September 4, 2026

DP Brett Pawlak’s vision for Spider-Man: Brand New Day

DP Brett Pawlak on grounding Spider-Man: Brand New Day in natural light, practical suit design, and 17 years collaborating with Destin Cretton.

Podcast highlights include:
-How Pawlak and Cretton’s input about the suit design kept Peter Parker feeling human. The mask allowed Tom Holland’s jaw to move, and his real eyes were visible through the mesh so the audience never forgets there’s a human under the mask.
-Pawlak’s approach to lighting a tentpole movie. Using as much natural light as possible.
-Solving the Jean Grey telekinesis sequence with a simple method. Capturing a choreographed “wave” through the cast with both whip pans and lock-offs.
-How fundamentals of story and composition don’t change when scaling up from TV’s Wonder Man to a Spider-Man tentpole.

Find Brett Pawlak: https://www.brettpawlak.com/
Instagram: @brettsbo

Spider-Man: Brand New Day is still playing in theaters and conquering the box office.

SHOW RUNDOWN:
01:50 Close Focus
13:07-01:14:46 Brett Pawlak Interview
01:15:25 Short Ends
01:26:10 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 7, 2026

Shooting mud, fog and firelight in A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms

DOP Gustav Danielsson, FSF on shooting HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms with naturalistic firelight, practical battlefield fog, and in-camera POV shots

Podcast highlights include:

-How Gustav and director Owen Harris planned the show’s night time, fire-light-driven look.
-Beginning their shoot day at dusk to catch the natural blue hour light in the wide shots before moving into closer setups.
-Pulling off the massive dueling tournament in Episode 5, using practical fog and mud to set the mood.
-The sinister gray mist was chosen as a practical solution to use fewer extras, and added to the atmosphere of dread as it obscured the combatants. As for the mud, it looked great, but the production team had to adjust as it quickly became hard as concrete when it dried.
-Using a Ronin 4D rigged to an operator’s chest for the helmet POV shots. Rather than adding digital effects, the second unit shot the visceral mace-impact perspective entirely in-camera.
-Shooting the flashback sequences on a Panavision’s T-Series Anamorphic lenses to distinguish it from the present-day story without adjusting the color grade.

Find Gustav Danielsson: https://gustavdanielsson.com/
Instagram: @gustavdanielssson

A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms is currently streaming on HBO.

SHOW RUNDOWN:
02:39 Close Focus
10:44-01:04:42 Gustav Danielsson Interview
01:05:10 Short Ends
01:14:26 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

.


0 comments