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Masters of the Air: Directors and DP Talk Shoot, VFX and Grade

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By Iain Blair

World War II drama Masters of the Air is a nine-episode Apple TV+ limited series that follows the men of the 100th Bomb Group as they conduct perilous bombing raids over Nazi Germany and grapple with the frigid conditions, the lack of oxygen and the sheer terror of combat at 25,000 feet in the air. Starring Austin Butler and Barry Keoghan, it’s the latest project from Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman, the producing team behind Band of Brothers and The Pacific.

Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck

Ranging in locations from the fields and villages of southeast England to the harsh deprivations of a German POW camp, Masters of the Air is enormous in both scale and scope. It took many years and an army of creatives to bring it to life — such as directors including Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck and DPs including Jac Fitzgerald.

Here, Boden and Fleck (Captain Marvel) talk about the challenges of shooting, editing and posting the ambitious show. In a sidebar, Fitzgerald (True Detective) talks about integrating the extensive VFX and the DI.

After doing Captain Marvel, I guess you guys could handle anything, but this was still a massive project. What were the main challenges?
Anna Boden: We did episodes 5 and 6. I’d say for us, Episode 5 was a big challenge in terms of wrapping our heads around it all. Some of the prep challenges were very big because it’s really a long air battle sequence that takes up almost the entire episode, and we had limited prep and not a ton of time to do previz and work everything out ahead of time. Also, simultaneously, we were prepping Episode 6, which was going to take us on location and to a whole bunch of new spaces that the show had never been to before. Finding those new locations and doing both of those things at once required so much planning, so it was challenging.

How did you handle the big air battle sequence and working with the volume stage?
Boden: You don’t want to show up on the day and wing it. As filmmakers, sometimes it’s really fun to get on-set and block the sequence based on what the actors want to do. But you can’t do that when you’re shooting on a volume stage, where you’re projecting a lot of imagery on the wall around you. You have to plan out so much of what’s going to be there. That was new for us. Even though we’d worked on Captain Marvel and used greenscreen, we’d never used those big-volume LED stages before. It was a really cool learning experience. We learned a lot on the fly and ultimately had fun crafting a pretty exciting sequence.

I assume director Cary Joji Fukunaga and his DP, Adam Arkapaw, set the template in the first four episodes for the look of the whole show, and then you had to carry that across your episodes.
Boden: Yeah. They’d obviously started shooting before us, and so we were studying their dailies and getting a sense of their camera movements and the color palettes and the vibe for the show. It was really helpful. And our DP, Jac Fitzgerald, knows Adam pretty well, so I think that they had a close working relationship. Also, we were able to visit the set while Cary was shooting to get a sense of the vibe. Once we incorporated that, then we were on our own to do our thing. It’s not like we suddenly changed the entire look of the show, but we had the freedom to put our personalities into it.

And one of the great things about the point where we took over is that Episode 5 is its own little capsule episode. We tried to shoot some of the stuff on the base in a similar tone to how they were shooting it. But then, once we got to that monster mission, it became its own thing, and we shot it in our own way. Then, with Episode 6, we were in completely different spaces. It’s a real break from the previous episodes because it’s the midpoint of the season, we’re away from the base, and there’s a big shift in terms of where the story is going. That gave us a little bit of freedom to very consciously shift how we were going to approach the visual language with Jac. It was an organic way to make that change without it feeling like a weird break in the season.

Give us some sense of how integrating all the post and visual effects worked.
Ryan Fleck: We were using the volume stage, so we did have images, and for the aerial battles, we had stuff for the actors to respond to, but they were not dialed in completely. A lot of that happened after the shooting. In fact, most of it did. (Jac can probably help elaborate on that because she’s still involved with the post process for the whole show.) It wasn’t like Mandalorian levels of dialed-in visual effects, where they were almost finished, and the actors could see. In this show, it was more like the actors were responding to previz, but I think that was hugely helpful.

On Captain Marvel, so often actors are just responding to tennis balls and an AD running around the set for eyelines. In this case, it was nice for the actors to see an actual airplane on fire outside their window for their performances to feel fresh.

Did you do a lot of previz?
Fleck: Yeah, we did a lot for those battle sequences in the air, and we worked closely with visual effects supervisor Stephen Rosenbaum, who was integral in pulling all that stuff together.

What did Jac bring to the mix? You hadn’t worked together before, right?
Fleck: No, and we like her energy. She has experience on big movies and small movies, which we appreciate, and so do we. We like those sensibilities. But I think she just has a nice, calm energy. She likes to have fun when she’s working, and so do we, but she’s also very focused on executing the plan. She’s an organized and creative brain that we really appreciated.

Boden: I think that we had a lot of the same reference points when we first started talking, like The Cold Blue, an amazing documentary with a lot of footage that was taken up in the planes during World War II. Filmmakers actually were shooting up there with the young men who were on missions in these bomber planes. That was a really important reference point for us in terms of determining where the cameras can be mounted inside one of these planes. We tried as much as possible to keep those very real camera positions on the missions so that it felt as reality-based and as visceral as possible and not like a Marvel movie. We used some of the color palette from that documentary as well.

It was also Jac’s working style to go to the set and think about how to block things in the shot list… not that we need to stick to that. Once we get in there and work it through with the actors, we all become very flexible, and she’s very flexible as well. Our work styles are very similar, and we got on really well. We like our sets to be very calm and happy instead of chaotic, and she has a very calm personality on-set. We immediately hired her to shoot our next feature after this show, so we’re big fans.

Was it a really tough shoot?
Boden: Yeah. We started shooting in July and finished in October. That’s pretty long for two episodes, but COVID slowed it all down.

Fleck: I’ve never shot in London or the UK before, but I loved it. I loved the crews; I loved the locations. We got to spend time in Oxford, and I fell in love with the place. I really loved exploring the locations. But yes, there were challenges. I think the most tedious stuff was the aerial sequences because we had mounted cameras, and it was just slow. We like to get momentum and move as quickly as we can when shooting.

Even though this is TV, you guys were involved in post to some degree, yes? 
Ryan Fleck: Yes, we did our director’s cuts, and then Gary kept us involved as the cuts progressed. We were able to get back into the edit room even after we delivered our cuts, and we continued to give our feedback to guide the cuts. Typically, TV directors give over their cuts, and then it’s “Adios.” But because we worked so long on it and we had a good relationship with Gary and the actors, we wanted to see this through to the end. So we stayed involved for much longer than I think is typical for episodic directing.

Typically, on our films, we’re involved in all the other post departments, visual effects and sound, every step of the way. But on this series, we were less involved, although we gave notes. Then Jac did all the grading and the rest of the show. She kind of took over and was very involved. She’ll have a lot of insights into the whole DI process. (See Sidebar)

Anna, I assume you love post, and especially editing, as you edited your first four features.
Boden: I love post because it feels like you’ve made all your compromises, and now all you can do is make it better. Now your only job is to make it the best version of itself. It’s like this puzzle, and you have all the time in the world to do the writing again. I absolutely love editing and the process of putting your writing/editing brain back on. You’re forgetting what happened as a director on-set and rethinking how to shape things.

Give us some idea of how the editing worked. Did you also cut your episodes?
Boden: No, we hired an editor named Spencer Averick, who worked on our director’s cut with us. Every director was able to work on their director’s cut with a specific editor, and then there was Mark Czyzewski, the producer’s editor, who worked on the whole series after that. We worked with him after our director’s cut period. We went back into the room, and he was really awesome. We edited in New York for a couple of weeks on the director’s cut, and then we were editing in LA after that in the Playtone offices in Santa Monica.

What were the big editing challenges for both episodes? Just walk us through it a bit.
Boden: I’d say that one of the biggest challenges, at least in terms of the director’s cut, was finding the rhythm of that Episode 5 mission. When you have a long action sequence like that, the challenge is finding the rhythm so that it has the right pace without feeling like it’s barraging you the whole time. It needs places to breathe and places for emotional and character moments, but it still has to keep moving.

Another challenge is making sure viewers know where they are in every plane and every battle throughout the series. That ends up being a big challenge in the edit. You don’t realize it as much when you’re reading a script, but you realize it a lot when you’re in the edit room.

Then, for Episode 6, it was about connecting the stories because in that episode, we have three main characters — Crosby, Rosenthal and Egan — and they’re in three different places on three very separate journeys, in a way. Egan is in a very dark place, and Rosenthal is in a dark place as well, but he finds himself in this kind of palatial place, trying to have a rest. And then Crosby’s having a much lighter kind of experience with a potential love interest. The intercutting between those stories was challenging, just making sure that the tones were connecting and not colliding with each other, or if they were colliding, colliding in a way that was interesting and intentional.

How hands on were Spielberg and Hanks, or did they let you do your own thing?
Fleck: We mostly interacted with Gary Goetzman, who is Tom Hanks’ partner at Playtone. I think those guys [Spielberg and Hanks] were involved with early days of prep and probably late days of post. But in terms of the day-to-day operations, Gary was really the one that we interacted with the most.

Boden: One of the most wonderful things about working with Gary as a producer — and he really is the producer who oversaw this series — is that he’s worked with so many directors in his career and really loves giving them the freedom and support to do what they do best. He gave us so much trust and support to really make the episodes what we wanted them to be.

Looking back now, how would you sum up the whole experience?
Fleck: All of it was challenging, but I think the biggest challenge for us was shooting during COVID. We kept losing crew members day by day, and it got down to the point where everybody had to test every day and wait for their results. We would have crew members waiting three to four hours before they could join us on-set, so that really cut the amount of shooting time we had every day from 11 hours down to six.

Boden: Some days we’d show up and suddenly find out an hour into the day that we weren’t going to get an actor that we were planning to shoot with, so we’d have to rearrange the day and try to shoot without that actor. That was a big challenge.

