Doug Emmett
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“Something That Felt Unadorned and a Bit Raw”: DP Doug Emmett on Hal & Harper
Hal & Harper charts the development two codependent siblings with a lifetime of inside jokes and their father. The series is directed by Cooper Raiff (Cha Cha Real Smooth), who plays Hal; Lili Reinhart; and Mark Ruffalo. The first four episodes of Hal & Harper will screen as part of Sundance’s Episodics sidebar. Doug Emmett (The Edge of Seventeen, Sorry to Bother You) the series’ cinematographer, describes the show’s naturalistic and raw feel below. 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 […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 26, 2025 -
“You Live and Die by Your Crew”: DP Doug Emmett on The American Society of Magical Negroes
Riffing on the eponymous stock trope recognizable in so many American films, The American Society of Magical Negroes tells the story of Aren, the latest recruit to a secret society of magical Black people who use their powers to make the lives of white people easier. The Sundance 2024 premiere is the debut film for director Kobi Libii. The film’s cinematographer Doug Emmett has a number of recognizable credits under his belt, including The Edge of Seventeen and Sorry to Bother You. Below, he humorously recounts difficulties mounting a set three floors underground and details the inspirations behind the film’s look. See all responses to […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 19, 2024 -
“Shooting Digitally Means Not Having to Play It Safe”: DP Doug Emmett on 892
In 892, the debut film by Aby Damaris Corbin, a desperate former US Marine, driven nearly to homelessness by lack of resources and a stifling bureaucracy, decides to take hostages at a bank—but not because he wants money. What he wants instead is for people to hear his story and acknowledge what he has been through. Much of the film takes place in a single location where artificial lighting was not possible; cinematographer Doug Emmett explains how he was able to overcome these challenges and give the film a realistic and consistent look. Filmmaker: How and why did you wind up […]
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 21, 2022 -
“Every So Often a Train Would Come Rumbling By and the Set Would Shake”: DP Doug Emmett on Shooting HBO’s Room 104
An octogenarian couple returns to the hotel room where they spent their first night together — it’s a logline that would typically preface an elegiac rumination on love and mortality. But by the time that set-up arrives in the season finale of HBO’s new anthology series Rooms 104, it seems just as likely to give way to horror or violence…or interpretive dance. That’s the joy of the newest Duplass Brothers creation — each episode begins as a blank slate capable of unexpectedly evolving into any genre or tone. The 12-episode series — which debuted last Friday night — unfolds entirely […]
by Matt Mulcahey on Aug 1, 2017 -
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For Dana Adam Shapiro’s eerie and erotic relationship drama Monogamy, cinematographer Doug Emmett creates a voyeuristic visual style in line with the film’s conflicted protagonist. Here D.P. Eric Lin chats with Emmett about crafting the film’s unique look.
by Filmmaker Staff on Jan 24, 2011
