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Scott Siracusano
Jennifer Lai
Martim Vian
Nicholas Bupp
Mia Cioffi Henry
Brandon Somerhalder
Sarah Wheldon
Doug Emmett
Nancy Schreiber, ASC
Matthew Chuang
Ethan Palmer
Jendra Jarnigan
Bianca Cline
I recently attended the ASC Awards and was talking with many longtime peers and colleagues. The topic, time and again, was the incredible pace at which camera technology is advancing. And we were not just talking about digital technology. Even the film side, which many assume has been dormant for so long, is steaming forward. Case in point are all the many projects shot in 2024 (and continuing into 2025) on IMAX. We all know there are a handful of directors who will only shoot film, and I’ve even heard film is making a comeback with younger up-and-coming cinematographers. I don’t believe these individuals shoot film for nostalgia. It’s the amazing quality they’re after, which is equal to (better than?) even the biggest digital sensor.
The ironic (challenging) part of a return to film is hiring a crew – directors of photography, operators, assistants and loaders – who have a solid background in shooting film. So, while digital technology continues to race forward into parts unknown – bringing largeformat sensors to still-photography-sized cameras – film is pushing boundaries as well. And what makes all of this new technology so exciting, regardless of the medium, is how swiftly the lens manufacturers (and vendors) have kept pace. Panavision, Zeiss, Hawk and so many others continue to offer up new
(and rehoused) vintage glass that protects the artistic intent of our union cinematographers and their crews.
As for the new technology that’s on everyone’s mind, artificial intelligence (AI), it’s yet to be determined how it will fit into our world on set; using AI still requires approval from the production and the IATSE. Other new technologies, such as virtual production, have yet to fully mature, even as they grow more prevalent every day. There’s also a benefit of new technology not often mentioned – it has the potential to drive more production. Despite the work slow-down we’ve seen in recent years, there are more new production stages being built around the country than ever before, including in Los Angeles after two strikes and the January wildfires. All of that new production space will be dependent on leading-edge technology, which is driven by the expert skills and knowledge of IATSE film and TV crews. Plain and simple: the advancement in new technologies also advances work opportunities for our members.
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Publisher
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Executive Editor
David Geffner
Art Director
Wes Driver
NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Jill Wilk
COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER
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COPY EDITORS
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Maureen Kingsley
CONTRIBUTORS
Michael Chambliss
David Geffner
Margot Lester
Elle Schneider
Tobin Yelland
1ST
2ND
NATIONAL
Stephen
Jamie Silverstein
NATIONAL SERGEANT-AT-ARMS
Betsy Peoples
NATIONAL EXECUTIVE
Alex Tonisson
COMMUNICATIONS COMMITTEE
John Lindley, ASC, Co-Chair Chris Silano, Co-Chair
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Copyright 2024, by Local 600, International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States and Canada. Entered as Periodical matter, September 30, 1930, at the Post Office at Los Angeles, California, under the act of March 3, 1879. Subscriptions: $88.00 of each International Cinematographers Guild member’s annual dues is allocated for an annual subscription to International Cinematographers Guild Magazine. Non-members may purchase an annual subscription for $48.00 (U.S.), $82.00 (Foreign and Canada) surface mail and $117.00 air mail per year. Single Copy: $4.95
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What do a talking bear, robots running amok and a graduate writing student violated by her professor have in common?
They’re all part of this April New Technology –themed issue ICG readers are about to dive into; and they’re all projects passionately assembled by different Local 600 camera teams hailing from Boston, Atlanta, L.A. and points in-between.
First up, the bear. No, not Hulu’s Emmywinning foodie drama, but Creator/Director Seth McFarlane’s prequel TV series to his popular feature films Ted and Ted 2. Season 1 of the Peacock show (On The Street, page 26) offered up some game-changing on-set technology that enhanced the workflow of Local 600 operators (and Director of Photography Jeffrey Mygatt) by leaps and bounds. Developed by Brandon Fayette, VFX supervisor and co-founder of Fuzzy Door Tech, the system involves iPads, iPhones and laptop computers – including the use of LIDAR technology. Camera operators wear a backpack with a laptop and view the scene through a HELIOS headset while shooting. The workflow uses Live 3D compositing (with only a 2-frame delay), enabling Guild operators to see animated characters in frame with their live-action counterparts.
When it comes to robots on the loose, our cover story on The Electric State highlights the work of Stephen Windon, ASC, ACS, and his ICG camera team, who banded together for the first film from Anthony and Joe Russo since their double Marvel swan song, Infinity War and Endgame, numbers 6 and 2 respectively on the list of top-grossing films of all time. Based on the 2018 graphic novel by Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag, the Russos balance sci-fi, adventure, war and a sentimental journey of a teenager searching for her lost brother (who may just be a robot banished to “The Electric State”). Windon, of course, is no stranger to complex VFX projects, having shot seven films in The Fast and the Furious franchise, along with other epics, including Star Trek Beyond
G.I. Joe: Retaliation and the Steven Spielbergproduced miniseries The Pacific
Finally, there’s that New England grad student bouncing back from “the bad thing” (aka sexual assault) in first-time Writer/Director/Star Eva Victor’s Sundance 2025 hit Sorry, Baby , shot by Mia Cioffi Henry with an IATSE crew based out of Boston. As I wrote in my three separate Q&A’s ( First Time, Long Time , page 50) with ICG cinematographers working with first-time filmmakers, Cioffi Henry was brought on early in the project’s gestation, working closely with Victor to lock-in locations that would best serve the technical team and finite resources. “Going on location scouts is not a common occurrence for the DP at that budget level,” Cioffi Henry told me. “But it made a big difference – not to have to just show up and make do with whatever we packed.”
Another key element was Cioffi Henry’s willingness to use union members for whom, in her words, “this film would have been the largest one they had yet done as a Department Head, not the smallest. I knew it would be long nights on location in cold weather, and I wanted a crew that had experience but was also hungry and eager to be on set.”
As for helping another director with a Sundance debut (Sorry, Baby was Cioffi Henry’s fifth Park City premiere), she describes Victor as being “hungry” for knowledge. “It was fun to see the light bulb go off when we’d talk about: ‘What is a shot list?’ ‘How do different camera angles affect the storytelling?’ It was a mini crash course in film school. This is perfect for me because along with being a cinematographer, I’m also an educator [Cioffi Henry is an assistant arts professor of cinematography and head of first year studies for graduate film and television at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts], and I love shared knowledge. My dad was a DP and my mom was an educator, so I’m a true synthesis of my parents.”
We like to think this April issue is a fine synthesis of new technology and creative visual storytelling, as befitting one of the most skilled labor unions on the planet.
Enjoy!
DavidGeffner Executive Editor Email: david@icgmagazine.com
Sundance section, Stop Motion
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“The Betty Luminous reflector projects a beautiful quality of light onto skin tones in a very pleasing way,” says Local 600 Director of Photography Eric Koretz. With Fresnel-like directionality and a gentle Gaussian fall-off, it’s fully scalable. The larger of the two reflector plates is 50 square centimeters. The magnetic plates can be mounted individually, in a yoke and to speed rails or lighting grids – and automatically accommodate magnetic LED lights and diffractors, as well as non-magnetic reflectors using a quick-change adapter. Flux 4X is the same size as a traditional shiny board, but it fits into a pelican-style wheeled case to stow in the trunk of any compact car. “I loved it as a bounce source for a key, using it up close near the actor and also from further away with a larger lighting unit,” Koretz recounts. “The versatility of the Betty is well thought out, building it into small or large configurations. I’ll be using the Betty Luminous reflectors on many future projects.”
“As a DP, I work across so many different genres, and now I have one tool [the Canon EOS C400] that works across all of them,” asserts Eastern Region ICG member Christine Ng. The versatile camera works equally well for narrative and documentary projects, live broadcasts and virtual productions. Its newly developed 6K full-frame, back-illuminated CMOS sensor mirrors the flexibility of triple-base ISO. The Dual Pixel CMOS AF II auto-focus recognizes a subject from the back of a head, so run-and-gun sequences are sharp. Built-in WiFi enables a variety of networking solutions, including camera-to-cloud compatibility with Frame.io, so clips can be sent to off-site editors or producers/clients for nearly real-time feedback. The rig is workflow-friendly, with features that include a PL-RF mount adapter, easy control and menu navigation, 12G SDI output, and a variety of recording options (including onboard 12-bit RAW recording).
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Leitz has extended its THALIA 65 lens line with a new 20 mm that delivers more options for digital/film 65 mm and VistaVision formats. “The coming wave of new extra-largeformat cameras is going to need lenses, and now one of the only purpose-built 65-mm lens sets that people can own got even more flexible, going from 20 mm to 180 mm,” explains Rainer Hercher, Leitz Cine’s managing director. “Most 65-mm format lenses are based on older medium-format lenses never designed to accommodate the wide end of lens focal lengths, but modern filmmaking demands a wider angle, which looks amazing on the big screen with bigger formats.” Nearly as wide as a 10 mm on Super 35, the 20 mm captures more information that, Hercher says, “can create awe-inspiring and immersive scenes.” The line, which includes 11 focal lengths, features a 95-mm front-diameter throughout and is available in swappable PL and LPL mounts with /i metadata.
10 QUESTIONS WITH SMPTE’S NEW
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
BY DAVID GEFFNER
PHOTO COURTESY OF SMPTE
To tell by the reception incoming Executive Director of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), SallyAnn D’Amato, received at the February 2025 HPA Tech retreat, it felt like destiny the 25year tech veteran would be the one to lead the century-old standards organization in a sweeping new direction. D’Amato, recipient of an in-house promotion, started at SMPTE in 2001 as an administrative assistant and continued in ever-more key positions, including executive assistant, director of operations, and director of events and governance liaison. She was appointed interim executive director in October 2024, and just two months later was given the administrative reins by SMPTE’s Board of Governors.
Longtime SMPTE members love the new hire, mostly because D’Amato has already played a key role in the centuryold organization’s operational framework, including helping to develop its current bylaws and operations manuals. She’s managed and produced the Society’s annual technical conference (now known as the Media Technology Summit) since 2005, including leading its transition to a virtual format during the pandemic. She also led the planning and execution of SMPTE’s centennial gala in 2016, including co-writing the script and lyrics, and performing in the show. (D’Amato is also a member of the Actor’s Equity Association [AEA] and the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists [SAG-AFTRA]). Her focus in this new role, most agree, will be to drive efficiency, innovation and collaboration within SMPTE itself, and to strengthen engagement across its global membership – no easy task in a tech landscape driven by many players with multiple (sometimes conflicting) agendas, and a new tech sweeping through town (AI) that many feel is the most disruptive in recent memory.
In your HPA panel, you said SMPTE wants to “foster a culture of inclusivity, cooperation and community.” How do you intend to do that? At SMPTE, our goal is to break down silos within the organization and create an environment that encourages open collaboration, knowledge-sharing and innovation. I, our staff, and our leadership are committed to fostering a culture where all members – regardless of career stage – can
contribute meaningfully and benefit from our global community. A key focus is on supporting students and early-career professionals while also leveraging the expertise of our more experienced members and Fellows. A great example of this is our UK Section’s Young Innovators program, which celebrates and nurtures emerging talent in media technology. This initiative provides a platform for students and early-career professionals to showcase their innovative projects and connect with industry leaders. Our We Are One SMPTE campaign is all about celebrating the unique contributions of every individual in our Society. A big part of that is making sure our members and leadership aren’t just present at industry events – they’re actively shaping the conversation. Whether they’re speaking on panels, leading technical workshops, or sharing their expertise in keynotes, they’re representing SMPTE’s commitment to innovation, education and professional growth in a visible way. This dedication to sharing knowledge and personal experiences extends to something I’m especially excited about – our oral history book project. This will be a collection of stories from our members, capturing the massive technology shifts they’ve all been a part of, the friendships they’ve built and the impact SMPTE had on their careers. At the end of the day, it’s all about building a stronger, more connected and more inclusive SMPTE, one where every member feels seen, heard and empowered to contribute.
What is SMPTE’s current relationship with manufacturers and vendors? Will that change under your tenure? If so, how? SMPTE has always maintained a strong, collaborative relationship with manufacturers and vendors across the media and entertainment-technology industry. These partnerships are critical to developing industry standards, delivering technical education and driving innovation. As an ANSI-accredited Standards Development Organization, SMPTE adheres to rigorous guidelines to ensure that our standards process remains consensusbased, neutral, open and transparent. Importantly, each corporate member has an equal vote in the standards development process, ensuring that larger companies don’t disproportionately influence outcomes. As such, the relationship between SMPTE and
manufacturers and vendors won’t change in this regard during my tenure. However, we are strengthening our partnerships with this group in our educational efforts. One of the most exciting developments this year is the introduction of the remote practical lab for our ST 2110 Bootcamp. This new component offers hands-on experience with setup, troubleshooting and device integration, made possible through in-kind contributions from industry-leading corporate sponsors, valued at over one million dollars. These sponsors will also have the opportunity to present live webcasts and contribute educational materials to our training repository.
Pundits say AI will be the most disruptive technology since the advent of sound – how does SMPTE view standards for something as radical (and far-sweeping) as AI? As always, I rely on the expertise of SMPTE Director of Standards Development, Thomas Bause Mason, who has shared the following insights. “Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a transformative technology poised to reshape the media and Entertainment industry. While AI adoption is still in its early stages, its integration across media creation, processing, and distribution is inevitable. As with past technological advancements, organizations like SMPTE and other Standards Development Organizations (SDO’s) will play a vital role in establishing interoperable and secure industry solutions.” Thomas (and all of us at SMPTE) feel that a critical aspect of AI standards development is ethics. Ensuring AI operates within ethical boundaries is essential to protect consumers from bias, misinformation and inequitable access. Industry-wide frameworks from standards organizations can foster responsible AI applications. Addressing misinformation is particularly urgent, and existing standards like C2PA – a Content Provenance and Authenticity specification – are already helping verify content trustworthiness in media workflows. This specification is currently under review within the ISO standards process. Thomas goes on to say that “AI standards development primarily focuses on horizontal standards that span multiple industries, including media, healthcare, and automotive. However, the need for application-specific standards is growing. Recognizing this, SMPTE has engaged with international standards bodies to assess the
relevance of horizontal standards to media applications. Additionally, SMPTE launched a joint task force with the ETC on AI in Media two years ago to explore AI standardization efforts. This initiative has led to three AI standards projects: one focused on mediaspecific Large Language Models (LLM’s), another on AI-driven embeddings to enhance media search and a third on AI metadata. These projects mark SMPTE’s initial foray into AI standards, with many more anticipated in the future.”
Renard Jenkins started the HPA panel by addressing the rumor that SMPTE is “anti-open source.” Why do you think that sentiment exists, and how would you work to change it? The perception that SMPTE is opposed to open source most likely stems from a misunderstanding of its role in standards development. By its very nature, SMPTE is committed to the open and transparent exchange of data and interoperability – core principles that align with many open-source initiatives. However, when engaging with opensource projects, SMPTE, like any standards organization, also needs to consider the potential risks associated with IP infringement. This is not about opposition to open source but rather ensuring that SMPTE’s work remains legally sound, sustainable and beneficial to the entire industry. To address and change this perception, I would work to foster stronger collaboration between SMPTE and the opensource community. This includes clearer communication about SMPTE’s openness to open-source contributions, exploring ways to integrate open-source methodologies into standards development, and establishing guidelines that allow for responsible and legally compliant engagement with open-source projects. By proactively engaging with opensource communities, SMPTE can reinforce its commitment to interoperability and innovation while maintaining the necessary safeguards around IP.
Michael Cioni’s HPA Keynote Talk included a plea to studio technologists to reconsider standards and practices, saying they stifle technology innovation in this new creator economy and hinder Hollywood’s ability to stay relevant. What do you say to that? I missed Michael’s keynote, so my response
is a little out of context. However, I can say that his address was thought-provoking, as I heard feedback from a number of individuals at the event – each having taken away their own perception of his remarks and their intent. Ultimately, I believe standards are essential – otherwise, I certainly would not be working for SMPTE! Without standards, industries would struggle with incompatibility, inefficiency, higher costs and reduced innovation. Standards do not stifle innovation; they ensure that technology evolves in a structured and scalable way. (And if you have time, for a “Standards 101,” check out Director of Standards Development Thomas Bause Mason’s presentation on the Essentials of Standards from the 2024 MTS.) Recognizing the need for greater agility in addressing industry challenges, SMPTE launched the Rapid Industry Solutions (RIS) initiative in 2021. This program accelerates the development of best practices and technical recommendations within 6 to 12 months, bridging the gap between industry needs and formal standardization. While the ultimate goal is to feed these solutions into the standards pipeline, RIS provides a more flexible and collaborative environment for industry stakeholders to solve real-world technical issues. By completing much of the groundwork within RIS, we streamline the transition to the formal consensus process, significantly reducing the time required for full standardization.
When asked at HPA which standard (longtime SMPTE Fellow) Andy Malz was most proud of seeing through, he singled out the Academy Color Encoding System (ACES), which took 15 years to reach majority adoption. Why is the standards process so slow? Or is it just perceived that way? SMPTE is an ANSI-accredited standards-development organization (SDO), meaning we adhere to the consensus-based standards process defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). This process makes sure standards are built with broad industry input, bringing in different perspectives while keeping things technically solid and transparent. When a proposed standard is critical to the industry, widely supported, and led by a strong technical committee, the process can move relatively
quickly. However, the human factor often presents the greatest challenge. Delays can occur at multiple stages, including missed deadlines for document submissions, prolonged debate over technical details and unresolved public comments. Consensusbuilding is essential but can be timeconsuming, particularly when differing industry priorities or competing technical approaches need to be resolved. Even welldesigned standards can face resistance, as companies and individuals may be hesitant to change established workflows or invest in new technology. Additional barriers to widespread implementation include complexity of integration, lack of immediate hardware and software support, and concerns over interoperability with legacy systems. To address these challenges, ongoing education, training and advocacy are essential. By providing clear guidance, case studies, and real-world demonstrations of the benefits, SMPTE helps drive adoption, ensuring new standards advance media technology and industry best practices.
Our members in Local 600 pride themselves on being early adopters and spend a lot of their own time, effort and money to keep upto-date on training. Yet a disruptive tech like 3D faded very quickly despite all the energy the industry expended on training. Does SMPTE play a part in how new technologies ultimately impact the average union worker on set? SMPTE does play a role in shaping how new technologies impact union workers on set, but indirectly. SMPTE standards and initiatives influence the tools and workflows that union workers – such as camera operators, DIT’s, editors and engineers – use every day; for example, ensuring interoperability between cameras, monitors, editing systems and other production tools. SMPTE’s work in virtual production, HDR, IP-based workflows, and automation directly affects how new technologies are integrated into production, which can mean retraining for union workers as they adapt to evolving camera systems, lighting setups, or cloud-based workflows. By providing a stable and standardized foundation, SMPTE helps ensure that as technology evolves, the transition for on-set professionals is smoother, more predictable and ultimately beneficial to the industry.
How significant is it that in a sector that’s still overwhelmingly male, SMPTE has a female national executive director? Being a “nontraditional” leader in an industry historically dominated by white men is significant – not just as a personal milestone, but as a step toward shifting perceptions and fostering a more inclusive environment. Meaningful change requires more than passive support; we must actively engage underrepresented groups, demonstrating that this field offers viable and exciting career opportunities. That said, like many female leaders in our industry, my appointment to this role was not based on gender but on merit. It was my deep-rooted experience with the organization, extensive corporate knowledge, and demonstrated commitment to its growth and evolution that positioned me to lead during this critical period of transition for the Society. And I am not the first woman to hold this position. In fact, I am the fourth female executive director, and SMPTE has thrived under each of these leaders. Most recently, I had the privilege of working alongside Barbara Lange, who served in the role for twelve years. Now Principal and CEO of Kibo121, Barbara brought transformative change to the Society, leading key initiatives such as the overhaul of our governance structure and documentation, the development and implementation of our digital library and the celebration of our centennial. She also spearheaded the establishment of the Next Century Fund, which secured nearly $2 million in corporate and individual pledges to support the Society’s continued growth and development. Before Barbara’s tenure, Kimberly Maki, now CEO of Influential Voices, held the position for three years. During her time at SMPTE, Kimberly played a pivotal role in guiding the organization through a challenging period. She drove revenue and membership growth, streamlined Board procedures, and elevated the value of our awards program and recognition efforts. I had the opportunity to meet SMPTE’s first female executive director only once, but over the years, many have drawn parallels between our career journeys. Lynette Robinson served as SMPTE’s executive director from 1982 to 1994; however, unlike her male predecessors, she was given the title of “executive secretary.” Before stepping into this leadership role, Lynette dedicated eight years to SMPTE,
rising through the ranks in roles ranging from an assistant in the accounting department to executive assistant and later manager of conference programming, scheduling, and sections. In recognition of her contributions, SMPTE elevated her to Fellow in 1995. As I step into this role, I do so with deep respect for the leaders who came before me – women who shaped SMPTE with resilience, vision and a commitment to progress. My journey, like theirs, reflects a dedication to strengthening this organization, advancing our industry and fostering an inclusive future where diverse voices are not just welcomed, but empowered.
