November 14, 2025

Jeff Cronenweth, ASC: stepping out of the grid on TRON: ARES

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 333: Jeff Cronenweth

Two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth, ASC is known for visually defining modern classics like Fight Club and The Social Network. With TRON: ARES, he melded three distinct realities: the digital Grid, the gritty real world, and the retro feel of the grid in the original TRON.

Jeff’s involvement with TRON: ARES began through his long-standing relationship with Jared Leto. After working together on Fight Club, Leto, who stars as Ares and is a producer on the film, personally asked Jeff to meet with director Joachim Rønning. Jeff found that Rønning had established a remarkably clear vision for TRON: ARES from the start by storyboarding every scene. Having a clear plan was crucial, given the complexity of the environments and the technical demands of the shoot, which included a challenging seven weeks of night shooting in downtown Vancouver.

Jeff chose ARRI DNA LF lenses for their character, flare, and artifacting, even for the digital setting, and the film was framed for IMAX. The core challenge for Jeff was using visual language to differentiate the film’s three central environments, drawing inspiration from the franchise’s past while exploring something new.

1. The Main Grid: Predictable Perfection
Referencing the “pristine” aesthetic of TRON: Legacy, the new film’s main Grid environment is defined by machine code—a world that is predictable and perfect.
Look: Sharp, clean lines, saturated colors, and a highly geometric, mechanical feel.
Color Coding: The classic blue/gray/white color palette is reserved for the good guys, while the presence of the bad guys is immediately signaled by the use of red.

2. The Real World: Embracing the Grit
In TRON: ARES, for the first time, the computer programs emerge into the real world. Reality required a darker, grittier visual separation from the digital realm.
Look: Shooting in Vancouver’s downtown allowed reflections in large glass buildings to enhance the environment’s texture. Practical locations, like a chase that concluded with lightcycles crashing into bales of recycled paper on a pier, further grounded the action.

3. ENCOM/Mainframe Grid: A Nod to the Original
To connect back to the franchise’s roots, the scenes where the character Ares ventures into the original ENCOM grid to find Flynn needed to match the look of the 1982 film.
Reference: The 1982 TRON’s grid scenes were shot in black and white and then hand-painted to achieve the glowing effect.
To mimic this analog feel, Jeff intentionally doubled the amount of grain and desaturated the color, creating a look that closely matches the original. 

Light is both a symbol and a weapon in Tron: Ares. To get the look, visual effects, costumes, props and cinematography had to work closely together. LED lights were installed in costumes, props and sets, and practically controlled through a dimmer board. This gave the VFX team a base to build upon. The lightcycles, some of which were built as practical, towable props, had LEDs built in and connected to dimmer boards as well. The lights provided real, interactive reflections on the actors and surrounding environment. Jeff also used light beams on set to simulate a recognizer scanning a high-rise office. The VFX crew could then track and enhance these practical effects in post-production.

Jeff’s choices were crucial for the post-production team. “We all knew what the goals were and what the scenes were going to be about,” he says. “It was a wonderful experience because it took all of us to be in harmony all the time.”

See TRON: ARES in theaters
Jeff is currently shooting The Social Reckoning, with director Aaron Sorkin.
Hear our previous interviews with Jeff Cronenweth:
https://www.camnoir.com/ep150/
https://www.camnoir.com/ep72/

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

By Illya Friedman

.

In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

.


0 comments

September 3, 2025

Larkin Seiple on shaping the horror of Weapons

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 323: Cinematographer Larkin Seiple

Cinematographer Larkin Seiple was ready to take a well-deserved break after wrapping the film Wolfs when director Zach Cregger sent him the script for Weapons. Larkin loved the horror mystery/thriller and that it follows the characters through the story from beginning to end. “It was the most fun I’d had reading a script for a really long time,” he says. Larkin, who is not a big horror fan, watched Cregger’s previous movie, Barbarian and enjoyed his approach to the genre. “In the first five minutes, I could instantly tell that Zach knew what he was doing. I was like, if this is what he’s doing with Barbarian, then I’m very curious to see what he wants to do with Weapons.”

Larkin and Cregger met, immediately connected, and began shotlisting and brainstorming for Weapons. Cregger was brutal about keeping coverage shots to a minimum, so the audience only sees enough to keep the story going. This meant few establishing shots or characters driving from one destination to another. But with a short shooting schedule and hundreds of scenes in the script, it was essential to have fewer shots when possible.

