The Cinematography Podcast

Cinematographer Brendan Uegama, CSC enjoys shooting many different genres, from romantic comedies such as Moonshot, to horror movies such as Child's Play (2019). He enjoys changing his approach to each project depending on the needs of the script. Brendan feels that a good filmmaker knows that the cinematographer is there to serve the story and builds trust with the DP to create the look and feel. As a kid, Brendan was always into photography and art. He and some high school friends shot skate videos of themselves, and soon after he began making motocross videos. He knew then he wanted to get into film and went to film school in Vancouver, Canada and began working his way up. Brendan shot 26 episodes of the CW series Riverdale, including every episode of season two. Being the DP for every chapter of the show meant prep time was very short, and Brendan relied on and trusted his team to do location scouts and work ahead. Riverdale was a great show to do that was fun, creative and led to many other projects for him, such as the show Chilling Adventures of Sabrina, and later, Moonshot. The film Moonshot is a romantic comedy set in space, rather than just a science fiction movie. Mars has been terraformed and colonized and the two main characters are traveling to see their significant others, but fall for each other. Because of the science fiction aspect, everything was storyboarded out and had a decent amount of prep time, and much of Moonshot's science fiction aspects were done with practical effects. Brendan knew where they needed to rely on visual effects ahead of time. The most challenging part of the film to shoot was the spacewalk scene, which involved extensive wirework and visual effects. Brendan's latest project, Mike, a dramatic biography series on Hulu about heavyweight boxer Mike Tyson, is currently streaming. Find Brendan Uegama: https://www.brendanuegama.com/ Instagram: @brendanuegama_dp Twitter: @brendanuegama Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/ep183/ Sponsored by DZOFilm: https://www.dzofilm.com/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul is a satirical dark comedy and mockumentary about Trinitie Childs, (Regina Hall) the “First Lady” of a Southern Baptist mega church and Lee-Curtis Childs, (Sterling K. Brown) her pastor husband. The pastor is accused of sexual misconduct and the two are struggling to relaunch their megachurch in the face of the controversy. As part of their public relations campaign, Trinitie and Lee-Curtis consent to a documentary crew following them. Adamma was the writer and director of the film, and her twin Adanne was one of the producers of the film. The sisters have been partners their entire life, and enjoy working together. They grew up southern Baptist in Georgia, immersed in the megachurch culture. Both Adamma and Adanne felt that any evangelical megachurch's messaging seemed insincere and un-Christian to get rich off of their congregants' donations. With that background, Adamma decided to write a satire about a black southern megachurch- a fresh subject that she'd never seen on screen before. Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul started out as a short film that Adamma was able to develop into a feature. Cinematographer Alan Gwizdowski (nicknamed Gwiz) took over the production when fellow DP Adam Bricker had a scheduling conflict. Adamma wanted the film to look and feel very much like a real documentary, mixed with a more cinematic, narrative film look. Gwiz knew they needed the two different worlds to be separated- the part of the documentary that the Childs want the “filmmakers” to see, vs. what the documentary filmmakers are able to capture behind the curtain. They decided to keep the more illicit documentary scenes handheld and the official documentary scenes had a more cinematic look. Honk for Jesus, Save Your Soul is in theaters and also streaming on Peacock. Find Adamma Ebo: https://www.ejimeproductions.com/about Instagram: @adamma.ebo Find Adanne Ebo: https://www.ejimeproductions.com/about Instagram: @adanne.ebo Find Alan Gwizdowski: http://www.gwizphoto.com/ Instagram: @alangwiz Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/ep182/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

The Wheel is about a young couple whose marriage is in crisis. They decide to retreat to a house in the woods to try to work out their differences, where they meet another couple who seem to have it all figured out. As they get to know each other, all four characters prove to be flawed and complicated. The Wheel is the first romantic drama Steve Pink has directed. He's known for his work on comedies such as High Fidelity, Grosse Pointe Blank and Hot Tub Time Machine, and he was thrilled for the chance to direct a drama. Steve cast actor Amber Midthunder (Prey), who had worked with cinematographer Bella Gonzales a few years ago on a short film, Prayers of a Saint. Steve admired her work on the short, and asked Bella to be the DP for The Wheel. It was during the summer of 2020 and most film productions were still shut down, so it was appealing to work with a small cast and crew that could stay in a bubble together to shoot a true low-budget indie drama for 18 days. They found a summer camp location in the mountains outside Los Angeles, and after a short two week prep, Steve, Bella and the 20 person crew drove up, with their own cars packed with equipment. Steve even used some of his own furniture, with some of the female cast member's costumes provided by his wife's wardrobe. For cinematographer Bella Gonzales, the movie was about finding moments and figuring out the heart of the movie. Every visual decision was based on what emotion the characters were feeling in each scene. It wasn't about getting the perfect shot, it was all about capturing the moods of the characters and the drama of complicated relationships. They had a circle of trust with the actors and the camera crew to create intimacy. Bella and Steve embraced the limited scope of the location- being able to shoot in the small area of the woods and the house made their creative decisions very easy. The crew was so small that everyone was extremely involved and invested in making the film great. Find The Wheel on VOD such as AppleTV+ or other streaming services. Find Steve Pink: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0684336/?ref_=fn_al_nm_1 Instagram: @alsostevepink Find Bella Gonzales: https://www.bellagonzales.com/ Instagram: @bellagonzalesdp Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/ep181/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