Rich Welsh, senior VP of innovation at Deluxe, is SMPTE’s incoming president –how will you work with Rich in what feels like a “rebranding” of SMPTE to be something much more than just a community that develops standards? In the second half of 2024, I had the privilege of working closely with then-SMPTE President Renard Jenkins during a crucial period of staff leadership transition. Now, I consider myself incredibly fortunate to be collaborating with current SMPTE President Rich Welsh. We’ve known each other for a long time – since he first joined the SMPTE Board of Governors in 2011 – and have always worked well together. Stepping into these new roles has been an adjustment for both of us, but we’ve approached it as a true partnership. Both Rich and I are deeply committed to fostering a more inclusive, diverse and welcoming environment for our current, new and future members. This includes actively supporting the development of new talent, a cause Rich has been directly involved with through the inspiring UK-Section initiatives I mentioned earlier. His leadership will be instrumental in expanding these efforts globally, creating a lasting impact across all SMPTE Sections. Of course, standards development will always be the backbone of SMPTE, but our mission extends far beyond that. Investing in SMPTE – whether as a member, corporate partner, sponsor, volunteer, speaker or author – is an investment in the future of our industry.
Speaking of the future, where do you see SMPTE in five, ten or even 20 years? In SMPTE’s nearly 109-year history, technology has made some incredible leaps forward, but the core mission of the Society remains the
same: standardizing technology for the media and entertainment industry while fostering networking and education for technical professionals, and I feel SMPTE’s role as a leading standards body and global professional community will only grow stronger. Over the next five years, we can expect deeper influence in emerging areas such as IP-based workflows, cloud and hybrid production, and AI-powered content creation – topics already central to our conferences and educational programs. But our reach won’t stop at media and entertainment. We’re expanding into new territories, including sports, medical imaging and security, where our expertise in interoperability and image fidelity are just as critical. As the industry moves away from traditional broadcast infrastructures, SMPTE standards will be pivotal in ensuring seamless, scalable and interoperable solutions across diverse platforms. At the same time, we’ll continue expanding our educational programs, delivering the training and certifications professionals need to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving landscape. Even further out – ten years from now – SMPTE will be at the forefront of defining technical standards for immersive experiences, advanced image capture, and real-time virtual productions. Volumetric video, holography (my personal favorite) and extended reality (XR) will demand new levels of precision and interoperability, and SMPTE’s collaborative environment will shape the guidelines and best practices that bring these technologies to life. We’ll also have a more robust global presence, with regional Sections actively driving research, development and real-world case studies, all feeding into a central knowledge exchange. Fast forward twenty years and SMPTE will have evolved into a dynamic, interconnected hub for nextgeneration media technologies – a trusted partner to academia, research institutions and industry leaders. Our membership will span traditional broadcasters, streaming giants, immersive technology startups and industries we haven’t even defined yet. Our educational arm will go beyond professional development, becoming a foundational resource for students, innovators and future technologists, while remaining the go-to hub for seasoned professionals looking to keep pace with breakthroughs in fields we’re only beginning to imagine today.
BY MARGOT LESTER
The age of special effects began, most agree, with Fritz Lang’s 1927 extravaganza, Metropolis , which featured a range of new techniques to supercharge visual storytelling. Ever since, we’ve been pushing the envelope. The next giant leap was the use of miniatures and models – think Godzilla and Mothra –which seems so hokey and quaint now, but at the time was a new standard that delighted audiences. Star Wars was the hyperdrive that propelled the industry to new heights and accelerated the pace of innovation. Now, over a century after the dawn of VFX, there’s a new technology built on artificial intelligence and augmented reality to integrate VFX and realworld action on set, providing a new tool for Local 600 camera operators working in virtual production.
It’s called ViewScreen Studio, and it’s one of a suite of production visualization (ProVis) AR tools developed during the production of Seth MacFarlane’s two series The Orville and Ted. Formally launched in December 2023, the package is the core offering from Fuzzy Door Tech, a spin-off of MacFarlane’s Fuzzy Door production company. The solution won a Technical Excellence Award at Cine Gear 2024.
“During the production of season three of The Orville , we needed a quick way to visualize spaceships and sci-fi set extensions in motion while on location scouts so we could get feedback from the director [MacFarlane] to move forward with the scene,” recalls the technology’s developer, Brandon Fayette, who’s also Fuzzy Door Tech’s chief product officer. “To do this, we built what is now ViewScreen Scout Pro – a tool that let us quickly iterate on everything from massive shuttlecraft in flight to creatures smashing through environments, and all the other wild action the writers dreamed up – using just an iPhone or iPad.”
The next evolution was ViewScreen Studio, which enables users to visualize – in the viewfinder – what should be in the empty space while filming and share it with Video
Village, too. “Now we could take the blocking and previs of the scene and shoot it live. No need to look at tennis balls, cardboard cutouts or laser pointers,” Fayette adds. “You can see the action in real-time with environment set extensions, moving vehicles, or digital creatures brought to life through motion capture or digital puppeteering. The beauty of the technology is that it lets filmmakers capture the right shots in fewer takes with the ability to see and react directly to previously invisible
“ViewScreen removes the guesswork, which improves the creative process and lets everyone feel confident that the right shots are being captured during production,” explains Brandon Fayette, the technology’s developer. “It lets the crew work to their strengths, not having to stick directly to preconceived previs, and apply their own take to the shot without breaking the story the previs is trying to tell.”
Here’s a quick look at ViewScreen’s features:
• Leverage LiDAR scanning to capture everything about a location with just an iPhone or iPad – and take it with you.
• Use digital assets to explore shot options –including crane needs, such as whether a shot needs to be overslung or underslung.
• Identify the limits of where the VFX set extension will be.
• Determine where to position shots using the composited scene, including digital assets, in the viewfinder while filming.
• See and react to the performance in real time in camera.
• View a fully composited scene from Video Village.
• Send all data, including FBX’s, JSON’s, OBJ’s, EXR’s, reference video, lighting, light probes, LiDAR and more to post-production.
• Perform synchronized, real-time layered motion capture to an asset from such inputs as a mocap suit, a markerless face and body motion capture, or a game controller
objects in the frame. For Ted, we added live performance into the system, which made it possible for us to capture MacFarlane’s facial, vocal and physical performance and translate it directly onto a digital double of Ted.”
Fayette worked with operators to build the modular camera rigging solution and with Ted’s director of photography, Jeffrey C. Mygatt, to test-drive the software, design mounts for unique camera setups, and configure the rig. It includes a platform for a laptop or tablet, holds the batteries, and wrangles the cables required for everything, including the HELIOS headset operators wear while shooting. For the Steadicam, an iPhone attaches to the top of the camera; a tracker replaces the phone for crane shots.
“I sourced out all the things that we would need and designed and built the backpacks,” explains Mygatt, who’s worked on other effects-heavy projects like The Flash and Supergirl. He chose the Sony VENICE 1 and Angénieux short zoom lenses (15-40, 28-78, 45-120) so he could change the frame quickly. “With the ViewScreen, I needed to map all the lenses, which took a fair amount of time. I was also asked to have smart lenses so that the lens data would be recorded into the metadata. I found LDT-R2 from DCS.film, which enabled me to track the t-stop, millimeters of the lens, and the focal distance at any point during the take and have it recorded to the metadata.”
Mygatt also requested eight days of test shooting to try out the tech before production began, “so that we could iron any problems out before the first day of shooting and make sure the tech would work seamlessly,” he explains.
Chief Lighting Technician Stephan Dalyai adds that the long test and prep period was “a key component to the success of shooting the first season of Ted. Everything from power supplies to mounting hardware had to be thought through and designed from scratch since this hadn’t been done before. The collaboration between Jeff and the VFX team was essential.”
Testing was vital to fine-tune the system, says B-Camera Operator Toby Tucker. “The way that each lens needs to be calibrated to accurately display the bear is very thorough,” he describes. “Once the system was dialed in, it was great to see an animated version of Ted in our eyepiece. It really helped when they removed the physical bear from the set and for any scenes that required a tight over and critical placement.” There was a perceptible lag at the beginning, but by the end of Season 1, Fayette had gotten it down to just a few frames. “We noticed a huge improvement from season one to two…latency improved as did quality,” Fayette notes.
For AC Scott Birnkrant, who first used the tech on The Orville, the prep allowed him to figure out the best orientation for the different components and develop the correct wiring sequence. “We made it work – and I took pictures on my iPhone to refer back to!” He also managed power sources. “There were a lot of batteries. If they went down, the unit died and you had to reboot the system, which might cost a couple of minutes.” That normally might
not be a big deal, but MacFarlane likes to move fast. “Seth wanted 15-minute turnarounds so that the actors would not lose the comedy,” Mygatt reflects. “The crew came together and worked out all the issues that we had, making it a tight-knit unit that worked very well together.”
The new tech did, however, make the sets cable-intensive.
“Seth’s got a station with his stuff and tons of cables coming out of there,” adds Birnkrant, a third-generation camera department member. “Our backpacks are hardwired to cameras, and the operators had to be tethered. Sometimes we’d have a 10meter umbilical cord.”
And, like anything bearing that much tech, the rigs run hot. The cooling fans helped, but sometimes they were too noisy for the sound crew and would have to be turned off. The AC’s got in the habit of hanging the backpacks on c-stands to allow plenty of airflow. Mygatt and Dalyai went full LED with lights to help keep temps on the set lower, too.
That decision also provided flexibility and speed in color/intensity change and focus.
With ViewScreen Studio, they could match inapp lighting with on-set lighting and preview how it would look with human and CGI actors.
“I had already been transitioning to mostly LED lighting units in past shows,” Dalyai reports, “but on Ted we needed an extensive amount to be ready for schedule changes, moving from one set to the next instantly – surrounding the sets with lights on green beds to [keep] most, if not all, lighting off the floor, allowing for multiple camera setups and flexibility for the actors to move around.”
Ted’s crew liked using the technology, but Fayette acknowledges that not everyone wants to be an early adopter. “We know there is often uncertainty around new technology,” he allows. But by working closely with the camera department to continue to hone the ViewScreen setup, he hopes more DP’s and operators will adopt the solution.
For Mygatt, it’s a no-brainer. “In production these days, we have to stay upto-date on new tech so we can continue our ability to bring new and exciting images to the screen.”
STEPHEN F. WINDON ACS, ASC, CAPTURES AN ALT-HISTORY LESSON IN MAN/MACHINE CIVICS IN THE ELECTRIC STATE, THE RUSSO BROTHERS’ IMAGINATIVE DETOUR FROM THE MCU.
BY KEVIN H. MARTIN
“I have seen the future and it doesn’t work.” That line, featured in the trailer for Writer/Director/Producer John Boorman’s wildly ambitious 1974 feature Zardoz has proven eerily prophetic when it comes to most genre tales depicting the path forward in cinematic science fiction. Writer/Artist/Musician Simon Stålenhag’s stories – already adapted by the Netflix series Tales from the Loop – manage to echo some of this sentiment while portraying a future that seems both high-tech and somewhat folksy, with memorable-looking robot creatures littering his landscapes and impacting the lives of humans.
Stålenhag’s graphic novel The Electric State posits a 1990s America recovering from a domestic war between man and machine. In Netflix’s press notes, Director/Producers Joe and Anthony Russo note how they found Stålenhag’s source material compelling. In molding the adaptation [by the writing/ producing team of Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely], the Russos wanted to further develop the novel’s universe in visual terms. The MCU veterans, whose last two films, Infinity War and Endgame, were billiondollar-plus swan songs to Marvel’s popular franchise The Avengers, added a multitude
of robot characters as well as focusing on the often emotional interactions between humans and the human/machine dynamic.
“The images are so striking and to us, suggested a much deeper story,” Anthony Russo shares. “On one level, The Electric State is a sci-fi fantasy where AI robots exist and there’s all this new technology. But there’s a deeply emotional story unfolding between a brother and his sister, Michelle [played by Millie Bobby Brown], and the unlikely partners they make on their journey. ”
For editor Jeffrey Ford, ACE [ICG Magazine August 2024], whose association
with the directors dates back to Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Stålenhag’s book inspired everyone involved with startling contrasts. “The illustrations are incredibly evocative, but the elements in his art, though seeming familiar in a strange way, also convey a notion of freshness, making you think, ‘This is a story not yet heard,’” Ford describes.
Ford notes that the Russo film family has stayed together many years, “and as often happens, longtime collaborators come on earlier in the process and often stay later into post too, so the creative conversation
is extended beyond what is often the case with other projects,” he adds. “Once there is a script draft, we all pile on to discuss it, and that is true even for rewrites during shooting and when actors bring new ideas and scenes get blocked. The best analogy is that doing these films is like being in a band that likes to get together and just jam. Nobody ever gets too precious or doesn’t participate. There’s a lot of sitting at tables reading the script and pitching ideas on how to shoot specific bits, so everyone generates ideas for humor as well as dramatic tension, and this goes on well into post. We want to honor
the narrative we set out to tell, but also to expand it, working-in new details when appropriate.”
Co-production designer Dennis Gassner, who split duties with Richard L. Johnson, confirms Ford’s assessment of the Russos’ workflow. “Simon had gone on his journey, and that provided motivation for us, but our path took us across a much vaster canvas,” Gassner observes. “Our whole creative team built on the narrative construct revolving around differentiating the alternate world of the 1980s before the war, and how things would look and feel after, which is where
we spend most of the story. We wound up designing between 75 and 100 robots, plus there was the environmental aspect to our art direction. Fortunately, we found locations that gave us a better look than we’d have been able to afford to build ourselves.”
Director of Photography Stephen Windon, ACS, ASC, while shooting the Russo brothers’ The Gray Man for Netflix, began talking about The Electric State with the brothers as their next project. Since Windon was shooting Fast X in London at the time, he asked A-Camera 1st AC Taylor Matheson, A-Camera 2nd AC Alexandra Matheson,
“ ON ONE LEVEL, THE ELECTRIC STATE IS A SCI-FI FANTASY
WHERE AI ROBOTS EXIST AND THERE’S ALL THIS NEW TECHNOLOGY. BUT THERE’S ALSO A DEEPLY EMOTIONAL STORY
BETWEEN A BROTHER AND HIS SISTER... ”
CO-DIRECTOR ANTHONY RUSSO
and A-Camera Operator Geoff Haley, SOC to undertake comprehensive camera tests and send him the results. “It was at Otto Nemenz, which became our rental house,” reports Taylor Matheson.
“Testing included seven or eight lens systems and three or four camera packages, with equipment coming from a half-dozen different houses, so Panavision and Dan Sasaki were part of that process for the anamorphic testing, plus Otto himself. The results were reviewed via Zoom call, with participants from all over – the lab was in L.A., Stephen was in London, and Geoff was in New York. Eventually, Stephen decided on the ALEXA 35 with Atlas Orion 2x anamorphic lenses as the primary package. It took me a few days to set up this arrangement, as it meant Panavision having to let some of their prized possessions into the hands of competitors.”
Windon wanted a different look for the pre-war scenes, which were shot on film using ARRICAM and Ultra Primes. As the DP recalls, “Simon’s work took me by surprise, with how beautiful a human story this truly was. So, I wanted a softness and texture to illuminate that aspect. I went with anamorphic for the shallow focus look; when a film is being seen primarily on streaming, the full resolution of anamorphic gives you a film feel even on the television screen. To further differentiate the pre- and postwar scenes, I elected to shoot the 1980s on film – though finding people who still know how to load 35-millimeter ARRI mags was its own challenge! Eventually, Taylor found a few still
based in Atlanta.”
The film elements carried throughout the shoot. So, as Alexandra Matheson recounts, “We never knew when we might have to pick up a shot that tied into the 80s section. So, we carried seven camera bodies, including three ALEXA D35s, a RED KOMODO crash camera, and an ARRI LF for drone work. We did some sharing with the second unit, which also carried two ALEXA 35s. Geoff’s work was very specific, but Stephen would sometimes want to embellish that for the sake of editorial options, so he’d have us running a second camera and sometimes a third. We usually had our A-body in a Studio configuration setup or for handheld and Slingshot, which Geoff likes using, while our C-body was for crane work on the SRH-3 three-axis remote head.”
Haley, who like Ford has an executive producer credit, praises Windon’s versatility. “Steve is truly a chameleon,” Haley describes. “On every project, he can use an entirely new set of tools when lighting a set or thinking about visuals. We start with first principles, working out themes in the narrative, what we’re trying to communicate consciously, and which aspects we hope will come across subconsciously, then establishing a visual grammar that serves the story, emotions and performances. We tried to keep the visuals grounded, so we didn’t allow ourselves to do Lord of the Rings-style gymnastics, where the camera does impossible things. It was important to all of us that we make the world seem accessible, given the need to catch the audience up with a lot of rules at the start.”
The seasoned camera operator says it would have been easy to go for “the glitzy
futuristic vision with fancy lights on the robots and a real heavy fantasy tech feel,” Haley continues. “But this was meant to look down-and-dirty, truly retro, so we pushed hard during prep for storytelling to emphasize an analog world. There’s something intrinsically interesting about analog versions of the future, which comes through when you see a character wearing a Neurocaster [the film’s equivalent to VR] because you are tethered in place. Technology keeps them imprisoned since they can’t get up and walk around with it on. Also, Simon’s pictorial documentation in the book depicts a world that has wires everywhere. It made me think of Terry Gilliam’s Brazil, where every environment featured huge ducts, even though nobody seems to know why they’re necessary. The wires were our version of that, though it made a bit more sense in that this alternatehistory tech wasn’t strongly wireless in the way we now take for granted.”
One of the shooting principles arose out of the story’s alt-history period.
“We thought that if this movie was shot back in the 1980s, we would be limited to track, Steadicam, cranes, and handheld,” Haley shares. “We wouldn’t have much in the way of drones or high-tech photography, and we wanted to avoid long oners. Instead, we did short ‘mini-oners.’ I put together a visual bible with twenty of my favorite Spielberg mini-oners. I assembled a clip list from YouTube so we might all be on the same page. The goal was to be able to do 5- to 15-second shots with camera and character
ABOVE : “MOST OF THE ROBOT DESIGNS FEATURE A CONSCIOUS AND CONSISTENT SENSE OF ILLOGIC,” OBSERVES VFX SUPERVISOR MATTHEW BUTLER. “LOGIC SAYS YOU KEEP THE CENTER OF MASS CENTRALIZED TO THE CORE – BUT WHEN YOU SEE MR. PEANUT AND THOSE SPINDLY LEGS, IT IS PRECISELY THE OPPOSITE.”
movement that let us tell ten bits of story. This meant we didn’t do multi-minute oners that take you in and out of locations with extended walk-and-talks; plus, in long oners, audiences have started to look for stitches. A lot of people are so attuned to oners, they think they see stitches when often there aren’t any. I’ve been trying to move away from sustained oners, especially at the cost of good storytelling. In a long oner, we’re often doing a lot of extra work to accomplish something in-camera that the audience isn’t even giving us credit for.”
For Windon, the trickiest part of prep was locations.
“Getting those all figured out was necessary to be able to plan around where the sun would be during the day,” he explains. “We’re in sunshine on the robot reservation for several days covering the main character’s journey.” Gassner adds that there was a need to balance spectacle and storytelling. “How strong does any given space have to be visually to register?” he asks. “Richard and I, along with Art Director Sarah Lopez, oversaw a large team, because there were a lot of moving parts to work out while on location in the Atlanta area, plus what we did on stage there.”
