Cinematography

DP Trevor Forrest on Making MLK/X

Mon, 02/26/2024 - 12:19 -- Nick Dager

With its fourth season, the National Geographic series Genius presents a dual portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, inspirational leaders who paved parallel paths as pioneers in the American civil rights movement in the 1950s and ’60s. Genius: MLK/X traces their journeys from their formative years through their rise to prominence, as they each shaped a legacy that remains vitally important. Trevor Forrest, the lead director of photography for MLK/X, worked closely with Panavision to select an equipment package based around Panavised Arri Alexa 35 cameras and Primo spherical lenses, with modified Anamorphic Flare Attachments used for key moments.

Filming The 1619 Project

Wed, 12/13/2023 - 12:48 -- Nick Dager

Cinematographer Jerry Henry’s Emmy nomination for the sixth and final episode (Justice) of the Hulu Original TV Mini-docuseries The 1619 Project is just one of three Primetime Creative Arts Emmy nominations – including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series as well as Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program for the same episode (Adriana Pacheco, Jesse Allain-Marcus and Ephraim Kirkwood) – for the TV adaption of The 1619 Project created by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones and the New York Times Magazine released by Hulu in January and February of 2023.

Bringing Leo to the Big Screen

Thu, 11/02/2023 - 11:12 -- Nick Dager

Leo is the third film in the Lokesh Cinematic Universe. Inspired by the A History of Violence graphic novel series, director Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Tamil-language action thriller follows family man Parthi who resides in Northwestern India where he owns a coffee shop and helps the local forest ranger rescue animals. His attempts to keep a low profile fall short after he saves the townsfolk from a wild spotted hyena and makes national news. An army of crazed and dangerous gangsters begin to hunt Parthi, obsessed with their belief that he is in fact Leo, a master criminal and son of their kingpin Antony Das. Parthi must fight to protect his family and convince them of his innocence.

Shooting Buenos Aires in Large Format

Tue, 10/24/2023 - 12:35 -- Nick Dager

As befits a drama about a sophisticated culinary critic it is the fresh palette of colorful and appetizing images that first meets the eye. But filmmakers Gastón Duprat and Mariano Cohn wanted to make Nada a series of postcards from the city of Buenos Aires. “Naturally we wanted to make the food look good, but their first call was to show Buenos Aires as a modern, romantic and beautiful city,” said cinematographer Alejo Maglio, ADF. “In my mind I wanted to make a portrait of the city, of the characters and of the dishes.”

Shooting The Creator

Wed, 09/27/2023 - 12:52 -- Nick Dager

By the time last year when cinematographers Greig Fraser and Oren Soffer were signed to work on the feature film The Creator, director Gareth Edwards had already spent more than a year doing test shoots and location scouting. Edwards said he used that time as the opportunity to envision the look of the film. He went to Vietnam, Cambodia, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, and Nepal. He said, “Our whole plan was just to go to the greatest locations in the world, because the cost of a flight is way less than the cost of building a set.” Considering the budget of just over $86 million, the filmmakers utilized guerrilla filmmaking methods by having very few crew members and natural lighting on set for select on-location scenes, and limited sound recording. I recently spoke via email with Soffer to learn more about how The Creator was shot.

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