Crafting the look of Weapons proved challenging, due to the time of year they were shooting. Originally, the film was planned for winter, when the setting would be dreary and melancholy, but they ended up shooting during summertime in Georgia. “We ultimately wanted to find a look that kind of enhanced the scenery and the mood,” explains Larkin. “Something very melancholy, and this sense of something evil happening, and the sense of frustration.” Since the look was dark and moody, more windows were built into the sets so that diffused light could come in, which was shaped with negative fill. Night shots looked natural, with lights and a camera mounted on a condor crane in the neighborhood location.

With about 249 scenes to shoot, Larkin was very involved in scheduling and location scouting for Weapons. The crew had to move extremely quickly, averaging about 6-8 scenes per day. “You’re relighting and re-blocking six to eight times and trying to do it as quickly as possible,” Larkin says. “We found ways to do a lot of it in one shot or two, which affected the visual language of the movie. It was a very ambitious approach to the shoot. You’re working with child actors that turn into pumpkins after six hours.” The crew had two months of prep, which Larkin used to scout and create photoboards for each location. “It was a very laborious process, but there was no problem solving on the day. Photoboarding forces you to do all the problem solving because you’re there- unlike storyboarding, which is very cute,” he remarks. “Being on the ground and being on the location, you actually get to see what you’re up against.”

Weapons maintains constant camera movement throughout, speeding the story along and propelling each character’s point of view through their ordeals during the film. But the camera never reveals anything before the time is right. “There’s a maliciousness to the camera in that it does show you information but it’s not gonna help you,” laughs Larkin. “It’s very much trying to enhance what is going on, trying to put you in the shoes of the characters to be like, what was that? The camera ALSO wants to know what that was!”

Find Larkin Seiple: http://www.larkinseiple.com/
Instagram: @larksss

See Weapons currently in theaters.

Hear our previous interviews with Larkin Seiple. 
https://www.camnoir.com/ep178/
https://www.camnoir.com/ep220/

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

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

By Illya Friedman

.

In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

.


0 comments

August 12, 2025

Cinematographer Matt Ball’s recipe for Tucci in Italy

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 320: Cinematographer Matt Ball

For cinematographer Matt Ball, shooting the National Geographic five part documentary series Tucci in Italy was a delightful experience. Tucci in Italy follows actor Stanley Tucci as he explores his Italian heritage, delving into regions rich in food and culture. “A big part of the success of the show is obviously Stan, but Stan wants to do it,” says Matt of Stanley Tucci. “Nobody necessarily loves getting up for work on a Monday morning. But getting up for work on a Monday morning in Italy and going to wonderful places, you know you’re going to do something interesting. And it’s the fact that people want to do it for their job that makes it so much easier.”

As a light-hearted, fun and engaging host, Tucci’s fluency in Italian and passion for the culture drove him to explore lesser-known stories, foods, and areas of Italy. With 20 distinct regions, each person in Italy has a unique identity attached to their home. Matt’s favorite location was the Carrera mountains in Tuscany, where the famous Carrera marble is mined. “The culture of Italy, I have such a deep love for that country from doing the show,” says Matt. “Everything about it, from the food to the scenery, everything affects you as you’re doing it. I mean, some of it is mind-bogglingly beautiful.”

While Stanley Tucci himself didn’t need a translator, the crew needed a little help. A translator spoke into an earpiece so the crew could follow the story closely and know what to capture. Matt used four cameras and a drone to capture the beauty of the region. To avoid asking subjects to repeat actions, one camera was always dedicated to shooting the food.

Scouting and pre-planning was key for the vision Matt had for the look of the show. Tucci in Italy is beautifully composed, without feeling formal, and uses very natural lighting. At each location, Matt and the director would take about 30 minutes to walk through the location to find the best spots for interviews, without compromising the story or the documentary nature. The most important goal was to make the interviewees feel at ease, with the cameras as unobtrusive as possible. Even if it meant shooting in a tiny, dark kitchen, the crew would do so to ensure the authenticity of the documentary. The Italians would also choose the right place to eat, usually out of the direct sun and in a comfortable situation. The hardest part of the job was often the heat, as much of the work was outdoors and shot handheld.

Find Matt Ball: https://mattballcamera.com/
Instagram: @mattbcam

Matt Ball has been nominated for Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program for Tucci in Italy for the “Tuscany” episode.
See Tucci in Italy on Nat Geo on Disney+. The series has been renewed for a second season.

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

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

By Illya Friedman

.

In Cinematography Podcast, Latest Posts, Podcast Episodes

.


0 comments