Principal among the discoveries was a shopping mall to serve as a home for displaced robots, which Richard Johnson justified as a logical spot for the machines
to recharge. Gassner says the mall “provided a basis for this vast world and opened the movie up.” Shooting there spanned four weeks. “Since it was getting torn down anyway, we could do whatever we wanted to get our weird post-apocalyptic cyber-robot environment,” explains Taylor Matheson. “We see the mall in two distinctly different states, so those parts of the production were spaced out, shooting three weeks, then clearing out and circling back after the art department revamped things.”
Haley recalls that there wasn’t “ that much the art department had to do to make this mall into a post-apocalyptic hellscape. They added layers of soot, dirt and cabling, but that mall played itself. On movies like this, it’s useful to have a full environment that looks as real as possible in all directions, as opposed to just having a bit of foreground to work in with the rest all being CG. That wasn’t the case here, because the mall needed no extensions. If I needed to introduce a large Mr. Peanut character by tilting up into a view of the overhead skylight, I still had the visible environment in frame.”
And unlike the last few Avengers films, Haley adds, “where we did have some SimulCam, working in the Volume, this time the brothers wanted to try populating the on-set landscape with actual people. We tied ourselves into knots during shooting to get the actors playing the robots into the actual
height positions they’d need to give the proper eyelines to the human characters. That might mean having somebody ride through on a Segway or walking along on their knees; we had actors ranging in height from four to almost seven feet, which also helped me since I didn’t have to try and remember how tall each of the robots was supposed to be all the time. Plus, we’d occasionally have a maquette attached to the actors to give a better eyeline.”
Terry Notary, while playing various machine characters on set, acted as movement coordinator. “He has a team that rehearsed the action thoroughly,” reports Taylor Matheson. “When you see these onset actors in mo-cap suits, and then see the final animated version, you only then realize how much they bring, because the digital performances derive so much from what was done on set.”
Windon says ninety-nine percent of the movie was shot in the Atlanta area. “The mall had a leaky ceiling so we had to weatherproof it to a degree to keep it from being affected by a typical Atlanta rainy afternoon,” he notes. “But we also took advantage of that. I mentioned to Dennis how much I liked the look in one corner where some water had pooled, so after that, we started having buckets of water poured
OPPOSITE: PRODUCTION DESIGNER DENIS GASSNER SAYS THE LOOK WAS BUILT “AROUND DIFFERENTIATING THE ALTERNATE WORLD OF THE 1980S BEFORE THE WAR, AND HOW THINGS WOULD LOOK AND FEEL AFTER, WHICH IS WHERE WE SPEND MOST OF THE STORY. WE WOUND UP DESIGNING BETWEEN 75 AND 100 ROBOTS, PLUS THERE WAS THE ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECT TO OUR ART DIRECTION.”
on the floors to create these opportunities, and I could use reflective pools to further create depth.” [Most of the mall scenes were shot using Scorpio 45-foot and 38-foot cranes, augmented by Steadicam.]
Windon credits the show’s “amazing grip team,” led by Key Grip Mike Anderson, whose rigging crew brought a lot of great methods in to control the light coming in from above. “If the sun came out,” Windon recounts, “we could pull the overhead silks and strip them back as it went away. I wanted to work with different color temperatures, playing the contrast between incandescents, fluorescents and the skylight streaming in. It allowed me to use color in creating depth across the foreground, midground and background. It was also nice to be able to use the failing light creatively, like composing so we had flickering illumination in one corner of the frame. A lot of the specialty lights used real practical features. During prep, I also worked with the grip team and my lighting programmer. So, we had SkyPanels and Vortexes sprinkled around, usually to augment what was there or to maintain the established look.”
“The early scenes and the end are darker in tone and largely interior,” Windon adds. “Scenes with Michelle brought into her uncle’s home are lit by lanterns and other practicals, and since I wanted it to be darker outside than inside, we avoided big streams of daylight coming in, and setting that look was part of my collaboration with Dennis. We
used old-school lamps with incandescent globes inside that give you a level of warmth, plus I’d sometimes cheat and change the color temperature on the camera to boost that warmth, making things oversaturated. We wanted to create pockets of incredibly beautiful lights around Michelle, while in this strange uncle’s house.”
The low-light conditions were a given with Windon’s preference for shallow depth of field. Taylor Matheson says, “It wasn’t crushingly hard to pull focus since most scenes were shot at f2.8 and one third. What was difficult was doing the shot-on-film parts, since the Russos rarely cut. We rolled and rolled, doing perhaps seventeen takes on one 400-foot mag. As the directors adjusted on the fly, and made changes on each take, every pass on a continuous roll was different. But there was no time to get new marks like you may have been able to do pre-digital. The spirit of the shoot was to let things evolve as they would, but in shooting film in a digital world, there was a bit of challenge to adjust to the changing style of filmmaking that we do today. I warned that we were crushing through the magazines quickly. So, Production had us switch to 1000-foot mags, just so we didn’t have to cut as often.”
For scenes with robot characters, the team always shot clean plates to facilitate both VFX and postproduction. “After shooting the proxies positioned at a proper eyeline height during the shoot, the clean passes let us capture elements that we
didn’t want to have to recreate in CG,” Ford describes, “like Millie’s shoulder or the corner of a building. When shooting these passes, Geoff anticipated what might happen to alter the scene in post, pushing in if he thinks I might need a closer view, or getting extra coverage for cutaways, so I can take out dialog if need be. Geoff’s like a human motion-control system, because he can somehow repeat his moves exactly and with the same timing, a modulation skill I’ve seen actress Scarlett Johansson demonstrate as well. But, what I most appreciate is his impeccable timing. Good operating is as much a rhythmic exercise as it is one of skill and balance because the operator has to stay in tune with the actors throughout. When that happens, it makes my job easier because I can do so much more with material that already has these rhythms in place.”
Ford assembled a full cut for review by the Russos about a week after shooting wrapped. “That’s basically like a first draft,” he says, “but it was a big first step for balancing elements up front, achieving equal doses of character development, and world-building with telling the story.” Viewing the first cut with the Russos informed the planned reshoot process. “Reshoots tend not to be about fixing problems you didn’t anticipate, but instead focus on leaning into discoveries made as you shoot,” Ford adds. “You can see that two characters are exciting together on screen, or that an actor’s performance is really interesting. It could even be that a
“
STEPHEN WINDON, ACS, ASC
location is somehow more impressive than expected, and that helps put across a story point if it is emphasized even more fully.”
The ACE-nominated editor likens The Electric State to Who Framed Roger Rabbit “They’re both live-action hybrids, with half of the characters animated,” Ford observes, “and it’s even shot in a way that sometimes calls back to Zemeckis films. We wanted to treat the animated characters as full-bodied creations, as the actors voicing those characters – and the CG visuals of them – get incorporated into the cut. This was especially true with Woody Harrelson’s role. We treat those revelations the same as our live-action discoveries; it’s part of why we all stay involved throughout post, because the group input on this fuels the way reshoots can enhance the narrative even with digital characters.”
Windon cites DIT Jordan Harriman’s contribution in having locked in color during shooting. “We pretty much stuck with that look through the DI at Company 3, with the amazing Stephan Nakamura as colorist,” Windon recounts. “We landed in a good place with what we established on set, and that isn’t always the case when there are a lot of VFX shots and post-work. Fortunately, VFX Supervisor Matthew Butler is a great collaborator who’s good at nuance – getting his teams to match the halation we had in our skies and the chromatic aberrations of our lenses. He was even careful when it came to the reflective properties of the skins and costumes on our CG robots. That meant we didn’t have to do a ton of correction at the
end of the day.”
Butler says that when delivering VFX finals, every effort is made to ensure the original look is maintained. “We apply CDL’s and keep in discussion with principals to make sure we’re on track,” he explains. “Having said that, we may occasionally get feedback from the director to change a look, but with every delivery, the CDL is included as it goes to DI.”
Butler found his end of the show continuing to evolve throughout. “Dennis had worked with the Russos on what to do with the original book’s designs,” he states, “as the author’s work was dark and this project wasn’t quite the same tonally so it had to adapt. Plus, we increased the number and type of robots, so a ton of creativity went into conceptualizing these benign-looking service bots.”
While Weta Workshop had devised several lighting reference robots for use on-set, the animation and design of the defeated and exiled robot workforce was realized through initial motion capture of actors, and then mainly computer animation, spearheaded by Digital Domain and supported by ILM, Storm, Lola, and an in-house VFX team.
CGI was used to represent the drones of Sentre Technologies, a malevolent globespanning group with a high-tech brutalist bent. This drone force is entirely lacking the benevolent look of the consumerfriendly look of the other machines, but is somewhat less challenging to realize. “Most of the regular robot designs feature a conscious and consistent sense of illogic,”
Butler admits. “Logic says you keep the center of mass centralized to the core – but when you see Mr. Peanut and those spindly legs, it is precisely the opposite. Why would you do that? Well, that’s the aesthetic, and there’s a sense of whimsy that contributes to character. The way we wound up addressing that was to drive vendors crazy with a sense of detail being added to the character design that would suggest some kind of practical functionality. So, when the camera gets in close, you could see little push rods, pistons, servos that give the impression they might be able to take some of that extra load, and I think this might keep audiences from questioning the credibility quite so much.”
For Haley, production on The Electric State echoed his recent experience shooting Twisters [ICG Magazine August 2024].
“With both films, this was old-fashioned filmmaking,” he states, “using a lot of triedand-true tricks. There’s already so much innovation required when it comes to digital characters that there might be problems if you try to do too much on top of all that. The Hippocratic oath ‘first, do no harm’ is a reminder for us to keep audiences as grounded as possible. So, the camera had to never distract, because we didn’t want to do anything that might keep audiences from relating to these postproduction creations that are essentially high-tech cartoon characters. As an alternate view of the 1980s and 90s, we’re borrowing more than a bit from the past, then tweaking that even as we take from the future; that hybrid feeling will certainly help audiences relate to the story being told.”
A-CAMERA/STEADICAM OPERATOR GEOFFREY HALEY, SOC, DESCRIBES DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY STEPHEN WINDON, ACS, ASC (ABOVE) AS A “CHAMELON. ON EVERY PROJECT, STEVE CAN USE AN ENTIRELY NEW SET OF TOOLS WHEN LIGHTING A SET OR THINKING ABOUT VISUALS.”
Director of Photography
Stephen Windon, ACS, ASC
A-Camera Operator/Steadicam
Geoffrey Haley, SOC
A-Camera 1st AC
Taylor Matheson
A-Camera 2nd AC
Alexandra R.K. Matheson
B-Camera Operator
Billy O’Drobinak, SOC
B-Camera 1st AC
B-Camera 2nd AC Sagar Desai
Additional 2nd AC
John C. Hoffler Jr.
Additional B-Camera 1st AC
Additional B-Camera 2nd AC
2ND UNIT
Director of Photography
A-Camera Operator Brennan Maxwell, SOC
A-Camera 1st AC
A-Camera 2nd AC Augustus “Gus” Bechtold
B-Camera 1st AC
B-Camera 2nd AC
Mlinar
Qais “Q” Karadsheh
NANCY SCHREIBER, ASC
Director of Photography
Western Region
15 Career Premieres at Sundance including Best Cinematography Award – November (2004)
Sundance 2025 solidifies the organization’s commitment to first-time filmmakers, with a wealth of debut projects showcased and backed up by union camera teams.
by David Geffner
It made sense that six of the seven features in this year’s coveted U.S. Dramatic Competition category at Sundance were helmed by first-time filmmakers, all ably supported by experienced Local 600 directors of photography and their camera teams. Eugene Hernandez, entering his second year as director, Sundance Film Festival and public programming, has indie credentials that include being a co-founder/ editor-in-chief of Indie Wire, director of the New York Film Festival, deputy executive director of film at Lincoln Center, publisher of Film Comment and one-time Sundance juror, so he and his team of programmers love bespoke filmmaking. For 2025, they embraced a return to a low-fi (less commercial) version of Park City, even as chatter filtered throughout the 10-day event of where Sundance will end up in 2027 –Boulder, Colorado; Cincinnati, Ohio or maybe just down the hill in Salt Lake City?
Films featuring seasoned Local 600 directors of photography, paired with novice directors, ran the gamut from a spartan road film about a dad taking his two young kids on a cross-country journey (Omaha , shot by Paul Meyers, ASC, with director Cole Webley making his feature debut) to a tense, anxiety-ridden drama about an undercover
cop coming to terms with his homosexuality ( Plainclothes, shot by Ethan Palmer, with first-time Writer/Director Carmen Emmi). In between were stories about a Chinese American sex worker rekindling a lost relationship with her father (Bunnylover, shot by Daisy Zhou for first-time Writer/Director/ Star Katarina Zhu), an L.A. sneaker-store clerk who exploits a rising pop star in the dark drama Lurker (shot by Sundance veteran Patrick Scola [ICG Magazine May 2024, We Grown Now] for first-time Writer/Director Alex Russell), and a wildly stylish Midnight film about a young journalist invited to the remote compound of a legendary pop star. Helmed by first-time Writer/Director Mark Anthony Green, Opus was shot by Emmynominated Director of Photography Tommy Maddox-Upshaw, ASC. I caught up with three Guild DP’s in Park City to hear about their approach to working with first-time Sundance filmmakers.
Atropia , which won this year’s U.S. Dramatic Competition Grand Jury Prize, was unlike any other film in the festival. That’s due, in no small part, to the cinematic scale Eric Yue was able to create with his union camera team, who made the most of an established location ranch in Northern Los
Angeles. Yue, who’s had critically acclaimed features debut in the past three Sundance festivals, all with beginning writer/directors – A Thousand and One (2023), I Saw The TV Glow (2024), and now Atropia, written and directed by Hailey Gates – was joined by a full Local 600 camera team that included Operators Luke Rihl, Jake Magee and José Manuel Espinoza; 1st AC’s Riley Keeton, Kyle Petitjean and Evan Wilhelm; 2nd AC’s William Hayes and Cleo Palmieri; DIT Mason Harrelson; Loader Samantha Chadbourne and Unit Still Photographers Tobin Yelland and Gunther Campine.
ICG: This is your third Sundance feature in a row, with the previous two being major hits, and now Atropia winning the Grand Jury Prize in the Dramatic Competition. How important a role has Sundance played in your career? Eric Yue: You can’t plan for getting into Sundance, so I feel very lucky, especially having films here three years in a row. This year feels extra special, given the talk of the festival possibly moving to another location. How would I describe Sundance? For me, it is the American film festival. Everyone comes from all over to see the quality of work here year in and year out. So, it’s a place where films get
seen and sold. It’s the biggest marketplace in the U.S., and there’s a lot of attention on it. It’s a special place, and if it does end up moving, I feel pretty fortunate to be here these last couple of years.
You’re new to Local 600. What are the main value-adds to having a union crew on these very-low-budget films? I joined on A Thousand and One, about four years ago, and that was shot in New York, where I’m based. But when I work in L.A., honestly, I don’t even think I know anyone who is not a union member! All of the people I love to work with are in the union, which is maybe a symptom of having something to aspire to be a part of in terms of technical ability. The benefits of using a union crew are clear from that aspect, but also having younger union members who are down to work on a film like Atropia, which was all on location in this strange, military world we created. I remember my first AC, Riley Keeton, laughing hysterically after each take, and [Writer/Director] Hailey [Gates] would look over at me and say: “I think we’re good if Riley likes it.”
Tell me about the location where you shot in Santa Clarita. It’s called Blue Cloud Ranch, and many other Middle Eastthemed films and TV series have been shot there. The FX show The Old Man shoots there, and the lead in Atropia, Alia Shawkat, is on that show. Typically you would shoot this location to be realistic for wherever the story is set, but we purposely wanted to show that this is, essentially, a movie set that the military has created from scratch. So, we wanted to see what was behind all the bulletpocked walls and the dirt streets. What was fortuitous was that we shot exactly between the WGA and SGA strikes. A lot of shows had shut down, The Old Man was one of them, waiting to see what was going to happen. So, rather than having to share the location with another production, which would have created scheduling issues, we had it all to ourselves. The script was written before the WGA strike started, and Hailey was not WGA/DGA at that time, so there was no conflict with us shooting. We knew the SAG strike was coming, so we had to finish in this narrow window, along with the fact that Alia was eight months pregnant while we were shooting [laughs]. It was pretty interesting all the way around.
Your director wanted to shoot on film, but you ended up on digital. Sixteen millimeter was the first thought, but for a variety of reasons, mainly budget, we ended up using the ALEXA 35, which I feel is the best
recent technology, as you can expose it like film. In digital, typically, to let the sun do its thing, you have to protect the highlights and underexpose a bit. But, you don’t have to do that anymore with this camera. We also shot on the Canon XL2 , which is one of the best cameras ever made. [Laughs.] In this village, they also have fake news teams covering the U.S. troops’ actions. Jane Levy plays a reporter from “Box News,” and there are live feeds from her coverage that are broadcast every day throughout the village. One of the prop guys brought out some Canon XL2’s and I was like, “If these things work, we need to use them.” They have this interlaced look that is specific to the period we were shooting, 2006. We also used a FLIR thermal camera for this scene where the two leads are seen in heat vision. That was incredibly hard to source as I had to go on different industrial websites to find the highest quality thermal camera and have it shipped out to us. Operator Jake Magee was on that camera and we had a heat vision adaptor. It registers different levels of heat, and in the scene, Callum Turner’s character is bathing Alia’s character out in the desert at night, and we’re seeing it from the POV of a soldier’s night-vision goggles.
What did you choose for lensing? That’s the hardest part of my job as I often don’t know exactly what I’m looking for, and there are so many choices now! Sometimes it’s more about just needing something reliable. I Saw The TV Glow was shot with Master Primes as I needed glass that was fast and wide – 12 and 14 millimeters. I did use one Cooke S4 on that film, so when it came to Atropia I was thinking back about how great the Cookes looked. Zero Dark Thirty was shot with Cooke S4’s, and I thought that would be fun to use the same lenses for this story, set in a fake Iraqi village. Panavision provided our lens package, and I remember being there the weekend before we were going to start production and seeing so many cool choices. I was like, “And there’s also a guy who will detune them?” But it was too much for me to think about as I did not know how detuned lenses would perform, and time was so tight. I do know the Cookes are beautiful, reliable and have a little bit of character, so that became my go-to. I was trained on Super Speeds, back when they were the cheap, discount lenses, and now they’re the premium ones. I guess that’s just how I see the world.
A.V. Rockwell raved about working with you in our coverage of A Thousand and One [ICG Magazine April 2023], Hailey Gates is an actress, a writer, very charismatic, but hasn’t spent much
time behind a camera. What was the approach to make her comfortable? Hailey comes from an acting background, so she’s comfortable on set and in front of the camera – but she’s also a documentary filmmaker and writer. This film originated from her attempt to make a documentary about these simulation villages and builds on her narrative short Shako Mako, which served as its foundation. I believe this project gave her the confidence to step behind the camera for a feature. During pre-production, we acted out all the scenes together, which helped us discover the shots, tone, and blocking. It also allowed us to explore new ideas and experiment before the pressures of being on set. Now, I act out everything with a director because it makes so much sense and changes how you look at a scene.
And this was a comedy, so… Yes, and it’s very dialogue-driven, so I was always looking for a way to help Hailey bring out the humor, to find the joke. Maybe punctuate something with a zoom or cut to a wide. The main scene we shot-listed is when a big actor [Channing Tatum] is coming to visit the village to get background for a role he’s going to play. It was a huge scene in terms of extras and action, and since Hailey was so dialed into the performance component, she leaned on me for how best to cover it. My goal was to make sure she had enough in the edit to work with, especially on a big scene where you don’t get a lot of chances.
Sorry, Baby is Director of Photography
Mia Cioffi Henry’s fifth film premiere at Sundance since 2015, and her first Sundance project shot in New England, on Massachusetts’ North Shore. First-time Writer/Director Eva Victor stars in the film as Agnes, a graduate-student-turnedprofessor who is navigating life post-trauma. Employing a nonlinear structure to cover its five-year duration, Sorry, Baby depicts both the triumphs and setbacks of Agnes as she attempts to heal. Shot over all four seasons, Cioffi-Henry says the approach was “less about defining the time periods by changing tech specs than with how we lit the film, leaning into the character’s emotional state to dictate where we went with the colors, lenses and framing.” Local 600 members Dean Egan (A-Camera/Steadicam operator), Nolan Ball (1st AC), Tom Bellotti (2nd AC), Matt Meigs (additional 2nd AC), Nicholas Pasquariello (DIT) and Phillip Keith (Unit Still Photographer) joined Cioffi Henry, along with Chief Lighting Technician Melanie Nesteruk and Key Grip Brandon McGinnis.
