November 20, 2024

Capturing the Chaos of Saturday Night: Eric Steelberg, ASC

The movie Saturday Night is based on the true story of the 90 minutes leading up to the 1975 premiere of NBC’s Saturday Night Live. The comedy-drama isn’t just a film about the iconic show; it’s an immersive experience that captures the frenetic energy and chaos from the point of view of the show’s creator, Lorne Michaels. To bring this chaotic night to life, cinematographer Eric Steelberg and director Jason Reitman, longtime collaborators and friends, embarked on a unique filmmaking journey.

Reitman wanted to transport the audience back to 1975 and capture the feeling of Saturday Night, rather than make a faithful retelling of the experience. To achieve this, the production team meticulously recreated the original Saturday Night Live set, right down to the color palette and costumes. Eric and Reitman wanted to create an energy of the ticking clock, the pressure and excitement that carried the group through the night, through the eyes of Lorne Michaels. They achieved this through dynamic camera movements, close-ups, and a chaotic visual style. “We tried to make everything feel like it’s surrounding Lorne and putting downward pressure on him,” Eric explains. “Every which way he turns, he goes into a door he cannot open. He runs into groups of people who don’t know who he is. The goal was to show that within the camera frame but also create an energy that carried us through those 90 minutes and heighten that time pressure.”

Eric and Reitman spent a long time in preproduction, shooting the entire movie on an iPhone first while the set was being built. This allowed them to experiment with different camera angles, blocking, and pacing. They also chose to shoot the movie on 16mm film, a decision that was met with skepticism from the studio. “Going to a major studio and saying that you want to put something in a theater that’s shot on 16mm, you don’t get a good, excited, nor favorable response from them,” Eric says. “I think that’s largely because of the unfamiliarity with it and because it’s not done.” However, he believed that 16mm was the perfect choice for the film, and he extensively tested both 16mm and 35mm film stocks. Eric found 16mm to work the best. The film grain could be controlled on the set with slower-speed stock and very hard, direct lighting. Working with older tungsten lights on the set was a bit of a learning curve, but Eric enjoyed the creative challenge of learning something new.

The opening shot of Saturday Night is a single, unbroken take that sets the tone for the entire film. It’s a testament to the meticulous planning, rigorous rehearsal, and sheer determination of the filmmakers. Eric and Reitman knew that this opening shot had to be perfect. They carefully choreographed every camera movement, every actor’s entrance, and every line of dialogue. “Jason wanted to tell everybody right from the beginning, ‘This is the ride we’re going to be on, and this is how overwhelming it feels,’” says Eric. “It wasn’t going to feel overwhelming to the audience until we felt overwhelmed.” The day before the shoot, the entire cast and crew spent hours rehearsing the sequence. However, the next day, when it came time to capture it on film, things didn’t go as planned. Take after take, something would go wrong – a missed line, a botched camera move, a technical glitch. But Eric and Reitman were determined to get the oner without cheating. After over 20 takes, they finally nailed it. The opening shot was in the can. The rest of the production went smoothly, with the camera operators becoming increasingly adept at executing complex camera moves. Near the end of the shoot, Reitman decided to revisit the opening shot. On the very last day of filming, they again spent hours re-shooting the sequence, once again taking over 20 takes to finally get it. “So, the very first and very last things we shot for Saturday Night was the opening oner,” says Eric.

Find Eric Steelberg: http://www.ericsteelberg.com/
Instagram: @ericsteelberg

Saturday Night is currently available for rent on Amazon, AppleTV, or other VOD services and will be streaming on Netflix.

Listen to our previous episode with Eric Steelberg discussing Ahsoka. https://www.camnoir.com/ep236/

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Sponsored by Laowa: https://laowacine.com/

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

By Illya Friedman

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November 13, 2024

Action comedy redefined: Thelma director Josh Margolin and DP David Bolen

Thelma is a heartwarming and inspiring action comedy about Thelma Post, a 93-year-old woman who falls victim to a phone scam and loses $10,000. Determined to reclaim her money, Thelma embarks on a thrilling adventure with her friend Ben (Richard Roundtree) on his borrowed mobility scooter across Los Angeles. As Thelma, June Squibb captivates with her portrayal of a feisty and independent senior citizen out for justice and redemption. Thelma challenges ageist stereotypes and inspires viewers to realize that they can fight back against injustice at any age.

