Cinematography
Filmmaking - Cinematography
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Cinematographer Matthias Grunsky on Shooting Andrew Bujalski’s Sundance Competition Film, Results
Austrian-born cinematographer Matthias Grunsky has been a steady collaborator of director Andrew Bujalski from his 2001 debut, Funny Ha Ha to the more recent Computer Chess, for which Grunsky was nominated for Best Cinematography at the Independent Spirit Awards. From grainy black-and-white to what appears to be a slicker look for their latest, Results, Grunsky has adapted his technique to Bujalski’s desire for small crews and low-key environments. Below, Grunsky discusses that process as well as the detailed testing process he undertakes on his pictures. Results premieres Tuesday, January 27 in the Dramatic Competition of the Sundance Film Festival. Filmmaker: […]
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Cinematographer Thomas Scott Stanton on Shooting Matt Sobel’s Sundance NEXT Picture, Take Me to the River
Director of photography Thomas Scott Stanton comes to Matt Sobel’s Sundance NEXT button-pusher Take Me to the River from a diverse background. Born in Maine, he spent much of his childhood in Guam and the South Pacific. In Washington D.C. he founded the Green Barrel skate shops, and he still directs skate videos in addition to acting and working as a photographer. When it comes to Sobel’s film, which tells the unsettling story of a gay teenager confronting family secrets at an annual reunion, Stanton connected with the first-time director over Skype and, using the RED Epic M, brought a […]
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Cinematographer Tom Garner on Shooting Sundance Feature The Strongest Man
Making their feature film debuts at Sundance are director Kenny Riches and cinematographer Tom Garner for the offbeat and ingratiating Miami-set buddy movie (of sorts), The Strongest Man. Artist and metalworker Robert Lorrie plays Beef, a Cuban construction worker set out on a small-scale spiritual odyssey across the streets and into the apartments of Miami. He’s accompanied by his pal Conan, played by YouTube star Freddie Wong, and their adventures have a shambling charm reminiscent a bit of Rick Linklater’s Slacker. The considerable appeal of the on-screen performers is echoed by Garner’s cinematography, which sees contemporary Miami in a way […]
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Cinematographer Laela Kilbourn on Shooting Sundance Competition Doc, How to Dance in Ohio
With documentary credits such as Magic Camp, My Brooklyn and Word Wars, cinematographer Laela Kilbourn entered Alexandra Shiva’s How to Dance in Ohio with a specific challenge, which she discusses below: to sensitively film without disrupting teens and young adults with autism. How to Dance in Ohio is a film following three teenage girls as they prepare for one pivotal rite of youth passage through three months of practice, rehearsal and therapy. Below, Kilbourn discusses Canon cameras, lighting for trust and more. How to Dance in Ohio premieres in the Documentary Competition of the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday, January […]
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Cinematographer Daniel Patterson on Shooting Shaka King’s Sundance Short, Mulignans
Returning to work again with director Shaka King (Newlyweeds) is cinematographer Daniel Patterson, who lenses the director’s Sundance short, Mulignans. Mulignans? From the Sundance catalog: mulignan(s) /moo.lin.yan(s)/ n. 1. Italian-American slang for a black man. Derived from Italian dialect word for “eggplant.” See also: moolie. Source: Urban Dictionary and pretty much every mob movie ever. Called “four minutes of biting, vicious satire” by Filmmaker‘s Sarah Salovaara, Muligans was shot in one day and is one long scene. Below, Patterson discusses how he made that happen. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What […]
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Sundance ’15: Cinematographer Sean Price Williams on Shooting Christmas Again
In an interview elsewhere on this site, director Charles Poekel said he wanted his feature Christmas, Again to look like a “Christmas tree ornament from your attic.” With that directive, what better D.P. to hire than Sean Price Williams? His love of and delicate touch with celluloid — its textures, its organic feel — shine through in such films as Listen Up, Philip and The Black Balloon. And his mobile camerawork and ability to shapeshift to whatever the production environment dictates made him an ideal collaborator for Poekel, who was shooting his first feature in his own Christmas tree stand […]
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Cinematographer Adam McDaid on Shooting Kevin Pollak’s Sundance Doc, Misery Loves Comedy
Do you have to miserable to be funny? That’s the question asked by Kevin Pollak’s, Misery Loves Comedy, screening at Sundance as a Special Event. And, appropriately for a film containing 50 interviews of funny people ranging from Jimmy Fallon and Judd Apatow to Penn Jillette and Lewis Black, cinematographer Adam McDaid’s job was to work quickly, make the people look good and allow their stories to come through transparently. Below, he talks about all of that as well as what to do when faced with a wall of sun-lit windows. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being […]
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Cinematographer Dominique Colin on Shooting the Sundance World Competition Film, The Summer of Sangaile
From Lithuania and screening in Sundance’s World Cinema Dramatic Competition, The Sound of Sangaile is a film that fuses a teenage girl’s coming-of-age story with a fantasy of flight. With a protagonist obsessed with stunt planes and plenty of aerial photography, Alante Kavaite’s feature posed challenges to cinematographer Dominique Colin — whose credits include, I must note, two masterpieces and personal favorites by Gaspar Noe (Carne and I Stand Alone). Below, Colin discusses those challenges and more. The Sound of Sangaile premieres on Sundance’s opening day, Thursday, January 22. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer […]
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Cinematographer John Gulesarian on Shooting Sundance Dramatic Competition Film, The Overnight
Following 2014’s Song One and 2013’s Breathe In, cinematographer John Gulesarian returns to Sundance with his third film in three years, The Overnight. Directed by Patrick Brice and starring Adam Scott and Taylor Schilling, the film is set during a long Los Angeles night, one in which a chance encounter between two families leads to what the program calls “a painfully funny take on sexual frustration and parenthood.” The film premieres Friday, January 23 in the Dramatic Competition. Below Gulesarian talks about small crews, practical lights, and how a $10 piece of equipment can save the day. Filmmaker: How and […]
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5 Things Cinematographers Don’t Talk About
I only faintly recall writing my last entry for Filmmaker Magazine. I was huddled over at some bar at a busy airport, in between jobs and cities I’ve only seen through the windows of a hotel: a cinematographer’s life. I do remember the article was a bit cheeky — I was pretty elated with the success of It Felt Like Love — so I thought this time that to commemorate Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter I’d get down to brass tacks. Here are five things cinematographers don’t talk about. 1. When to Say No Possibly one of the hardest parts of […]