This film has a slightly complex origin story – tell us how you became involved. Mia Cioffi Henry: I got to know [Producer] Adele [Romanski] through my friends Charlie Welles and Gregory Oke, who did the film Aftersun. A bit later, Adele called me back and said, “I have this unconventional project – amazing script, great performer, and while she’s never directed anything before, she wants to direct this. Will you meet with her?” [Laughs.] That was in 2021 and Eva [Victor] and I started talking a lot. She really didn’t have any experience in production – I would explain the difference between a 25- and 50-millimeter [lens]. And while there are plenty of directors who don’t even concern themselves with that, Eva was hungry for knowledge. She wanted to know everything. It was fun to see the light bulb go on when we’d talk about: “What is a shot list? How do different camera angles affect the storytelling?” It was a mini crash course in film school. Which is perfect for me because along with being a cinematographer I’m also an educator [Cioffi Henry is an Associate Arts Professor of Cinematography and Head of First-Year Studies for Graduate Film and Television at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts], and I love shared knowledge. My dad was a DP and my mom was an educator, so I’m a true synthesis of my parents.
Working so closely (and so early) with the film’s creator meant you could influence some key production decisions… That’s true, and I was able to go
on all the director’s scouts and be in on all those early pre-production conversations. Going on location scouts is not a common occurrence for the DP at that budget level. But it made a big difference – not to have to just show up and make do with whatever we packed. It was a big part of why we got so much value, I feel, on the screen.
You’ve worked with first-time directors before – where does this experience rank? This was truly ground-up, first time, and that was a great thing because I was able to have a strong voice in shaping how our collaboration would proceed. My earlier experiences with first-time directors were different because I was also new, and it felt like a journey of discovery together. Now, with more time and experience, I’ve become a bit more picky about working with firsttime directors in that they need to have a core vision. They don’t need to know everything about the visual language, but they need to know what they want the film to feel like. It’s easier for me, as a DP, to translate a feeling collaboratively than to be told: “Shoot it like this, with this lighting, and this camera.” What I have found common with first-time directors, and what I love about them, is the depths they’re willing to go for their projects. I suppose that’s because they feel like they have something to prove. And as a female filmmaker of color, I always feel like I have something to prove. [Laughs]. I just shot a short with a first-time director who was desperate to shoot on film, which I love.
So, that was another kind of crash course in teaching and learning, for both of us. But she wasn’t also acting in it.
How challenging is it to have a director who’s also in every frame of the movie? Eva is one of the most intelligent people I have ever met, and she had done so much preparation – she came to our first shot-list meeting with about half the film drawn out in storyboards. Those drawings became a springboard for later going back into our shot listing and finding a visual language that was beyond just coverage. Once we got our locations, we did another pass, and then we did a fourth – and final – shot listing that was very intensive, going through each story beat for camera and performance. But to answer your question, yes, I didn’t have a director standing next to me as I was framing up because Eva was usually rehearsing with actors. So, I had to tap into all that work we had done in prep to get it where I knew she wanted it to be when she came on set ready to act. We did work out cues/codes in prep for when something might not be working, as I typically don’t give actors notes on their performances while we’re shooting. But when your director is in front of the camera all the time, she looks to you to see if we got what we needed.
Speaking of camera, it’s restrained and distant for much of the film. Medium focal length, static frames, observing Agnes’ world. Why that approach? That started from the main location, in Ipswich, Massachusetts. We looked at a lot of houses until we found our hero house where Agnes spends so much of her time. Eva wanted to shoot 2:39, as we wanted to have this interior landscape, where you could feel the walls and the ceilings closing in on her. That location dictated a lot of the framing, and we only moved the camera when necessary. I referenced Aki Kaurismäki for many of those scenes, not laying down track and wanting to feel the bumps and lumps of this old house whenever we would track sideways or push in. The one place in the movie where there is movement is the long oner in the middle after the “bad thing” has happened. For that, we talked about temporal pacing and how to make Agnes’ walk from the [professor’s] house to her car and the resulting driving scene look and feel completely different. We don’t have a lot of information about what’s happened to Agnes; we’re just in the moment with her. That oner made us look back at everything that came before to see how we had moved the camera.
It’s a stunning shot and, as you say, so different from the rest of the film. I felt like I had suddenly been thrust into a low-budget POV horror film, à la The Blair Witch Project. [Laughs.] Yes, that dramatic shift in tone, which got so many reactions in our Sundance premiere, is pure Eva. She swings back and forth between absolute hilarity and raw, naked sincerity, which can, as you said, be jarring. But that internal dread the character is feeling after “the bad thing” needed to be telegraphed externally in that oner, and then on through to when she returns home and is sitting in the bathtub, numb and in shock. For that we looked at Kelly Reichardt’s films – Certain Women, in particular, was a big heartbeat in terms of color, pacing, and texture – as Kelly Reichardt is a director who isn’t afraid to hang on faces and frames, to the point that it feels unsettling. The tracking shot when Agnes walks up the hill, so beautifully done by our A-Camera/Steadicam Operator Dean Egan, was pretty monumental, considering our budget level. The shot is so long that we didn’t have continuous playback, so we’d be racing to move things – a light, a tree branch, whatever – out of frame as Dean follows her. That shot bleeds into the long take of Agnes driving, and we’re just there trying to read her eyes to figure out what she’s feeling.
So the plan was always to avoid having to cut the scene up and preserve the oner, which doesn’t always happen –best intentions aside? Yes, and that’s why it’s probably my favorite scene in the film. We spent so much time at that location, walking the streets and timing out exactly what we wanted, just so we wouldn’t have to cut the shot up. Originally there was a slightly different version of the Steadicam as she leaves the house. But what ended up on screen, having her walk out of frame and him walking out to the porch and just standing in the doorway, was very effective. He doesn’t close the door, he doesn’t look away, he doesn’t call after her. So, when she finally describes what happened later in her house, when she’s sitting in the bathtub and says, “He had this scared look on his face,” we remember that wide frame from afar of him in silhouette in the doorway. That school building location was an old elementary school that had been turned into a condo. Our location manager, Stephen Hartman, was incredible. He said, “Whatever you want, I will make it work.” And he did!
What kind of camera and lensing did you use? I had been looking at the ALEXA 65 the year before we started and would
have loved to have used it because of the contrast between the large sensor size and the interior spaces; it would have added a lot of dimensionality. But I didn’t want to use that workflow on this film. I’ve been shooting on an ALEXA Mini for 10 years and know it so well. So, using the Mini LF made the most sense, particularly because the look of this film is so steeped in portraiture. You can create three-dimensionality with faces so well, almost like the look I chase with anamorphics without any of the hassles. We used the ARRI DNA [spherical] Primes, which were a great fit with the Mini LF.
What’s it like to have a film premiere inside the Eccles Theater, which has 1,300 seats? It was kind of a joke in the DI as Eva had never been to Sundance, and our colorist, Marcy Robinson, has graded many films that have come to Sundance, but she’s never come herself. None of my films have ever premiered at Eccles, so in the color correction I would say, “This will play great at Eccles!” This was well in advance of us even having submitted the film, so I was manifesting we were going to premiere at Eccles. And both of them were like: “What are you talking about? What is Eccles?” It was always my hope because I’ve seen so many films there and knew how reactive the audience is and how much power that room has. Then we got in and I saw the schedule and my heart suddenly sank: “Is this small film that feels so intimate, me shooting Eva in the bathtub in that old house, going to play on a huge screen?” Then being in the room at the premiere, and sitting in the front section, and to hear every person laughing or gasping or sobbing at every single moment in the film was so special. I will forever hold that in my heart as truly unique as I know not
everyone who comes to Sundance gets an Eccles premiere.
Talk about being able to use a full IATSE crew at this small budget level. It was both happy and sad. Early 2024 in the Boston area, work had not yet picked up, so that meant we could hand-pick the crew we wanted since everyone was available. The producers were pushing me to get the most experienced people available who would work at this low budget. I was coming from New York, having never worked in New England, and my feeling was that I needed to win people over quickly. So, I was looking for keys, particularly in my lighting and grip department, that this film would have been the largest one they had yet done as a department head, not the smallest film they had ever done. I knew it would be long nights, on location, in cold weather, and I wanted a crew that had experience but was also hungry and eager to be on set. The film is set in Maine, but we knew from the get-go we were going all IA, so that meant shooting in Boston. I got to sit next to my key grip, Brandon McGinnis, and my gaffer, Melanie Nesteruk, at the Eccles screening. They flew out just for one night to be at the premiere. That’s commitment! And it’s the same passion and love for filmmaking they brought every day to the set. I think it goes back to the educator in me, who always wants to provide opportunities for as many people as possible, and I feel that’s what we got with this young and hungry union crew.
Love, Brooklyn feels like a classic Sundance film, where relaxed, character-driven storytelling never tries to push a narrative (or visual) agenda on the viewer. Shot by
Local 600 Director of Photography Martim Vian, working with first-time feature director Rachael Abigail Holder, the film centers on three longtime Brooklynites navigating careers, love, loss and friendship against the changing landscape of their city. In discussing the visual approach with Holder, Vian says he “realized that the most important thing would be to balance believability with sensibility. Rachael wanted to see people like herself on screen, characters that aren’t often shown in movies in an honest and open way. That meant photographing nuances in time of day or weather, staying true to the real locations and environments, and ensuring all variations in skin tone had their space to shine.” The Guild camera team included A-Camera Operator Ben Spaner, B-Camera Operator Zach Rubin, A-Camera 1st AC Vanessa Viera, A-Camera 2nd AC Taneice “Neicy” McFadden, B-Camera 1st AC Martin Peterson and DIT Justin Hartough. Additional operators included Christopher Gleaton, Michelle Marrion and Malcolm Purnell, and additional 1st AC’s Elizabeth Cavanagh, Josue Loayza and Edwin Herrera, as well as additional 2nd AC Brian Cardenas.
How did you connect with Rachel Holder and end up shooting this film? Martim Vian: I had worked with one of the producers, Kate Sharp, on some commercials, so when they were prepping the movie, she threw my name in the hat. My interview with Rachel ended up taking place over, probably, five Zoom meetings, and with each one, I would create a new PDF based on our discussion to show her new ideas of how the film could look and feel. At some point, it started to feel like I was already doing the job. [Laughs]
André Holland’s character spends a lot of time riding around Brooklyn on his bicycle. You’re based in L.A. – had you shot in New York before? I’ve done quite a few commercials there and love shooting in New York. For the bicycle tracking shots, we relied on our fantastic A-Camera/Steadicam Operator, Ben Spaner. The majority of the night shots of André riding were done during production using a Garfield mount and Ben on Steadicam. We rigged the bicycles with lights as Ben tracked him through the city from a vehicle or on a rickshaw. André riding during the day was all done as B-roll on one day of reshoots
we had with the camera on a rental car, so definitely less polished than the night work.
What were Rachel’s main concerns with the look of the movie? The most important thing she wanted was to have access to the characters, to see their faces. That can seem kind of basic. But as we talked more, I realized that what she wanted was to see and feel the characters’ emotions, while still having a movie that felt romantic and cinematic. One of the things we explored in testing was the variations in skin tone –what does dark or light mean to different viewers and to Rachel? The other thing was Brooklyn, which she knows very well. Green was a big color element in the city, and we even treated the green in post to make it more pleasing. But Rachel didn’t want to “prettify” the city. For example, there’s a dolly shot of Roger and Casey [Nicole Beharie] at night by a restaurant and the camera goes in front of these trees, which have wooden structures around them that almost feel like construction. On the scouts, I asked about them being removed because they didn’t look great, and Rachel was like, “What are you talking about? That’s Brooklyn! Every
tree has that.” The same thing happened with trash dumpsters. My instinct was to clean up the frame and make it look more designed. But Rachel wanted to let Brooklyn be Brooklyn, which I really appreciated.
Having said that, there are some beautiful night exteriors. How did you manage that on such a small budget? Justyn Davis, our gaffer, was a great asset. We wanted a lot of depth of field, to make sure Brooklyn was present at all times, like a character, and that was mostly done through the lensing, which was rarely more than a 40 millimeter (save for the last shot of the movie when we went really long lens). We used an ALEXA Mini and AMIRA, and to get an extra stop at night I rated them at 1600. So I lit those night exteriors to a 2.8 and shot at a 4, which was pretty nice. When there’s not a lot of money I try to make sure we’re scheduled so the locations can do most of the work, but at night that isn’t possible. So, I would work with the art department to swap out lights; for the scene in front of Nicole’s brownstone, we framed out the third floor and mounted a soft overhead on an arm coming out of the window. A lot of the streetlights in Brooklyn are now LED, but we wanted the warmer tones, so the lights you see in the frame are mostly porch lights. We would knock on people’s doors and ask them to keep their porch lights on all night so the building wouldn’t disappear and change the bulbs so they would be the desired color. My goal in these indie movies is to do as little as possible [with existing locations] but also as targeted as possible.
The camera is mainly an observer; there’s very little movement. Yes, that was intentional as Rachel didn’t want the camera to have emotion; it was a window into this world and the emotions all come from the characters. But we didn’t want it to feel voyeuristic, like we’re spying on these people, so the wide lenses helped with that. Rachel kept using the word “sharp” in prep to describe how she wanted to see faces – we’re close up with these people a lot, in bedrooms, their workspaces, in restaurants. The word “sharp” is not something a DP normally likes to hear. [Laughs.] But as I began to unspool what she meant, I realized she wanted definition and for the faces to not feel muddy. That has more to do with lighting and depth of field, not clinical sharpness in the glass. The Master Primes are one of my go-to sets, and they were made at a time when lenses were not fully designed by a computer, as lenses are today. They were designed to peak at wider stops, meaning you can shoot wide
open, and that’s how they were meant to perform. So, as you stop them down, they take on more personality. I used a little bit of diffusion in front of them as well. We wanted clarity without sharpness, and it was kind of a recipe where you keep adding or subtracting until it’s what you want.
You mentioned skin tone – DeWanda Wise’s character, Nicole, seemed to radiate light in the many close-ups in her bedroom. It’s some of the best makeup I’ve ever worked with [led by Makeup Artist Shannon Renee], so I didn’t have to account for anything with the lighting in those scenes. I came in knowing I would be using soft light and big sources. With skin tones that are more reflective, the big sources wrap around and help to curb any specular highlights. But I really didn’t have to worry too much because the makeup was so beautiful.
You’ve worked with first-time directors before. How was this different? What was unique about this collaboration was the time it took, over those many conversations, for me to understand the images Rachel had in her mind. She didn’t necessarily have the exact language to express those images, like using the word “sharp,” as I mentioned, but I wanted to make sure I was making her movie, so I wanted to really dig. My process is often to ask a ton of questions, which some directors are fine with, but others may feel pushed. Rachael is an artist and would sometimes say something that really clicked. But I’m never looking for technical responses, for Rachel to say, “I want you to use Master Primes.” [Laughs.] I would actually hate that!
What are you looking for? Key words that will trigger ideas in my head and start to narrow the path, because there are so many options when you start a project. Prep is the most overwhelming period for me, as you’re always fighting windmills. Once I’m on set I’m in the zone, and there’s an answer to every problem, one way or another. I’m a complete outsider to the world in this film – I’m not Black, I’m not from Brooklyn, and I’m not even American as I was born in Lisbon, Portugal. So, I was trying to squeeze as much insight from Rachel as I could. Also, because I shoot so much in this indie world of under $2 million, I’ve noticed that my work was starting to feel repetitive – I was using the same tricks I’d stored up from all these films. I made a conscious choice to do things that I didn’t know how to do – not be afraid if it doesn’t work, which was a fear that ruled me for a long time. I was only interested in
making this Rachel’s movie. She had a voice, and I wanted to find a way to make that voice sing from the visual side.
Visual references can be great to bridge that gap. Do you have any for this film? Rachel came in with one specific reference, which was Call Me by Your Name. That film is also fairly static, and it was all shot on a 35-millimeter lens. She liked the way light was handled, and she wanted a similar feeling for our film – lots of sunlight. I think the use of wider lenses and the LUT we made in prep, which was heavy with warm tones, helped. Also, sunlight can mean a lot of things – overhead, frontal, soft, silhouette. My instinct is to shoot everything backlit because it tends to look nice, and it’s much easier for continuity on day exteriors. But Rachel wanted front light, which really scared me. But then we did a test, and the sun was at a perfect 45-degree [angle] and it looked beautiful, which really opened my mind. In the end, the weather was mainly overcast, so we had to work with what we had. But my process was to shed the shortcuts that I’ve created to make sure it was Rachel’s vision and to also challenge myself.
This was a full union movie – how did that impact the final product? Having a union crew makes me feel safer, and more comfortable as a cinematographer, because you can often get drawn into the process of just getting the shot and forget everything else that’s going on. So, having a crew that keeps an eye on the set is invaluable. The most obvious thing I’m referencing here is safety – if something is not right and needs to be addressed, I know my union crew is going to bring that to my attention, and we will get it resolved, which helps the whole production, of course.
How about selecting the crew itself?
Well, I feel like everyone is going to end up in the union anyway, so when and how they get there is not important to me. On these types of films, you want a hungry crew that sees the project as something they want to be a part of and not just a paycheck. I’ve shot a lot of commercials and music videos, so on indie features, I may go look for a crew member who’s done a lot of music videos and wants to move into features; they see it as an opportunity and are excited to be there. Experience matters but so does attitude, and I try to always balance the two. It’s different with first AC’s because, in that job, there is no substitute for experience. All our ACs on this film were unbelievable. We never had a buzzed shot, and that’s kind of insane.
Director of Photography
Western Region
Hal & Harper
Episodic
Sundance has long been a bellwether for the best unionshot docs on the planet; the 2025 lineup did not disappoint.
by Michael Chambliss
Sundance’s U.S. Dramatic Competition has long been the glamour category for indie filmmakers, as it often gets the most attention from producers, distributors and other industry watchers seeking new talent. But longtime Sundance goers know when it comes to overall quality and consistency of storytelling, nothing compares to the U.S. and International Documentary Competitions. A case in point is a recent article in ICG Magazine’s November 2024 issue [She, The People], about the Apple TV+ documentary feature Girls State that debuted at Sundance and later took home Emmys for all seven of its cinematographers, including longtime Local 600 members Laura Hudock, Laela Kilbourne and Thorsten Thielow. The depth and breadth of nonfiction storytelling at Sundance routinely results in Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes, DGA and ASC Awards for the genre’s filmmakers, most of whom have dedicated their careers to the documentary format. This year’s lineup of docs shot by ICG Directors of Photography was no exception, with stories ranging from Black musical icons [(Move Ya Body: The Birth of House Music and Sly Lives! (aka The Burden of Black Genius)] to high school and college students fighting for justice
(Middletown and Deaf President Now!) to an entry in Sundance’s Episodic TV section ( Bucks County, USA ) aimed at healing America’s massive political divisions. ICG Magazine writer Michael Chambliss was on the ground in Park City to see, hear and ask the right questions about what makes the (always challenging) nonfiction format so appealing to Local 600 cinematographers.
In the early 1990s, long before social media and smartphones, the VHS camcorder was the new technology enabling everyone to tell a story. Under the guidance of English teacher Fred Isseks, the students in his Electronic English course at Middletown High School in Orange County, NY made not only the expected music videos and sports videos but developed into a fearless investigative reporting unit after a local environmentalist mentioned that the employees at Wallkill dump might have stories to tell. Pressing through threats of arrest and confrontations with civic authorities, class after class of students followed up on the tip. What
emerged seven years later was a student film called Garbage Gangsters and Greed that exposed politicians and the mob in an elaborate conspiracy for illegal toxic waste dumping in their own backyard. Middletown is the story of that film and its impact on the lives of the students who made it.
Documentary filmmakers Amanda McBaine and Jesse Moss, best known for their multi-award-winning Boys State and Girls State titles, choose to work again with Director of Photography Thorsten Thielow, who recently shared an Emmy with fellow Local 600 Directors of Photography Laura Hudock and Laela Kilbourne for the Apple TV+ documentary feature Girls State. Having worked with McBaine and Moss several films before, Thielow says Middletown involved a substantial departure from their past visual style.
“Amanda and Jesse have made a lot of vérité films where the story evolves in real time in front of the lens,” Thielow shares. “They have tended to follow the subjects and make ‘fly on the wall’ documentaries. Middletown was different. It’s substantially an archival film, so our conversations about visuals were profoundly different from those we had for Boys State or Girls State.”