Fleck: The great thing for me was how much I learned. Back in history class, you get all the big plot points of World War II, but they don’t tell you about how big these B-17s were, how violent it was up in the air for these guys. You think of the D-Day invasion when you think of the great milestones of World War II, but these aerial battles were unbelievably intense, and they were up there in these tin cans; they were so tight and so cold. I just couldn’t believe that these kids were sent into these situations. It was mind-boggling.

Boden: I also learned a lot through the process of reading the material and the research about the history of these specific people in the stories. But I’d say that one of the things that really sticks with me from the experience was working with this group of actors. That felt very special.

DP Jac Fitzgerald on Shooting Masters of the Air

Jac, integrating all the VFX with visual effects supervisor Stephen Rosenbaum must have been crucial.
Yes. When I started the show, I imagined that the majority of the VFX work would be done on the volume stage. But then I realized that he had a whole World War II airfield to create on location. Obviously, we had the tower structure for the airfield, and we had two planes, one of which was being towed. And it was all so cobbled together from the outside.

Jac Fitzgerald

The planes looked like they were complete, but they weren’t moving by themselves. They didn’t have engines in them or anything. What was interesting to me was the extent of the visual effects that Stephen had to do on the exteriors. We only had two plane bodies, but at any one time when you see the airstrip, there are 12 planes there or more. So there was a huge amount of work for him to do in that exterior world, which was actually as important as the VFX in the volume.

What about the DI? Where did you do all the grading?
It was predominantly in LA at Picture Shop with colorist Steven Bodner, who did the whole show. And because of the enormous amount of VFX, it was obvious early on that things were going to need to be done out of order in the DI.

At first, they thought that my two episodes [5 and 6] would be the first ones to have the DI, as Adam Arkapaw was unavailable to do his episodes [1 through 4] because he was working on another film. At the time they thought they would go in and do my episodes and start prepping and setting the look for episodes 1 through 4 as well. Then it became clear that the DI schedule would have to adjust because of the enormity of the VFX.

Stephen Rosenbaum spent a lot of time making the footage we’d shot and all the VFX worlds collide. I think he had an extraordinary number of people from vendors around the world involved in the project, so there was certainly a lot of cleaning up to do. We all did a lot of work on the look in the DI, trying to make it as seamless as possible. And then again, because episodes 1 through 4 needed so much VFX work, we did my episodes and then we did 7, 8 and 9, and then we went back to 1 through 4. It was certainly a lot of jumping around. I wish that we could have mapped it all from beginning to end, but it wasn’t to be.

Industry insider Iain Blair has been interviewing the biggest directors in Hollywood and around the world for years. He is a regular contributor to Variety and has written for such outlets as Reuters, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe.

Writer/Director Celine Song Talks Post on Oscar-Nominated Past Lives

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By Iain Blair

In her directorial film debut, Past Lives, South Korean-born playwright Celine Song has made a romantic and deceptively simple film that is intensely personal and autobiographical yet universal, with its themes of love, loss and what might have been. Past Lives is broken into three parts spanning countries and decades. First we see Nora as a young girl in South Korea, developing an early bond with her best friend, Hae Sung, before moving with her family to Toronto. Then we see Nora in her early 20s as she reconnects virtually with Hae Sung. Finally, more than a decade later, Hae Sung visits Nora, now a married playwright living in New York. It stars Greta Lee, Teo Yoo and John Magaro.

Celine Song directing Greta Lee

I spoke with Song about the post workflow and making the A24 film, which is Oscar-nominated for Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay. It also just won Best Director and Best Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards.

How did you prep to direct your first film? Did you talk to other directors?
I talked to some amazing directors, but what they all said is that because only I know the film that I’m making, the way it’s going to be prepped is a process that only I can really know. You need really strong producers and department heads, which I was so lucky to have. I was able to draw on their experience and advice for every step of the way.

You shot in Seoul and New York. Was it the same sort of experience or was it different going back to Seoul?
The filmmaking culture is very different in both places. In New York, there is a very strong union, and in Korea there isn’t one. Also, the way that you secure locations is different. In New York, if you want to shoot somewhere, the mayor’s office knows about it. Korea is still a little bit like guerrilla filmmaking. You show up to a location and try to get it right. You can’t really get permits for things in Korea.

The story takes place over three separate timeframes. Did you shoot chronologically?
No. We shot everything in New York City, and then we had a set built for the Skype section. Then we went to Korea, prepped it for another month and shot there for 10 days.

You and your, DP Shabier Kirchner, shot 35mm. What led you to that decision?
It was my very first movie, so I didn’t know how hard it was going to be. I don’t have experience shooting on digital or film. I don’t know anything. I think part of it was first-timer bravery. I don’t know enough to be afraid. That’s where the fearlessness came from. But it was also informed by the conversations I was having with my DP. We talked about the story and how the philosophy of shooting on film is connected to the philosophy of the movie, which is that the movie is about time made tangible and time made visible. It just made sense for it to be shot on film.

Celine Song on-set

You come from the theater, where there is obviously no post production. Was that a steep learning curve for you?
Yes, but you do have a preview period in theater, when you see it in front of an audience, and you keep editing in that way. But more importantly, I’m a writer. So part of post is that I don’t think of the movie as just what I see on screen and all the sound design and every piece of it. To me, it is a piece of text. So just as I would edit a piece of my own writing, I feel like I was looking at the editing process very much like editing text.

Then of course in film, it’s not just the writing on the page. It’s also sound, color, visuals, timing… So in that way, I really felt that editing was about composing a piece of music. I think of film as a piece of music, with its own rhythm and its own beat that it has to move through. So in that way, I think that that’s also a part of the work that I would do as a playwright in the theater, create a world that works like a piece of music from beginning to end.

With all that in mind, I honestly felt like I was the most equipped to do post. I had an entire world to learn; I had never done it before. But with post, I was in my domain. The other thing I really love about editing and VFX in film is that you can control a lot. Let’s say there’s a pole in the middle of the theater space. You have to accept that pole. But in film, you can just delete the pole with VFX. It’s amazing.

Did editor Keith Fraase, who is based in New York, come on-set at all in Korea, or did you send him dailies?
We sent dailies. He couldn’t come on-set because of COVID.

What were the biggest editing challenges on this?
I think the film’s not so far from the way I had written it, so the bigger editing choices were already scripted. The harder bits were things that are like shoe leather — the scenes that hold the movie together but are not the center of the emotion or the center of the story.

One example is when Nora is traveling to Montauk, where we know that she’s going to eventually meet Arthur (who becomes her husband). We were dealing with how much time is required and how to convey time so that when we meet Arthur, it seems like it is an organic meeting and not such a jarring one. I had scripted all this shoe-leather stuff that we had shot – every beat of her journey to Montauk. We had a subway beat; we had a bus beat. We had so many pieces of her traveling to Montauk because I was nervous about it, feeling it was not long enough. But then, of course, when we actually got into the edit, we realized we only needed a few pieces. You just realize that again, the rhythm of it dictates that you don’t need all of it.

Where did you do all the sound mix?
We did it at all at Goldcrest in New York.

Are you very involved in that?
You have no idea. I think that’s the only place where I needed more time. We went over budget… that’s a nicer way to say it. That’s the only part of the post process where I really was demanding so much. I was so obsessed with it. The sound designer’s nickname for me was Ms. Dog Ears. I know different directors have very different processes around sound, but for me, I was in that room with my sound designer Jacob Ribicoff for 14 hours a day, five days a week, and sometimes overtime, for weeks. I wouldn’t leave.

I would stay there because I just know that sound is one of those things that holds the film together. Also, with this movie, the sound design of the cities and how different they are and how it’s going to play with the compositions — I had such a specific idea of how I wanted those things to move. Because again, I do think of a film as a piece of music. So I was pretty crazy about it. But I don’t want people to notice the sound design. I want people to be able to feel like they’re actually just standing in Madison Square Park. I want them to be fully immersed.

Obviously, it’s not a big effects movie, but you have some. How did that go?
I think it’s a bit of a subjective thing. Actually, looking at it, I’m like, “Well, does that seem good to you?” I’m showing it to my production designer and my DP and I’m like, “This looks OK to me, but I wonder if it can be better. Would you look at it?” So I relied on many eyes.

I give credit to Keith, but also to my assistant editor, Shannon Fitzpatrick, who was a total genius at catching any problems with VFX and having such a detailed eye. I think she’s one of the only people who really noticed things that I didn’t notice in the VFX. I’m like, I think that looks fine, and then she would say point to this one thing in the corner that’s not working. There are people at A24 who’re also amazing at catching sound and visuals because that’s their job. They’ll point out what sounds strange or what looks strange. So you have so many people who are part of the process.

Who was the colorist, and how involved were you with the grading?
It was Tom Poole at Company 3, which is where we edited and did color and everything. I love the process because I showed up after Shabier and Tom had already gone through the whole film and graded it. They did amazing, beautiful work. Then I would come in and give notes about certain scenes and then we’d do them. Of course, while they were grading it, they’d send me stills, and I’d give notes on the stills before going into the suite. Also, Shabier and Tom have worked together a lot, so they already kind of had a rhythm for how they wanted to color the film.

What sort of film did you set out to make?
Since this was the first film I’d directed, I felt like the main goal was to discover the language of my movie. It was beyond just trying to tell the story the best way I could, from the script stage to the post. I think that was the goal throughout. But the truth is that I really wanted the language of the film to be my own language, and I wanted to learn and have a revelation for myself of what my movie is.

I know it is partly autobiographical. How much of you is in Nora?
It really was inspired by a true event of sitting between my childhood sweetheart, who had come to visit me from Korea, and my husband who I live with in New York City. So this is very autobiographical, and the feeling that I had in that very personal moment is the inspiration for the whole film. But then once you turn it into a script, which is an objectification process, and then you turn it into a film with hundreds of people — and especially with the cast members who have to play the characters — by that time it has become very much an object. Then with post, it’s about the chiseling. It’s about putting together an object that is to be shared with the world.

