
“An Observational Character Study of an Ex-Offender”: DP Sam Motamedi on Ricky

In Ricky, Rashad Frett extends his Sundance 2023 short of the same name to feature length to tell the story of a 30-year-old returning home after serving time in prison. The film follows Ricky as he tries to reintegrate into the community that he was taken from, utilize his gifts as a barber to making a living and make up for lost time.
Sam Motamedi, who shot the 2023 short, again served as DP. Below, he explains how he tried to replicate a documentary-like feeling and shares a couple of his influences, including documentary footage from the early days of the Iranian Revolution.
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?
Motamedi: I met Rashad during my first week of classes at NYU’s graduate film program. He was a few years ahead of me and our professors often shared his work as an example to incoming students. He would always give me great notes on my homework assignments for directing class, and we eventually became friends, which led to us working together on the short version of Ricky, which premiered at Sundance 2023. We wanted to continue our collaboration and carry over the visual language of the short into the feature together, which I am glad we were able to do.
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?
Motamedi: The film examines recidivism in the United States and, at its core, is an observational character study of an ex-offender. We wanted it to feel as though our characters were being followed by a documentary crew. The imperfect camera moves, whip pans, crash zooms, etc., are intended to feel as natural reactions to the drama that is unraveling rather than rehearsed bits.
Filmmaker: Were there any specific influences on your cinematography, whether they be other films, or visual art, of photography, or something else?
Motamedi: We looked at films that dealt with similar topics, Un Prophète & Les Misérables, for example, as inspiration for handling the camera movement and lensing for the bulk of the film. For the courtroom scenes, I was inspired by a series of real life show trials during the Iranian Revolution that effectively portrayed individuals speaking truth to power and then finding a way to marry the feeling of those old reels from the ’70s with how arraignments are filmed in the modern day.
Filmmaker: What were the biggest challenges posed by production to those goals?
Motamedi: Ultimately, time was never fully on our side, as is often the case on indie shoots. Luckily, our lens choice and format (S16 mode on digital) allowed us to move fast and get all of the shots we needed to make our days, with the support of an amazing cast and crew of course.
Filmmaker: What camera did you shoot on? Why did you choose the camera that you did? What lenses did you use?
Motamedi: We wanted the freedom to move fast and shoot as much as possible. After some testing, we settled on the Alexa35 in S16 mode paired with Canon Zoom lenses. This allowed us to shoot the entire day without the pressures of switching lenses or cards. Aside from the efficiency of this, especially in environments where we needed to film and be out fast with minimal footprint, I absolutely love the Canon S16 zooms for their look. The texture and quality I find very flattering and not too clinical or sharp, a beautiful match with the Alexa35 sensor.
Filmmaker: Describe your approach to lighting.
Motamedi: We tried to light it as naturally as we could, often just pushing the practicals or daylight that was already present in the spaces. My gaffer, Clemence Therin, was a real magician and helped me dial the look in each space. Even on the few days where we had to rely on many units, it never felt “too lit” in a way that would break the realism that we were hoping to establish.
Filmmaker: What was the most difficult scene to realize and why? And how did you do it?
Motamedi: For me personally, the driving scenes were challenging. From the beginning, we intended to keep the camera inside the car as much as possible, as opposed to mounting them outside or on a car rig, as is so often done. We wanted to make the audience feel as if they were sitting in the back seat and experiencing the moments as a passenger rather than an outside observer. This meant I had to contort myself in rather uncomfortable positions for long periods of time in the backseat of a moving vehicle; luckily, my morning stretching routines over the years as an operator helped me get through these challenging bits.
Filmmaker: Finally, describe the finishing of the film. How much of your look was “baked in” versus realized in the DI?
Motamedi: Initially, we worked with a film emulation LUT but decided against it in the DI after seeing how it affected particular skin tones. In the end, we opted to grade it mostly from the 709 as it looked much more natural to our eyes, and a layer of 16mm grain helped us to bring it all home!
TECH BOX
Film Title: Ricky
Camera: Alexa 35
Lenses: Canon 11-165mm T 2.5 S16 Zoom and Canon 8-64mm T2.4 S16 Zoom