Thielow says those conversations centered around how the material they had to shoot would relate to the archival footage. “Should the aspect ratio be similar or entirely different? Should it be cinematic?”
Thielow asks. “The archival footage was all shot four by three and looks antique, with shaky framing that’s all over the place. So, we experimented with old formats, like DV Cam. In the end, we felt like nobody wants to watch 90 minutes of that. So, we decided to go with a look that’s beautiful and cinematic as a sort of visual anchor, as well as to lend a grounding visual coherency.” To achieve that look, Thielow opted for an ALEXA LF with Master Prime lenses.
The departure in style was risky and not taken lightly.
“Jesse and Amanda thought about it for a long time.” Thielow continues. “They are filmmakers who have tried to avoid anything that feels like a dramatization. There’s a fine line that often doesn’t work in documentary filmmaking where you reenact or dramatize stories that happened in the past and then switch to real-life documentary footage and then go back into a beautiful cinematic scene. It feels like you’re watching a dream, and then you wake up from the dream with
something that feels real, but you don’t want to wake up! We didn’t have the time to do extensive testing or assemble reels to see how our concept was going to cut. We just said, ‘Let’s make a decision, go with it, and hope for the best.”
The filmmakers began shooting well before they had even imagined they would.
“Jesse and I thought we were just making a scouting trip to get to know Fred [Isseks], build a relationship, and see if the story would hold,” Thielow recounts. “But we said, ‘Let’s bring a camera and see what we get.’ We met Fred in the morning, and he was such a wonderful warm man with a beautiful cozy home. We filmed with him all day and took our time. We decided to forgo handheld and have the camera on sticks and let the action happen in the frame. That was a big step for us as verité filmmakers. We left with a few hours of footage and expected to come back. In the end, the editors felt that one day with Fred was enough for the entire movie. The two of us shot that entire portion of the film in just one day.”
The editorial process happened in three stages. First, the editors assembled the historical footage and then they inserted the contemporary interviews with Isseks.
To complete the story, they needed to shoot interstitial recreations of the students shooting their original documentary and gather them together again to reflect on the work they had done thirty years before.
“About a year after we shot the interview with Fred,” Thielow remembers, “we built a recreation of the original classroom on a soundstage in Los Angeles and flew in the original filmmakers and Fred for their interviews. Then we had some extras cast with period wardrobe. We had a full feature Hollywood crew working that week. We recreated shots to help knit the historical footage together, like the kids grabbing the camera, walking and standing around.”
Gathering all the former student filmmakers on a soundstage was an emotional experience for all involved. “What was special to me was the impact Fred, as a teacher and as a human, had on those people as children,” Thielow concludes. “Their high school documentary was a lifechanging experience. Two of them went into filmmaking. One is an episodic television director, and another is a union camera operator. Fred was the teacher we all should have had. That one man standing out and meeting the kids where they were in a non-
judgmental way and inspiring them to be themselves and keep going when it gets hard. All done with a ton of love and support, and without the pressure that usually comes with high school. To be in that space and listen to their stories was a huge privilege.”
Emerging in the late 1970s, House Music came out of disco and was born out of the need for marginalized groups to escape from the racial and gender-expression discrimination that defined Chicago at the time. Move Ya Body: The Birth of House is Director Elegance Bratton’s (My House, The Inspection, Pier Kids) exploration into the Black queer roots of the genre as told through the stories of Chicago DJ’s, producers and music creators, including Vince Lawrence and Jesse Saunders as they strove to create a safe space in Chicago’s underground clubs. Weaving together story elements like Lawrence’s struggle as a poor Black South Side kid to get a synthesizer, his lessons about what makes a popular song work and the shady dealings of producers to the Disco Demolition Night riot that took place in the
White Sox’s Comiskey Park in 1979, Bratton shows how the rise of House is not only an evolutionary milestone in popular music but inseparable from the combustible racial environment in the city at that time.
Bratton brought on Emmy Awardwinning Director of Photography (and 34year ICG member) Lisa Rinzler to shoot the interview and historical recreation scenes. “I had worked with director Carol Dysinger on her Academy Award-winning documentary short Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You’re a Girl) ,” Rinzler recalls, “and she invited me to speak at her class at NYU. I worked with the students on this crazy shot running through a couple of floors of the building. Elegance was in the class and that’s how we met.” Rinzler was drawn to the balance of life, joy and energy expressed in the music along with the serious underlying issues that Bratton wanted to address in the film.
“There’s a synergy that happens working with a director,” observes Rinzler, whose film Three Seasons won the Best Cinematography Award at Sundance in 1999 and was the first in festival history to receive Grand Jury and Audience Awards. “I draw on the director’s energy and excitement, their research and references, and start to feel the worlds they
are trying to portray. I draw from my own life in much the same way that an actor does. I’m a huge music lover and I went to many clubs in my college years. So, it was an easy connection for me shooting this film. And, given the racial bias going on in our world today, I feel like history is repeating itself. Elegance was my conduit to access that emotional space. I zoned in on what the music club experiences felt like to him, the racist nature of the times, his current feelings about Chicago, and our shared love of the music.”
Rinzler and Bratton did their initial prep online, talking about what the feeling of the film would be, the available archival and club footage, and reviewing reference materials. The production then moved to Chicago for the final days of prep, and to shoot interviews and historical recreation shots on location across a couple weeks of production.
The original underground club called The Warehouse was gone, but Bratton wanted to capture the feeling of that space. “We created an environment in a warehouse that felt like we could be somewhere in the original club,” Rinzler recalls. “I don’t think there was an upstairs in the real club, but there was an upstairs in the warehouse space that we used for most of the interviews
so that the camera could have a sense of space around the person we were filming. We augmented [that] with moving and colored lights to make it feel like we were in a club.”
Rinzler used an ALEXA LF with Cooke S4 primes and an Angénieux Optimo zoom from Keslow Camera. Local 600 Member Ben Spaner operated Steadicam, and Patrick Dooley was 1st Assistant. The schedule often included multiple interviews and flashback scenes, shot in multiple locations, in a day. “We used the zoom for interviews because we needed to work fast and couldn’t stop for lens changes,” Rinzler concludes. “We had to find the flow of being small and thinking on our feet. And the exterior shots, like young Vince on the bus when he gets his synthesizer, had to be carefully crafted because 2023 certainly didn’t look like 1981. We had a great team all working closely together. You have your plan and what you must have, and then there’s the serendipity and synchronicity that comes from working with great people.”
In 1988 Gallaudet University in Washington D.C., the world’s only university for the
deaf, was choosing a new president. Two of the candidates were deaf and one could hear. When the board of Trustees (made up mostly of board members who could hear) chose a hearing candidate, Elisabeth Zinser, to lead the institution, the student body rose in a protest that garnered national media attention and, ultimately, pushed the board to appoint the university’s first deaf president. Deaf President Now! is the story of those eight tumultuous days, and the four students who led a movement that grabbed the nation’s attention, shining a neverbefore-seen light on deaf people’s rights. The protest and subsequent media coverage helped pave the way for the Americans with Disabilities Act two years later.
Director/Producer Davis Guggenheim, noted for such Sundance titles as Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie and Waiting for Superman [ICG Magazine November 2011], teamed up with Actor/Producer/Director and Activist Nyle DiMarco, the first deaf contestant on America’s Next Top Model, as well as a winner on Season 22 of Dancing with the Stars. Local 600 Director of Photography Jonathan Furmanski (Little America – ICG Magazine September 2020, Clipped – ICG Magazine June 2024), who was joined by Local 600 Camera Assistants Preston Beene, Carlos
González, Alex Nunez, Andrew Kuester and Jason Remeikis and Unit Still Photographer Patrick McElhenney, says he had worked with Guggenheim before, but just for oneand two-day shoots. “Over the years, a couple of my producer friends in the documentary world who work with Davis brought me into the fold,” reveals Furmanski. “When they reached out, I jumped at the chance. Davis is such an accomplished filmmaker, very smart, and attaches himself to interesting projects. This was something I knew I wanted to be a part of.”
The filmmakers began by reviewing the archival material surrounding the eight days of protests. “The first thing that we noticed was that it was an unexpected avalanche of material,” Furmanski recalls. “But it was all over the map in terms of condition. It was everything from Nightline, which was highend news production at the time, to people with camcorders. It was an interesting kind of mix. The flip side was that it was a treasure trove, and Davis was clear from the beginning that he wanted to tell the story as much through the archival as possible. He knew we were going to do contemporary interviews and recreations, but he wanted that part of the story minimal and targeted. Like the Nightline sequence: Davis knew
it was a turning point in the story that he wanted to highlight and drill down into what we were calling ‘the deaf point of view,’ trying to tell the students’ story through their eyes. That became the springboard for everything else.”
With a focus on how to convey the deaf experience, the approach to interviewing in sign language for a hearing audience required some creativity. “Because Davis doesn’t speak sign language and many of our interviewees didn’t read lips, it made sense for us to have Davis talking through an interpreter,” Furmanski explains. “That became a question of ‘what can we build so Davis doesn’t feel like he’s separated from the people he’s trying to connect with?’ We came up with a hybrid solution with the Interrotron. The person being interviewed would see the interpreter’s face in front of the lens. Then, we positioned and lit Davis so he was visible just above and behind the camera and could make a connection. If the people wanted to look at him while he was talking or see his reactions, it was an almost imperceptible eyeline shift between the interpreter and Davis.”
Besides the technical elements, Guggenheim felt he didn’t want anything to get in the way of the audience seeing the subject signing, whether they spoke sign
language or not. “The movie places a lot of importance on how people sign,” Furmanski describes. “Some sign large, some small, some are animated, and some are just more constrained. Even though there are a lot of visually interesting interview situations being used in documentaries, it seemed to us that going to a black limbo setup would highlight the signing best. There’s nothing else that the audience needs to look at. We worked with a Sony VENICE and Fuji Cabrio zoom at 27 millimeter for the interviews. That’s a bit wider than one would normally go, but it helped with Davis’ proximity and helped give the signing a much more threedimensional effect.”
The starting point for the recreation sequences was, “What did they look like and how did they happen?”
“We tried to stay as close as possible to the real places and what the color palettes were in these spaces,” Furmanski says. “Because there was so much archival, we didn’t want the audience to feel like they’re suddenly transported to a new place. Nyle and the other deaf people we spoke to described their point of view as almost like a ‘tunneling.’ Deaf people know that if you bang a mallet on a drum, it creates sound, whether they can feel it in their body or just because it happens. They talk about how
when something like that is happening, especially if it’s in their periphery, it’s attention-grabbing, even though they can’t hear it.”
In trying to recreate a “deaf POV,” the filmmakers dropped the sound out at certain moments and/or used sound cues to imply the film was going deeper into the subject’s perspective. “For the visuals,” adds Furmanski (who also worked with visual consultant Wayne Betts, Jr. in portraying the deaf POV) “we looked at lenses that would create an organic tunneling effect. It wasn’t like a VFX thing, or a filter that was applied across the image. It was something that interacted with real-world spaces. We turned to the Sony VENICE with Ottoblad lenses from Otto Nemenz, which are customized Hasselblad lenses with a detuning element in the back so you can dial the effect up or down depending upon what’s going on in the shot. We could animate this in camera so that if something is happening, we can reinforce it visually by turning the effect up, down, somewhere in the middle or off. That created this lovely kind of blurring around the edges of the frames. We also worked with Petzvalux lenses from Old Fast Glass/Ancient Optics when we wanted a stronger effect that got really abstract.”
Signing is a visual experience that
Furmanski conveyed photographically with both light and shadow. He notes that in the early driving scenes, “We wanted to highlight how the students were communicating across long distances because they obviously don’t need to shout to each other. On the driving scene where they’re going to the hardware store, they’re signing out the sunroof, or they’re signing out the side window of the car and using flashlights to illuminate their hands so that they can communicate across distance. We did a similar thing when they were trying to hijack the school buses to block the entrances to the campus. They used flashlights to create a shadow of the signing on the roof of the bus or onto the side of a wall so somebody 200 feet away could see what they were saying. Those things stand out to me because, to be perfectly frank, it’s not the kind of thing a hearing person would think about. There are other ways to communicate if you can’t see somebody’s hands or if their hands are too far away to be able to figure out what they’re signing.”
That difference in perspective – between the hearing and non-hearing world – is the foundation upon which Deaf President Now! builds, with a lasting impact on the audience and filmmaker alike. “Of course, deaf people have a different way of looking
at the world, and of course, they have a different experience when we’re both in the same room looking at the same things and experiencing the same things,” Furmanski concludes. “And applying that reality to the cinematography was rewarding, and mindexpanding in a way that makes you want to apply those lessons to other projects. For me, the most emotional part of the film was just saying, yes, there are ways that we can represent this that are more accurate, that have more emotion and depth to them, and that can provide a perspective that hearing people just don’t think about.”
Musician, Music Producer, and Director Ahmir “Questlove” Thompson developed Sly Lives! (aka the Burden of Black Genius) as a follow-up to his 2021 Sundance hit Summer of Soul, which garnered an Academy Award, Sundance Grand Jury and Audience Awards, Grammy, and Peabody to top off its list of 37 major documentary nods. As the title implies, the film not only explores the genre-breaking work of Singer-Songwriter, Record Producer, and Multi-instrumentalist
Sly Stone and his racially integrated mixedgender rock group, but the unique pressure on Black artists in America, as told from the perspective of icons including Nile Rodgers, Jimmy Jam, Terry Lewis, D’Angelo, George Clinton, Andre 3000, Q-Tip and Vernon Reid, among others.
“A producer friend who is also a friend of Ahmir’s told me about the film because she knew I was a huge Sly fan,” recalls ICG Director of Photography Laura Merians Gonçalves (Dead Ringers – ICG Magazine May 2023). “I grew up listening to Sly and it was one of the first records that I stole from my parents. I was completely obsessed, and Sly’s trumpet player, Cynthia Robinson, was my inspiration for learning how to play trumpet. I was like: ‘I’m meant to do this.’”
Merians Gonçalves shares that she’s tried to have a career motivated by projects “and people that I want to work with rather than the genre,” she adds. “It’s more about what I want to spend my time doing on this earth, and with this film, that approach paid off. I reached out to Ahmir’s producer, Joseph Patel, and he set up a Zoom with Ahmir. In the meeting he said, ‘The Queen has also recommended you,’ and I said, ‘Who?’ It seems he knows Beyoncé and she had recommended me because I had worked with her on a couple of projects in the past. I
was just so surprised that she even knew that I existed.”
Thompson shared similar creative notions with Merians Gonçalves about how to approach the interviews. “We were inspired by the portrait work of Irving Penn and wanted the audience to feel like they were having an intimate conversation with the subjects, that sort of conversational feel, like you’re just sitting across the table from someone,” Merians Gonçalves describes. “So, we decided to use the Interrotron and even traveled with a little table, so the subjects could lean in and have the camera right across the table. We both loved Penn’s work and wanted all our subjects to be framed with that intimate portrait lensing. We also didn’t want the subjects to be distracted by film equipment or crew. So, we built a privacy tent around the crew, and then I would walk-in the talent and all they would see was the interviewer on the other side, face-to-face. They would get mic’d in the green room, the lights would be dimmed as we came in and Sly’s music would be playing in the background. Ahmir called me ‘the vibe creator.’”
The DP used the Sony VENICE at 6K for a four-by-five format, with 50-millimeter Panavision VA lenses detuned by
Panavision’s Dan Sasaki. “It was a perfect portrait lens,” Merians Gonçalves shares, “evoking the feeling of large-format portrait photography. We kept the camera on a dolly so I could make micro-adjustments without a lot of fuss and be minimally invasive. We were going to be shooting interviews in several locations, so we had two twelve-bytwelve backdrops made by Opulent Studios in New York that traveled with us. We used a red one for people who were either in the band or directly related to Sly and a very dark blue for everyone else.”
Helping out the production team, which included Local 600 1st ACs Brett Graybill and Joshua Waterman, and 2nd AC Christopher Carlson, was a schedule that rarely included more than one interview a day. The conversations were lengthy because Thompson and Patel were trying to get into the deeper influence of Sly, his impact, why he was such a genius, his influence and his struggles. Merians Gonçalves’ shooting schedule on other projects meant that she couldn’t make a few of the interviews.
“I was able to put together a great crew in Los Angeles and New York and to travel my gaffer, Kiva Knight, for continuity with other cinematographers,” she recalls. “I drew out a lighting diagram that we used for all
the interviews because we wanted it to feel like everyone was in the same place. We did the final color in HDR remotely with Lionel Barton at FrameRiver in Toronto, while I was in Los Angeles and Ahmir and Joseph were in a screening room at Light Iron in New York City. We worked the grade to make sure there was a balance between the interviews and that they flowed with the archival footage.”
Bucks County, USA is a five-part docuseries, led by Oscar and Emmy winning director/ writer Barry Levinson and co-director Robert May, tackling the thorny issues of political division and “culture wars” as revealed in the decidedly purple Bucks County, northeast of Philadelphia. The first two episodes screened at Sundance highlighted the ideological gulf between neighbors, the impact on schools and local politics, the role of money and power in the struggle to define community standards, and the frustrations of adults trying to explain themselves to neighbors while their impacted teenagers go unheard and attempt to find friendship regardless of belief.
Director of Photography Antonio Rossi describes co-director Robert May’s first concern as identifying crews who could maintain their neutrality during the interviews, a solid call given the strong response many audience members expressed at the project’s Sundance premiere.
“There were people in the [Sundance] audience who responded strongly to a few of the characters,” Rossi recounts. “The theme of the series is political division and trying to overcome it. That obviously strikes a chord because we are in a very divisive time. Part of what the film is trying to demonstrate is that it’s always easy for people on one side or the other to point to the other side and say: ‘These people are villains because they strongly disagree with what we disagree with.’ Both sides do it. But the point of the film is to see everyone as human beings.”
Rossi goes on to note that he had several conversations with May, who had been looking for the right crew combination. “On one hand,” Rossi continues, “Robert knew the general theme he wanted to explore but didn’t know yet how we were going to get there. He wanted to work with filmmakers who were open-minded about meeting people on different points of the
political spectrum. I did graduate work in anthropology and one of the things I love about documentary filmmaking is meeting all sorts of people, some of whom you disagree with, some of whom you don’t. To me the beauty of [nonfiction filmmaking] is not being in your own bubble, which can be hard for some people. I’ve worked a lot with [documentarian] Alex Gibney, and I think that Robert really respected his work. So, we were excited to work with each other.”
Discovery is central to the documentary process, uncovering the story, finding who is best to tell it and adapting the production plan to capture it. Rossi says May and Jason Sosnoff, one of the executive producers who was often on site, went into the community, into diners, and walked around the popular areas of Bucks County to meet whomever they could. “There were also several people already out in the media because they were vocal proponents of one position or another,” Rossi observes. “It was a lot of leg work on Robert and Jason’s part. We went long on the interviews in the beginning, which led us to other [subjects]. We filmed both Paul Martino and Layla early on because they were different kinds of people and both incredibly vocal in the community. We discovered that their kids were best friends,
which was a bit of a shock. That was perfect serendipity in terms of storytelling.”
As often happens on projects that evolve with unknown schedules, availability issues arise. That came early in Bucks County, USA, so Antonio called in Local 600 Camera Operator Ben Bloodwell to be his co-director of photography. “Ben and I have known each other for a long time,” Rossi shares. “We were both assistants to Maryse Alberti, Don Lenzer and a few other legendary documentary Directors of Photography. We both came up in the same documentary aesthetic and we’ve been co-Directors of Photography on other projects as well.” Bloodwell adds that, “Antonio and I have been trading work back and forth for a very long time. There’s a style that’s understood between the two of us and we’ve developed a shorthand. ‘Are we two cameras? How are we dealing with the eyeline? What’s the size of the frame? Is the tight or the wide next to the interviewer?’ I also came in to operate for Antonio for a couple of days and that helps. It’s great to be able to work with another DP and trade notes.”
Bloodwell also says he and Rossi were on the same page with lighting.
“If we’re doing interviews, we’re lighting to feel like a natural space and not setting up
a key light for the perfect Rembrandt patch,” he adds.” We look at the space to see what the cues might be, and the natural light flow of the room. We were trying to be very sensitive to our subjects, especially working with a lot of children.” As the production evolved, so did the lighting. “Robert and Antonio discovered that what worked well was something quick, maybe a single light while utilizing the light of the room for a short interview,” Bloodwell describes. “The more things you do in a space, the more people are reminded that they are the subject of a documentary. That can work against the interview.”
