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“The Feeling of Triumph was Palpable”: DP Martin DiCicco on Heightened Scrutiny
Still from Heightened Scrutiny. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. Director Sam Feder’s first film, Disclosure, tackled the influence of Hollywood on the perception of transgender people. Now, Heightened Scrutiny follows ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio as he fights for trans rights in the courtroom.
Cinematographer Martin DiCicco (Union) also worked on the Sundance Premieres section entry. Below, DiCicco talks about creating the perfect look for the film’s interviews and shooting a contentious rally outside the Supreme Court on a cold day.
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?
DiCicco: Sam and I met through a mutual friend, the artist Angelo Madsen, for whom I’ve shot other films for. As well as being well versed in verité filming practices, I came up as an electrician on sets in LA, so perhaps it helped in Sam’s quest for a documentary DP that I had experience lighting and working with crews.
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?
DiCicco: Sam had wanted to utilize a space for the interviews that hinted at the formal workplaces or the casual meetup places where journalists work, so we were thinking offices or homes and finally came up with the diner or restaurant idea as a location where journalists often meet sources. And in a way, I thought of these interviews as flipping this relationship, where the audience isn’t necessarily the journalist, but they are present as the journalists essentially become the sources, and we sit with them at the table, sharing a coffee as they reveal their truths.
For the verité work, I was concerned with trying to juxtapose the enormity of the work Chase and co. were doing with the intimacy and normalcy of the private spaces where Chase or Mila and family were navigating the challenges of fighting for their rights (and lives).
Filmmaker: Were there any specific influences on your cinematography, whether they be other films, or visual art, of photography, or something else?
DiCicco: For the interviews, Sam and I looked at stills from other films shot in diners and restaurants, both in fiction and non-fiction. He particularly loved the look of some of Ozark’s diner scenes, and we borrowed some of that as framing and set design references. Sam was interested early on in having multiple tones, so I often looked for that, splashes of color in the background, etc. Sean Bobbitt shot an amazing diner scene in Steve McQueen’s Widows that’s particularly inspiring.
Filmmaker: What were the biggest challenges posed by production to those goals?
DiCicco: I think it was a delicate balance, navigating cameras in Chase’s life. He doesn’t seek out the camera, yet he knows the power of making his and his colleague’s work visible to a wide audience. So in a way, I viewed him as a reluctant hero who knows the value of telling this story but doesn’t love the constant individual attention. We wanted to show the intimacy of his work-life at home, along with the enormity of the case and the responsibility weighing on him as an activist.
Filmmaker: What camera did you shoot on? Why did you choose the camera that you did? What lenses did you use?
DiCicco: The interviews were shot on two Sony FX9s with Emir Fils-Aime and me operating. FX9s were chosen because, well, I have owned one for years now and happily shot many projects on them. The image is flattering, has the latitude for manipulation, and for a low-budget independent film, figured better into our budget for two cameras than other systems might have.
The verité scenes were shot on Sony FX9’s and Canon C500 mk II, which was the camera of choice of DP Mariam Dwedar. Between Mariam, myself, and our other operators, our lenses ran the gamut of Canon, Sony and Sigma zooms.
Filmmaker: Describe your approach to lighting.
DiCicco: Sam had wanted the interview scenes to be a departure from the dreamy, glamorous lighting of Disclosure, favoring a more realistic daylight that would occur naturally in a diner-—a common place where journalists might meet a source. That diner gave us the window of walls to motivate a hotter key and less fill coming from a single source. Our gaffer Omar Nasr did a tremendous job with a very low budget and minimal crew to create daylight that could be both a soft wrap around talents’ faces and also have splashes in the background to accentuate the depth of the space and the linearity of booths. Our designer Violet Overn really came up with a great color palette of saturated deep blue walls contrasting with chestnut brown upholstery, so we had a balance of cool and warm tones throughout.
Filmmaker: What was the most difficult scene to realize and why? And how did you do it?
DiCicco: Filming outside the Supreme Court was challenging because, while we had three cameras present, there were hundreds of people outside SCOTUS in two dueling rallies, side by side: one for and one against Chase’s argument. It was chaotic and physically difficult to film amongst such a crowd, to properly capture Mila’s experience of this whole scene (she is thirteen years old), as well as keep her safe and protected from the crowds. But in the end Chase’s entrance was such a special moment for all who weathered the cold temperatures and crush of people, the feeling of triumph was palpable.
Filmmaker: Finally, describe the finishing of the film. How much of your look was “baked in” versus realized in the DI?
DiCicco: The interviews had a basic look that I created as a guide for my own use in production that was then a reference for our colorist, Shanna Maurizi at Dungeon Beach. She really worked wonders on bringing out the best skin tones and accentuating the color contrast elements of our diner, and of course the amazing wardrobe our talent wore! The verité scenes were all shot with existing lighting conditions on location, so Shanna got very creative with creating pools of light and motivated sources where they didn’t exist. I think a colorist’s work in that regard is key to creating interesting visuals in everyday locations like apartments and offices.
TECH BOX
Film Title: Heightened Scrutiny
Camera: Sony FX9, Canon C500mk2
Lenses: Leica R primes (rehoused)
Lighting: Arri, LiteMat
Color Grading: DaVinci Resolve 19