Cinematographer Cybel Martin believes that great cinematography comes from a place of trust between the director, DP and crew. Great art can be created when someone says: this is my vision and I trust you to make it happen. Cybel especially loves horror movies, because it's the best genre for cinematographers to try out visuals that are not based in reality. The opening scene always establishes the visual rules, no matter how weird. You start from scratch and play with how you see the story, and with a good script you can naturally visualize the world. Horror films underscore symbolism and dramatize emotions even more than dramas, and good horror movies still have solid character development even without a supernatural element. Cybel had the opportunity to work in the horror genre on the show American Horror Stories (Season 1) and most recently on the Amazon Prime movie, Black As Night. Black As Night is about an African American teenage girl who battles a band of vampires who prey on the homeless and drug addicted in New Orleans. Cybel wanted to lean into the richness, color and texture of New Orleans and was inspired by the thematic colors of purple, green, and gold. The new Amazon Prime series, A League of Their Own, is an historic drama and comedy about the first women's professional baseball league in the 1940's. Though the series has the same name as the 1992 movie, the production team never wanted to replicate the film. Their reference material was all of the historical research, photographs, and real stories from the time. Cybel is interested in 1940's films, sports, and female athletes so there were many elements in the show that she was excited to explore. She shot three of the episodes and her favorite one, “Over the Rainbow” features one of the characters going to an underground speakeasy. Cybel loves the idea of speakeasies and house parties- a place that is secret, where you can be bold, naughty and intimate, but also have a place for community. They shot the speakeasy scenes in just a day and a half, with two steadicam operators, and played with shutter angles and color palette in the dance sequences, with In The Mood For Love as an inspiration for the colors. As a painter and photographer, Cybel was also grateful she could bring her own aesthetic to the project. Cybel's latest project is Beacon 23, a new futuristic sci-fi series set to air in 2023. Find Cybel Martin: https://www.cybeldp.com/ Instagram & Twitter: @cybeldp Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/ep180/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

Girl Picture is a Finnish film about the friendship between three young women as they experience the emotional ups and downs of life as they transition from teenagers to women. Director Alli Haapasalo felt the English title perfectly described the finite time of girls who are trying to figure out their own life's picture and who are developing an identity as women through their friendship. The film follows the girls as they chat and hang out over a few nights together during the dark winter in Finland. Sex, sexual identity and finding pleasure is also a theme in Girl Picture. It was important to Alli to depict the young women discussing and exploring their sexuality in mature ways rather than with shame or drama. So much of coming of age is not just about finding who you are, but what you want and need. In the sex scenes, Alli worked with an intimacy coordinator, chose not to show nudity and to portray the characters asking for consent in natural, casual ways. Cinematographer Jarmo Kiuru had worked together with Alli on three previous projects. For Girl Picture, they wanted to find a way to bring the energy and movement of being a teenager, and also wanted a natural, documentary feel, so the film was shot entirely handheld. Jarmo also decided to shoot the movie in the 4:3 aspect ratio. He felt that 4:3 not only frames the face better, giving the film a more intimate feeling, but he also wanted to show how the world is limited by parents and other rules when you're a teenager. Girl Picture won the Outfest Grand Jury Award for Outstanding Performance in an International Narrative Feature and also won the World Cinema Audience Award at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. Girl Picture is in limited theatrical release and will be available to stream in the fall. Find Alli Haapasalo: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1641519/ Find Jarmo Kiuru: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoPJarmoKiuru Instagram & Twitter: @jarmokiuru Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/ep179/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