Capturing an entire community and its residents involved a great deal of uncertainty and being ready for anything. “We often knew that someone was going to do something at a certain place, but we didn’t know what that might involve,” Rossi recalls. “Sometimes I’d be on a gimbal, sometimes I would have an EasyRig, and sometimes it
would just be camera-on-shoulder. It was hard to know what the best tool would be for the scene coming up. Sometimes we wound up doing a scene that’s three or four hours long of two people just talking, which is physically hard to do handheld. In a verité scene, you can’t ask people to stop so you can change camera rigs. So, we’d try to have different cameras set up in different ways depending on how the scene would unfold. It didn’t always work out, so then we’d just make the best of it.”
Although Rossi shot with Sony FX9s and FX6s, and Bloodwell shot with Canon C-500s, the differing systems presented few issues, matching seamlessly in the final master. “If you shoot LUTs that are a flat enough log, you can match them easily in post,” Bloodwell shares. “But I always have to be careful when I say that. There are so many other factors that are going to affect your image in a documentary more than the camera you use – like how much time
did we have to set up and who is available to come in and operate that second camera.”
Beyond the added flexibility, Bloodwell says working as a documentary cinematographer is a world apart from operating camera on feature films. “A narrative crew tends to be like an orchestra,” he concludes, “where everyone has their parts. The DP or the director is the conductor, not touching any instruments but having made all the plans ahead of time, with many rehearsals. And with such a large group of people, it would be crazy for the violinist to pick up a snare drum. What I love about documentaries is that they’re like a rock and roll band. Maybe we’re a trio or four people and I’m the lead singer, but I’ll also grab a guitar or even jump on the drums. On a documentary you want everyone to chime in about how we can improve things. We don’t have all the resources, but the recourse we do have are all the brains with us on set.”
ERIC K. YUE
WESTERN REGION DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY ATROPIA US DRAMATIC COMPETITION
OLIVER BOKELBERG, ASC
WESTERN REGION DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY LAST DAYS PREMIERES
WATCH THE PANEL HERE
Nowhere is fresh talent more prized than Park City in January, as three bold indie features attest.
by Elle Schneider
Back to 1991, when the US Film Festival officially changed its name to the Sundance Film Festival (inspired by co-founder Robert Redford’s iconic character in the Oscarwinning Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), the annual winter gathering has been a place to discover (and celebrate) new voices. Of course, a lot has changed in the past 34 years, with Sundance now the largest independent film festival in the United States (the 2023 festival drew a combined in-person and online viewership of more than 420,000) and more corporate sponsors than the average NASCAR race. But one thing that’s remained the same is the eye festival programmers have for unseen talent. Sundance 2025 showcased plenty of those new voices, including three features shot by Local 600 directors of photography that share one common theme – fearless independent storytelling. ICG Writer (and member) Elle Schneider pushed through Park City’s chilly temperatures to bring back this report.
Australian director Sophie Hyde is no stranger to Sundance, having debuted Animals, Good Luck to You, and Leo Grande at past festivals. However, her teaming with Local 600 Director of Photography Matthew Chuang (Of An Age) was brand new, the result of having met the cinematographer on the indie circuit. So, when Hyde set out to make the semi-autobiographical indie feature Jimpa, a touching, personal story that would become Hyde’s fourth feature to premiere at Sundance, she asked Chuang to jump on board.
Jimpa tells the story of Frances (Aud Mason-Hyde), a gender-nonconforming
Australian teen excited to finally get to know their grandpa and personal hero Jim (John Lithgow), a gay man who relocated to the Netherlands after coming out to his family in the 1980s when Frances’ mother, multi-hyphenate filmmaker Hannah (Olivia Coleman), was a child. The film shifts seamlessly between timelines that expand and inform upon each other, revealing family secrets and character bonding through new intimacy and understanding.
Hyde and Chuang built the look in prep, along with Hyde’s frequent collaborator and regular DP, husband Bryan Mason, here taking on producing and editing duties. They took a proactive approach during prep, creating custom LUT’s and shooting camera tests that paid off in crafting a look to the present-day storyline that Chuang describes as “quite naturalistic.” To utilize their resources to the fullest, Chuang brought a RED KOMODO camera to scouts. He experimented with frames and lighting that were later shared through screenshots, allowing Hyde and her department heads to see what photography would best suit each space.
For the present-day story, set in both Adelaide and Amsterdam, Chuang leaned into a cool temperature; for the flashbacks, portraying Jimpa’s nontraditional parenting arrangement in Australia and his newfound personal freedom post-expatriation, Hyde says the look could have gone several ways. The goal was to understand what it means to capture someone’s unique experiences at different points in their life – “how they’re feeling in that moment, and how it shapes them in the present.”
Chuang and Hyde drew inspiration from Nan Goldin’s still photographs, while also discussing personal points of view, representation of memory, and generally
“having a lot of fun looking at how we could approach that [topic],” ultimately choosing warmth, flares, and composition choices to accomplish the shift in style. Where the present-day storyline utilized the Cooke Speed Panchros Series 2 and 3, for the flashbacks Chuang went with the Series 1 Cooke Speed Panchros to have a slightly different feel.
Hyde formed a close relationship with the actors during rehearsals, and together they came up with naturally flowing blocking. Chuang, for his part, prefers to light spaces rather than shots, which further allowed the actors to block using the whole location and also gave the DP the freedom to find shots based on what the actors bring to the table.
Since Jimpa was shot on two continents over two months, Chuang worked with two different camera and G&E teams, one in South Australia and one in Amsterdam. He found shooting in practical spaces in Amsterdam tricky, although local Chief Lighting Technician Janneke Hogenboom was familiar with quick navigation. “What I loved about Janneke was that she was so present,” Chuang describes, “always striving to make every scene better.”
One of the more complex scenes in the film is an intimate roundtable discussion in an Amsterdam café, which serves as both a lesson and a testament to the characters’ experiences as gay men of a different era. The scene required careful lighting to see what was happening both inside the café and in the city outside the windows. “It’s not always about the person who’s talking, sometimes it’s about the different characters listening and responding to what’s being said,” notes Chuang, who operated A-Camera for the scene, with Mason on B-Camera covering both action and reaction. “You want to be within them,” Chuang says of how the placement of the cameras, the size of the frame, and the lenses all worked together to build an intimacy crucial for the scene. “It has to feel present and honest.”
Chuang says Jimpa has a strong point of view, which he stands behind. “If a project comes to me and I’m deciding whether I should do it or not, a huge part of it is what am I going to learn from this film and the collaborators involved? Both as a person and a filmmaker?” he shares. It was clear Park City audiences felt the same, as Jimpa’s premiere was met with huge applause inside the 1,300-seat Eccles Theater. Chuang’s first feature to play at Sundance, You Won’t Be Alone, premiered during the pandemic, and he wasn’t able to experience the festival in person. “Making a film is so challenging, but in a great way,” he concludes. “At the end of
it, you hope you’ve made a film that people respond to [...] so being in that theater with so many people, and seeing their responses, means so much to the filmmakers.”
This debut feature from director Katarina Zhu was always a Sundance long shot.
As ICG Director of Photography Daisy Zhou, working with Zhu for the first time, describes: “ Bunnylovr is an incredibly personal story for Katarina.”
The tale of a young woman searching for relationships as a casual camgirl struck a chord with Zhou while she was reading the script. “I understood who she was and what Katarina was going for,” Zhou recounts. “Whenever I read a script, I look for that feeling.” And through their collaboration, the women came to speak the same language in describing their “shared sensibilities, viewpoints and aesthetics” – a handy thing when your director is also the star.
Yes, Zhou admits, it can be a challenge to work with a director who’s spending most of the film in front of the camera. But it wasn’t the DP’s first time working with an actor/
director. “It just takes an extra little bit more love in the shot-listing stage of the process,” Zhou reflects, adding that both artists need to make sure they’re on the same page with a plan. And with that plan in their back pocket, it allows an acting director to “steer the ship a little more instinctually on set” and experiment with where the story and characters take them. “I strive to be emotionally present as an artist, as a DP,” Zhou shares. “As that helps with the actors because they know that whoever is looking at them is connecting with them in every moment.”
Connection is crucial in a film about intimacy, even when it’s performed through a computer screen. Zhou says she “resisted the tendency to frame things in a way that was, like: this is her body, and this is what she’s doing with her body,” adding that she wanted to avoid clichés that contextualize actresses in roles involving sex workers. “I wanted to focus on the minutiae of who she was: her emotions, expressions, and the way she performs on her face.”
To hold to such authenticity, the team never wanted Katarina’s character, Rebecca, to have to act against an idea of what she was seeing through the screen; instead, the scenes are shot practically, with her
costar, Austin Amelio (“John”), performing through video chat live in real time, a complex technical process that’s played as mundane within the film. “I think the approach for tech in this film was always these are objects that exist in real life,” Zhou explains, “and they don’t always feel glitzy and futuristic or interesting, even,” instead acting as extensions of the characters in their everyday lives.
Shot mostly in handheld close-ups, which often drift to the hands and eyes, Bunnyluvr feels less about danger on the internet and more a character study of a lonely, fragmented woman using technology to connect. “So much of this film is a girl in a room on a screen,” Zhou adds. “So, I was more interested in looking at how the light reflects on her face, and how her eyes change when she talks to [the different characters].”
That light changes over time as Zhu’s Rebecca changes. In earlier parts of the film, the screen holds a cool machine glow, while later the blue becomes more saturated – a “violent, urgent presence.” Painted in layers of evocative shadow and warm memory tones, light plays an emotional role throughout Bunnyluvr, differentiating in-person and virtual interactions through shades of cool or warmth in a way that feels
both ethereal and grounded.
“We had a color palette for everything,” recounts Zhou, who mixed temperatures and used subtle hints of color to mimic the broad spectrum of light that exists in a real-life environment. “[We were] thinking about it almost like a painting, where you have a base layer of color, and then from that base layer you have accents, hints, and other layers that complement.”
Creating something that feels both big and nuanced on a small budget depended on having what Zhou describes as “a crew who understands on a holistic level what you’re going for. Everyone on that set brought their artistry to the job.” Zhou points to Key Grip Forrest Penny Brown, “who works with his whole heart,” and Chief Lighting Technician Chelsea Soby, “who is uniquely attuned to all the ways light can manifest,” even without big units or setups. Zhou says Soby’s work was grounded in the complexity and specificity of reality when Rebecca’s surroundings, expertly staged by Production Designer Carol Kim, start to come into focus. As the film progresses, framing begins to reveal more of the character and her living space in moments of stillness captured as wide, deliberate tableaus that punctuate moments of emotional intensity, allowing
the audience a brief glimpse into who Rebecca is, and, perhaps, what she’s missing. Static shots sometimes focus on a single gesture or motion that is meant to draw the eye.
“I think the cinematography in this case lends itself to more of a meditative observation of a young woman and this period in her life,” Zhou concludes. “I never wanted it to feel in-your-face gratuitous or sad. It just needed to all simmer underneath the surface. I didn’t want anything to feel super over-the-top.”
“Over the top” is, perhaps, a phrase that describes the experimental NEXT Section feature By Design , a culmination of a years-long collaboration between director Amanda Kramer and Local 600 Director of Photography Patrick Meade Jones (a twotime ECA winner). The film stars Juliette Lewis as Camille, a woman who switches places with a chair – and whose friends prefer her as the chair!
Jones and Kramer met a few years before the pandemic when he was working in
music videos and commercials. “At the time I was craving a project that I could sink my teeth into a little bit more,” recounts Jones, who read Kramer’s first feature and jumped on board straight away. “It was like a thirtythousand-dollar budget,” he remembers. “But I read the script, and I was just blown away by her writing...I was like: I have to shoot this movie.”
And so he did, forming a close friendship with Kramer in the process.
“Amanda had made a bunch of shorts before, but hadn’t done anything long-form,” Jones continues. “I’d made maybe ten movies at the time, but none of them had pushed my career forward in the narrative world.” On their first feature, Kramer and Jones came up with a shared visual language that stayed within the micro-budget. It was shot in the director’s apartment, with only one lighting person and one camera assistant. Or as Jones describes: “We just spent the time to iron out what we wanted.”
Since then, the pair have collaborated on more than a half-dozen projects, with each one more ambitious than the last. Kramer, as a storyteller first with less of a technical focus, shapes the idea, while Jones encourages her to dream as big as she can, and figures out how to make it all happen.
By Design was a 15-day shoot, generous by micro-budget standards but still difficult to pull off. “I think we complement each other well because she pushes me to never just settle,” Jones reflects. “Amanda always wants a unique approach to something. She’s like, ‘How do we fuck this up?’”
With its startling premise, By Design leans into weird the way even many Sundance films are afraid to tackle. As Jones continues: “Amanda comes up with an idea and wants to do it. She finds her inspiration, and if it jives with some people, great. There is a bit of that punk mentality,” he smiles, which extends to Kramer’s visual instincts – always different than what’s on trend, lest her films accidentally fall into popular visual tropes of the day. “She never wants to be contemporary, but she also never wants a picture-perfect representation of a period.”
With a timeless look that would be equally at home on Instagram or at Sundance 25 years ago, Jones’ words for By Design are on target. But it’s also a look that’s deeply stylistic, always a tough ask on a lowbudget film. On their early films, Jones was a big proponent of shot-listing and worked to get Kramer to commit to blocking in prep before she arrived on set. But with By Design, they took a different approach.
“We can think about some of this stuff beforehand, but Amanda wanted to give precedence to the actors and not plan too much around what they’re going to do performance-wise,” Jones explains. “To allow them to inhabit the characters and the space. The actors are the variable.”
Kramer also doesn’t like actors to exhaust themselves with takes, preferring more spontaneous performances. As Jones continues: “She takes more of a theatrical approach, where you do it two or three times, and the actors love that sense of freedom.” In fact, Kramer is their biggest
cheerleader, always setting a positive and energetic tone. “When we call cut, she’s the most excited person on set,” Jones states. “As far as a cinematographer, I see my skills and what I’ve learned and how I work as a way to support her in how she can do that.”
Their visual approach for By Design was more fluid. “I was mostly reacting and responding, while still being smart about where we’re putting the camera,” Jones says. As Kramer likes to get a lay of the land and see how the whole scene will play out, one place they typically start is with “deliberate wide shots that encapsulate the world. It’s almost as if she needs to see the theatrical wide frame like you’re sitting in the middle of the theater,” he notes. “So in all our movies, whether or not we use the wide in the edit, there’s these overly wide shots that show the set. I’ve gotten in the habit of enjoying setting those up and creating a tableau.”
Also new for the pair was using two cameras, allowing for more speed and consistency on set, especially in scenes with five or six actors. With the addition of a second camera, Jones promoted his longtime 1st AC, Terra Gutmann-Gonzalez, to operator. “I wanted someone whom I had spent a lot of time with on set, was a good listener, has a calm personality, and can pivot almost intuitively,” Jones describes. The move allowed him to bump up 2nd AC, Melisse Sporn, to 1st, and bring in a new 2nd, Milana Burdette, to expand and grow the filmmaking team.
By Design also was the first time Jones and Kramer built sets, and thus the first time Jones could place lights further away from the actors, shaping light more softly. “Camille’s apartment is lit with a sunset kind of glow at the beginning of the film. And then halfway through the movie, it’s this stark, blue moonlit kind of lighting,” he shares. In Olivia’s apartment, Jones experimented
with the unreality of consistent sunlight, but each time with a different color, regardless of the time of day. He says he appreciated not getting stuck on the logic of it all. “We’re going to do this color for this scene because the scene is happy, or sad, or confusing, or romantic. It’s all about mood. And those were fun choices to execute.”
Rather than highlighting the hero chair as an item that might be sold in a commercial, Jones focused on creating a character. “You just start to learn its contours and what it requires,” he states. “Eventually it becomes second nature.” They used a Panavision portrait lens with the Sony VENICE’s full-frame mode, shooting out of bounds of the lens’ design, “to give the chair POV a unique look, with strange focus vignetting and blurring.”
Jones’ urge to make movies out of bounds began early, as a watcher of independent movies rented on tape as a kid (rather than the more mainstream movies his brother preferred). “I’ve always aspired to make films that have a unique perspective,” he insists. But, having shot his first film at 25, the road to Sundance has been a long one.
“I suppose you start to get comfortable with rejection and just start creating for the sake of creating,” Jones offers. “I’m just glad to be able to make strange movies and work with someone who inspires me and someone who I’m close with and feel validated and accepted by.” While Sundance is a welcome acceptance, Jones hopes it helps make their next film a bit easier. He’s especially thankful to have a venue to celebrate the team’s hard work after so many years, and who he’s grown with on set. “A lot of the people that worked on the film were able to come up and spend time with us,” he concludes. “That’s where I’ve found the greatest reward, just being able to thank them for their work and celebrate with them.”
Director of Photography
Western Region
Come See Me in the Good Light Premieres
The Sundance hit Train Dreams is a lush period piece in which the cinematography takes center stage.
by David Geffner
In a sluggish year for acquisitions at Sundance, the lyrical period drama Train Dreams , which screened in the Premieres category, stood out. According to Deadline , Netflix purchased the feature for “somewhere in the high-teen millions,” with an eye toward giving the film a hefty push come next awards season. If that strategy pays off, a good deal of credit should go to the film’s cinematography, with each natural landscape more stunning than the next, each candlelight interior more textural than before.
Lensed by Local 600 Director of Photography Adolpho Veloso (with an ICG team that included Operators Timothy Spencer, Doug Hostetter and Bryan Gosline; AC’s Nick Kelling, Angela Bernardoni, James Coty, Joseph Reding and Matt Vielle; Loader Nicole Heigh; and Unit Stills Photographer Daniel Schaefer), Train Dreams was adapted from Denis Johnson’s novella of the same name by Writer/Director Clint Bentley (co-written with Greg Kwedar). The story centers on Robert Grainer (Joel Edgerton), a husband and father, whose working-class life unfolds against America’s vast western expansion. Grainer periodically leaves his hand-built waterside cabin, where he lives with his wife (Felicity Jones) and young daughter, to work
as a logger, helping to build the railroads in the early 1900s.
To depict the forests where Grainer must toil, Veloso relied heavily on natural and practical lighting (reminiscent of Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki’s stunning work with director Terrence Malick), using a single camera, often handheld on minimal sets (so the cast could move freely and improvise).
“Kevin Cook and Ryan Fritz, leading the lighting and grip departments, were amazing at enhancing firelight and controlling natural daylight,” Veloso describes, “all while keeping the look grounded and real.”
This was Veloso’s second partnership with Bentley after Jockey (Sundance 2021), which he says “was a small, intimate production, and [Train Dreams] was on a completely different scale. Being a period movie meant a bigger crew, stunts, SFX, and many moving parts. But Clint was determined to keep the same energy and freedom we had on Jockey. It was a challenge, but we made some key choices to make it happen.”
I talked with Veloso and Bentley a few weeks after seeing Train Dreams (which was shot entirely in Washington State) and why it may well be a key stepping-stone to a deep and longlasting creative relationship.
ICG Magazine: You’re originally from Brazil – how did you and Clint connect and start working together? Adolpho Veloso: I went to film school in Brazil and moved to Lisbon, Portugal five years ago. I had shot a lot in Brazil and Europe before I shot Clint’s first feature, Jockey. So, Train Dreams was our second indie feature together. Clint had written to me when he was prepping Jockey, as he had seen a documentary I did in 2017. He wanted to shoot Jockey around real racetracks with the actors interacting with real people, and he saw that I had done narrative as well. I think seeing a DP with that combination on their reel – documentary and narrative filmmaking techniques mingling together in the same film – made him think I would be a good fit for Jockey. He sent me the script and I loved it. I feel like we did so much with so little on that movie. It was a great collaboration and we connected.
Since Jockey, I’ve just been waiting for Clint to write another movie [laughs].