A film is so different from writing a play. Was it a big adjustment for you?
I know theater because I was in it for a decade, probably more, so I knew the very fundamental difference between the way a play is made versus how a film is made. For example, I was taught that in theater, time and space is figurative, while time and space in film is literal. So that means there are different kinds of strengths and weaknesses in both mediums when it comes to telling a story that spans decades and continents. And, in this case, because my joke is always that the villains of the story are 24 years and the Pacific Ocean, it actually needs the time and space to be seen literally… because there needs to be a reason why these two lovers are not together. So the children have to be literally there, and Korea and New York City have to feel tangible and literal.

I assume you can’t wait to direct again?
Oh, I can’t wait. I want to wake up and just go to set tomorrow. That’s how I feel. I’m trying to shoot another movie as soon as I can.

Industry insider Iain Blair has been interviewing the biggest directors in Hollywood and around the world for years. He is a regular contributor to Variety and has written for such outlets as Reuters, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe.

Matthias Hoene

Behind the Title: Director Matthias Hoene

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Matthias Hoene is a director at WTP Pictures, a creative production studio that produces commercials, feature films, documentaries, TV series and music videos. The company is based in Detroit and LA but shoots worldwide with filmmakers and creators working in Spain, New York, Mexico and more. The Berlin-bred Hoene directs spots and films.

Let’s find out more…

How would you describe directing?
To me, making a film is like cooking a meal. You need to think about the flavor, visual appeal and texture, and then find the right ingredients to make the “dish” come to life. Do you want it to be sweet? Spicy? Umami? Hearty? Light? Nourishing? Vegan? Low-carb? You gather your spices and your carbs and veggies. Then you prepare it and serve it up with an exciting presentation, steaming hot: an olfactory journey for the senses, an adventure for the taste buds, a titillating theme with surprises and an emotional finish… and, most importantly, remember to leave some space for dessert.

Matthias Hoene

Adidas

What was it about directing that attracted you?
The act of storytelling is a primal and important part of human life. As an artist, I always wanted to move people, inspire them and make them feel alive. This can be done through a unique way of looking at the world, an insightful comment on a current matter or just a playful take on an everyday situation. I love creating worlds or surreal situations or just showing the audience something heartfelt, funny or emotional.

Everyone in my family used to tinker in a workshop making furniture, soldering custom hi-fi equipment together or making handmade fireworks (please don’t try this at home). That, combined with my interest in comic books, drawing, painting and photography, led me to filmmaking.

What I love about directing is that it sits at the intersection of technology and art. To be successful, you have to be intuitive and creative, working from gut instinct while also being tech-savvy, super-organized and methodical. At times, you need to know how to improvise and stick it all together with spit and chewing gum, all in the service of creating something wonderful.

Chanel

What continues to keep you interested?
Filmmaking is an art that keeps us humble. There is always more to learn, try out, experiment and express. I love working and am excited about how storytelling keeps evolving across new platforms and media. The bottom line is that people will never run out of the need to hear stories to help them make sense of the world (or escape it for a moment), and I’m excited to be part of that journey… and I would love to win an Academy Award one day (laughs).

How do you pick the people you work with on a project?
Directing is teamwork, and I love the families we create to bring each project to fruition. Picking your team is like casting actors. You want to make sure everyone’s unique talent brings out the right flavors in the project. I have a regular go-to crew, but I also pick and choose specific talent when appropriate for specific jobs.

The metaphor is that everyone should have a sandbox to play in and have fun, but within the parameters the story requires. The goal is to combine our varied talents and make something that is bigger than the sum of its parts.

Adidas

How do you work with your DP? How do you describe the look you are after?
I am very specific about the visual style of each film and spend a lot of time taking photos and filming the locations in prep for the shoot. I share those photos along with visual references and movies with my DP so we can develop the look together.

I always have a camera with me, as a visual sketchbook, to train my eye, discover the world and hone my craft. Plus, I love taking pictures. Because a picture says more than a thousand words, how you stage, frame and light each shot is an intrinsic part of the storytelling and can enhance every commercial or film.

Do you get involved with post at all?
My work can be post-heavy, so I like to be part of the process, especially if it involves character animation. I love bringing extra nuance and a bit of joyful spirit to CGI characters. So when it comes to fine-tuning the details of a performance, you might catch me acting out the performance of an animated ogre or a tap-dancing penguin or whatever else is required.

Chanel

Music and sound design are also crucial to my storytelling. I usually like to work closely with my composer to evolve the music. We keep going until we find the perfect sound and melody, trying to create something cool, unique and memorable. Of course, I also understand that in commercials, sometimes it’s good to step back and let everyone else work on the final polish, so I’ll adapt to each situation as appropriate.

How did the pandemic affect your process and your work?
I remote-directed a few commercials during the pandemic, and I shot the first season of my TV show, Theodosia, during lockdown. I have to say that I don’t miss Zoom-directing or working with masks and having to stick to our social bubbles. But going through this has made a few aspects of the craft easier to organize, and using video conferencing certainly helps with the carbon footprint.

That said, I love the hustle and bustle of a film set, and as a director, I believe that my energy helps shape great performances and get the best out of the crew, so I’m glad we’re back to IRL.

Can you name some recent projects?
I recently completed my third feature film, Little Bone Lodge, which is a contained thriller and has some cracking performances from the entire cast, including Joely Richardson (Nip/Tuck). I recently directed a spot for Lenovo Legion that shows a great crossover between live action and animation, and a film for Adidas about cliff diver Anna Bader that is beautiful and has a worthwhile message. There was also a Chanel spot.

What project are you most proud of?
My first commercial for Club 18-30 won a Golden Lion at Cannes. I was fresh out of college and totally blown away by its success, but the film holds up and still makes me giggle. I directed a couple of 3- to 5-minute shorts for cell phone network Giffgaff that are a lot of fun. I love the magical world of my McCain commercials and I love the escapist world-building of my Lenovo Legion spot.

Was there a particular film or show that inspired you to get into filmmaking?
I have a weird and eclectic bunch of influences, from Terminator 2 and Aliens, Fight Club, The Insider, Best in Show and Amélie. Nevertheless, you’ll find traces of those disparate influences in my work, which ranges from dark and action-packed to whimsical and sweet.

What’s your favorite part of the job?
My favorite part of the job is that there are so many different parts… throughout pitching, development, financing, prep, shoot, post production and release, you constantly have to shift gears and get to do so many different things that it never gets boring. For me, it’s priceless when you see an actor bring a special moment to life; your heart beats a little faster and you remember why you got into this business in the first place.

What’s your least favorite?
My least favorite part of the job is the empty-nester feeling when the project is over and I have to let it go. That said, that’s when promotion starts, and you share it with the rest of the world, so it’s not so bad.

If you didn’t have this job, what would you be doing?
I would work for NASA and build a spaceship to take us beyond our solar system into deep space, marking the beginning of mankind’s journey to explore the rest of the universe.

Matthias Hoene

Matthias Hoene

How early did you know this would be your path?
I grew up in Berlin in a family of scientists. I knew no one in the industry, nor did I have any close role models who had made it in the film industry. But I loved movies, especially science-fiction and fantasy. So I started drawing and painting everything that popped into my head before picking up my first film camera at St. Martin’s College in London.

Name three pieces of technology you can’t do without.
The truth is boring: My laptop. My phone. My camera. But, looking beyond that, I love vintage lenses, the mechanical beauty of a Bolex 16mm camera, and my Nikon FM2.

What do you do to de-stress from it all?
Before I made my first feature film, I ran the New York City Marathon. Committing to one thing for that long — the training and then the run itself — was such an empowering experience that it still gives me strength now, and I’ve been running ever since. Nothing is better for de-stressing than a double endorphin hit, feet to the ground, fresh air and nature.

While filming in China, I picked up meditation and now use a pick ‘n’ mix of techniques ranging from mindfulness via transcendental meditation to using the Waking Up app.

And finally, I love traveling, reading, cooking and hanging out with friends… everything that grounds me in reality.

Director Francis Lawrence on New Hunger Games‘ Edit and Color

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By Iain Blair

Director/producer Francis Lawrence saw his career go turbo-charged when he directed the last three of the four Hunger Game films and helped steer the sci-fi dystopian series into the record books as one of the most successful franchises of all time.

Director Francis Lawrence and DP Jo Willems. Photo Credit: Murray Close

Now Lawrence has returned to the franchise with The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, a prequel and origin story set 64 years before Katniss Everdeen volunteered as tribute and decades before Coriolanus Snow became the tyrannical president of Panem. The film follows a young Coriolanus (Tom Blyth), the last hope for his failing lineage, who is reluctantly assigned to mentor Lucy Gray Baird (Rachel Zegler), a tribute from the impoverished District 12. It also stars Peter Dinklage and Viola Davis.

I spoke with Lawrence (I Am Legend, Red Sparrow, Water for Elephants), about making the Lionsgate film and collaborating with his go-to team of DP Jo Willems (ASC, SBC), editor Mark Yoshikawa, sound designer Jeremy Peirson, visual effects supervisor Adrian De Wet and colorist Dave Hussey. The film will premiere later this month.

The film is visually beautiful. What did you shoot it on?
We shot it on the large-format ARRI Alexas with the big 65mm sensor that I really, really like. It’s like shooting large-format film; you get the shallower depth of field. I tend to use wide lenses, and the wider lenses with that sensor also do less warping than normal, so you can get the camera really close to people, but still have a real sense of geography and space.

How tough was the shoot, considering it was all on location in Poland and Germany?
It was actually quite fun because we scheduled really well. It was not the most technical of shoots; I’ve done things that are far trickier technically than this movie. But primarily it was great to be in these locations, to have a plan in place, to know what we’re doing, to have the right amount of time to do what we wanted to do. We actually finished a day early, which I think is a rarity in our business.

