging from funny to dark, dramatic and even scary. The show manages to strike a balance to keep the darkness from undermining the comedy. As the DP, Chris created a very cinematic and timeless look and feel for the show, which is mainly shot on sets that are meticulously built and planned. Each episode takes about 6 ½ days to shoot, and Chris and the crew are able to create visually interesting shots that feel very natural because of having such well built sets with excellent lighting. Actors Martin Short and Steve Martin have such a rapport, and their friend dynamic is baked into the script- the two actually don’t do very much improv or riffing. If they do come up with something, Martin and Short run the line changes through for the crew to see how they play. Chris has enjoyed coming back to work on a second season of the show, because he has a body of work to reference and the crew knows the look of the show really well.

As a kid, Chris made lots of short movies with friends growing up, and always loved photography and writing. It seemed a natural fit to go to film school and he decided to pursue cinematography full time after the film he shot, Obvious Child, went to Sundance in 2014.

Find Chris Teague: http://www.christeaguefilm.com
Instagram @_christeague

Only Murders in the Building Season 2 is currently airing on Hulu.

Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: https://camnoir.com//ep174/

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/c/TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Twitter: @ShortEndz

By Illya Friedman

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June 22, 2022

Director Jim Archer, actors and writers David Earl and Chris Hayward on the offbeat film, Brian and Charles

Brian and Charles is about an awkward and lonely inventor, Brian, who lives in rural Wales. He rarely makes contraptions that are useful or work right, but one day, he finally creates a robot. Charles Petrescu, built out of an old washing machine and a mannequin, becomes Brian’s friend. But as Charles becomes more and more curious and self-aware, he decides he wants to explore the world on his own.

Actor David Earl is a comedian and came up with the eccentric character of Brian as a bit on the stand up circuit in the UK. One day on an internet radio call in show, a friend called in to interact with David’s character using computer voice simulation software. Fellow actor and comedian Chris Hayward heard it, came up with the idea of Charles as Brian’s robot sidekick, and the two took it on the road as a live show. Chris built the Charles robot character as a costume, and another friend would type in what Charles would say into the voice simulator to interact with the audience. In 2017, the two teamed up with director Jim Archer to make a short film about the characters, and it did well at festivals. After that, the UK production company Film4 backed developing the script into a feature film.

For the feature version of Brian and Charles, director Jim Archer decided to expand on the mockumentary style. He wanted it to look like a real documentary, with a serious dramatic and cinematic look rather than as a wink and a nod to other mockumentaries. The friends were inspired by the documentaries American Movie and Monster Road – true stories about lonely people desperate for their dream to come true.

Brian and Charles premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and is currently playing in theaters. https://www.focusfeatures.com/brian-and-charles/watch/

Jim Archer: Instagram & Twitter: @alrightjim

David Earl: Instagram @davidearlhello

Chris Hayward: https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/chris-hayward

Charles Petrescu has his own twitter account: @CharlesPetrescu

Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: https://camnoir.com//ep173/

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

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

By Illya Friedman

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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

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