
“The Camera Team Was Also the SFX Team”: DP Rhayne Vermette on Dead Lover

Writer-director Grace Glowicki looks to Marry Shelley’s Frankenstein for inspiration with Dead Lover, her follow-up to her 2019 feature debut Tito. As with her previous film, Glowicki plays the lead character, this time embodying an awkward and crude grave digger who manages to woo a handsome local. When he tragically dies at sea, she goes to great lengths to rekindle their spark and bring him back from the dead.
DP Rhayne Vermette discusses being a self-taught cinematographer, handling SFX work alongside shooting and the singular filmmaker who Glowicki sought to reference.
See all responses to our annual Sundance cinematographer interviews here.
Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors and attributes that led to your being hired for this job?
Vermette: I think I was the only one naive enough to do it.
Filmmaker: What were your artistic goals on this film, and how did you realize them? How did you want your cinematography to enhance the film’s storytelling and treatment of its characters?
Vermette: I am self-taught as a cinematographer so my goal was to learn more and fulfill Grace’s cinematographic wishes as best as possible. My prime motivation was to consider how a comedy can be treated beautifully through the camera.
Filmmaker: Were there any specific influences on your cinematography, whether they be other films, or visual art, or photography, or something else?
Vermette: Grace asked the team to reference Kenneth Anger films.
Filmmaker: What were the biggest challenges posed by production to those goals?
Vermette: The challenge of time.
Filmmaker: What camera did you shoot on? Why did you choose the camera that you did? What lenses did you use?
Vermette: We shot on the Arri SR3 with an Angenieux zoom lens. We also had my Bolex on hand with an assortment of prime lenses for scenes where the Arri was too cumbersome. I chose these cameras because that is what I am used to. I am comfortable with the simplest camera package as I am most confident in my eye to find what is beautiful. I don’t need to bog down my approaches with gear to create a beautiful frame.
Filmmaker: Describe your approach to lighting.
Vermette: Shooting in a black studio with sparse set design, we leaned on lights to create an additional layer to the visual language. Decisions with the lighting drew on many cues which came from Grace and her vision for the scene.
Filmmaker: What was the most difficult scene to realize and why? And how did you do it?
Vermette: On this production the camera team was also the SFX team, wherein we were in charge of most of the natural weather effects required for the film. Many of these SFX (rain, lightning, an ocean) were done live and in-camera.
Filmmaker: Finally, describe the finishing of the film. How much of your look was “baked in” versus realized in the DI?
Vermette: Most of the look and FX were baked into the look.
TECH BOX
Film Title: Dead Lover
Camera: Arri Sr3 and Bolex
Lenses: Angenieux zoom lens and varied c mount prime lenses
Lighting: Basic lighting kit with a lot of color gels
Processing: 500t color negative film processed at MELS
Color Grading: Conor Fisher