Where did you do the post?
We edited on Sunset Boulevard and used the same building and offices where I did my last movie. I also used the same team that I’ve been working with a lot recently, which is really nice. Then the visual effects were actually sort of spread out. We discovered a lot of people in a lot of different countries. There are some Danish people and Swedish people and some amazing companies that do great work. And so we farmed out a lot of the visual effects to many companies (including Ghost VFX, Important Looking Pirates, Incessantrain VFX, Outpost VFX, Rise VFX, Crafty Apes and ReDefine VFX).

Your editor was Mark Yoshikawa, who has cut so many of your projects. Did he come on-set?
No. He worked entirely remotely. That started with my previous movie, Slumberland, because we were still in a COVID lockdown, and so there was no reason for him to be in Toronto when I was doing that movie. We got used to working remotely. I haven’t always been a fan of doing work remotely, but the pandemic forced me into doing it. So we continued with that when we were in Berlin and Poland. He worked from home, and I would work in Europe. Then he would send me scenes, and I might spend a day or two looking at scenes and then send him notes.

What were the main editing challenges on this?
I think the biggest challenge honestly was length. It was a very long book. We had a very long script and just getting it down [was hard]. I think the first assembly was maybe 4 hours and 10 minutes or something. That’s with everything in it. So it was really just getting it down to the length that it is now.

While the film features VFX, you tried to do much of it practically, yes?
The movies that I did before had a lot of visual effects and a lot of virtual environments where we were shooting a lot on greenscreen stages, and I knew I didn’t want to do that again. So I set out with production designer Uli Hanisch to figure out how to make this world as believable and as authentic as possible. Therefore, we wanted to shoot primarily on location.

We built just one set, which is the apartment, and everything else was shot on location. We knew that to make it feel the way we wanted it to feel, we were going to have to do some augmentation physically to those sets. But we were also going to have to do some digital augmentation. So a lot of my conversations with VFX supervisor Adrian De Wet were about that look and feel and adding cityscape in the background, extending buildings, creating damage where there was no damage and sometimes adding artistic, aesthetic, extra design to things.

From talking to you in the past about your other films, I know you aren’t big on storyboards, but I assume on this one you had to storyboard and previz a lot of the action scenes?
Yes, in general I don’t storyboard the whole movie. Typically, for anything that is very technical or is going to need a lot of visual effects, I will board and do previz and sometimes postviz. But in general, I don’t do storyboards front to back for an entire movie. I did a few technical sequences of previz, like the scene with the snakes in the arena. Another one is a scene with a drone attack in the arena, and there’s a big bombing that happens before the games starts, so we wanted to make sure we knew how we were going to tackle all those pieces

Was your visual effects supervisor, Adrian De Wet, on-set?
He was on-set for some of it, yes. We had a local guy that was with us there the whole time, and then sometimes Adrian’s visual effects producer, Eve Fizzinoglia, was also there. So during really big complicated moments, Adrian was around. He was there for the snakes and the bombing, and for some of the toughest stuff.

What were the toughest effects to pull off in the end?
I think the snakes were the toughest effects — not necessarily tough to shoot, but tough to make sure they looked like snakes. The environment is so dusty and dirty, so there’s all that dust interaction, the interaction with pebbles and rocks, the movement, the animation, the continuity and making sure they weren’t too anthropomorphized, that they feel like real snakes. All that kind of stuff was tricky to get just right.

Where did you do the color grade?
Company 3 with colorist Dave Hussey. We go way back to the music video days and have been working together since the late ‘90s. Then he did my first movie, Constantine. I’m pretty involved. I’ve always been involved with the color and the look of the things that I’m working on, even in my music video days.

Shooting digital has changed my process because I have so many conversations with DP Jo Willems ahead of time. Then, when we’re shooting, we have the DIT, and he’s showing me samples of color. We have discussions right there while he’s making the samples that inform what the dailies are so we have a direction already.

Because all those conversations with Jo funnel into him doing his first pass of the movie, sometimes that first pass, in terms of final color, ends up being a teaser or a trailer. You take that footage, it gets cut into the teaser trailer, and Jo goes in and works with Dave on that. I get to see the direction. I can maybe pull back or say, “This is a little too dark” or “Make the tunnels cooler.” When we shot it, it looked like the tunnels were lit more warmly. But now, in the final, it feels cooler and fluorescent. We had all those discussions. So it’s really Jo and Dave, and then I come in and supervise and make little adjustments and tweaks, like if I want Tom’s eyes to be bluer or the rose to be more neutral-white or whatever it is.

Fair to say the overall look is almost baked in when you’re shooting?
Yeah, it’s pretty close. What Jo did, which I really like now, was give it a grittier feel. This is a period piece to the other movies, and we wanted it to be a bit grittier. We’ve never really added grain. Instead we went for a slightly darker, slightly more contrasty look. Then Jo went in and added some grain, but he was restrained; he didn’t go too heavy. But we wanted the movie to have some bite, and Jo really added that. That was not actually part of our initial conversation.

Can you talk about the sound?
I started a process on my second movie, I Am Legend, with sound designer Jeremy Peirson. He actually worked on my first movie too, but he really became my primary sound design person starting with I Am Legend. We bring him in almost at the very beginning of editorial. Once I’m done shooting the movie, I give the editor two weeks to finish up the assembly and get everything together.

Around the time I start coming in, Jeremy sets up his room. As we make it through reels, 20-minute chunks of the movie, we start to feed it to him. So he gets a lot of time to develop the sound and do his first passes and develop ideas. It helps lead toward test screenings — showing people the movie — but it gets us away from this idea that we’re finishing the movie and then starting sound. The sound designer has four weeks or so to come up with what the sound of the movie is now, and then he has months and months to keep going over everything.

Did it turn out the way you envisioned it?
Yeah, it did. In fact, it looks better than I thought it would from the very beginning.

Director Francis Lawrence. Photo Credit Murray Close

Prequels and sequels to huge hits are notoriously tricky to pull off. How did you approach this, and what sort of film did you set out to make?
They are tricky. The thing that was exciting to me was that I didn’t think there were going to be any other books. Creator Suzanne Collins was not planning on writing them. She surprised both producer Nina Jacobson and me with a new book in 2019. When I read it, I loved the story. I loved that it was its own object. It helps inform the other movies. It sort of helps sell the origins of lots of things from the other movies and stories we love.

But the truth is, even for people who haven’t seen the other movies or read the other books, it’s just a big stand-alone piece. I fell in love with that, and I fell in love with telling the origin story of a villain because I love those kinds of stories. There are also challenges with dramatizing that in an appropriate way and getting an audience behind somebody they know is going to end up bad in the end. All of that was what really excited me.

What’s next for you? Is there going to be another prequel?
I don’t know. It’s up to Suzanne. If she writes another book, I would love to be a part of it.

Industry insider Iain Blair has been interviewing the biggest directors in Hollywood and around the world for years. He is a regular contributor to Variety and has written for such outlets as Reuters, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe.

Emmy-Nominated Beef Director Jake Schreier

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By Iain Blair

The Netflix limited series Beef tells the story of two Los Angeles residents from opposite ends of the economic and social spectrum. Danny (Steven Yeun) is a struggling contractor living in gritty Koreatown and Amy (Ali Wong) is a successful lifestyle guru living in the wealthy suburb of Calabasas. Their lives become inextricably linked after a road-rage incident in a parking lot that quickly escalates into a full-blown feud.

The series earned 13 Emmy nominations across multiple categories, including one for executive producer/director Jake Schreier, whose film credits include Robot & Frank and Paper Towns.

Jake Schreier

L-R: Jake Schreier, Ali Wong and Steven Yeun

I talked with Schreier about directing the show, how he collaborated closely with “Sonny” Lee Sung Jin, the show’s creator, and DP Larkin Seiple on the look, and his involvement in posting the series.

How did you prep for this show since you directed most of the episodes — 6 out of 10?
It was quite a scramble. Sonny and I’ve been friends for six years, so before I was even involved, we were talking about it and how to accomplish it and how to approach production. At some point we figured out we would have to cross-board the whole thing; it’s not like it’s episode by episode. We just treated it like one long movie and shot across all nine episodes and the final one that Sonny directed.

So there were just a lot of conversations with him and production designer Grace Yun, about getting a sense of perspective and how to work that into the show in the limited time frame you have in television, how to give it a sense of authorship, and how to really ground audiences in Danny and Amy’s perspective.

Once you got going on this, did you work closely with Sonny on a daily basis?
Oh, 100 percent. He was there for the whole shoot except when he got COVID, and then he was there on his iPad, so it was a complete collaboration. It’s Sonny’s show and his vision, and I looked at it more as what can I offer and bring to it? Like different approaches of how you’d want to work your way into a scene, such as the church scene.

There’s a way that the writing seems to dictate an approach, but in conversations with Sonny it became clear that we should take a very different approach. And when your collaborator is also a friend, you can have those conversations and have the time to revise your approach.

Talk about the visual approach to the show, and working with Sonny and Larkin to find the right look.
We went for something cinematic, and we wanted there to be an element of handheld, of being observed. I think what’s tricky about it is there’s a real level of specificity that we had to achieve in terms of the places in LA and the main locations – Calabasas and Koreatown. But there’s also this heightened place that the show goes to, so how do we come up with an approach that would accommodate the reality of where it starts and some of the heightened places that it goes to? That is a very delicate balance to play, and we wanted you to really connect with it on that heightened level.

What about working with Larkin?
He’s also been a friend for a long time, and he’s a brilliant DP. He has such an interesting approach to lighting and such a smart approach to story as well. Just telling this story in general was such an incredible collaboration across the board, and you always want something to become greater than the sum of its parts, and we all felt that was the case here.

Tell us about the shoot. Obviously, most of it was location work, right?
Right. Grace Yun built an incredible set for Amy’s house and one for Danny’s apartment, but the rest was all locations, and we moved around a lot. For instance, we had motels in three different episodes but just for little pieces, and we could only shoot there for one day. So that was one long seven-stage day getting it all. We shot for six days an episode, so it was quite a sprint.