Director and writer Josh Margolin’s masterful storytelling and keen eye for detail bring Thelma’s journey to life. He wrote the script from a place of love and admiration for his own grandmother, and enjoyed playing with action adventure elements. Josh admired cinematographer David Bolen’s documentary film, Some Kind of Heaven, which used a natural and humanistic style. “In making this movie, it was so important to me to find a partner who saw Thelma the way I saw it and wanted to bring a filmic look to it, but also be able to have fun with it,” says Josh.

David found the script incredibly relatable, since he also has a special relationship with his grandmother. He knew exactly how he wanted to approach the visual language of Thelma. With a background in shooting documentaries, David wanted Thelma’s world to feel real, so that audiences would emphasize with her life. “Documentaries have really influenced how I film narrative work,” he says. “I think it’s important for things not to feel overly lit or over the top. I’m chasing that feeling of realism and that subjectivity that a documentary can bring.” David chose to shoot on the ARRI Alexa 35, which was brand new at the time. During preproduction, David found the camera responded well to natural street light and shooting in nighttime conditions, since a good part of the film takes place at night.

With only a 25 day shoot, Josh and David created an extremely detailed shotlist. Josh was very aware that working with older actors meant that the production needed to work within their capabilities. The production team kept everything intimate and small, and the set felt like a close-knit family. “The logistics of it were challenging on this film,” says Josh. “It was a quick schedule and you are with elderly actors. So, you know, as capable as June is, and as amazing as she is, you don’t want to do a bunch of takes on something.” He felt confident that they could adapt on the fly and adjust to practical realities of certain moments. “On the page, everything is one way, and then the second you’re doing it, things change,” says Josh. “I think doing a lot of homework and also being able to be nimble was really helpful for shooting an indie in L.A.”

Josh, who also edited Thelma, did not make the deadline to submit for the 2023 Sundance Film Festival, but it allowed him the luxury of a long postproduction process and screenings for friends and colleagues. Once he submitted the film to Sundance for 2024 consideration, Josh felt pessimistic about their chances. But not only did Thelma get into the festival, it was given a world premiere screening. Shortly after, Magnolia Pictures picked it up for distribution.

Find Josh Margolin: Instagram @jmargo999

Find David Bolen: Instagram @davidbolendp

Thelma is currently available for rent on Amazon, AppleTV, or other VOD services and will be streaming on Hulu.

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: https://hotrodcameras.com/
Sponsored by Aputure: https://aputure.com/EN-US/

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

By Illya Friedman

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February 26, 2024

Bonus Episode: To Kill a Tiger director Nisha Pahuja and editor Mike Munn

In this bonus episode of The Cinematography Podcast, we interview director Nisha Pahuja and editor Mike Munn about the documentary To Kill a Tiger. The film is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

**A warning that this episode discusses sexual assault and violence, so please take care.**

To Kill a Tiger is the story of Ranjit, a farmer in Jharkhand, India whose 13 year old daughter is raped by three men from her village. Ranjit is determined to get justice for his daughter through the legal system. In India, men rarely stand up for their daughters and conviction rates for rape are less than 30 percent. It’s common practice in the village for a girl to be married off to her abuser instead. Rangit and his family faced down threats of violence and ostracism by the townspeople.

Director Nisha Pahuja was originally making a documentary studying Indian masculinity when she met Ranjit and his daughter. She followed their story for about 18 months, thinking they would only be one part of the story. Only in the editing process did the story start to take shape. It became clear that Ranjit and his daughter Kiran were the strongest characters. Nisha admired Ranjit’s courage and love for his daughter. “I just think Ranjit is the kind of person who has this idea of doing the right thing inside of him. He’s just a very ethical, thoughtful person.” Because Kiran was only 13 at the time, Nisha had to be careful about revealing her identity. By the time the film was finished, Kiran was 18, and gave permission to show her face. Nisha says, “She said it was because she couldn’t believe how courageous she was when she was watching herself, she couldn’t believe her own courage and her own bravery. And she wanted to celebrate that.”