When cinematographer Larkin Seiple first saw the script for Everything Everywhere All At Once he thought: This is very long and how in the world are we going to shoot this? But having worked with directing team Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (known collectively as Daniels) for ten years, he knew the film would be unique, creative and fun. Larkin loves telling stories through the medium of film, and Everything Everywhere explores the multiverse concept as the most ridiculous, messy, scary, poignant, and mind-blowing place. Everything Everywhere All At Once contains many different scenes referencing dozens of films with a multitude of looks. Larkin loved creating so many mini movies, and he had specific ideas for the lighting and continuity for most of the universes- changing up the lighting, lenses and even the aspect ratios for each universe and what it was referencing. In order to keep to any kind of schedule or budget, the team needed to shoot as much as possible in one location. They shot primarily in two places- a giant empty office building with the atrium, stairway, elevator and cubicles in Simi Valley, and DC Stages in downtown LA, which gave them about 40 different sets to choose from. Principal photography was 36 days, mostly in the Simi Valley office building. The Daniels always scout things in advance and try to find the best locations for the budget, which was about $15 million- not a lot for such an ambitious movie. Larkin had to creatively and carefully compose shots so that the office location didn't seem like a big empty space, and focused on small details and transitions, shooting scenes as efficiently as possible. Fortunately, a lot of sets in the office building were already there, leftover from other film shoots, such as the elevator set and the kinky office sex room, which allowed them to add it into the movie. Directors Daniels often writes a script with just the bare bones of what they're looking for, with only a line for action, such as “fanny pack fight,” leaving it up to Larkin and the fight coordinators to decide how to shoot it. They operate as a sort of hive mind, and each Daniel really knows how the movie cuts together in their head. Once he completed film school, Larkin realized that, unlike a director, as a cinematographer he could work on many different projects per year. He enjoys the collaborative element of filmmaking and started his career as a gaffer and electrician. He realized that if he wanted to become a cinematographer, he needed to quit doing side projects as a gaffer or electrician to concentrate on only working and shooting as a DP. Larkin began shooting music videos and beauty commercials, until he was able to make a living off of shooting commercials, while picking and choosing what music videos he wanted to do. Working on music videos led him to meeting the Daniels. One of their most memorable music videos is Turn Down For What by DJ Snake and Lil Jon, which stars Dan Kwan- ½ of Daniels- as one of the main performers in the video. Another noteable video Larkin shot was This Is America by Childish Gambino (Donald Glover), directed by Hiro Murai. After working on several music videos together, Larkin shot the Daniels first feature, Swiss Army Man. Swiss Army Man is a strange and surreal movie about a man (Paul Dano) stranded on a deserted island who befriends a dead body (Daniel Radcliffe) that washes ashore. Hank is able to use the dead body to get off the island and he begins to find his way home, believing that the dead man is talking to him and helping him stay alive. They shot in Los Angeles, the woods near San Francisco, and up in Humboldt County under the giant redwoods, with a tiny crew. Actor Daniel Radcliffe was very enthusiastic about playing the dead man, and even though they had a corpse dummy for the film, he refused to let them use it. He was in every scene as the dead guy with Paul Dano, even when just playing dead. Most recently,

Australian cinematographer Jules O'Loughlin's path to movie making was a long journey. After graduating from the prestigious AFTRS- Australian Film Television and Radio School- he worked steadily and shot a wide range of films and TV shows including the action movie The Hitman's Bodyguard, the series Black Sails, the horror movie Krampus and the children's film Come Away. His recent work on two series, The Old Man and Ms. Marvel, show off his ability to visually transport audiences to other worlds. The FX action spy series The Old Man began shooting in the fall of 2019. Jeff Bridges plays Dan Chase, a retired CIA agent whose old enemies are still hunting him. The series is very well acted, with great dialog scenes between Bridges and John Lithgow. Jules believes that as a cinematographer, it's important to tread softly, be respectful and give the actors space to work without technical distractions. Jules shot two episodes of the series, with a planned location shoot in Morocco which was standing in for Afghanistan. But in March of 2020 the entire production shut down because of the pandemic. After a few months, production resumed and the desert around Santa Clarita, CA became the Afghanistan location. Unfortunately, shortly after that, Jeff Bridges, who actually did a lot of the fight scenes himself, was diagnosed with lymphoma. Bridges' stunt double stepped in and the VFX team used some digital face replacement for certain parts while he was undergoing treatment. Despite all the setbacks, The Old Man has been a hit and is coming back for a second season. The Disney+ series Ms. Marvel is about young Pakistani-American teen Kamala Khan, who discovers she has super powers after putting on a magic bracelet. The show is energetic, vibrant and colorful, reflecting Kamala's personality and South Asian culture. Jules and director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy knew they could create a slightly different look for episodes four and five, since they take place in the Pakistan city of Karachi. Obaid-Chinoy is an Oscar-winning documentary filmmaker, and she and Jules chose to use more handheld cameras to explore the story's historic narrative as Kamala travels through time to learn more about her family's past. Ms. Marvel has brought an enthusiastic younger audience who are responding to Kamala's cultural identity. In Pakistan. Ms. Marvel is showing in movie theaters, since Disney+ is not available. Jules is currently working on Percy Jackson and the Olympians for Disney+, which involves some new challenges using LED screens on the soundstage. Find Jules O'Loughlin: https://www.julesoloughlin.com/ Instagram: @jules.oloughlin The Old Man is on Hulu and Ms. Marvel is available on Disney+. Both shows are currently streaming all episodes. Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/ep177/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com Sponsored by Aputure: https://www.aputure.com/ The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