Maybe the craziest day was where we had to shoot the prison scenes in the beginning of Episode 9, and then the prison conversations at the end of Episode 6. Then we used the parking lot for scenes of Danny’s parents at the end of Episode 7, and we moved to a different parking structure to shoot scenes from Episode 8 and the end of Episode 6. So all that was just one day.

Jake Schreier

TV schedules are like that, and it’s why all the prep and conversations are so important, because once you’re in the middle of it it’s all moving extremely fast. And I’d always shot-list it and storyboard the script entirely in sequence, even if we were running around and shooting it out of order, to make sure those shots all intercut properly in the edit. All that planning had to be done ahead of time, as on the day it’s just a scramble.

Congratulations on your Emmy nomination for episode 9, The Great Fabricator. How did you handle the big car crash sequence?
Thank you. We got lucky with the location because it had all these private roads where we could stage the chase, and it had a hill and we could send the cars off it. It was exciting having all this action stuff to do, but then we just had six days to do it all. So how do you stage it and pull it off so it doesn’t feel compromised and is also effective? It also leaves moments for the emotional moments between Danny and his younger brother Paul. And I think the emotional moments were just as important as the action stuff.

Jake Schreier and Ali Wong

There is a fair amount of VFX work, especially with all the phone scenes. How involved were you in the post process?
Sonny was nice enough to let me stay through all the post. We had incredible editors, including Nat Fuller [Emmy nominated for his work on Beef], who cut Episode 9 and five others, and I really shoot for the editor. There’s a real specific idea in the way we want the order of the shots, and the way we want the story to be told, so it’s very important to be there for the edit.

Sonny and I had a nice trade-off where I’d turn over a cut and he’d work on it while I moved on to another episode. Then I’d come back to it and we would work on it some more, so it did what it needed to do for the story while also preserving some of the film language and grammar we’d done on the day. As for all the VFX, it’s great to have a showrunner like Sonny who is so meticulous about all that. We had various vendors [including Mas FX, Ghost VFX, Banditry and Reactor] and we tried to make it more about removing things than adding things.

Where did you do all the post?
We had offices in Burbank and then we basically went remote because of COVID and a lot of it was happening on PacPostLive, and we were trading cuts back and forth.

Jake Schreier

Isn’t it unusual for a director to be that involved in all the post?
Yes, as usually on episodic TV I’ll turn in my cut and the showrunner will take over, and this could have gone that way. But we ended up seeing the show in a very similar way, and when you come in without the attitude of trying to protect your cut or shield it, and instead it’s like, how can I help make it better, it’s a far better way of collaborating.

What about the DI? How involved were you?
I was there for some of the sessions which were done at Color Collective with colorists Alex Bickel and Alex Jimenez. But that was really them and Larkin who has such a great sense of lighting, color and texture. I’m so happy with the way it all turned out.

What’s next for you?
Whenever we can get a fair deal, I’ll get back to directing the upcoming Thunderbolts movie for Marvel, which got shut down by the strikes.

Industry insider Iain Blair has been interviewing the biggest directors in Hollywood and around the world for years. He is a regular contributor to Variety and has written for such outlets as Reuters, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe.

 

Shooting Indie Esme, My Love: Director and DP Talk Look

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By Randi Altman

Audio post pro and Silver Sound Studio owner Cory Choy recently directed and produced the indie film Esme, My Love, which he co-wrote with scriptwriter Laura Allen. Choy came up with a rough outline, plot points, characters and backstories, and Allen helped him mold it into what it is today… a psychological thriller/mystery that is now streaming on Prime Video, Google Play, Tubi and Vudu.

Director Cory Choy having fun on set with co-writer Laura Allen.

The film follows Hannah, who notices the symptoms of a terminal and painful illness in her aloof daughter, Esme. She decides to take her on a trip to their abandoned family farm in a desperate attempt to connect before they have to say goodbye.

To capture the film’s authentic feel, “Laura and I went up to the location in Hauge, New York — and specifically the DeLarm family farm — and walked around the property and talked to the town historian. We stayed in the area overnight and really took it all in. Then Laura wrote the first draft of the screenplay, and we revised together.

We reached out to Choy to talk about making the film. DP Fletcher Wolfe answered some questions as well. Her section appears after Choy’s.

What was the film shot on, and how did you work with your DP, Fletcher?
Fletcher brings so much to the table because of her attention to detail, her laserlike focus on prep and her many years as a gaffer/lighting technician. Fletcher is a true director of photography in that she knows lighting inside and out, and she knows how to effectively run the camera department… and even grip and electrical G&E, should she need to. We shot the film on a combination of ARRI Alexa Mini and Canon C200 RAW with Cooke Panchro Classic primes and Canon Cinema zooms.

What about the lighting setups? Was it mostly natural light?
There were very few lights in this movie. Outdoors was almost all natural light, with a good amount of reflectors and flags — again, a testament to Fletcher’s experience and artistry. Even the shots where there were lights, they were pretty minimal (night for night and interiors).

How long was the shoot?
This was an extremely low-budget film; we only had a $90,000 shooting budget, so we had to be as efficient as possible. We shot on location in Hague, with 13 days of principal photography, two planned pick-up days at Bravo Studios in NYC, and one unplanned pick-up day at a pool in Fletcher’s friend’s parents’ backyard.

How did you and Fletcher work with the colorist? How did you describe the look you wanted?
Tom Younghans was the colorist, and we were really fortunate to work with him. He not only colored the film using DaVinci Resolve, but he also has a lot of experience with conform. Without Tom’s expertise, dedication and time, we would never have been able to get such a nice conform and color. Even though this was, I believe, his first feature film, he really put in the time and effort to make it what we wanted it to be.

I had a pretty good idea of how I wanted the movie to feel — my biggest look/visual reference being The Tree of Life. I wanted it to have a filmic and dreaminess to it. So our plan of attack was to first have Tom go through and even things out to the best of his ability, then dial in the look of the grain and then go in scene by scene to tweak.

Any examples of notes you had for Tom?
I wanted outdoors to feel real and nostalgic, and often this meant making night scenes darker and daylight scenes brighter. There were times when the sky wasn’t cooperative, and Tom did a great job turning some pretty dull skies slightly more vibrant and blue.

I was with Tom for most of the color process.

Let’s talk editing. How often were you looking at cuts?
It was an extremely long editing process for several reasons, and I worked with several different editors before I was able to land on Emrys Eller and Ellie Gravitte, who ended up being the main editors on the film. Once I was with the right team, I would check in on individual scenes with them once or twice a week.

Let’s talk pace. It’s definitely spooky. How did the editors tackle that, and what guidance did you provide?
This movie is a slow burn until it isn’t, if that makes sense. Once it hits, it really takes off. Oftentimes, pacing was dictated by a combination of our shooting style and the emotional content of the scene. Many scenes in the first act feature very long, static takes. (Old Joy was one of my inspirations.) But when we started to get to the internal frenetic state of some of the characters and memory and time, we moved to more and more shots, and therefore more cuts per scene.

One of the most difficult stages to get to was a full assembly of the film. For whatever reason that eluded me and my editors for a long time. One of the crucial scenes was actually written in editing by one of my editors, Emrys, and I have to say that it was the linchpin that really brought it all together. It was the baptism scene. After figuring out that scene, the rest of the movie finally fell into place.

After we actually got to a full assembly and rough cut, we then mainly focused on trimming the fat. I had both Ellie and Emrys go through individually and be as ruthless as possible, removing every single scene they didn’t think we needed. And it was funny because each of them chose different scenes to remove. I looked at each of their choices and kept the cuts that I thought made the most sense. Ironically, we ended up cutting some of the best performances and two of my absolute favorite scenes. That kind of broke my heart. But in the end, the movie was better as a whole without them – and I got to keep them in my “deleted scenes” bonus on the DVD.

You wore a few hats on this film. Can you talk about that?
I think one of the things that was most difficult about this film is that I was not just wearing my director hat. I was also the main producer. If I could go back and do it again, that is the thing I would change. It was hard to move from the logistical to the story, but once I did, it was really rewarding.

What was the film edited on? And do you have any examples of notes?
We ultimately edited in Adobe Premiere, though an earlier version was on Avid Media Composer. Media Composer was fine, though I wish it had been a little more stable. (Switching between Mac and PC was a nightmare for some reason. All the media kept coming unlinked even though we were staying in Premiere, and we eventually had to abandon a faster and better workstation because switching became such a problem.)

Who did the audio post? Were you hands-on?
I was the sound designer and mixer and editor for the audio post. My friend and colleague, Tarcisio Longobardi, helped a little with the organization and sound editing and some backgrounds, but I did 95% of the post audio myself. As the director, I actually found it essential to do the post sound since sound and VO play such an important role in telling the story.

What about the score, which plays a big part?
I was also incredibly involved with the score, which evolved over a long period of time with me, Emrys and my composers, Charlotte Littlehales and Stephanie Griffin. Much of the score was melodically related to the credit song “Atlantis,” which was written by a childhood friend of mine, Jake Herndon, when he was in middle school. Charlotte and Stephanie and I had many, many phone calls and sessions in regard to score.

DP Fletcher Wolf

DP Fletcher Wolf

Fletcher, can you talk about why you chose the camera and lenses you did? Was it mostly natural light? I almost feel like the light is another character in the film. Were you using on-set LUTs?We shot on Alexa Mini with Cooke Panchro Classics. B-unit work was shot on a Canon C200 and a Canon cine zoom that we got through the Canon co-marketing program. In spite of the tight budget, we wanted it to look the best it could, so there was a lot of borrowing and kind help all around to get some tools we knew we could depend on. The day exteriors were mostly natural light augmented with bounce and negative fill. Day interiors were typically natural window light augmented with a LiteMat. Some of the night exteriors and the basement scene were keyed mostly with flashlights.

