January 3, 2025

Phedon Papamichael: Unveiling Bob Dylan in A Complete Unknown

We welcome back Phedon Papamichael, ASC, GSC for the fourth time on The Cinematography Podcast.

Cinematographer Phedon Papamichael started preproduction on A Complete Unknown with frequent collaborator, director James Mangold in 2019, before being postponed by the pandemic. They began prepping in summer 2023 and shooting in earnest by the early spring of 2024, which worked well for capturing the changing of the seasons in New York. The long lead time was a huge benefit for both the cast and crew. Phedon and the production team had time to research the time period, create an extensive lookbook of period photos and mull over the script and characters. Actor Timothee Chalamet had time to practice guitar and harmonica and was able to perform most of the songs live.

Phedon was very familiar with the music of Bob Dylan, and grew up listening to the artist. He wanted to capture how Dylan evolved and developed as a musician. The set was very intimate, and Chalamet completely absorbed the character of Bob Dylan, frequently watching playback on set, then finding something new with each take. “It was very much this organic process of us capturing and him discovering the character,” says Phedon. “And you could just see it was so enjoyable for every crew member. Everybody was inspired by it.”

A Complete Unknown used very few sets and stages, and the production designers transformed two blocks of New York City streets into the 1960’s. Phedon shot digitally on the Sony Venice 2 camera, which was then scanned to a film negative and then scanned back to digital. Influenced by the films Klute, The Godfather and The French Connection, he wanted A Complete Unknown to have the Kodachrome look with an earthy color palette. Phedon used lighting that was appropriate for the time period as well, using white and tungsten lights, enhanced with numerous practicals on the set. He embraced the mood of the nightclub scenes, with a single source spotlight hitting the performers on stage and the audience lit with candles on the tables. As the movie progresses into the ’60’s and Bob Dylan becomes more famous, Phedon began to change the look of the film. “It becomes a little bit more expressionistic, a little more aggressive,” he says. “The stage lights become a little bit bigger, the highlights are a bit hotter, the contrast and shadows are more extreme.”

Phedon’s ultimate goal as a cinematographer is to stay subtle. “I never want anybody to perceive or feel that I’m lighting something,” he says. “I never want it to feel like there’s a craftsman behind it. I always like the photography to just allow us to focus on the character, and really not distract from it.”

Find Phedon Papamichael: Instagram @papa2

Hear our previous interviews with Phedon Papamichael on The Trial of the Chicago 7, Ford v. Ferrari, and our live podcast interview.

You can see A Complete Unknown currently in theaters.

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April 3, 2024

Dune: Part Two cinematographer Greig Fraser, ACS, ASC

Cinematographer Greig Fraser, ACS, ASC doesn’t see Dune: Part Two as a sequel, but as simply the second half of the Dune story. Shooting the second movie made Greig feel “emboldened, to make decisions that we may not have made in the first instance. We weren’t necessarily considering how to outdo ourselves. I think the fact that we were kind of riding a wave- no pun intended- but a wave of success for that last movie.”
Dune: Part Two was shot digitally on the ARRI ALEXA 35, the ALEXA 65 and the ALEXA Mini LF then printed to 70 mm film in post production for the final print. Greig prefers the look of film to that of raw digital, but he doesn’t feel like he has to shoot on film. He used a small set of spherical lenses that were easily transportable.

Lighting for the movie included plenty of hard light and open shade, since most of Dune: Part Two takes place in the harsh desert sands of Arrakis. Greig chose to uplight in order to illuminate faces, because harsh sunlight would naturally bounce off the ground and reflect upwards onto the characters. “I think that the most important thing in this movie is that everything feels honest. When you’re going to extremes in a story, if you’re running a thousand foot long sandworm in the middle of the movie, which is obviously fantasy, then you’ve got to also fill it with reality and honesty. You can tell Denis’ direction with the actors was absolutely honest. I needed to make sure that I had the same kind of approach for the lighting.”

The production featured a massive crew, shooting in four countries: Budapest, Italy, Jordan and Abu Dhabi. The second unit was essential for staying on schedule. Greig also relied on his DIT to help him match shots across different locations, sometimes months apart. He often had to choose whether to shoot on the sound stage or outside on location for the desert sequences. Though filming outside was best for daylight, the reality is that real sand is messy, uncontrolled, and harsh on equipment. The huge sandstorm sequence was shot on the soundstage, which was pumped full of atmospheric haze and color graded in post to be sand colored.

Greig enjoyed testing and using infrared black and white film for the gladiator-style fight scenes on Giedi Prime. He used a modified ARRI ALEXA 65 to shoot infrared. Since the people there have very pale white skin, he imagined that Giedi Prime has only infrared light from the sun, and no visible sunlight.

Greig partnered with actor Josh Brolin to create a beautiful art book of photography called Dune: Exposures. It features photos he took on the set of Dune and Dune: Part Two, with prose written by Josh Brolin. You can find it at Insight Editions or on Amazon.

Find Greig Fraser: Instagram: @greigfraser_dp

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