Nisha’s husband Mrinal Desai was the primary cinematographer on To Kill a Tiger, and they lived together in India while making the documentary. Nisha finds that he has a very quiet and gentle way with the people they film. She, Mrinal and their sound recordist Anita Kushwaha have worked together for a long time and are able to create an atmosphere of intimacy and trust.

Editor Mike Munn spent about 8 months working on the film before he decided that they had to distill it down to the best story. “We were wrestling a lot because we had, in fact, two different films. So Ranjit’s story was so specific and so well drawn out that it needed its own place. So, we jettisoned all of that work that we’d done.” Mike started expanding Ranjit’s story and discovered that this version of the film has a clear narrative arc with interesting characters. Fortunately, the raw footage came back from India with a basic transcription and subtitles that could be polished during the edit with the help of a translator. Mike says, “My favorite part overall was working with the observational and verite nature of the film. It was so intimate and real and we’re all creating scenes out of real emotion. This was a film where the narrative was all happening within real scenes with the family. That was challenging, but rewarding in just the truthfulness of it.”

To Kill a Tiger is in select theaters. https://tokillatigerfilm.com/

Find Nisha Pahuja: http://www.noticepicturesinc.com/
Instagram @nishappics

Find Mike Munn: https://mikemunneditor.com/

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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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Special Episode

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September 20, 2023

Talk to Me cinematographer Aaron McLisky, ACS

Cinematographer Aaaron McLisky is thrilled that Talk to Me, a small Australian independent horror film, has found such a huge audience. It has become A24’s highest grossing horror movie in North America. The movie is about a group of friends who discover how to become possessed by spirits with an embalmed hand, creating a thrilling party game. The main character, Mia, has recently lost her mother, and her grief makes the idea of finding her mom on the other side both compelling and dangerous. But soon, the supernatural forces can’t be controlled any longer.

Aaron had heard rumors about the Talk to Me script and was intrigued to find out more about the project when directors Danny and Michael Philippou direct messaged him on Instagram. The twin brothers had no feature film experience, but are self-taught YouTube filmmakers. Their channel, RackaRacka is huge, and features a series of horror/comedy shorts completely shot and edited by Danny and Michael.

During the development and pre-production of Talk to Me, Aaron and the brothers discussed how they wanted the film to look cinematically and frequently workshopped and filmed sequences. Aaron always wants to elevate the story through cinematography, making sure that every frame and every camera movement speaks to a world that’s truthful to the characters. He wanted to be sure that the camera work elevated the tone of the horror movie, by showing or withholding information as needed. As a former editor, Aaron constantly thinks about editing- how certain sequences will go together and how much coverage might really be needed. Once production started, he found it exciting to be bold, keeping coverage of each scene minimal, and confident that they didn’t need more. He kept scenes lit with practical lighting and green fluorescents as much as possible, making Mia seem sickly and possessed. During the possession scenes, Aaron chose to contrast the sequences with unmotivated lighting, and as Mia’s psychological decay progresses, the film subtly becomes darker and more desaturated in the grade.

Aaron was born in Australia but lived in Indonesia for much of his childhood. He fell in love with photography there and knew he wanted to study film, so he returned to Australia. After completing his degree, he got a job at a production company as an editor, eventually moving into directing commercials and music videos, but he didn’t enjoy it. Aaron found he was always more interested in visual images as a storyteller, so he decided to start over as a cinematographer. He was fortunate enough to shoot a music video for YouTube stars, The Bondi Hipsters, who then asked him to be the cinematographer for their television series. Aaron also served as the primary cinematographer of the FX series, Mr. Inbetween.

Talk to Me is still playing in theaters and is available to purchase on VOD.