We were viewing most scenes on-set with one of my old go-to LUTs. But for the day-for-night scenes, we monitored with a LUT I built for this project. I did a camera test at Hand Held Films with soft, toppy light and a chip chart. Then, with that footage, I shifted it blue until it felt monochrome and pulled exposure down until middle-gray was about four stops under. That way I could shoot properly exposed footage so faces would be visible when necessary, but we could all see what it was going to look like as we shot it.

Any piece of gear that was absolutely crucial/especially helpful?
Our 4×4 floppy solids and sky-blue muslin bounce. Those were our main tools for day exteriors, which is the bulk of the film. Also, the T-Bag underwater housing from Air Sea Land, which worked beautifully when we shot the underwater pickup shots. (That was after a failed first attempt in the lake.)

Did you do any camera tests? What did you learn?
Besides the little test I shot to build the day-for-night LUT, we didn’t do any traditional camera tests for A camera. (This was a microbudget, after all.) I did a brief test to make sure the C200 footage could be matched reasonably well to the Alexa and to see if there were any quirks to matching the exposures. (Underexposing worked for our project.)

We did, however, do some interesting camera tests during casting, which I shot. Cory wanted to get a feel for how the two actors would play together on-screen as mother and daughter. We used a C300 in Prospect Park for camera tests and auditions. It actually wound up informing our shortlisting for the scenes they read.

How did you work with Cory to help him get the look he envisioned?
From the beginning Cory wanted the woods and the old family farmhouse to feel like characters. They had to be both magical and dreadful at different times, but heavy with importance either way. For scenes where we didn’t have much lighting control, I tried to work the schedule to use the natural light and weather to lean in to which of those moods we needed to feel in any given scene. Since Cory comes from sound mixing, he provided some recorded narration and soundscapes in prep that conveyed the mood he was going for. That was a cool tool to have, and I understood what he was going for. I feel like I was able to translate the sounds into images.

Before shot-listing, I like to do what I call an emotional or psychological pass of a script, where I take note of emotional beats, whose perspective each scene is from and what’s going on with the characters internally. Then I bring those thoughts and questions to the director, and we tease out a map of the characters’ arcs. That’s the main thing for me that guides shot choices — what is the camera seeing? During that process Cory and I realized that halfway through the film, the perspective shifts from Hannah as the protagonist to Esme taking the lead, so we built that transition into the shot choices.

Any scenes that stand out as the most challenging?
The underwater scene was certainly one of the hardest. We shot all the above-water parts on an island that we had to shuttle out to on a boat. When it came time to do the underwater shots, there was a leak in our underwater housing for the camera. Those of us in the water were freezing despite our wetsuits, and the water was too murky to see anything. We wound up doing a pickup day in my friend’s pool to get the underwater shots. (Thank you, Brodsky family!)

The other hardest scene was the night exterior fight scene. That was shot day for night, there was a fair amount of choreography to cover, and we had someone dig us the big hole/grave with a backhoe. The cast did a great job working through it. I had hoped for a cloudy day to help us sell the day-for-night look, but alas, I didn’t get lucky, and at that point, we were out of days to shift around in the schedule. I tried to bring up the actors’ faces by blasting our strongest battery-powered lights at them (a trick I learned when gaffing for cinematographer Adam Jandrup), but they couldn’t really get close enough due to the fight choreography. That scene was probably our biggest challenge in the color grade.

Any happy accidents happen on-set?
Our most memorable happy accident was on the final shot, when Esme walks off into the distance for about two minutes while the credits roll. We scheduled it for sunset, but on the day we were scheduled to film it, the sky was completely overcast and gray, much to my dismay. We decided we couldn’t afford to reschedule it. We did a couple takes in the road with our PAs holding traffic back just off-screen. (God bless them.) We decided we needed a third take, and about halfway through that one, the clouds in the west parted, and a fiery pink and orange sunset broke through. It was glorious. I’m so glad we didn’t decide to shoot it on a different day.

How did you express the look you wanted to the colorist? What were some notes you provided about the look after seeing dailies?
I put together a lookbook for Tom ahead of time. It was separated into day exterior, day interior, day for night, night exterior, tent interior and underwater. My main notes were that I wanted to find a look that was dark, moody and natural, toning down green foliage a bit and drawing our eye toward warm skin tones. My eye tends to buck any super-strong grade that looks heavily affected in post, so we started our session choosing some film emulation LUTs and going from there.

Did the film end up looking the way you expected it to?
For the most part, yes — as much as any film does when it moves from visions in my head to concrete images dozens of people collaborate to make. The main surprises for me were probably from our B-unit photographer. We brought in our old friend Nathan “Bob” Jones for that. He shot most of the “monster” footage and a lot of the atmospheric b-roll. He and I were checking in after wrap each day to go over what he’d gotten, but I couldn’t review all of his footage, so there were shots that made it into the cut that I hadn’t seen before.

There were wonderful surprises — to see that he’d found a caterpillar or filmed an entire unscripted scene in a wide shot at the lake. He did amazing work, largely with little or sometimes no other crew to support him. His shots really weave the story together with unusual views of the forest.

Randi Altman is the founder and editor-in-chief of postPerspective. She has been covering production and post production for more than 25 years. 

Director Christina Xing Talks Kinder Bueno Spots

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Rodeo Show director Christina Xing helmed a pair of spots for a new campaign for Kinder Bueno chocolate bar.

Conceived by Publicis New York, A Summer Journey Made to Savor (:15) begins with a shot of an SUV packed for a road trip. Someone sneaks a handful of Kinder Bueno and hops in the passenger seat, and they hit the road, moving to the music along the way. The spot ends near a mountain, where the cheerful friends capture selfies of their Kinder Bueno adventure.

The :06 Summer White Chocolate spot kicks off where the hero spot concludes, with a up-close shot of one of the friends, whose eyes widen with joy as she bites into a Kinder Bueno White Chocolate.

“These spots are all about the fun and warmth of those road trips with your besties — inside jokes, the epic playlist, the beautiful vistas and all those shared moments in between that are all the sweeter with Kinder Bueno,” remarks Xing.

Working closely with cinematographer and frequent collaborator Ben Mullen (who used an Alexa Mini LF with signature prime lenses), Xing looked to capture portraits of friendship, framing each moment with a balance of authenticity and whimsy, particularly the up-close moments where the actors bite into the candy bar and the energy shifts.

“Casting was essential to telling our story and bringing what I call the ‘Kinder Bueno moments’ to life,” explains Xing. “They were the most important shots and required natural and playful performances with a silent film-like expressiveness to sell the deliciousness without being too over the top. We enhanced these moments with precision through the rhythm of the cinematography and the edit.”

PXP’s Luke Sloma edited the spots on Adobe Premiere. PXO’s Jeff Altman provided the color grade.

For the car shoot, Xing used a process trailer, which provided several advantages. It enabled smoother shots and controlled lighting without the need to stop and set up different shots and angles during the one-day shoot. The process trailer also allowed the actors to bring the required loose and carefree energy to their performances without the added anxiety of driving.

The Rodeo Show crew shot in Shadow Oaks Ranch, the perfect location for capturing the static shots of the story’s escape into nature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Detroit’s Hudson Welcomes Back Director Anthony Garth

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Director Larry August, who founded the Detroit-based creative boutique Hudson with his late business partner Audrey Pask and Kristin Redman, has reunited with commercial director Anthony Garth.

Hudson’s relationship with Garth goes back to 2007, when Garth was a director at production company Avalon Films. In 2021, Avalon Films and Hudson Edit merged to form the current Hudson – a move that brought in Wiebke Engel as executive producer.

Garth joins a directorial roster that includes August as well as directors Brett Warkentien, Peter Klein, Jacob Reed, Rachel Harms, Jako and Cale Glendening.

Early in his career, Garth, who was born in Detroit but raised in California, worked on music videos for then-emerging Detroit musicians like The White Stripes and Eminem. He then started working in advertising, finding his niche in both the automotive and fashion worlds. His reel includes projects for Cole Haan, Harley-Davidson, Chevrolet, Ford, Lincoln, Dassault, GM, John Varvatos and Jeep.

“We’ve been hoping to bring on somebody like Anthony, but to actually have him here drives home the relevance of the production side of our studio,” August says. “Anthony is incredibly well-respected in the Midwest for his car spots but also around the globe for his incredible fashion and music video work. We see this as a huge step forward for our production arm that immediately puts us on every agency producer’s short list for that challenging assignment that needs expertise in production and post.”

An exciting part for Garth is returning to a company he helped build. “I was there helping get Hudson off the ground, working with Larry and Audrey in the beginning, and to see it grow into a respected company and force in the Midwest market is gratifying. They have built a polished, well-run machine, and I’m looking forward to adding to its well-earned reputation.”

In addition to production, Hudson offers creative editorial, sound design, VFX, motion design, finishing and color grading services.

 

 

 

Perry Mason

Director Marialy Rivas on Season 2 of HBO’s Perry Mason

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By Iain Blair

Perry Mason, HBO’s origin story of TV’s famous legal eagle from the ’50s and ‘60s, is back for Season 2 with a twisty new murder case for the investigator to solve. This time the scion of a powerful oil family is murdered, and Mason and team find themselves at the center of a case that will uncover far-reaching conspiracies.

Director Marialy Rivas

This season of this noir series has new showrunners, Michael Begler and Jack Amiel, creators of The Knick. They take over from the show’s creators, Rolin Jones and Ron Fitzgerald. Perry Mason’s creative team also expanded its horizons to bring in more fresh eyes, including Chilean director/writer Marialy Rivas, whose credits include Young & Wild, winner of the World Cinema Screenwriting Award at Sundance.

I recently spoke with Rivas about directing Perry Mason‘s Episode 5 and Episode 8, the challenges and her love of post production.

