Mindhunter Mindful Operating with Brian Osmond, SOC an interview by Derek Stettler
TRIVIA: The interview scenes are based upon the actual interviewers with said serial killers, sometimes almost word for word. The crew prepares dual close-ups on a key detail with actor Jonathan Groff. Photo by Patrick Harbron/Netflix
To gain insight into the mind behind Mindhunter’s operating, Camera Operator reached out to the show’s A camera operator, Brian Osmond, SOC to learn about his experience shooting this meticulously-crafted reinvention of the crime procedural. Camera Operator: How did you get the job of A camera operator on Mindhunter? Brian Osmond: We started production in
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May of 2016 and I was hired a few weeks prior. I’m not sure exactly how they found me, but I got a phone call to do an interview with the show’s DP at the time, Christopher Probst. We spoke for a half-hour and I was offered the job in that moment. Chris was there for the first two episodes, and I was working as B camera. Then after Chris's departure, I was promoted to A camera and Erik Messerschmidt, who collaborated with David as the gaffer on Gone Girl, was brought in to become DP.
CO: Very interesting. So who else did you work closely with? Osmond: Dwayne Barr was my dolly grip, and Alex Scott was my first AC. Those two guys are right there with me and we work together as a very close team. If my work is considered good, it’s because those guys let me stand on their shoulders each day. I couldn’t do it without them, because the precision required is the same for them as it is for me.
SOCIETY OF CAMERA OPERATORS · SOC.ORG