December 11, 2024

Anora’s distinctive style: cinematographer Drew Daniels

Anora is the story of Brooklyn, New York exotic dancer, Anora, who meets Ivan, the son of a Russian oligarch at the strip club. They impulsively marry, and once the news reaches Ivan’s parents, their henchmen kidnap Ani in order to force her and Ivan to get the marriage annulled. Anora won the 2024 Palme d’Or at Cannes, and is a potential 2025 Oscar nominee.

Cinematographer Drew Daniels first started working with director Sean Baker on the film Red Rocket. Drew was a fan of Baker’s for years- he liked his sensibility and humanity, and his unconventional ethos behind his filmmaking approach. Drew attended the University of Texas film school, where filmmakers Robert Rodriguez and Richard Linklater are alums. He appreciated the UT film program’s independent, DIY approach. When Drew had the opportunity to work with Baker on Red Rocket, he said yes before he even read the script. “What’s so refreshing about working with Sean is, you’re flying by the seat of your pants, but you’re also the leader of this passionate little rag tag army,” says Drew.

Drew and Baker began talking about Anora during the editing of Red Rocket. Baker had a very specific idea of what he wanted, so they began testing and research scouts very early, driving to locations and discussing the movie before the script was fully written. Rather than an extensive shotlist, Drew and Baker scouted and blocked out scenes on the shoot locations. The film’s striking imagery, from gritty urban landscapes to opulent mansions, was shot on Kodak 35mm film with Lomo anamorphic lenses. “Anora is different than a lot of Sean’s films, because Sean’s films often deal with people who are on the fringes, or people who are in a lower socioeconomic standing,” says Drew. “It takes on oligarch wealth and opulence, so it needed to be a bigger, more magical format- something that will fully embrace the scope of that mansion.”

Choosing to film on 35 elevated the story of an exotic dancer like Ani into something beautiful and elegant, but Drew also wanted to reflect her attitude and scrappiness. He and Baker were influenced by 1970’s New York films such as The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, to find the right amount of gritty imperfection. “Sean is a social realist filmmaker, but he wants his films to have a look and style,” says Drew. “He’s very visual, and we constantly talk about the edit, the pacing, the energy, how it’s going to cut.”

Find Drew Daniels: Instagram @drewalandaniels

Anora is currently in theaters, on VOD, and will be available to stream on Hulu.

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

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

September 15, 2020

Armando Salas, ASC, on Ozark season 3, his Emmy-nominated episode, shooting the series Mr. Mercedes, From Dusk Til Dawn, Strange Angel

Armando Salas, ASC was recently nominated for an Emmy for his work on Ozark season three. Ozark is intentionally lit and shot to be very blue and very dark, because all the characters are in the shadows, desperately hiding and scrambling to avoid exposure. Armando began working on Ozark during season two and was already a fan of the show. He worked closely with director and actor Jason Bateman and the other DP on the series, Ben Kutchins. On season three, Armando shot the last four episodes with director Alik Sakharov. (Find our interview with Alik Sakharov here.) This four hour block of the show was a lot like shooting a film, and required him to refer to a detailed shot list, make many notes and continuously refer back to the script. As a kid, Armando grew up in Miami and was drawn to cinematography as a teenager, when he started shooting skateboarding videos. He studied fine arts and did a graduate program for film school, starting off his career as a gaffer before transitioning fully into cinematography. Armando shot several indie features and worked on a few films in China before landing his first episodic show, From Dusk Till Dawn, based on the film by Robert Rodriguez. For the Stephen King series Mr. Mercedes, Armando had the opportunity to create the look of the show, traveling to locations and deciding how to shoot it. The show quickly transitions from from loose and handheld at first, to very smooth and formal framing once the vehicle arrives on the scene. On the CBS show Strange Angel, Armando shot the second season. In this case, the whole look of the show was meant to feel different from the first season, with different cameras, lenses, and lighting.

You can find Ozark season three streaming on Netflix.

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

Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: https://camnoir.com/ep91/

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com

WIN a Sony A7SIII, Gitzo tripod and $100 Hot Rod Cameras gift card! Worth over $4,000, for one lucky winner! Follow us on Instagram @thecinepod and click on the link in bio to enter by September 29, 2020.

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