What were the challenges of directing your episodes, and how did you prepare?
I researched all the work they’d done in Season 1 because, of course, it was really important to get to know the show. I also studied a lot of films from the ‘30s and ‘40s, both noir and other genres, and I looked at photographs from the era. I watched the new episodes they’d already done so I could understand the approach and so I could keep the continuity with my episodes. And when I arrived on the production, I could also look at all the work done by production designer Keith Cunningham and costume designer Catherine Adair. They’d done a lot of research, so I had all those visuals to work from.

Perry MasonTell us about prep. What was involved?
It was different for each episode. It was about three weeks for each episode, maybe a bit less for Episode 8. For Episode 5, I wanted to go on the shoot of the previous episode so I could get to know the crew and see how it all worked, so I arrived early on the show.

The show has this great, moody, noir look. What cameras and lenses did you shoot on, and can you talk about working with your DP?
As this is the second season, it’s a well-oiled machine, and the camera, lenses and lighting packages were already set up by the great DPs I worked with — Eliot Rockett and Darran Tiernan. We shot with the same setup used in the first season [the Sony Venice 6K 3:2 full sensor (6048×4032) with a 2:1 aspect ratio and anamorphic lenses].

All those decisions had already been made, so when I arrived, I could just enjoy their amazing work and collaborating with them. Eliot shot Episode 5 for me, and Darran shot Episode 8. It was very interesting to work with two DPs, as they each have a different approach to the work — and even on how to shoot a scene.

For instance, both episodes have court scenes, but the way Eliot shot it was like going from a wide angle to a small, and then we changed direction with the other cameras. Whereas with Darran, I’d tell him “I want all these shots,” and he’d look at the list and decide to put one camera here, another there and so on. It was a completely different way to set up the three cameras in the exact same space, and they used different lights, but in the end it all works because their mindset of telling the story meshed together.

What about the LUTs?
They were also all set up for the first episode, so when I arrived, I could just focus on the beauty of setting up the lights and getting the look we wanted.

Talk about the shoot. How tough was it?
I’d say that for a TV show, we had the necessary amount of time to shoot each scene. Sometimes you’re rushing through scenes in TV, but here everything worked like a Swiss clock, very exact and efficient. So if they said, “This will take four hours,” it was more than enough to shoot even a complex scene.

Perry MasonThe crew was amazing, as were all the actors, and I knew the camera crew and first AD were going to give me the best possible frame. They were so talented and creative that it was almost impossible to go wrong in a sense. We had about 15 days to shoot each episode, and we were based on the lot at Warner Bros., where all our sets were built on stages. We also shot on location all over LA for certain exteriors and interiors, and we used some houses and streets. The location scouts were very smart about what they picked. You’d think that in order to create the ‘30s period, you’d need a lot of greenscreen work, but we didn’t. They carefully chose places we could shoot from different angles. Coupled with VFX work in post, we could make it look just like LA in the ‘30s.

Even though there wasn’t much greenscreen work, all period pieces need VFX. How involved were you in that?
Yes, we had to do a lot of VFX work in post, creating all the water scenes and the ships in the first two episodes, for instance. Since I arrived early, I was able to be on the shoot, and it was amazing how they did it — combining a “real” piece of ship on-set and then adding all the VFX extensions in post. The piece was big, but it was very small in comparison to the size of the actual ship and all the water, so bravo to the post team.Perry Mason

For Episode 5, we did some scenes outside a hotel and used greenscreen off in the distance. I like post production a lot, and I think the best way to do it is when you really plan it from the very beginning. You ask the post producers what they need. How can I help? Does this work? That way you plan out all the shots together, and we’re all on the same page and speaking the same language. I always try to work with the post team and the VFX team as early as possible, and we’ve used quite a lot of VFX houses on the show [including Crafty Apes, PixelKrush, Onyx VFX, Folks VFX, Digital Domain, Pixomondo, Technicolor VFX and Lola VFX].

The DI was done with colorist Pankaj Bajpai at Picture Shop in West Hollywood, but I wasn’t there for that, as it was done far later. I’m very used to doing all the grading with the DP and the colorist for all my own movies and projects, and I love the DI. It’s such an expressive, amazing tool for communicating with the audience.

What was the hardest scene to direct and shoot?
For me, it was the scene of the raid of the Latino family. We shot it on location, and it was the night of my birthday. It was very emotional and personal for me, as I grew up under the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile when the military was doing very violent raids like this one. So recreating this very powerful scene with the police and kids brought back very intense childhood memories for me.

I assume you’d love to come back for the next season and direct again.
I’d love to come back. LA in the ‘30s – who doesn’t want to shoot that? It’s that insane. You’re there with 400 extras, all in period clothes on huge sets. It doesn’t get better than that.

Industry insider Iain Blair has been interviewing the biggest directors in Hollywood and around the world for years. He is a regular contributor to Variety and has written for such outlets as Reuters, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe.

Abrahamson

Lenny Abrahamson on Conversations With Friends Post

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By Iain Blair

Irish director Lenny Abrahamson’s Normal People, the Hulu series based on Sally Rooney’s best-selling novel, was streamed more than 63 million times since its 2020 release, and it scored an Emmy nom for Abrahamson. His follow up, Conversations With Friends, is based on Rooney’s debut novel and takes on big issues — sex, politics, relationships — as it follows two college students who become involved with a married couple.

Director Lenny Abrahamson with actors Alison Oliver and Joe Alwyn on set of Conversations With Friends.

This Hulu 12-part limited series  was also executive produced by Abrahamson, whose credits include the Oscar-winning drama Room (Best Director Oscar nom), The Little Stranger and acclaimed cult indies Frank, Garage and Adam & Paul.

I talked to him about making the show and his love of post and editing.

You’ve shot most of your projects digitally, but you decided to shoot this and Normal People on film. Why?
We wanted to keep a continuity with this and Normal People, and keep that very naturalistic style and look. We also wanted to push ourselves and that [Normal People] look further. There’s something about the immediacy of shooting on film and how it brings you back to a very grounded quality in the image. I know that sounds a bit pretentious, but it’s true. Look, I love digital, and I’m not some sort of doctrinaire evangelist for film, but it did give us a great texture and a very beautiful image — and it was a challenge.

As with Normal People, you co-directed, this time with Leanne Welham. How did that work?
We loved her work, and she was great. I directed the first seven episodes with DP Suzie Lavelle, who shot Normal People with me, and Leanne did the other five with DP Bobby Shore. And while we set up the look and tone, Leanne and Bobby brought their own creativity and ideas to it. There was no micromanaging or rules. They were free to incorporate their own sensibilities, which they did.

Abrahamson

There is a world in which I could direct the whole series, but practically speaking — and this relates directly to post — the schedule meant that I had to be in the cutting room working on the first episodes while Leanne began shooting the others. So I shot Episodes 1 to 3 and 11 and 12 together, and I was in post on them while she shot 6-10. Then at the very end, I went back to shoot 4 and 5, which were the two episodes we shot on location in Croatia. So it was a big jigsaw puzzle in post, and no one person could have shot it all and dealt with the post. And I love the fact that I could oversee it all but also collaborate with someone like Leanne.

What cameras and lenses did you use?
We shot with ARRI LT 35s and shot 2-perf 35mm, which gives you eight minutes or so on a 400-foot mag. It was more cost-effective, though it has its difficulties, but I love the way it feels. And we shot with K35s, which are these very soft, beautiful vintage lenses. They’re originally Canons, but they’re all rehoused and very expensive now.

Abrahamson

I absolutely love the look, but it’s extremely difficult with the 2-perf 35mm format. You already have a relatively small negative area, and the image is a bit soft, and then you add soft lenses and it gets quite hard for the focus puller. The shoot was quite long — about 75 days for my seven episodes, and COVID slowed us down a bit.

How tough was it dealing with all the sex scenes?
It’s never easy, but we’d been through the whole process with Normal People and we worked again with Ita O’Brien, this fantastic intimacy coordinator who choreographs it all. We treated all the sex scenes like extensions of the conversations, and that approach helped take away all the embarrassment and awkwardness and anxiety for the actors.

Tell us about post. Where did you do it?
It was a combination of places. We did all the main post – the editing, sound and grading – at Outer Limits, which is my regular post house. I did all my episodes there. It’s about 30 minutes outside Dublin, and it’s run by two guys who used to be at Screen Scene in Dublin, where I posted a lot of my films. My colorist, Gary Curran, is at Outer Limits, and he graded the whole series. Then we also did some post work at Yellowmoon in Belfast, and Leanne posted some episodes up there as well.

I like to use the same post team on all my projects, so I also had my usual editor, Nathan Nugent, who cut Normal People. He was also supervising editor for the whole series. Leanne worked with editor Sarah Louise Bates, who did a brilliant job.

What were the main editing challenges? Was Nathan on the set?
No, he stayed in Dublin, but it’s so easy to work remotely now with Zoom calls. He’s very fast, and he’d send me cuts. Of course, shooting on film you’re dealing with rushes, so you have a bit of a delay there, but we had a great lab. The challenges were all creative. You’re tracking multiple relationships across a fair amount of time, and you have all these themes and ideas and shifts in the relationships, and you’re also dealing with keeping the momentum there and finding the right tone and pace.

Nathan’s brilliant at all that, and he’s also brilliant at innovating within an edit. He’ll often cut a scene in a way I’d never intended or considered – and it’s far better. So he’s challenging me all the time with the way he reorders and re-emphasizes material, and he’s so central to how I’ve made my films over the last few years.

Can you talk about the importance of music and sound in the show.
It’s so important, and before this and Normal People, I’d always used a composer. But on both projects, we began to use tracks and needle-drops instead. My music supervisor on both, Juliet Martin, has a great sense of what will work — often things you’d never expect to work but which really do. Both Nathan and I love music, and other members of the team will have suggestions — the more unusual and eclectic they are the better. It also gives a lot of exposure to new Irish musicians and bands, and it feels right to do that, as it’s an Irish show.

I’ve had the same sound team since I shot What Richard Did 10 years ago, including my supervising sound designer and editor Steve Fanagan and sound designer Niall Brady. They know how I like to work and my taste in “sound post,” and they’re so inventive and creative. We did a Dolby mix.