Marcel The Shell With Shoes On began in 2010 as a series of stop-motion shorts written and directed by Dean Fleischer-Camp and actor Jenny Slate, who also does the voice of Marcel. It's a “documentary” about Marcel, who's a hermit crab shell with one googly eye and doll shoes. What makes both the shorts and the film so charming is hearing Marcel's funny, optimistic witticisms and seeing how he uses real full-sized human objects in his miniature life, such as a piece of lint on a thread as a pet, using a spoon to catapult onto shelves, and putting honey on his shoes to walk up a wall. For the full length film, Fleischer-Camp, Slate and screenwriter Nick Paley expanded the story to include Marcel's grandmother Connie. The two live in the house alone, but they used to be part of a whole shell community. With the help of Dean, Marcel's documentarian, Marcel goes on a quest to find the rest of his family and friends. As a live-action and stop-motion movie, Marcel The Shell was extremely complicated to shoot. DP Bianca Cline, who has a documentary background, shot the principal photography on location so that cinematographer Eric Adkins, an experienced stop-motion DP, could use her footage as background plates for the stop-motion. Then, all of the stop-motion portions and live action portions were composited together into a seamless film. Eric was on set and took extensive notes, photos and measurements during the live action portion, since creating realistic, fool-the-eye stop-motion is extremely technical. All of Bianca's documentary footage was edited and animatics created before Eric's job as the stop-motion DP began, with puppeteers using interchangeable shell models of Marcel and Connie. Bianca tried to approach the film as if Marcel was a real living character. Once she began shooting, the voices and music were already fully recorded and finished along with extensive storyboards, so it helped to have a clear blueprint. She could find the best locations within the house and use naturalistic lighting for each scene. An important part of the story is to emphasize that Marcel is very small in a big world. Bianca wanted him to always be placed next to things that made him look small, and she often used one of the Marcel models as a reference. The team took care to make everything look effortless, as if they just showed up with a camera. As with a real documentary, Bianca wanted it to seem slightly imperfect with handheld movement and a little bit of jolting motion once in awhile. They were constantly brainstorming and problem solving together with the production designer, VFX supervisor and animation director on set. For Eric, the most complex scenes to replicate in stop-motion were the driving portions, shot with GoPros mounted inside the car, as Marcel gets driven around looking for his family. All the lighting in stop motion is strictly controlled on a set, so using flickering and moving light in scenes is rare. But complex problems just inspire Eric to find more creative solutions, and he enjoyed the challenge of making sure that the stop-motion shadows matched the movements of the real car. Find Bianca Cline: https://www.biancaclinedp.com/ Instagram @biancaclinedp Find Eric Adkins: Instagram @eradop Marcel The Shell With Shoes On is currently playing in theaters and is proving to be another indie hit for A24. Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/ep176/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com Sponsored by Arri: https://www.arri.com/en The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

Our returning guest is Paula Huidobro, who has been very busy the past few years shooting the 2022 Best Picture winning film CODA, the Hulu series Pam & Tommy, and the AppleTV+ series Physical, just to name a few. Paula and CODA director Siân Heder knew each other as grad students at AFI, and have worked together on four other projects including the film Tallulah and the show Little America. For Paula, shooting CODA was definitely a different process. There were interpreters for each of the actors on set, and most shots had to be framed as medium shots so that their hands could be seen while they were talking. There could be few over the shoulder shots, or someone saying lines with their back to the other person. Siân Heder and Paula wanted to make sure that a deaf person watching the movie could understand exactly what the actors were saying. CODA is set in a New England fishing village, and Paula found it was a very visual environment to shoot, and extra challenging going out on a fishing boat in the ocean. The Hulu show Pam & Tommy is about the 1990's stolen sex tape of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. Paula served as DP for every episode of the 8-part series, and she watched Pamela's film Barb Wire and Tommy's Mötley Crüe performances for the references. It was hard work to shoot every single episode- she felt she never had enough prep time with the director, location scouting or script. She enjoyed working with director Craig Gillespie (I, Tonya, Cruella) who also was the pilot director on Physical. He wanted to give complete freedom to the actors to move within the scene, so Paula would light the whole space and would start with her camera all the way wide, then push in for a close up. It was like a dance between the actors and they would explore the scene as they filmed it. Paula would shoot in nearly one take then just pick up whatever was missing. Pam & Tommy has a very aggressive style, using a lot of shots pushing in closer and closer, as the release of the sex tape and the fallout for Pamela's career becomes an unstoppable freight train. It also has elements of humor and absurdity, and Paula enjoyed the novelty of shooting scenes with Tommy's talking penis (an animatronic). Pam & Tommy had an excellent makeup and prosthetics department, and actors Lily James and Sebastian Stan are made up to be remarkable likenesses of Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee. Paula found the makeup to be so good that it wasn't difficult to light the actors. Most of all, Paula and each of the directors wanted to be thoughtful in how they portrayed Pamela Anderson and how her world and entire career had been shattered by illegally releasing this tape. Physical explores the troubled interior life of Sheila Rubin, an extremely unhappy 1980's suburban housewife with an eating disorder. But once she finds aerobics, things begin to change for her. Paula finds Physical to be a very dark show, but she really likes how they portray Sheila's inner thoughts. The character almost always says one thing but in her mind she's thinking dark thoughts about herself or someone else. Paula would hold shots on actor Rose Byrne a bit longer so that later, her inner thoughts are added in voiceover. The show has great production design- a mix of drab and dark 70's interiors with big splashes of 80's color saturation on the set, especially during the workout scenes. Paula enjoyed being able to do some fun and playful things with lighting and camera work for the aerobics sequences. Find Paula Huidobro: https://www.paulahuidobro.com/ Instagram @paulahuidobro CODA is streaming on AppleTV+. Physical Season 2 is currently streaming on AppleTV+. You can find Pam & Tommy, a limited series, on Hulu. Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com//ep175/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com Sponsored by DZOFilm: https://www.dzofilm.com/ The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.

