Few know underwater cinematography and how to light the great blue sea better than Pete Romano ASC. His unique specialty has made him sought after for most major films where’s there’s any underwater action. His 40-year underwater track record is unmatched. IMDB tries but at 159 credits for film and television they just skim the surface, especially considering the multitude of commercials, music videos and documentaries to count.
When Timur Civan was called upon to shoot a music video for the title track of Lush Life by the New York City-based band, Orion, he took his cue from the pop rock tune and decided to have fun with it. Dubbed “bouncy music for bouncy people,” its reggae vibe brings to mind lilting palm trees, rainbows, warm sunny colors, and sweet, simpler times. It’s no surprise TikTok fans are having a ball with it.
Making lead actors and actresses look their very best has been a challenge for cinematographers since the earliest days of film. So it was business as usual when series creator and showrunner Liz Feldman wanted her main actresses to look their best on screen for season two of her hit Netflix show Dead to Me. She brought in cinematographer Toby Oliver, ACS to handle the job.
When it came time to return to the world of Thra and reimagine the Dark Crystal movie for a whole new generation on Netflix, cinematographer Erik Wilson’s goal was to transform the puppets and make them more majestic. “You get into the politics and you get into the characters and you forget that they’re puppets,” he says
Cooke Optics TV, the educational website containing interviews with some of the world’s most renowned cinematographers and filmmakers, recently travelled to Pixar Animation Studios to discuss animation and cinematography with some of its top creative talent.
DP Nicolaj Bruel and director Matteo Garrone, who first worked together on the award-winning 2018 feature film Dogman, recently repeated their collaboration on the live action Italian language feature film Pinocchio, starring Oscar winner Roberto Benigni. A live action adaptation of the classic fairy tale about a wooden puppet that is brought to life, the production had to be right on many levels.
Star Trek: Picard, the highly anticipated streaming series from CBS All Access, relied on two complete sets of Cooke Optics Anamorphic/I Special Flair lenses to tell the story. The follow-up series to Star Trek: The Next Generation, and centers on Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Sir Patrick Stewart) in the next chapter of his life. Director of photography Philip Lanyon’s goal was to give this new series a big movie adventure epic saga feel — while keeping fans in a familiar visual world.
Illumination Dynamics has moved its Los Angeles headquarter from San Fernando to a new location in Santa Clarita. The new, 67,639 square-foot facility is located at 21335 Needham Ranch Parkway, within sight of the 14 Freeway and just a few miles from Interstates 5, 405, and 210. As such, it allows easier access to the thriving film industry in the Santa Clarita Valley, while still remaining just a short distance from Hollywood.
As Hawthorne College winds down for the Christmas holidays, a black-masked stalker begins killing sorority sisters one by one. Produced by Jason Blum (Halloween, Get Out) for Blumhouse Productions, Black Christmas is a re-imagining of the 1974 cult classic for the 21st century audience. The horror film was directed and co-written by Sophia Takal (Always Shine). Although Takal was a fan of the original film, she wanted to bring attention to contemporary women’s rights issues, in particular the Me-Too movement
Jordan Levy, veteran commercial director of photography, shot FCA U.S.’s new The Summer of Jeep campaign starring Jeremy Renner, with Cooke Anamorphic/i lenses. The campaign was directed by Levy’s friend and long-time collaborator Jeff Tomsic, with whom he has worked for a decade. It began airing in the States on July 10.
