Cinematographers
Interviews - Cinematographers
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“Make a Documentary of What’s Happening in Front of You”: DP Phedon Papamichael on Shooting Aaron Sorkin’s Courtroom Drama, The Trial of the Chicago 7
After violence disrupted the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago, eight defendants were arrested for conspiracy to incite a riot — an event dramatized in Aaron Sorkin’s new The Trial of the Chicago 7. They included the countercultural figures Abbie Hoffman (played in the film by Sasha Baron Cohen), Jerry Rubin (Jeremy Strong) and Tom Hayden (Eddie Redmayne). In The Trial of the Chicago 7, writer and director Sorkin recreates the chaos surrounding the six-month trial, mingling day-to-day testimony with flashbacks of protestors and police preparing for demonstrations in places like Grant Park. In addition to following the defendants, Sorkin […]
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“You Have Nine Days to Make an Episode. Go!”: DP James Kniest on The Haunting of Bly Manor
With a list of credits that includes Annabelle, Hush and The Bye Bye Man, cinematographer James Kniest has spent a fair share of his career toiling in horror. “I somehow got into doing all these dark genre films and episodics, which I like a lot,” said Kniest, “but I often times say jokingly, ‘Can’t I just do a romantic comedy?’” The Haunting of Bly Manor fulfills half of that request. The second installment in Netflix’s Haunting Of anthology series, Bly Manor is a gothic romance that leans heavily into the latter. When the horror does arrive, it’s less jump scares and more […]
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“If You’re in the Right Location at the Right Time, You Shouldn’t Need Much Light”: DP Greig Fraser on The Mandalorian
Laboring in a greenscreen expanse for months on end never seemed like a particularly pleasant way of working. Not for the crew, confined to a windowless stage with walls roughly the same hue as green Tropical Skittles. Not for the actors, performing in a world they can’t see. And not for the cinematographer, surrendering control of the background that will ultimately replace the verdant swath of green. StageCraft, a new technology that employs a vast array of LED video screens, provides an appealing alternative for capturing virtual environments. Created in partnership with Epic Games and Industrial Light & Magic, StageCraft offers […]
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“The Key Word on Set was ‘Darker'”: DP Jeremy Osbern on The Big Ugly, The First Feature to Shoot on a RED Gemini
Writer-director Scott Wiper’s The Big Ugly is the best kind of genre film, a crime movie aware of the traditions in which it’s working but not beholden to them; combining elements of ’40s and ’50s crime fiction (Jim Thompson seems to be a particular touchstone) with the flavor of ’70s Sam Peckinpah and Walter Hill filtered through the visual grammar of ’90s Tony Scott, The Big Ugly synthesizes its influences into a unique and compelling western noir. Its emotional power comes largely from Wiper’s richly textured script and the performances by his consistently riveting ensemble, which includes Vinnie Jones, Malcolm […]
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DPs Denis Lenoir and Yorick Le Saux on Wasp Network, Arri Alexa vs Sony VENICE and Dividing Cinematographer Duties
The sunny subterfuge of Wasp Network, about a knotty web of anti-Castro groups and Cold War residuals, is a relief from the blue skin, suits and shadows of heavy political thrillers. It’s an Olivier Assayas (Irma Vep, Personal Shopper, Non-Fiction) film after all, shot in Cuba, Miami and the blue sky and ocean in between. As on Carlos, Assayas’ go-to DPs Denis Lenoir (Cold Water, Disorder.) and Yorick Le Saux (Personal Shopper, Non-Fiction) shot their own half of Wasp Network. With Carlos, Le Saux started the film and chose the film stock, lenses, etc. On Wasp Network, Lenoir shot the first […]
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Reflections from Quarantine and Beyond, Part Two: Six Cinematographers on Their Lives During Lockdown
Following his previous check-in with some of the world’s leading cinematographers about their lives during quarantine, Daniel Eagan returns with six more reports from directors of photography about how their lives and work are being affected by this moment of coronavirus and social change. Below are accounts of work done during quarantine — from continued prep on postponed shoots to home improvement to painting — as well as thoughts on how the film business is changing. Following are responses from Jarin Blaschke, Laura Merians-Gonçalves, Benoit Delhomme, Ellen Kuras, Ed Lachman and Toby Oliver. “It’ll Be as Accurate as a Viking Movie […]
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“For My Department, We Would Behave Like a Team of Surgeons”: Benoit Delhomme on Minamata, Painting During Quarantine, and Post-Coronavirus Set Life
In February, cinematographer Benoît Delhomme attended the premiere of Minamata, which he shot for director Andrew Levitas, at the Berlin International Film Festival. After finishing another project in London, he returned to Paris just as the Covid-19 lockdown began. Delhomme spoke with Filmmaker in early June via Skype. Filmmaker: When did you become aware of the COVID-19 virus? Delhomme: When I was in Berlin, it was obvious by reading the news that the virus was approaching. I was quite surprised that the Festival could run normally. I did not feel very comfortable because of the festival crowds. We had a huge […]
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“It’ll Be as Accurate as a Viking Movie Can Be…”: DP Jarin Blaschke on Shooting Robert Eggers’s The Northman, Storyboarding During Lockdown, and Being Optimistic
DP Jarin Blaschke was a week away from the first day of shooting The Northman, directed and co-written by Robert Eggers, when the Covid-19 crisis shut down production. This is Blaschke’s third collaboration with Eggers, after The Witch and The Lighthouse, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for cinematography. Blaschke spoke with Filmmaker the day after learning that production on The Northman will resume at the end of summer. Filmmaker: Where were you when the lockdown began? Blaschke: I went to Belfast in November. We had five weeks of early prep work before the Christmas holiday break, then […]
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“Traveling By Plane at the Moment is One of the Tricky Things…” DP Toby Oliver on Production Restarting and His Work on the Netflix Series Dead to Me
The second season of the Dead to Me marked cinematographer Toby Oliver’s first Netflix TV series production. The series has been ranked in the platform’s top ten since it was released in May, spending a week or so at number #1. Oliver, originally from Australia, has worked frequently with Blumhouse, including shooting the breakout hit Get Out. He spoke with Filmmaker from Los Angeles. Filmmaker: How were you hired for Dead to Me? Oliver: I was in Mexico working on a movie called Barb and Star go to Vista Del Mar, which was written by and stars Kristen Wiig and […]
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“I Wasn’t Interested in Just Shooting Empty Streets…”: Ellen Kuras on Action, Change and Democracy in Crisis
In April, as we began to put together the Summer, 2020 issue of Filmmaker, we asked directors, cinematographers, editors and other film workers to send us their thoughts on the quarantine and their own creative lives. The responses printed here were collected from April through mid-June — personal statements that speak variously to individual filmmaking practices, films halted mid-production, politics, art and life. Read all the responses here. — Editor After working in Europe and Canada for seven months, I was in New York in the middle of directing an episode on a Netflix series called Inventing Anna. We had shot […]