Cinematographer Chris Teague has shot many acclaimed television series and films such as Obvious Child, GLOW, Russian Doll and Mrs. America. His latest work is on the Hulu series, Only Murders in the Building, both Season One and Season Two, and he also directed episodes seven and eight of Season Two. Only Murders in the Building has many different tones, ranging from funny to dark, dramatic and even scary. The show manages to strike a balance to keep the darkness from undermining the comedy. As the DP, Chris created a very cinematic and timeless look and feel for the show, which is mainly shot on sets that are meticulously built and planned. Each episode takes about 6 ½ days to shoot, and Chris and the crew are able to create visually interesting shots that feel very natural because of having such well built sets with excellent lighting. Actors Martin Short and Steve Martin have such a rapport, and their friend dynamic is baked into the script- the two actually don't do very much improv or riffing. If they do come up with something, Martin and Short run the line changes through for the crew to see how they play. Chris has enjoyed coming back to work on a second season of the show, because he has a body of work to reference and the crew knows the look of the show really well. As a kid, Chris made lots of short movies with friends growing up, and always loved photography and writing. It seemed a natural fit to go to film school and he decided to pursue cinematography full time after the film he shot, Obvious Child, went to Sundance in 2014. Find Chris Teague: http://www.christeaguefilm.com Instagram @_christeague Only Murders in the Building Season 2 is currently airing on Hulu. Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com//ep174/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com Sponsored by Aputure: https://www.aputure.com/ The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

Brian and Charles is about an awkward and lonely inventor, Brian, who lives in rural Wales. He rarely makes contraptions that are useful or work right, but one day, he finally creates a robot. Charles Petrescu, built out of an old washing machine and a mannequin, becomes Brian's friend. But as Charles becomes more and more curious and self-aware, he decides he wants to explore the world on his own. Actor David Earl is a comedian and came up with the eccentric character of Brian as a bit on the stand up circuit in the UK. One day on an internet radio call in show, a friend called in to interact with David's character using computer voice simulation software. Fellow actor and comedian Chris Hayward heard it, came up with the idea of Charles as Brian's robot sidekick, and the two took it on the road as a live show. Chris built the Charles robot character as a costume, and another friend would type in what Charles would say into the voice simulator to interact with the audience. In 2017, the two teamed up with director Jim Archer to make a short film about the characters, and it did well at festivals. After that, the UK production company Film4 backed developing the script into a feature film. For the feature version of Brian and Charles, director Jim Archer decided to expand on the mockumentary style. He wanted it to look like a real documentary, with a serious dramatic and cinematic look rather than as a wink and a nod to other mockumentaries. The friends were inspired by the documentaries American Movie and Monster Road – true stories about lonely people desperate for their dream to come true. Brian and Charles premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and is currently playing in theaters. https://www.focusfeatures.com/brian-and-charles/watch/ Jim Archer: Instagram & Twitter: @alrightjim David Earl: Instagram @davidearlhello Chris Hayward: https://www.curtisbrown.co.uk/client/chris-hayward Charles Petrescu has his own twitter account: @CharlesPetrescu Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com//ep173/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com Sponsored by Arri: https://www.arri.com/en The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

