February 6, 2026

Sean Bobbitt on 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple’s madness

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 345: Sean Bobbitt

In the landscape of post-apocalyptic cinema, few franchises carry as much visual baggage as the 28 Days Later franchise. Known for pioneering the “fast zombie” and the gritty, digital lo-fi aesthetic of the early 2000s, the series has always found a novel visual approach for every entry. For the latest installment, 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple, cinematographer Sean Bobbitt, BSC, faced a unique challenge: honoring the jagged zombie movement of the franchise while carving out a look that feels entirely new.

While 28 Years Later was shot on iPhones and set its own tone, Bobbitt was determined to make The Bone Temple stand apart. The goal was to capture a duality within the setting. Dr. Kelson (Ralph Fiennes) has created a special space within The Bone Temple, where the chaos parts around him. Bobbitt explains, “We just wanted to highlight the fact that this was a place of peace and tranquility, and acceptance, but also bonkers madness by using much more traditional cinematic techniques and a much slower camera.”

However, the film doesn’t sacrifice the kinetic energy the series is known for. To capture the fights between the infected and a group known as the “Jimmies,” Bobbitt used the ARRI Trinity camera system. By using a gyro-stabilized remote head mounted on a Steadicam rig, they created a fluid, immersive way for the camera to navigate the chaos with 360-degree movement.

The trademark jagged movement and speed of the infected is created by using a narrower shutter angle. A typical shutter angle is 180 degrees for natural motion blur, while the 28 franchise uses a narrower 90-degree, or even 45-degree shutter angle. Bobbitt expanded the signature shutter settings to apply to the Jimmies, a visual way to represent the thin, blurring line between the humans and the zombies. “There are all sorts of statements being made about humankind,” in The Bone Temple, says Bobbitt. “There’s a lot of humanity and humor in the script which drew me to it.”

Director Nia DaCosta and Bobbitt have a history that dates back several years. They first met on a Steve McQueen film set where DaCosta was a production assistant whose job was driving Bobbitt to and from work. Bobbitt enjoyed her first feature, Little Woods, and went on to DP both The Marvels and Hedda with her. “She’s a great writer, a great director and the epitome of collaboration,” he says.

Their process involves a meticulous long prep, with extensive shot-listing and storyboarding. Bobbitt prefers the intimacy of a single-camera setup, which he usually operates himself, even on large films. On the Yorkshire set, he pre-lit the entire space, enabling the actors to have the freedom to move without being tethered to specific marks. “The lighting informs actors,” Bobbitt explains. “I try to light it as it should be, based upon my understanding of the emotion of the scene and discussions with the director.” Rehearsals are key for Bobbitt to make lighting adjustments for close-ups, while the actors feel comfortable and immersed in the world of the story.

Interestingly, The Bone Temple is Bobbitt’s first foray into the horror genre. As a former documentary and news cameraman, he says, “Horror to me is a real thing. It is actual dead bodies, and the horror of what humanity can do to each other. That is embedded in my soul forever, what I’ve witnessed.”

Bobbitt found a deep connection to the script’s humanity and humor. The appeal of the 28 franchise for him is that it isn’t just about monsters; it’s a human story about the horrors people inflict on one another. By bringing a documentary-trained eye to a fictional apocalypse, Bobbitt has crafted a film that respects the technical demands of the genre while never losing sight of the human pulse at its center.

See 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple streaming on digital soon.

Hear our previous interview with Sean Bobbitt:
https://www.camnoir.com/ep114/

Support Ben’s short film, The Ultimate Breakup! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/theultimatebreakup/the-ultimate-breakup-short-film?ref=nav_search&result=project&term=the%20ultimate%20breakup&total_hits=2

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
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By Illya Friedman

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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

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February 20, 2024

Bonus Episode: Past Lives cinematographer Shabier Kirchner

In this bonus episode of The Cinematography Podcast, we interview Shabier Kirchner, the cinematographer of Past Lives. The film is nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.

Past Lives, written and directed by Celine Song, is about childhood sweethearts reconnecting as adults after many years. When cinematographer Shabier Kirchner, who is from Antigua, was sent the script, it immediately resonated with him. “Past Lives was not just a standalone amazing script, but I found myself in the material. A lot of what I was going through, being an immigrant to the US, being from the Caribbean, reconnecting with a friend, falling in love, all of that stuff was happening while I was reading the material and it just felt like it was written for me.”

Shabier and director Celine Song had an amazing first conversation, and he wasn’t aware that she’d never made a film before. Fortunately, they had an extensive amount of time to prep the movie, and they chose to shoot on Kodak 35mm film. The film takes place in New York and Korea, and they knew they had to shoot it out of order, starting with all of the New York scenes which take place later in the story. Shabier and Song also spent time discussing how to use the language of the film to express what the characters were experiencing. Past Lives tells a story about how relationships change over time. Shabier chose to translate this into deliberate pacing with long tracking shots, keeping the lighting natural and simple. In the film, natural elements tell the passage of time as well, through rain, clouds and the changing light. Even the characters Nora and Hae Sung tell a story about time in their movements. “We were speaking about the final scene in the film, and I asked Celine a question of what direction should they walk? In a very Celine fashion, she (said) ‘Well, they should walk right to left because that is into the past. And she should drop him off in the past and then walk from left to right back into the future and up the stairs.’ That very small and simple moment in our conversation led and informed the entire language of the film in terms of how we move the camera from left to right.”

