Cinematographers
Interviews - Cinematographers
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“Time, and How to Manage It”: Miss Stevens DP Sebastian Winterø
Building on eight years of pedagogical experience, Julia Hart’s debut feature Miss Stevens tracks a troubled teacher (Lily Rabe) and three of her high school students as they attend a statewide acting competition. Victory means possibly forestalling the closing of their cash-strapped school’s fine arts division, but Hart focuses equally on the complicated relationship between the teacher and her charges. Here, DP Sebastian Winterø (who recently shot Sia’s “Umbrella” video) discusses the importance of making sure the director has enough time, being fascinated by California’s light as a European, and how much work should be done for the DI. Filmmaker: How and why […]
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Capturing Sweet Innocence: DP Ellie Ann Fenton on the Cinematography of Slash
Expanded from his 2013 short of the same name, Clay Liford’s Slash is a comedy of youthful sexual awakening set against the backdrop of slash fan-fiction, the amateur writing pursuit that places beloved pop culture characters in previously-undreamed-of erotic situations. In his first feature since 2011’s Wuss, Liford gives himself an extra challenge by committing to filming the sci-fi universe of Vanguard, a fictional character made up for the film (to duck the cost of obtaining intellectual property costs to existing characters). We interviewed Liford prior to the film’s premiere; below, DP Ellie Ann Fenton discusses being equally inspired by the cinematography […]
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Styling the Comedic Horror Film Another Evil like My Dinner with Andre: DP Drew Bienemann
For his feature debut Another Evil, writer/animator Carson D. Mell tackles the risky horror-comedy genre. A husband and wife discover that their vacation home may be populated by malign spirits, bringing in two separate exorcists to deal with the problem. Comedy is courtesy of a cast of familiar TV presences (including Togetherness‘ Steve Zissis and Veep‘s Dan Bakkedahl), horror courtesy of the tone established by Mell and DP Drew Bienemann. Prior to the film’s SXSW premiere, Bienemann talked about being guided style-wise by My Dinner with Andre, getting a recommendation for the job from Jody Lee Lipes and the importance of shooting on an Alexa. […]
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SXSW: Asperger’s Are Us Director/DP Alex Lehmann on Being “In It for the Story”
DP Alex Lehmann leaps to the director’s chair with Asperger’s Are Us, a documentary about an unusual comedy troupe. With one of its members soon leaving Boston to study abroad, the improv group consisting of four young men on the spectrum prepares for what may be its final performance. Executive produced by the Duplass brothers, the documentary was quickly purchased by Netflix for worldwide distribution. Ahead of Asperger’s Are Us‘s premiere at SXSW, Lehmann discussed acting as his own DP, scrounging for enough cameras to film the climax and following the story. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What […]
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SXSW: Tree of Life Plus the Doors — Rainbow Time DP Nathan M. Miller
In his follow-up to Manson Family Vacation, director Linas Phillips turns his attention to the troubled relationship between Todd (Timm Sharp) and his sex-obsessed, developmentally delayed older brother Shonzi (Phillips). A Duplass brothers production with Melanie Lynskey as Todd’s girlfriend, the film premiered this weekend at SXSW. Before, DP Nathan M. Miller spoke about using The Doors (not the movie!) as a reference point, working with a small crew and integrating VHS into the production. 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 […]
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SXSW: Hunter Gatherer DP Jon Aguirresarobe on Shooting Fast, Shooting Super 16mm Dissolves and Emulating Fuji Stocks
Ashley Douglas (Andre Royo) gets out of jail eager to start over, but nothing goes as planned; his girlfriend is now his ex, he’s living with his mother, and it’s hard to find work. Josh Locy’s feature debut Hunter Gatherer (we interviewed the director here) was shot by Jon Aguirresarobe, whose attentive eye brings south Los Angeles neighborhoods to life. Prior to the film’s SXSW premiere, Aguirresarobe discussed the difficulties of production on a tight schedule, shooting dissolves on Super 16mm and attempting to emulate Fuji film stock. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up being the cinematographer of your film? What were the factors […]
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How They Pulled Off Creed’s Two Biggest Shots: A-Camera Operator Ben Semanoff
There are few moments in cinema as iconic as Rocky Balboa bounding up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown galloping alongside him off-screen. The technology for Brown’s camera stabilization system was new enough at the time that the seminal shot required a crew member to sprint behind Brown with two car batteries attached to the camera via jumper cables in order for the rig to function in the cold Philly winter. Creed, an expansion of the Rocky universe from Fruitvale Station director Ryan Coogler, offers a barometer for the Steadicam’s evolution with its […]
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“If Something Looks ‘Lit’ My Skin Crawls”: Free in Deed D.P. Ava Berkofsky
After shooting a number of well-regarded shorts, including former SXSW selection Sequin Raze and Picturing Barbara Kruger, Ava Berkofsky makes her impressive dramatic feature cinematography debut with one of the most bracing movies on this year’s independent circuit, Free in Deed. The third feature from 2005 Filmmaker 25 New Face Jake Mahaffy, it’s a probing and at times assaultive story inspired by a real-life tragedy: the death of a young boy at the hands of a religious faith healer. Berkofsky’s fluid, expressionistic lensing brings the mental turmoil of the film’s characters — the healer, the boy, and the boy’s distraught, […]
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The Witch DP Jarin Blaschke’s Lens Tests (With Stills)
In conjunction with his interview regarding The Witch, cinematographer Jarin Blaschke shared with Filmmaker a series of frames taken from his preproduction lens tests. Here’s Blaschke’s thoughts on the tests, which were conducted at Panavision Hollywood with an Arri Alexa: I had used Cooke Panchro Series 2s [from the 1950s] on a couple smaller pieces and Super Baltars on the last short film with [The Witch] director Rob Eggers, Brothers. I liked them both for certain things, but never compared them side by side or alongside other vintage glass. I asked Panavision [Hollywood] about everything available pre-Panavised Zeiss and made a […]
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“Are We Telling Stories with Images through the Camera or from a Computer?” Ed Lachman on Shooting Carol in Super 16mm
Ed Lachman has been the director of photography on a long list of visually stunning movies. He has worked repeatedly with director Todd Haynes. This year he is nominated for an Oscar for his work on Carol, an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s novel that stars Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara. For Carol, Lachman creates a beautiful pastiche of color and texture to invite the audience into the world of New York in the 1950s as well as the emotional state of two women suddenly and deeply in love. Lachman and I sat down in L.A. to talk about Carol and […]