Watcher is a psychological thriller about a young actress, Julia, who has just moved to Romania from the U.S. with her boyfriend. A serial killer is on the loose in the city, and Julia begins to feel like she is being followed and watched from the apartment across the street. She has trouble convincing her boyfriend and the police that she's being stalked, and the film builds on her increasing sense of dread. Director Chloe Okuno and DP Benjamin Kirk Nielsen first met at American Film Institute, and collaborated on their thesis film, a short horror movie called Slut. They both believe in extensive organization, preparation, shotlisting and planning for their projects. Chloe was hired to direct Watcher in 2017, and it took some time to get the movie off the ground. They ended up shooting in Romania during the summer of 2021 under strict COVID protocols. Chloe liked that the script was a simple thriller that could be told from one character's point of view. Chloe and Benjamin looked at Rosemary's Baby, Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, and David Fincher films Seven and Gone Girl as references to impart the sense of terror Julia feels. Benjamin wanted to find a simple, straightforward way to portray Julia's isolation in a foreign city as her fear escalates. He chose to start with longer camera focal lengths and longer shots, then progressively move closer and closer as the Watcher creeps closer and closer to Julia. Watcher premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and is currently playing in theaters. https://www.watchermovie.com/ Chloe Okuno: Twitter @cokuno_san Benjamin Kirk Nielsen: http://benjaminkirk.dk/ Instagram: @b_kirk Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com//ep172/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com Sponsored by DZOFilm: https://www.dzofilm.com/ The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

Emergency is a comedy about three men of color- college roommates Kunle, Sean, and Carlos, who are about to go out for an epic night of spring break partying when they find a white girl has accidentally stumbled in and passed out on their apartment floor. Concerned about what might happen if they call the police, they decide to take the semi-conscious girl in their van and drive around town for hours, trying to find a safe place to leave her and not get in trouble. Meanwhile, the girl's friends chase after the men as they track her phone and call the police. Director Carey Williams and cinematographer Mike Dallatorre met about twenty years ago and have worked together on several music videos and other projects. Emergency began as a 2018 short film directed by Carey and shot by Mike. The short won a jury award at the Sundance Film Festival and Best Narrative Short at SXSW. Carey and writer KD Dávila worked together to expand the story into a feature, and Temple Hill Entertainment and Amazon Studios produced it before the feature premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. As two men of color themselves, both Carey and Mike have had personal experience with being profiled and detained by police officers. In Emergency, once the roommates are caught and detained by the police, Mike and Carey decided to make the film feel extremely terrifying, shooting the encounter in slow motion and selectively out of focus. Mike deliberately kept the police officer's faces out of frame so that they feel like scary monsters in a horror movie. Having worked together for so long, Mike and Carey had an easy shorthand way of talking through the shotlist and visual feel for each scene, and put together a look book as a reference. Emergency is Carey's biggest movie to date, while Mike brought a lot of experience with seven other features under his belt. As a visual director, Carey always wanted to know what the movie would look like and feel like. The most important piece of the movie for Carey was to show the relationship between the friends, their emotions and vulnerability as they go through a crisis together. Emergency is currently playing in theaters and on Amazon Prime. Carey Williams http://cdubfilms.com/ Instagram @cdubig Mike Dallatorre: https://www.michaeldallatorre.com/ Instagram @dp_miked Hear our previous Cinepod interview with Mike Dallatorre: https://www.camnoir.com/ep70/ Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com//ep171/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com Sponsored by Aputure: https://www.aputure.com/ The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

Cinematographer Michael FitzMaurice is known for his aerial and second unit cinematography on huge films such as The Dark Knight, Iron Man, Godzilla: King of the Monsters and now Top Gun Maverick. In the film business, second unit and aerial cinematography are involved in all of the action shots, and as a more technically-oriented DP, Michael has been able to combine his two loves- flying and shooting movies. Michael started out learning about photography in seventh grade, and then got a job out of high school working as a PA for a production company, eventually working his way up shooting music videos and commercials. It was hard to get into aerial cinematography, but with a love of flying and a pilot's license, he was able to prove he could shoot while flying, and pilots would recommend him for aerial cinematography jobs. Aerial cinematography is a very small and select group of people, requiring a very special skill set. When shooting film in a helicopter or plane, it's tough for most DPs to focus on composing a shot in a small space that is also moving quickly and unpredictably, and not get airsick. Top Gun Maverick was hugely dependent on its aerial unit, with most of the action done as a real, practical effect. The aerial unit used two jets, a helicopter and also shot from mountaintops to capture the action as the fighter jets flew past. As a trained pilot himself, Tom Cruise actually flew the jets and did many of his own stunts. Each training jet was outfitted with six cameras to capture the action of the actors in the cockpit. Michael and the aerial crew worked on the movie for over a year, developing new, special gimbal camera systems mounted on the jets. The crew had hours and hours of pre-production meetings, to get a clear idea of the shots needed and how to accomplish them with aircraft and cameras. Michael took a lot of notes and used models to act out aerobatic maneuvers for the planes before shooting them. For Michael, one of the highlights of working on Top Gun Maverick was being allowed to fly very low over a Navy aircraft carrier, although they were not allowed to land on it. Working on Top Gun Maverick was great, but Michael's craziest movie experience was working on second unit of The Dark Knight with director Christopher Nolan and cinematographer Wally Pfister. The movie was shot in IMAX, which is a notoriously difficult format to shoot- IMAX cameras at the time had a very faulty video tap for the monitors. For the scene, Heath Ledger as the Joker blows up a hospital and walks away, all in one take. The explosion was done on a real building, rigged up with real explosives, so there were no second takes. They began the take, but as soon as they went outside, the video tap went white and they couldn't really tell if they were actually getting anything on film at all, but they kept rolling, the building exploded, and hoped the whole thing was actually caught on film- which took about two days to get the film developed and the dailies back. Luckily, it all turned out perfectly. Top Gun Maverick is currently playing in theaters. Michael FitzMaurice: Instagram @michaelfitzmaurice Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com//ep170/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com Sponsored by ARRI: https://www.arri.com/en The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