Can you elaborate on shooting Jockey with Adolpho and why you thought he was the best fit for Train Dreams? Clint Bentley: I have so many fond memories of that production. We shot with a crew of 12 people on a working horse racetrack, in 20 days, with a budget of $350,000, shooting mostly in magic hour with a lot of animals and first-time actors. It sounds like a recipe for disaster, and yet it somehow felt like we had all the time and money in the world. Adolpho’s approach was a huge part of making that shoot possible [and included his] openness to following whatever special thing is presenting itself in the moment, the magic he can create with available light, and his sensitivity to actors – no matter their level of experience. All of this led to helping that
movie feel much richer and more cinematic than our budget would suggest. He and I have similar tastes and are kindred spirits. Both of us are detail-oriented and specific, and yet we’re both open to what magic can come in the moment; we’re willing to throw out a plan if something better presents itself. One of the main takeaways of Jockey was how we let life into the movie. So many of the special moments were not in the original script. A big key to being able to do that was how Adolpho and I worked together. I love the way he moves the camera. It’s a very specific, delicate thing that feels thoughtful but also organic. I was constantly amazed at how cinematic he could make something look with just a lamp, by kicking up some dust with some car headlights. And I love how easily he can work with natural light. All of that made it a no-brainer to have him work on Train Dreams. We talked a lot about
how we wanted to take some of these vérité approaches from Jockey and apply them to a larger movie.
Adolpho, what was it about Train Dreams that made you want to jump back into the low-budget indie feature world, which is not for the faint of heart? AV: Reading the script, I found a lot of common ground with my own life. The main character is always away from home. He’s working with small groups of different people for a few months who become his family and then he never sees them again. I was like, wait a minute: This is the life of a DOP! You come back home, and it takes a while to reconnect with your family. For a lot of reasons, we had to shoot Jockey the way we did. So, with Train Dreams, we wanted to evolve that language and try new and different things.
Clint, can you talk about your vision going into Train Dreams ? The cinematography, the way the main character visually connects to the world,
is key to the story. CB: Adolpho and I tried to bring many of the approaches we used on Jockey to Train Dreams while developing our shared visual language for this film. It was not easy to bring some of the elements into a larger production and a period piece, but we wanted the movie to look and feel organic and alive. We didn’t want it to feel overly stale or stylized, as some period films tend to be. We also wanted to experience this big shifting world through the eyes of one person, who’s more or less observing it from the sidelines. That lent to cinematography that was free and loose, that could wander with the actors as needed, while also being thoughtful and measured. Also, to be true to the world we were trying to represent, we felt it was important to shoot in available/ natural light as much as possible. So, the sun was our key light for the daytime scenes, and candles and fires were our light sources at night. Adolpho and Kevin Cook, our chief lighting technician, and their teams found some clever ways to make this possible, and I think it just adds so much to the feeling of reality in the movie.
This film has a lot of voice-over – how much of the visual grandeur we see was laid out in Clint’s script? AV: It’s based on a novella, of course. And one thing I decided to do from the start was not read the book. So many people involved with the project had read the book. Clint, especially, wanted to be respectful to the source material, and I thought having at least one person on the crew who wasn’t attached to the book, who only viewed it as a movie, would be helpful. I actually read the book after we finished, which was interesting. But my feeling is that books and movies are different media and as a DP, I need to capture what’s there – in our Washington locations in this case – not necessarily try to recreate another medium. The book has a lot of narration, and I feel like the script pulled back a bit. One of the main themes Clint wanted to visualize was how powerful nature is, and how it sort of fights back when we try to control it. There’s a scene in the film where a young logger says something like, “There are enough trees out here to go on cutting forever.” And Bill Macy’s character, older and much wiser,
says, “I used to think like that, too. But it’s not anymore.”
You use a lot of handheld camera, so we’re close to Edgerton’s character and seeing the grandeur of the forest through his eyes. What choices did you make for your camera system and lensing? AV: We knew from Jockey that we wanted the actors to have the space to improvise. Especially the scenes with Joel, Felicity and the daughter. Trying to make kids do what you want can lead to frustration, so that meant a lot of handheld. We used long zooms on Jockey, which we did here. But we tried a lot of different things, too. We mounted the camera on a falling tree, for example. There were so many different setups accomplished by Ryan Fritz, our Key Grip, with dollys, cranes, mounts, rigs, etc. All of that meant we needed a small and versatile camera, so we went with the ALEXA 35. The large dynamic range was important, as we shot with almost all natural light, practical elements, candles, and real fire. Most of it was just shaping and controlling
those natural and practical elements, which meant a lot of planning on choosing the best times of the day and working with all departments on where to place windows, how to treat them, or what kind of practicals we would have and where. The only scenes that had artificial lighting were the big forest fires, which obviously we couldn’t do practically. Lens-wise, I knew we’d be outside a lot, so that meant seeing the sun frequently. Especially in Eastern Washington, where we were, it’s much less rainy and cloudy. I felt like going with older lenses to give more texture and character. I loved the flaring of the old Kowa spherical lenses, but they are slow, so we needed something fast for the nighttime scenes, which, as I said, were mostly all fire and candlelight. So, we combined the Kowas with Zeiss Super Speeds, which we used on Jockey, too.
Clint, can you talk about your process on set, ensuring the actors have room to improvise, and how that impacts your approach to camera? CB: This is of paramount importance. Actors have
such an incredibly difficult job of making us believe a moment is real. As much as possible, I want to give them space to feel their way organically through a scene to find whatever deeper truth is there. Sometimes the answer is as simple as constructing the coverage based on their natural blocking of the scene instead of the other way around. Overall, I like to give them space to sit in a moment and just be. Very often, this yields some surprising moments that you never could have anticipated. Both Jockey and Train Dreams are filled with moments like these. Working with Adolpho makes this easy to do. He’s great at following the actors wherever they go and catching whatever they’re doing in those improvisational moments, and he somehow frames them in such a way that they look very considered, as if we had been planning those moments from the beginning, which of course helps them fit seamlessly into the edit. A big part of this freedom is the fact that, as often as we can, we shoot handheld in available light, so the actors have the freedom to roam, and Adolpho can follow them. A lot of times if we
have ten or fifteen minutes to spare between scenes or before breaking for lunch, we’ll just construct a scenario and then follow the actors through it. Sometimes it only yields a shot that can be used, but as I said earlier, sometimes these moments become some of the most special in the movie.
Let’s talk about the forest fire scene, which changes the entire narrative and shapes everything that comes after. AV: We were supposed to shoot at the end of 2023, in Spokane, and we were waiting for a waiver due to the strike. In that week, there was a large fire where, just like in L.A. the whole sky turned bright orange, smoke everywhere and we were just waiting to see if we would evacuate. At some point, we got the news we couldn’t shoot, but we had lived through a real fire, we had that experience to draw from. So, when we went back in 2024 –and the goal was always to be naturalistic – we looked at real fire footage, not movie
fires. There are two large fire sequences in the film, the first is very realistic, and the second is a bit more dreamy. Towards the end of the first sequence, when Joel’s character gets off the train and is running to his cabin, he’s confronted with a wall of fire, which we obviously couldn’t shoot in the real forest locations we were using. That’s the only sequence where we used artificial lights. Our Gaffer, Kevin Cook, brilliantly set up a wall of flickering lights, SFX added smoke and a few small fires in trees, and then VFX added in the flames. What’s interesting is we were shooting in a forest that had already been burned by fire, so the trees already had the correct look. It was perfect for the scene as Joel’s character is running toward the flames after it’s already burned through everything. It was challenging because we had a lot of real firelight throughout the movie and we wanted the forest fire to match – texture, tone, color – and that meant testing with Kevin a lot to get the light wall just right. For me, nothing
behaves like real fire, and the reflections, the flickering on actors in the scene, are either too much or too little, but never right.
Clint, the forest-fire scene feels quite ambitious for an indie film – what did you see as the main directorial (and logistical) challenges, and how did you overcome them? CB: I’m not sure we have enough time to go through all the challenges we faced in trying to create a massive forest fire on such a limited budget. We were being very ambitious with that sequence, and I’m proud of what we were able to do. It was always envisioned as being constructed from a combination of VFX and practical effects. An important part was shooting in an area that had been devastated by a forest fire a few months prior, so all the trees were charred sticks. We used that real location as our base and built it out on the day with a bunch of practical effects. Ryan Roundy and his team engineered a combination of
controlled fires, practical smoke, wind and embers to lay a foundation that we would build off of in post. Equally important was our VFX Supervisor, Ilia Mokhtareizadeh. Adolpho and I constructed this sequence hand-in-hand with Ilia so that what we were doing on set would blend seamlessly into what Ilia and his team would do in VFX. Fire work is incredibly tricky in VFX, and so often it looks super-fake and digital. I’m still blown away at what Ilia and his team were able to build. And on top of that, no sequence like that can work without the total commitment of your actor. It was all looking good, but then Joel stepped in and did the first take and suddenly the scene came to life as if his performance was bringing the background more to life.
Clint, you prefaced the Sundance screening at the Eccles by warning those from Los Angeles what was to come, and yet it still felt triggering. My body was shaking. Was there any thought to pulling it back or did it need to be portrayed that way? CB: Well, we had already finished the wildfire sequence before the fires in L.A. had occurred. We were trying to be truthful to reality and I don’t think a sequence like that can work if you don’t take that approach. I wanted to mention it at Sundance screenings so that people weren’t blindsided because the fires were so recent. It’s always a tricky thing to portray something horrific and potentially triggering in a film. We all wanted to be thoughtful of that and never push it too far.
Adolpho, you shot single camera with natural light and an open set for the actors – what was the approach to camera movement to realize Clint’s vision? AV: The single camera helps in controlling the uncontrollable. The thing with shooting with natural light, and with actors who are improvising, is that it’s so much about working closely with the AD department and scheduling. Even for the interiors, the parameters you set by shooting when the sun is in a certain place in the sky, are everything. If the windows behind me are blacked out for example, I know where I can go without casting a shadow on the actors, and they still move freely around the room. You just need to plan somehow for all areas to work, either because there’s light hitting them, or because they’ll become a silhouette, sometimes that means moving the camera, so for a lot of those improvised moments, a handheld camera was the best approach. It’s an amazing challenge but I love that feeling of shooting something
like that. There’s something about natural light that you can’t copy. The light comes in different tones; there are interesting reflections that you can’t replicate. I also think actors tend to enjoy it a lot – no C-stands or flags around them limiting every little move. They know where the light is in a scene, so once they trust that you’ll get those key moments, it becomes this cool dance together. You obviously need a very good focus puller, and I’m so lucky that we had Nick Kelling as our AC, he just nailed everything. What’s so ironic, of course, is the more you want to improvise the more you have to plan.
The industrialization of America is a key theme, and yet, on an indie budget, I can’t imagine you had enough for all the machinery featured. Clint, can you talk about your approach to making those scenes feel big, even if you didn’t have the resources, you may have wanted to visualize them? CB: Yes, it was important to the story to show how machinery was changing as time wore on and how the progress was leaving Grainier behind. It was always a discussion of how we could film our limited resources in a way that suggested a larger world outside of the frame. We put our resources into some key elements that would make the world of the film seem grand and expansive and then tightened our belts in other places. We couldn’t have done this without [Production Designer] Alexandra Schaller’s work and the team she pulled together. One hero of that team was Andy Wert, our prop master. I was always amazed at the random things he could seemingly pull out of thin air. And when he couldn’t source something, Alex and her team could generally build it. That small locomotive that crosses the bridge early in the film is one example. We couldn’t find anything that would work for that scene, so Alex and her team built that locomotive from scratch.
Adolpho, can you also chime in on this?
AV: We learned a lot with Jockey , which helped this film. Perspective, for example. We couldn’t reproduce a horse race and shoot Clifton Collins Jr on a racehorse, so we shot the race scenes very tight on his face as he rode a fake horse on the back of a pickup truck, and that was so effective. When I look at the movie again, I’m almost happy we didn’t have a lot of money as we would have made different choices. Whenever you have the budget, you tend to go for the easiest solution – because you can. Not to say that won’t serve the film. But without the
budget, you must go back to the script, to the emotions, and find exactly what the scene is about. And that’s an exercise that’s always interesting to do, whenever you have the money and can just do it – is that the best option? Is there another way to do it that might be more interesting and effective? It’s not because you can’t have a train to shoot for a lot of days that a movie called Train Dreams won’t work; we faced a lot of those limitations and just had to think of different approaches. We didn’t have a train, but we had train tracks, so why not just shoot the train’s POV? Why not have the train light invading some night dreams? And we kept thinking of different ways to represent the presence of the train. For the plane sequence, with a limited budget, that would be an easy scene to cut. But Clint was insistent it had to be there as the character had to see his world from a different perspective. We shot a real plane flying, using a simple setup from the ground and two cameras mounted to the plane. To match that with the actors, the art department, led by the incredible Alexandra Schaller, built the cockpit of the plane and the SFX team put it on a gimbal that rotated in all axes. We rigged the camera on the gimbal, as it would be on the real plane, and we shot it outside so as the cockpit moved the light would move accordingly and that’d give us a very naturalistic feel for the scene. The light behaved as it would on a flying plane, and most of the sky was already in the background without needing much VFX later. That also helped with how the cast interacted with the actions, the cockpit would actually turn down when the plane was diving, and they could react to the moves. It felt like a simple and inexpensive solution and it’s all in service of making the story as natural and grounded as possible.
Clint, final thoughts about where your partnership with Adolpho is headed and how key that relationship (DP-director) is to your journey as a filmmaker? CB: This answer likely varies from director to director, but for me, the DPdirector relationship is incredibly important. This person is your eye into the world of the movie. They’re the window through which a director shows the audience the world of the movie. I am finding that so much of my style as a director comes from how I work with Adolpho. From the freedom I can give actors to the way I like to cover scenes, so much of it is because of the trust I have in Adolpho. And he’s a good human to be around. I’m excited to see how we can further develop and refine this approach, and to see what other possibilities it can open up.
ETHAN PALMERR
Director of Photography
Eastern Region
Plainclothes
U.S. Dramatic Competition
20TH CENTURY FOX FILM CORPORATION
“ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING” SEASON 5
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: KYLE WULLSCHLEGER
OPERATOR: DANIEL SHARNOFF
ASSISTANTS: TIMOTHY TROTMAN, DAMON LEMAY, SARA BOARDMAN, AMANDA DEERY
STEADICAM OPERATOR: PETER VIETRO-HANNUM LOADERS: CHAD KEAN, AMELIA MCLAUGHLIN
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: PATRICK HARBRON
“WILL TRENT” SEASON 3
DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: FERNANDO REYESALLENDES, AMC, TIMOTHY GILLIS
OPERATORS: STEWART SMITH, SOC, CRISTIAN TROVA
ASSISTANTS: GERAN COSTDANIELLO, IAN CAMPBELL, ANDY KOPEC, BENJAMIN EADES
STEADICAM OPERATOR: STEWART SMITH, SOC LOADER: STEVEN DAVID WALTON
DIGITAL UTILITY: NATHANIEL POBLET
STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: ZAC POPIK, DANIEL MCFADDEN, MATT MILLER
20TH CENTURY TELEVISION
“9-1-1” SEASON 8
DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ANDREW MITCHELL, PJ RUSS
OPERATORS: BRICE REID, PHIL MILLER, PAULINA GOMEZ
ASSISTANTS: JAMES RYDINGS, KAORU “Q” ISHIZUKA, CARLOS DOERR, BASSEM BALAA, MATT DEL RUTH, TODD DURBORAW
STEADICAM OPERATOR: BRICE REID
DIGITAL UTILITY: BEAU MORAN
CAMERA UTILITY: JOE PACELLA
“DRAG”
DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BENJAMIN GOODMAN
OPERATOR: WILLIAM CHRISTENSEN
ASSISTANTS: EVAN WALSH, SHAUN MALKOVICH
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: MICHAEL POMORSKI
STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: MICHAEL SOFOKLES, JASON THOMPSON
COMPILED BY TERESA MUÑOZ
The input of Local 600 members is of the utmost importance, and we rely on our membership as the prime (and often the only) source of information in compiling this section. In order for us to continue to provide this service, we ask that Guild members submitting information take note of the following requests:
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“DAYS OF OUR LIVES” SEASON 60 DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID MEAGHER
OPERATORS: MARK WARSHAW, MICHAEL J. DENTON, JOHNNY BROMBEREK, JOHN BOYD, STEVE CLARK
CAMERA UTILITY: GARY CYPHER
VIDEO CONTROLLER: ALEXIS DELLAR HANSON
“DAREDEVIL: BORN AGAIN” SEASON 2
DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: HILLARY SPERA, JEFFREY WALDRON
OPERATORS: THOMAS SCHNAIDT, BLAKE JOHNSON
ASSISTANTS: CHRISTOPHER WIEZOREK, STEPHEN MCBRIDE, YALE GROPMAN, GREGORY PACE
STEADICAM OPERATOR: THOMAS SCHNAIDT
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: PATRICK CECILIAN
LOADERS: MCKENZIE RAYCROFT, BRIANNA MCCARTHY
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: JOJO WHILDEN
UNIT PUBLICIST: NICOLE KALISH
“ELSBETH” SEASON 2
DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JOHN ARONSON, ALEC JARNAGIN
OPERATORS: BARNABY SHAPIRO, KATE LAROSE
ASSISTANTS: SOREN NASH, RENE CROUT, NIALANEY RODRIGUEZ, ALISA COLLEY
LOADERS: PARKER RICE, JANAE HARRISON
STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: MICHAEL PARMELEE, ERIC LIEBOWITZ
“NCIS” SEASON 22
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: WILLIAM WEBB
OPERATORS: GREG COLLIER, CHAD ERICKSON
ASSISTANTS: JAMES TROOST, NATE LOPEZ, HELEN TADESSE, YUSEF EDMONDS, ANNA FERRARIE, DREW HAN CHO
LOADER: MIKE GENTILE
“NCIS: ORIGINS” SEASON 1
DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: KEVIN MCKNIGHT, KURT JONES
OPERATORS: MICHAEL ALBA, MATT VALENTINE
ASSISTANTS: TAYLOR FENNO, KEVIN MILES,
KEVIN POTTER, EMILY LAZLO
LOADER: SARAH MARTINEZ
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: BRANNON BROWN
DIGITAL UTILITY: BECKY CINTORA
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: GREG GAYNE
COOLER WATER PRODUCTIONS
“EUPHORIA” SEASON 3
DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MARCELL REV, ASC, HCA
OPERATORS: JOSH MEDAK, ROCKER MEADOWS,
ASSISTANTS: NORRIS FOX, DAN SCHROER, JONATHAN CLARK, DAN URBAIN
LOADER: CHESTER MILTON
DIGITAL UTILITY: VICTORIA BETANCOURT
REMOTE HEAD TECH/OPERATOR: SIMON TERZIAN
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: EDDY CHEN
CRANETOWN MEDIA, LLC
“MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN” SEASON 4
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MICHAEL MCDONOUGH
OPERTORS: ALAN PIERCE, BRIAN OSMOND
ASSISTANTS: CORY STAMBLER, KIMBERLY HERMAN, BENEDICT BALDAUFF, BRIAN BRESNEHAN
DIGITAL UTILITY: MATTHEW BERAN
LOADERS: THOMAS HENRY HOLMES
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: DENNIS MONG
DELIRIUM TV, LLC
“LOVE IS BLIND” SEASON 10 & 11
BOSTON SHOOT
DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: THERESA VITALE, SEAN MCKELVEY
OPERATORS: BUDDY BAAB, ERIK HAMILTON, RANDALL BARNHARDT, RILEY REISS, STEVE PAUL, KATE STEINHEBEL, EMERY CHILDRESS
ASSISTANT: NATHANAEL MALEY
STEADICAM OPERATOR: PETER OZAROWSKI
CAMERA UTILITY: SHELBY CIPOLLA, DAGAN REINHARDT, FELIX GIUFFRIDA, ALEJANDRO BAEZA LOPEZ, JAMES STAMM
LOADER: ANDREW CURTIS
DRONE OPERATOR: DYLAN HALL
DRIVER’S ED, LLC
“DRIVER’S ED”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ITAI NEEMAN
OPERATORS: JOHN LEHMAN, DEREK TINDALL
ASSISTANTS: LAWRENCE GIANNESCHI, PATRICK BOROWIAK, DOMINIC ATTANASIO, NICK CANNON
LOADER: JAMES TYLER LATHAM
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: JACKSON DAVIS
DRONE OPERATOR: ANDREW RORK
DXO EAST PRODUCTIONS, LLC
“DEXTER: RESURRECTION”
DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: RADIUM CHEUNG, JOSEPH COLLINS
OPERATORS: ELI ARONOFF, ERIC ROBINSON
ASSISTANTS: JOHN REEVES, BLAKE ALCANTARA, SARAH SCRIVENER, MAX COLLINS
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ILYA AKIYOSHI LOADERS: VINCENT FERRARI, OFELIA CHAVEZ
STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: ZACH DILGARD, ANNE JOYCE
EMPIRE LEO PRODUCTIONS
“THE MAN WITH THE BAG”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JONATHAN SELA
OPERATOR: LUCAS OWEN
ASSISTANTS: JIMMY JENSEN, JAMES SCHLITTENHART, ALEC NICKEL, FRANCES DE RUBERTIS
STEADICAM OPERATOR: DAVID THOMPSON
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JESSICA TA LOADERS: VICTORIA DUNN, JEFF DICKERSON
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: CLAY ENOS
UNIT PUBLICIST: JACKIE BAZAN
FUGAZI
“THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: SAM LEVY
OPERATOR: NICOLA BENIZZI
ASSISTANTS: CHRISTOPHER ENG, TRICIA MEARS, RONALD WRASE
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: LOIC DE LAME
LOADER: NYLE HIGGS
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: JON PACK
HUBBLE PRODUCTIONS, LLC
“OFFICE ROMANCE”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ROBERT YEOMAN
OPERATOR: STEWART CANTRELL
ASSISTANTS: DAVID SEEKINS, ERIC SWANEK, TYLER SWANEK, EMMALINE HING
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: GABRIEL KOLODNY
LOADERS: TRUMAN HANKS, JOSEPH CROGNALE
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: ANA CARBALLOSA
UNIT PUBLICIST: BROOKE ENSIGN
ITTO PRODUCTIONS, INC.