Shabier broke out as a cinematographer a few years ago on director Steve McQueen’s five-part anthology series, Small Axe, winning a BAFTA for lighting and photography. The series tells both real and fictional stories about London’s West Indian community in the 1970’s and 80’s. McQueen chose to treat each episode as a series of small films, rather than a TV series. They would discuss and prep one, scout it, shoot it, break for a week, then begin prep for the next episode. Starting with Mangrove, the longest in the series, they shot in order as much as possible, with Lovers Rock next. Shabier says it was a nice release for the crew’s pent-up emotions on Mangrove, which dealt with anti-police protests and then the trial of nine Black men accused of starting a riot. They knew they could put joy and energy into Lovers Rock, a much simpler story about a house party, love and music. Shabier thinks McQueen structured the shoots for Small Axe in a way that was very smart, creating a serious mood when they needed to be serious, and lightening the mood as needed.

Past Lives is still in some theaters and available on VOD. https://a24films.com/films/past-lives

The Small Axe series is on Amazon Prime.

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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March 15, 2023

Rye Lane director Raine Allen-Miller and DP Olan Collardy

Rye Lane is a charming, energetic and funny romantic film that follows Dom and Yas, both twentysomethings going through bad breakups. They meet at a friend’s art show and roam around South London, helping each other deal with their exes while having crazy adventures and restoring their faith in romance. The movie premiered at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, opened wide in the UK and is set to stream on Hulu March 31.

When she received the script for Rye Lane, direct Raine Allen-Miller knew she wanted to set the film in South London, a very vibrant, colorful place with lots of interesting characters. She loves movies by fellow British director Steve McQueen, and counts him as an influence on her work. Raine wanted her film to be funny and entertaining while still looking beautiful and “juicy” throughout. Rye Lane is Raine’s first feature, and she creates an energetic, colorful and happy world where, once Dom and Yas meet, they simply have fun together. It was important to her that Black people be captured in a way that’s positive, funny and goofy, and that people have a great time watching the film.

Cinematographer Olan Collardy grew up in Nigeria and later moved to South London, where he met Raine while working on commercials. He says that Raine brings a beautiful sandbox to play in, with her love of color and interest in creating a very energetic, stylized, modern look to the film. They worked together to ensure that the camera was always in the right place to play up the humor- if it wasn’t funny, it wasn’t functional. Olan used extremely wide anamorphic lenses to add a touch of the surreal to the shots. They were influenced by the British comedy Peep Show, getting very close on a wide lens while the actor looks slightly above the lens so they don’t break the fourth wall. Olan was influenced by Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, which is also very rich in color and about a very specific place.

Rye Lane is in theaters in the UK and will be streaming on Hulu on March 31.

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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February 24, 2021

Sean Bobbitt, BSC, on Judas and the Black Messiah, working with director Shaka King, working with director Steve McQueen on Hunger and Shame

Sean Bobbitt thinks good cinematography is composed of a series of very carefully crafted and decided upon images. He began his career as a news camera shooter, but once he began to work on documentaries and features, Sean learned that each shot is not just coverage to edit together. After working in news and documentary for several years, Sean decided he wanted to transition into working on dramatic films, so he took a cinematography class with acclaimed cinematographer Billy Williams, and it changed his life. He knew he wanted to become a cinematographer. He soon got his first feature film job working on Wonderland, directed by Michael Winterbottom.

Judas and the Black Messiah is a gripping biographical drama about FBI informant William O’Neal and Black Panther Chairman Fred Hampton. O’Neil is a small-time criminal who agrees to go undercover for the FBI and infiltrate the Chicago headquarters of the Black Panthers. O’Neal’s tips directly result in Chairman Hampton’s assassination in his bed by police in 1969. Sean found the script gripping and incredibly relevant to today’s ongoing issues of racial inequality. He realized he knew little about the Black Panthers and this chapter of racial injustice in America, and he needed to help tell the story. After reading the script, Sean met with director Shaka King, who brought hundreds of stills of the Black Panthers and talked Sean through the screenplay. Together, Sean and King began to explore what they wanted to visually create. The photographs became the basis for the look and color palette of the film. All the color photos were Kodachrome or Ektachrome, so they had a slightly faded look. Sean wanted high contrasts with punchy primary colors and worked closely with the DIT to get the color grade for the look he wanted.

Previously, Sean had worked on a few biopics with director Steve McQueen, such as 12 Years a Slave and Hunger. Sean finds McQueen a very unique artist and a fantastic collaborator. They’ve worked together for so long that they are very good at communicating on set. McQueen loves long takes, and really began exploring those with Hunger- the film features a 16 and a half minute take, based on the idealogical concept that if you simply hold the frame, the audience begins to project themselves into the action. If there’s no cut, the audience can’t be reminded it’s a film and can’t be let off the hook. Sean learned to compose very considered frames where the action happens. One of the main concepts of the movie Shame was that most New Yorkers live their lives in high rises in the air, and the characters in the film only came down for sordid reasons. Most of the takes in Shame are also very long and purposefully make the viewer feel uncomfortable.

You can watch Judas and the Black Messiah in select theaters and streaming on HBO Max. https://www.judasandtheblackmessiah.com/

Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: https://camnoir.com/ep114/

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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In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

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