James Lee Hernandez and Brian Lazarte are Emmy-nominated documentary directors and producers for the HBO documentary series, McMillion$. Brian and James return to Cinepod to talk about their latest documentary, The Big Conn, now airing on Apple TV+. The Big Conn is a four-part documentary series that tells the unbelievable true story of larger-than-life attorney, Eric C. Conn. Conn stole over half a billion dollars from the government and taxpayers in the largest Social Security fraud case in United States history. Conn got away with it for more than 10 years before two whistleblowers told the FBI what he was doing and Conn went on the run. Documentary filmmaking has grown and elevated as an art over the years, and James and Brian take a cinematic approach to the form. Their previous documentary series, McMillion$ had a thread of comedy throughout, with such interesting characters that it reminded them of a Coen brothers movie. For The Big Conn, Brian and James took a similar approach. They dive deep into Eric Conn's life, using comedy to hold the audience's interest, but underneath it's a very serious exposé about the broken American Social Security system. To put together such sprawling stories, James and Brian create a story outline, determine who the interviewees should be, interview the characters, write a script and then decide where they need to put in animated graphics, archival footage and recreations during the editing process. Talented cinematographer Jeff Dolan has worked with the team for years, shooting both interviews and recreations on The Big Conn and McMillion$. Brian and James planned out and put together a guide for lighting and shot composition for the look of the interviews, based on shots from scripted movies they love. The Big Conn is a 4-part documentary series currently airing on Apple TV+. James and Brian have a podcast to accompany The Big Conn, diving deeper into the story and subject matter. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-big-conn-the-official-podcast/id1621583098 Fun Meter, James and Brian's production company: https://www.funmetermedia.com/ Instagram: @funmeterofficial James Lee Hernandez: @iamthejlh Brian Lazarte: @bdlazarte Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com//ep169/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com Sponsored by Aputure: https://www.aputure.com/ The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

Cinematographer Eric Koretz and our host Illya Friedman have known each other a long time, going back to when Eric blogged about the latest camera gear. Since then, Eric has become a very successful DP. His current work can be seen on the last and final season of the Netflix series, Ozark. Eric shot 4 episodes of the last half of the final season, including the show finale, “A Hard Way to Go” directed by Jason Bateman. Eric loved the look of Ozark, and knew he would have to adapt to the established shooting style of the show. However, he knew that he wanted to bring his own look to it too. Anytime the crew is shooting outside, they begin blocking out the sun, keeping the outdoors very shadowy using negative fill techniques. Eric felt Ozark was a cinematographer's dream to shoot- they use every tool to tell the story, and the producers allow the cinematographers to do what they wish within the style parameters. The show is shot more like a movie than a TV show, with time allowed to let scenes have space and play out, allowing the DP to shoot a closeup on a glass of whiskey or shoot a long shot out a window as a car pulls up, creating tension. Eric found that Jason Bateman as a director and producer knows exactly what he wants and is very technical and precise as a craftsman. Eric first went to college for graphic design. He started making animated videos and applied to American Film Institute to learn more about shooting. While at AFI, he discovered that he really enjoyed cinematography and after graduation, began working in commercials. But the idea of storytelling through longer forms of film and television really appealed to Eric. His first feature was Comet with director Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot), and his second feature, Frank & Lola, went to Sundance. Eric still shoots commercials as well, which is a great place to learn- commercial shoots tend to have a lot more resources, and these days commercials tend to be very creative, artistic and cinematic, with more crossover from film. Find Eric Koretz: http://erickoretz.com/ Instagram: @erickoretz_dp See all of the seasons of Ozark on Netflix. Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com//ep168/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com Sponsored by DZOFilm: https://www.dzofilm.com/ The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