“IS THIS THING ON?”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MATTHEW LIBATIQUE, ASC
OPERATOR: P. SCOTT SAKAMOTO, SOC
ASSISTANTS: AURELIA WINBORN, GUS LIMBERIS, ELIZABETH HEDGES, TOMMY SCOGGINS
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JEFFREY FLOHR
LOADER: HOLDEN HLINOMAZ
LEGENDARY PICTURES
“ZEUS”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DAN MINDEL, ASC, BSC, SASC
OPERATORS: LUKASZ BIELAN, CHRIS MCGUIRE
ASSISTANTS: SIMON ENGLAND, BAILEY NAGY
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ROBERT HOWIE
LUCKY LU FILM, LLC
“LUCKY LU”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: NORM LI
OPERATOR: KENNY WU
ASSISTANTS: SARAH PENSON, JOSHUA BOTE
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: JEONG PARK
MGM
“VERIFY”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JIM FROHNA
OPERATORS: ARI ISSLER, JENNIE JEDDRY
ASSISTANTS: TONY COAN, COURTNEY BRIDGERS, JAMES DEAN DRUMMOND, AMBER MATHES
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: LUKE TAYLOR
LOADERS: BRETT NORMAN, CLAIRE SNODE
STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: ALISHA WETHERILL, MATTHEW INFANTE
UNIT PUBLICIST: SABRINA LAUFER
NBC UNIVERSAL TELEVISION, LLC
“CHICAGO MED”SEASON 10
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: SHAWN MAURER
OPERATORS: JOE TOLITANO, BILLY NIELSEN
ASSISTANTS: GEORGE OLSON, PATRICK DOOLEY, BRIAN KILBORN, RICHARD COLMAN, MATTHEW WILBAT, JJ LITTLEFIELD
STEADICAM OPERATOR: CHRISTOPHER GLASGOW
LOADER: TREVOR SNYDER
DIGITAL UTILITY: TRENTON LUETTICH
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: GEORGE BURNS
2ND UNIT
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: WILLIAM NIELSEN
“CHICAGO PD” SEASON 12
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JAMES ZUCAL
OPERATORS: VICTOR MACIAS, JAMISON ACKER, CHRIS HOOD
ASSISTANTS: KYLE BELOUSEK, DON CARLSON, NICK WILSON, MARK MOORE, CHRIS POLMANSKI, STEVE CLAY
STEADICAM OPERATOR: VICTOR MACIAS
STEADICAM ASSISTANT: KYLE BELOUSEK
LOADER: REBECCA JOHNSON
DIGITAL UTILITIES: JACOB OCKER, JACOB CUSHMAN
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: LORI ALLEN
“FBI” SEASON 7
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BART TAU
OPERATORS: AFTON GRANT, ANDY FISHER
ASSISTANTS: ADAM GONZALEZ, YURI INOUE, MIKE LOBB, MARVIN LEE
STEADICAM OPERATOR: AFTON GRANT
LOADER: JERON BLACK
CAMERA UTILITY: HOUSSEIN BLACK
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: BENNETT RAGLIN
“FBI MOST WANTED” SEASON 6
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: LUDOVIC LITTEE
OPERATORS: CHRIS MOONE, SCOTT TINSLEY
ASSISTANTS: JOHN FITZPATRICK, DAN PFEIFER,
JOHN CONQUY, TYLER MANCUSO
LOADERS: ANTHONY VITALE, HUSSEIN FARRAJ
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: MARK SCHAFER
“LAW & ORDER” SEASON 24
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JON DELGADO
OPERATORS: DEKE KEENER, BEAU GRANTLAND
ASSISTANTS: JASON RIHALY, JACOB STAHLMAN, EMILY DUMBRILL, KELSEY MIDDLETON
STEADICAM OPERATOR: RICHARD KEENER
LOADERS: LISA CHIN, MARIA OLNEY
STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: VIRGINIA SHERWOOD, IAN BRACONE, MICHAEL PARMELEE
“LAW & ORDER: ORGANIZED CRIME”
SEASON 5
DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JIM DENAULT, JON BEATTIE
OPERATORS: JOHN PIROZZI, NIKNAZ TAVAKOLIAN
ASSISTANTS: ALEX WATERSTON, LEE VICKERY, DERRICK DAWKINS, PATRICK ARELLANO
STEADICAM OPERATOR: NIKNAZ TAVAKOLIAN
LOADERS: WILLIE CHING, BERNARDO RUIZ POZO, VINCE FERRARI
STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: GIOVANNI RUFINO, RALPH BAVARO, VIRGINIA SHERWOOD, DAVID GIESBRECHT
“LAW & ORDER: SPECIAL VICTIMS UNIT” SEASON 26
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: FELIKS PARNELL
OPERATORS: JON HERRON, CHRISTOPHER DEL SORDO
ASSISTANTS: JOSEPH METZGER, CHRISTIAN CARMODY, RYAN HADDON, MARY NEARY
STEADICAM OPERATOR: JONATHAN HERRON LOADER: JAMES WILLIAMS, MATT CHIARELLI
NETFLIX PRODUCTIONS, LLC
“THE LINCOLN LAWYER” SEASON 4
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ABRAHAM MARTINEZ
OPERATOS: DOMINIC BARTOLONE, WILL DEARBORN
ASSISTANTS: JOE CHEUNG, TODD AVERY, BRANDON DEVANIE, RYAN JACKSON
STEADICAM OPERATOR: DOMINIC BARTOLONE
STEADICAM ASSISTANT: JOE CHEUNG
DIGITAL LOADER: J. CORRIA SOTOMAYOR
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: FRANCESCO SAUTA
SILVERBELL STUDIOS, LLC
“NEWPORT CHRISTMAS”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BRANDON MAXHAM
OPERATORS: M. DEAN EGAN, MATTHEW QUINN
ASSISTANTS: SYMON MINK, SANAE ONO, ALEXIS ABRAMO, AMANDA HEBBLETHWAITE
SONY PICTURES TELEVISION
“JEOPARDY!” SEASON 39
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JEFF ENGEL
OPERATORS: DIANE L. FARRELL, SOC, MIKE TRIBBLE, JEFF SCHUSTER, L. DAVID IRETE
JIB ARM OPERATOR: MARC HUNTER
HEAD UTILITY: TINO MARQUEZ
CAMERA UTILITY: RAY THOMPSON
VIDEO CONTROLLER: JEFF MESSENGER
VIDEO UTILITIES: MICHAEL CORWIN, JEFF KLIMUCK
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: TYLER GOLDEN
“WHEEL OF FORTUNE” SEASON 40
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JEFF ENGEL
OPERATORS: DIANE L. FARRELL, SOC, L.DAVID IRETE, RAY GONZALES, MIKE TRIBBLE
HEAD UTILITY: TINO MARQUEZ
CAMERA UTILITY: RAY THOMPSON
VIDEO CONTROLLER: JEFF MESSENGER
VIDEO UTILITIES: MICHAEL CORWIN, JEFF KLIMUCK
JIB ARM OPERATOR: STEVE SIMMONS
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: CAROL KAELSON
STAMFORD MEDIA CENTER AND PRODUCTIONS, LLC
“KARAMO” SEASON 3
OPERATORS: VICTOR MATHEWS, RON THOMPSON, CHARLES BEDI, DOMINICK CIARDIELLO, JON ROSE, ED STAEBLER, THOMAS TUCKER
JIB ARM OPERATOR: ANTHONY LENZO
CAMERA UTILITIES: FRANK CAIOLA, ROBERT FRITCHE
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JOE MANCUSI
“WILKOS” SEASON 18
OPERATORS: VICTOR MATHEWS, RON THOMPSON, CHARLES BEDI, DOMINICK CIARDIELLO, MARC NATHAN, JON ROSE
JIB ARM OPERATOR: ANTHONY LENZO
CAMERA UTILITIES: ROBERT BENEDETTI, FRANK CAIOLA, ROBERT FRITCHE
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JOE MANCUSI
TCSU PRODUCTIONS 34, INC.
“LULLABY”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JO WILLEMS
OPERATORS: KRISTEN CORRELL, RENARD CHEREN
ASSISTANTS: STEVE MACDOUGALL, ARTHUR ZAJAC,
JESSIE CAIN, ROBBIE JULIAN
LOADER: ALEX COYLE
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ADRIAN JEBEF
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: SUZANNE TENNER
UNIT PUBLICIST: GABRIELA GUTENTAG
EPK OPERATOR: KALIYA WARREN
TUNER MOVIE CANADA, INC.
“TUNER”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: LOWELL MEYER
STEADICAM OPERATOR: PETE KEELING
UNIVERSAL CONTENT PRODUCTIONS, LLC
“THE BURBS” SEASON 2
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JONATHAN FURMANSKI
OPERATORS: TOM VALKO, MARC CARTER
ASSISTANTS: RYO KINNO, BENNY BAILEY, JOSH GREER, JOHN CARREON
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: PASQUALE PAOLO
DIGITAL LOADER: WILLIAM RANDALL
DIGITAL UTILITY: AUSTIN LOGAN
“SUITS LA” SEASON 1
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JOE GALLAGHER
OPERATORS: JASON BLOUNT, DANIEL WURSCHL, PAIGE THOMAS
ASSISTANTS: TONY MARTIN, CHRISTOPHER GARLAND, RICH HUGHES, PETER CARONIA, GRETCHEN HATZ, TOMMY IZUMI
LOADER: EMILY TAPANES
DIGITAL UTILITY: DILSHAN HERATHS
“THE EQUALIZER” SEASON 5
DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: TERRENCE L. BURKE, CLIFF CHARLES
OPERATORS: JOE BLODGETT, MALCOLM PURNELL, RICARDO SARMIENTO
ASSISTANTS: STACY MIZE, JELANI WILSON, CHRIS GLEATON, ROB WRASE, ZAKIYA LUCAS-MURRAY, COLIN MORRIS
STEADICAM OPERATOR: JOE BLODGETT
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: TIFFANY ARMOUR-TEJADA
LOADERS: CHRIS BAZATA, ALEX LILJA
STILL PHOTOGRAPHERS: EMILY ARAGONES, MICHAEL GREENBERG
“ALL AMERICAN” SEASON 7
DIRECTORS OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ERIC LAUDADIO, ERIBERTO CORDERO
OPERATORS: BROOKS ROBINSON, NATHAN STERN
ASSISTANTS: BLAKE COLLINS, GREG DELLERSON, KIRSTEN LAUBE, JESSICA PINNS
STEADICAM OPERATOR: NATHAN STERN
STEADICAM ASSISTANT: GREG DELLERSON
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: URBAN OLSSON
“H-TOWN”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ZACH GALLER
OPERATORS: KRIS KROSSKOVE, COY AUNE, GEORGE BILLINGER, CHRIS SQUIRES
ASSISTANTS: CHAD RIVETTI, BETTY CHOW, RICH FLOYD, HUNTER JENSEN, JEFRI MEINTJES, KOKO LEE, FREDDY ROSADO, ELIJAH RAWLINGS
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JACOB LAGUARDIA
LOADER: NATHAN MIELKE
DIGITAL UTILITIES: JACOB SELDES, MELIA HALLER
“LEANNE” SEASON 1
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: STEVEN V. SILVER, ASC
OPERATORS: EDDIE FINE, DAMIAN DELLA SANTINA, JAMIE HITCHCOCK, JON PURDY
ASSISTANTS: MEGGINS MOORE, SEAN ASKINS, NIGEL STEWART, JEFF JOHNSON, WHITNEY JONES
CAMERA UTILITIES: COLIN BROWN, MATT FISHER
VIDEO CONTROLLER: KEVIN FAUST
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: BENJAMIN STEEPLES
“ZARNA” PILOT
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: GARY BAUM, ASC
OPERATORS: CHRIS WILCOX, EDDIE FINE, LANCE BILLITZER, BRIAN GUNTER
ASSISTANTS: SEAN ASKINS, CHRIS WORKMAN, YUKA KADONO
CAMERA UTILITIES: CHAD LOVEGREN, RICHIE FINE
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: DAN LORENZE
VIDEO CONTROLLER: JOHN O’BRIEN
1ST AVE MACHINE
“CERAVE”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ROB HAUER
OPERATOR: SCOTT DROPKIN
ASSISTANTS: ERICK AGUILAR, JOSHUA COTE, BRYAM AGUILAR, GRAHAM KENNEDY
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: RAFFI VESCO
“THE HOME DEPOT”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ROB HAUER
ASSISTANTS: ERICK AGUILAR, BRYAM AGUILAR, DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: RAFFI VESCO
ARTCLASS
“HALEON”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MAGDALENA GORKA
ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, ALAN CERTEZA
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: FRANCESCO SAUTA
ARTS & SCIENCES
“AT&T”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MAX GOLDMAN
ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, ARTHUR ZAJAC, ALAN CERTEZA
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JESSE TYLER
LIBRA HEAD TECH: JON PHILION
SCORPIO HEAD TECH: JAY SHEVECK
“PIZZA HUT”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: AUTUMN DURALD, ASC
OPERATOR: RENARD CHEREN
ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, MATEO BOURDIEU, ALAN CERTEZA
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: LONNY DANLER
REMOTE HEAD: DUSTIN EVANS
BISCUIT FILMWORKS
“WALLY”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: LACHLAN MILNE
ASSISTANTS: LIAM SINNOTT, JORDAN CRAMER, PATRICK SMITH
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: STEVE HARNELL
“STARBUCKS”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: DUSTIN LANE
ASSISTANTS: ERICK AGUILAR, KEITH JONES, BRYAM AGUILAR, RON ELLIOT
LOADER: VINNIE BREDEMUS
CAVIAR
“ZILLOW”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: KIRA KELLY, ASC
OPERATOR: SCOTT DROPKIN
ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, NINA PILAR PORTILLO, JOEL MARTIN, MEL KOBRAN
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: MATTHEW LOVE
STILL PHOTOGRAPHER: LARA SOLANKI
“PLYMOUTH ROCK ASSURANCE”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: PATRICK RUTH
ASSISTANTS: MARY ANNE JANKE, MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ TORRENT
COMMUNITY FILM
“OLD NATIONAL BANK”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JORDAN LEVY
ASSISTANTS: MICHAEL KUBASZAK, MATT BROWN, DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ERIC ALMOND
EPOCH
“MATTRESS FIRM”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRISTIAN SPRENGER
ASSISTANTS: LIAM SINNOT, JORDAN CRAMER
STEADICAM OPERATOR: CHRIS CUNNINGHAM
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: STEVE HARNELL
“CHURCH”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ADAM NEWPORT-BERRA
ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, LUCAS DEANS, JOEL MARTIN
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: CHRISTOPHER BROOKS
HUNGRY MAN
“AMAZON”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRISTIAN SPRENGER
OPERATOR: JEFF BOLLMAN
ASSISTANTS: LIAM SINNOT, JOE SEGURA, JORDAN CRAMER, MELIA HALLER
RONIN OPERATOR: CHRIS HERR
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: MATT LOVE
“ILLINOIS LOTTERY”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ERIC SCHMIDT
ASSISTANTS: JOSEPH BRADY, MATT ARREDONDO
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: JASON HELGREN
REMOTE HEAD TECH: MICHAEL MONAR
ICONOCLAST
“NIKE”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: AUTUMN DURALD, ASC
ASSISTANTS: ETHAN MCDONALD, STEPHEN EARLY, RODRIGUE GOMES
STEADICAM OPERATOR: XAVIER THOMPSON
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: ZACH HILTON
INSOMNIAC
“PLAYSTATION”
DIRECTOR OHF PHOTOGRAPY: KYLE KLUTZ
OPERATOR: JOHN PAUL MEYER
“CALIFORNIA LOTTERY”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: GYULA PADOS
OPERATOR: MARK GOELLNICHT
ASSISTANT: DANIEL HANYCH
STEADICAM OPERATOR: MARK GOELLNICHT
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: FABRICIO DISANTO
TECHNOCRANE OPERATOR: CHRISTIAN HURLEY
TECHNOCRANE TECH: BRANDON THORNE
REMOTE HEAD TECH/OPERATOR: DERRICK ROSE
NBC UNIVERSAL
“SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE MASCARA COMMERCIAL”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JASON VANDERMER
OPERATOR: NATHAN SLEVIN
ASSISTANTS: NIKOLAS FELDMAN, GOVINDA ANGULO, EDGAR VELEZ, SYDNEY BALLESTEROS
STEADICAM OPERATOR: MICHAEL FUCHS
“SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE, PIP COMMERCIAL”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: LANCE KUHNS
OPERATORS: KYLE PARSONS, ZACK SCHAMBERG
ASSISTANTS: GORDON ARKENBERG, AARON SNOW, MORGAN ARMSTRONG
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: MATTHEW MARTIN
PALMER PRODUCTIONS
“T MOBILE”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: BRADLEY STONESIFER
OPERATOR: BRYCE PLATZ
ASSISTANTS: QUINTON RODRIGUEZ, SALVADOR VEGA, JACOB LAUREANTI, RAMONE DESHAWN DAVIS, MICHAEL RUSH
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: SHAWN AGUILAR
SELFPRODUCTIONS
“CALIFORNIA PRIVACY PROTECTION
AGENCY”
OPERATOR: TOBIN OLDACH
ASSISTANT: NOAH GLAZER
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: DAGMARA KRECIOCH
SMUGGLER
“GM-LA”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: PATRICK GOLAN
OPERATOR: JOHN SKOTCHDOPOLE
ASSISTANTS: ERICK AGUILAR, ERIC UGLAND, BRYAM AGUILAR, DUMAINE BABCOCK
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: DANIEL HERNANDEZ
SPARE PARTS, INC.
“FOX SPORTS ADIDAS”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JEREMY EMERMAN
ASSISTANTS: J. LOUI LEROY, JOHN WILLIAMS
SWEET RICKEY
“FIDELITY TAX SMART”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: JULIA LIU
ASSISTANTS: JILL TUFTS, MATTIE HAMER
“NAVY FEDERAL CREDIT UNION”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: NATHAN SWINGLE
ASSISTANTS: JILL TUFTS, ALEX STEVENS
THE DEVIL YOU KNOW “SPECTRUM”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: ANTHONY ARENDT
ASSISTANTS: CHRIS TOLL, SAL ALVAREZ, HENRY NGUYEN
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: CALVIN REIBMAN
TOOL
“MENTOS”
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY: MARKUS MENTZER
ASSISTANTS: CHAD RIVETTI, NATHAN MIELKE
DIGITAL IMAGING TECH: RAFFI VESCO
SUNDANCE 2025
The energy at this film festival is always one of excitement, with so many filmmakers getting to share their work. Although there are 14,000 films submitted, only 100 make it into the festival. It must be exciting to be chosen and even more exciting to win. This was my third time at Sundance, and it’s nice to meet new people and see old friends. The image pictured here, where Jake Magee, camera operator on Atropia (which won the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury prize), is trading stories with 1st AC Larry Nielson and Mike Carter from Panavision, feels like such a Sundance moment. It’s a place where people in the industry come together to celebrate each other’s work.
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