Find Aaron McLisky: http://aaronmclisky.com/
Instagram: @aaronmclisky

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

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

By Illya Friedman

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February 10, 2021

Director Barry Alexander Brown on his film Son of the South, a civil rights movie inspired by the life of activist Bob Zellner

For many years, Barry Alexander Brown labored over bringing his film, Son of the South to the big screen. Barry is best known for his editing work with director Spike Lee, and was nominated for an Academy Award for BlacKkKlansman. Growing up in Alabama, Barry was familiar with civil rights activist Bob Zellner, and he knew he wanted to make a movie about Zellner’s life. Zellner, whose grandfather was in the Ku Klux Klan, became an activist in the civil rights movement while a college student in 1961. His autobiography, The Wrong Side Of Murder Creek: A White Southerner in the Freedom Movement gave Barry a starting point for his screenplay, which made the rounds and was well received, but no one would commit to making the film. After nearly ten years, Barry gave up on ever being able to make the movie. Then at the end of 2017, Barry got a call from actor Daniel Radcliffe, who really loved the script, but was unable to star in it. This gave Son of the South some heat again, and Barry was able to get more producers on board and raise the money to make the film. Barry wrote some of his personal experiences with segregation into the script, and he hopes Son of the South inspires people to continue to fight for civil rights.

You can watch Son of the South streaming now in select theaters and on VOD.

Hear Barry Alexander Brown’s previous interview with us in 2019, discussing BlacKkKlansman: https://www.camnoir.com/ep31/

Find Barry Alexander Brown- Instagram: @barryalexanderbrown

Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: https://camnoir.com/ep112/

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com

Website: www.camnoir.com
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Twitter: @ShortEndz

By Illya Friedman

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April 13, 2020

BONUS EPISODE: Jeff Sengpiehl, chief technologist at Key Code Media, gives tips for remote editing and other post production options from home

BONUS EPISODE: Jeff Sengpiehl, chief technologist at Key Code Media, gives tips for remote editing and other post production options from home

Finding the right technologies and new ways to work from home is becoming a necessity right now. Jeff Sengpiehl discusses ways to remotely access your work edit bay from your computer, edit from the cloud, consolidating the project onto hard drives and physically taking it home, and how to proxy edit from your editing facility.

In this episode:
Hewlett Packard’s Z Central Remote (Remote Graphics Service, or RGS)- Free to those with HP systems, or it can be used through Apple’s boot camp partition and paying the HP Z Central Remote license fee. A plus: Still allows collaboration so everyone knows who is doing what. https://www8.hp.com/us/en/workstations/zcentral-remote-boost.html
VPN: Virtual Private Network, can be used to connect to another network as if you’re there which allows more bandwidth. https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-vpn-services
Adobe editing systems, such as Premiere can be “lifted and shifted” into the cloud https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwm9D0BRCMARIsAIfvfIajfwAVEc8MQudttNTgB56iKpQsARUo2pzuLJdsue-bPw2KKfcB1iwaAgKEEALw_wcB&sdid=KKQOM&mv=search&ef_id=Cj0KCQjwm9D0BRCMARIsAIfvfIajfwAVEc8MQudttNTgB56iKpQsARUo2pzuLJdsue-bPw2KKfcB1iwaAgKEEALw_wcB:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!3085!3!383822034471!e!!g!!adobe%20premiere
Studio Network Solutions has a product called Nomad, with asset management proxy files available through a shared browser software. NOT collaborative, but there is an “over-the-shoulder” mode for a producer to give notes. https://www.studionetworksolutions.com/nomad-remote-workflow-offline-editing/
Teradici- For PCs only, software to access your workplace’s shared cloud using PCoIP (PC-over-IP) https://www.teradici.com/ Good and fast, not inexpensive.

See Jeff’s YouTube video explaining some of the technology mentioned in the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzsHG3IbVcA

Find Jeff Sengpiehl: https://www.keycodemedia.com/

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

LIKE AND FOLLOW US, send fan mail or suggestions!
Website: www.camnoir.com
Facebook: @cinepod
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By Illya Friedman

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February 17, 2019

Ep 31 – Barry Alexander Brown – Oscar nomination for BlacKkKlansman, collaborations with Spike Lee and the magic of editing.

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 31 – Barry Alexander Brown Spike Lee has relied on editor Barry Alexander Brown for the past 3 decades.  His latest effort, BlacKkKlansman, earned an Academy Award nomination, his 2nd nomination after receiving one in 1980 for Best Documentary Feature.  Barry joined Illya for a conversation about Klansman, collaborating with Spike

By Illya Friedman

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