Cinematographer Greg Middleton's intention in his work is never to make viewers think, “Oh wow, cool shot!” He wants them to be able to experience the movies or television series he shoots without drawing attention to the cinematography or lighting. For him, the art of cinematography is about making illusions, and convincing audiences that they are actually somewhere else. Greg was excited to work on episodes 1, 3, 5, and 6 of the series Moon Knight on Disney+ because it's more of a personal and emotional journey for the character Marc/Stephen, rather than just the action and the superhero elements. He didn't know anyone involved in the project before he was hired, which is unusual, but director Mohamed Diab liked Greg's Emmy-winning work on HBO's Watchmen, particularly episode 6: “This Extraordinary Being” which dives into the past of Hooded Justice. For Moon Knight, episode 5 needed someone who could handle seamless transitions through multiple scenes in Marc/Stephen's past life. Greg also had experience from Game of Thrones working quickly in multiple foreign locations with large cast and crews. There were many challenges for shooting a show like Moon Knight- location work, virtual sets, twinning, and animated characters interacting with real characters. Greg also had to play a lot with reflections and light. Because Marc/Stephen has a form of mental illness called dissociative identity disorder (multiple personality disorder), his personalities often interact through reflective surfaces. Greg and director Mohamed Diab discussed and did extensive testing to figure out how they would make the reflections and successfully shoot them. Greg would move the camera, shoot the reflection one way, then later shoot it again to match it, or do a nodal camera pan, so that the perspective of the character doesn't really change, but the reflection does. For the museum bathroom scene with infinity mirrors, the visual effects team needed to paint out the camera and boom mic later. Because actor Oscar Issac was playing two different characters with different body language and accents, it was easier for him to play first one character and then the other, and he didn't usually switch quickly from one character to another. For Marc/Stephen's interactions with the god Khonshu, they used an actor in costume, adding a pole to make him seem 9 feet tall. Greg also used a very real-looking maquette of Khonshu's head to establish the proper lighting for the visual effects team to reference. The sets also incorporated small hints of Marc/Stephen's reality and dream world, so that deciding what is real is always in question. Find Greg Middleton: http://www.middletondp.com/#vanguard-fest-set Instagram: @middlecam Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com//ep167/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com Sponsored by ARRI: https://www.arri.com/en The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

It's been a busy few months and we finally bring you our interviews with four directors of documentaries and shorts from Sundance 2022. To The End is director and cinematographer Rachel Lears' follow up to her 2019 documentary, Knock Down the House. It once again follows representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and three women environmental activists pushing hard for climate change legislation- first with the Green New Deal, then with President Biden's Build Back Better plan. Rachel wants people to watch the film and become inspired to engage in politics in the United States in order to build a better world. To The End is currently playing at the Hot Docs film festival in Canada and is seeking distribution. Find Rachel Lears: https://www.jubileefilms.com/rachel-lears Twitter: @jubileefilms Instagram: @racheliplears As the title suggests, TikTok, Boom. is about how the social media app TikTok has exploded for both viewers and content makers. Shalini Kantayya’s documentary explores the phenomenon, from the young people who consume it to the influencers who are now themselves a brand. But the Chinese company behind TikTok, Bytedance, uses the app for data mining, restricts certain content deemed too political, and could pose security risks for anyone watching or using TikTok. Shalini researched, found the TikTok influencers and shot the documentary very quickly. TikTok, Boom. also played at SXSW this year and has yet to be released. Shalini's previous film, 2020's Coded Bias is critically acclaimed and won several awards. Find Shalini Kantayya: https://www.shalinikantayya.net/ Instagram @shalinikantayya Chiqui was inspired by director and writer Carlos Cardona's parents' immigration story. The television pilot takes place in 1980's New Jersey as the vivacious Chiqui and her husband Carlos have just arrived from Colombia and are looking for work. Carlos set out to make it as a feature film, but decided to develop the story into a television series instead. To keep it true to the look of the 1980's he decided to shoot it on super 16mm and used Zeiss super speed lenses. Carlos is currently developing Chiqui into a television series. Find Carlos Cardona: https://www.carloscardonafilms.com/ Instagram @carlos.cardona The comedic short film Daddy's Girl is writer and director Lena Hudson's third short film. Alison is a young woman in her 20's who is a bit aimless, and her father comes to help her move out of her wealthy older boyfriend's apartment. Lena had been playing around with the idea of a father/daughter movie that would be short and filmable, especially during COVID. Daddy's Girl also screened at SXSW this year and Lena is developing it into a longer feature film. Find Lena Hudson: http://www.lenahudson.com/daddys-girl-1 Instagram @lenahudson Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/sundancedocshorts/ All web and social media content written by Alana Kode Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz