Cinematographer Tony Miller Nominated for Fleabag

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Wed, 11/02/2016 - 09:21 -- Nick Dager

Cinematographer Tony Miller, BSC, has been nominated for a 2016 RTS Craft & Design Award for Photography – Drama & Comedy, for his work on the acclaimed BBC comedy series Fleabag. Photo by Luke Varley.Cinematographer Tony Miller, BSC, has been nominated for a 2016 RTS Craft & Design Award for Photography – Drama & Comedy, for his work on the acclaimed BBC comedy series Fleabag. Miller shot the series using Cooke Optics anamorphic lenses.

Fleabag is a six-part British comedy written by and starring Phoebe Waller-Bridge, offering a no-holds-barred look at modern womanhood from the perspective of an often-unlikeable young woman navigating London life. Two Brothers Pictures produced it for BBC Three in a co-production agreement with Amazon Studios.

Miller shot the series using Cooke anamorphic/i lenses. Photo by Hal Shinnie.Miller suggested shooting the series anamorphically.

“TV is becoming more like cinema every day, and Amazon Studios encouraged us to be bold,” said Miller. “Most of the great movie comedies shoot 2-39-1 scope, from Woody Allen to Wes Anderson, via the great films of the fifties. [Shooting] 2-39-1 allowed us to cover scenes in one shot, to use the width of the frame for multiple relationships and tensions to exist in that same frame. It is often the complexity of the relationships within the frame that makes this so exciting.”

A longtime fan of Cooke lenses, Miller chose Cooke Anamorphic/i lenses for the shoot.

“I keep coming back to Cooke S4s as the perfect spherical lens, so it was natural to look at the Cooke Anamorphic/i’s for this production,” he said. “They have a very beautiful look, with all the characteristics of the S4s in anamorphic form. I also love the contrast of the Cooke Anamorphic/i‘s - they are true anamorphic lenses with imperfections and drop off. That is what gives them character. The 25mm is a fabulous lens and I enjoyed using this lens frequently onFleabag - up close and personal.”

The 2016 RTS Design & Craft Awards ceremony takes place November 28 at the London Hilton Park Lane.