The series looks beautiful. Tell us about the grade.
My colorist Gary Curran knows exactly what I like, so he’ll start grading in bits and pieces to get his own head around it. Then he shows me stuff and we work up to a very intense day on each episode, and then I give him my notes and we keep working on it. So the grade is always happening, and I like that. If you can do multiple passes like that instead of one big grading, I think you get better results. As for the look, we went for a very natural, low-key one.

The great thing about shooting on film is that right out of the bag, it’s just so interesting to look at. So it was all about shaping that, making it consistent and finding a level of contrast and saturation that felt truthful and beautiful, but not overly pretty. There’s no color symbolism or anything like that. I’m not interested. The goal was to make it look and feel ungraded, which takes great skill to achieve.

You’ve taken on quite a few book projects in the past. What was the appeal of adapting another Sally Rooney novel?
I first started thinking about it when the book first came out, before Normal People was even a thing, and I just really connected with it for various personal reasons. I grew up in Dublin where it’s set, and I went to the same university, and it all resonated so much with me — seeing it all through the eyes of the central character. And I just love Sally’s writing and all her insights into character.

It seems so well-suited to a miniseries, but I heard it was originally going to be a film.
Yes, Element Pictures, the Dublin company that developed it (and also did Normal People) had planned to do it as a feature. I talked to them a bit about it because I found it very hard to imagine it as a feature, so I was sort of standing back and working on other things. But I stayed interested in it, and it was after we did Normal People that everyone realized the way to do this was as a limited series as well.

I was very keen to be involved because with this amount of screen time, it means you can stick to the close attention that Sally pays to the characters and dealing with the low-key nature of the story. That’s where the strength is, and it really suits the way Sally writes. We’d learned so much from doing Normal People that way. With the TV format you get to be far more novelistic over 12 episodes, whereas in a film you need to compress time more and heighten the climaxes.

What’s next?
I’m writing for the next few months, and then I hope to make a film. I’m just not sure what it is yet.

Industry insider Iain Blair has been interviewing the biggest directors in Hollywood and around the world for years. He is a regular contributor to Variety and has written for such outlets as Reuters, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe.

The Send-Off

From Editing to Directing — John-Mitchell Powell on The Send-Off

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The-Send Off writer/director  John-Mitchell Powell began his career cutting comedy with Jerry Zucker at his company, National Banana, “which was kind of a Funny Or Die-type website before Funny Or Die was a thing,” he explains. “We had a soundstage over in Santa Monica and Jerry would shoot bits there and then bring them over to the edit bay and we’d cut them together.”

The Send-Off

John-Mitchell Powell

Powell says this experience was essentially his film school. “Getting to watch Jerry conceptualize and direct on set, and getting to learn editorial rhythm and the process of making picture and sound work together to tell a story…  for me it all started with Jerry.”

Around that same time, Powell cut his first feature, Obselidia, which was written and directed by Diane Bell. It premiered at Sundance and took home some awards. It was also nominated for a couple of Spirit Awards. “That was the beginning of my feature editorial career,” he says.

While Powell continues to edit indie features that play the festival circuit, he has also embraced episodics, including the Netflix series Dear White People. “In fact, right now I’m cutting a television project with Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg over at Amazon, and I’m about to cut the Netflix docuseries American Manhunt about the Boston Marathon bombing.”

Powell clearly likes to stay busy, because as he continues to edit an eclectic list of projects, he has also been writing his own features with the intent to direct. “I’ve had numerous close calls when it comes to making my first feature, but the pandemic created a natural set of circumstances that made 2021 the right time to finally take the leap.”

The Send-Off

That leap he refers to is the feature The Send-Off. The story is about an actor who throws an impromptu party at his home. What starts out as a fun time with friends ends up devolving into something much darker.

We recently spoke to Powell to find out more.

What led you to write and direct The Send-Off?
Frustration and anger. And I think I’m the type of person who handles frustration and anger with laughter. At least, the kind of laughter that translates to disbelief. The frustration was from spending years getting very close to directing my first film, only to have the house of cards topple at the 11th hour. A lot of the frustration just built from the process of development, which can be brutal. You’re spending much of your time waiting to have someone tell you no.

If you’re not careful, you’ll see a couple of years go by and you’ve really kind of gained zero ground at getting the project made. And that frustration boiled over during the pandemic, so I decided to stop asking for permission to make a film and just do it with the talented friends I’ve made over the years.

The Send-Off

The anger that stemmed from society and our business was channeled into the major themes of the movie. The Send-Off is a film about Hollywood and how this industry can sometimes cater to narcissistic personalities. When I was writing the script, every day there was a new story coming out about yet another individual in our business using power structures to his or her advantage, and I just channeled that anger into the film — hopefully in an unexpected way. The challenge was always, “Let’s make a movie about a serious topic, but not take ourselves seriously doing it.” I think we succeeded in that.

Can you walk us through the needs of the project?
The major creative need for this film was finding and balancing the right tone. It’s a film that leaps between genres pretty freely — five different readers could read the script for The Send-Off and all five might say it’s a different genre. So going in, we knew the challenge was going to be creating something that felt cohesive tonally, while at the same time being a sandbox that was pliable enough to let the actors be challenged and unafraid to really go as far as they wanted to take the character.

It’s not easy to go big when you know some really dark and heavy issues linger beneath the scene. That’s a really hard target to hit, but the cast did an amazing job and our DP, Elijah Guess, did a wonderful job bringing everything together with the look of the film. Some people have compared the film to Thomas Vinterberg’s The Celebration, which was certainly an influence on the film.

I’ve even had a few people describe the film as a really dark version of Can’t Hardly Wait, but instead of high school, it’s a Hollywood party. I think the beauty of The Send-Off is you can feel a lot of my influences in the final film. It’s the type of film that you can kind of find whatever you’re looking for in it. That’s something I’m very proud of.

What gear did you and your team use for the shoot?
The cameras were ARRI Amiras with Cooke Speed Panchros. We shot an underwater scene on the Sony A7s and one pickup day on the Sony Venice with Angénieux lenses. Everything was 90% handheld with a bit of tripod work. There was dolly work or Steadicam.

What about for post?
For post, we had a unique set-up. We cut in both Adobe Premiere Pro and Avid Media Composer. Because I come from editing, I was pretty involved with the cut. Editor Mark Gasparo did his first cut and then passed the cut to me. I did a pass of that cut and then I passed it back to him and so on and so forth. We kind of did a ping-pong match for editorial.

I find myself leaning more and more toward Premiere these days as opposed to Avid, while Mark is still an all-Avid guy. So Mark cut in Avid and I cut in Premiere, and that somehow worked for us. It was not your usual post workflow, but I really enjoyed it. Mark did a wonderful job guiding the film to finish.

What were some of the most challenging parts of making The Send-Off?
The major technical challenge was time. This is one of the major challenges of any project, but this was a micro-budget film shot in 12 days. Some days we were shooting 10 pages of script with one camera and sometimes up to 15 actors in a scene. So having extra days would have been my big wish on this, but the challenges were more than time.

The film mostly takes place at a Hollywood house party over the course of one evening. Imagine the house party scene in Swingers, but instead of heading to Vegas, we’re hanging out at that party all night and getting to know everyone. So, a big challenge was just getting coverage. When you’ve got that many pages in one day and so many actors to get on camera, you don’t have time to do more than a couple of takes at most.

The other challenge that comes along with that is lighting. We were working handheld on this film, so we basically had to light the entire house so characters could move through the space and hit marks. Running as fast as we were — it got dicey. The finale of the film was essentially one 12-minute scene that involved special effects makeup, stonework and a dance sequence with every actor in the movie present. Try shooting that all in one day and not getting some gray hairs! Somehow, we’re still alive to tell the story.

 

Top Gun: Maverick Director Joe Kosinski — Post, VFX and More

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By Iain Blair

It’s been 36 years since Top Gun, directed by the late great Tony Scott, introduced audiences to Tom Cruise as Navy pilot Lt. Pete “Maverick” Mitchell.

Joe Kosinski

Now the iconic character and heart-pounding aerial maneuvers are back in Top Gun: Maverick. Directed by Joseph Kosinski and shot by his go-to cinematographer, Claudio Miranda, ASC, the Paramount release picks up the story of Mitchell, who, after more than 30 years of service, is still pushing the envelope as a test pilot and dodging any advancement in rank that would ground him. But he does get grounded, and finds himself training a group of hotshot young Top Gun graduates for a dangerous mission.

Kosinski, whose credits include Tron: Legacy, Only the Brave, Oblivion and Spiderhead (all shot by Miranda), assembled a top-flight team behind the scenes that included editor Eddie Hamilton and VFX supervisor Ryan Tudhope.

I spoke with Kosinski about making the film, the post workflow and cracking the secret of the original film’s sound design.

Sequels are notoriously risky ventures. What sort of film did you set out to make?
A Top Gun movie. I went back and watched the original as a director as opposed to a 12-year-old kid in Iowa. What I saw was a drama wrapped up in this incredible-looking action film, and I knew that the dramatic core was the most important part, and that’s what I pitched to Tom. The story and the journey that Maverick would have to go on was the emotional hook of the movie.

They were able to get six cameras into each jet.

What about all that action?
Navy pilots have been shooting their training flights on GoPro cameras and posting them on YouTube, and it’s pretty amazing. I said, “If we can’t beat that, then there’s no point making this film.” It then became this 15-month-long process trying to figure out how we could get cameras inside the cockpits. The original film was only able to get one camera up there, and there are all these space and weight restrictions. In the end, we went with the Sony Venice 1, and we were able to get six cameras up there on each jet.

Can you talk about integrating the post and all the VFX early on?
We did a fair amount of previz, especially for all the really tricky aerial sequences that had to be carefully choreographed — because that was an easier way to talk about it with all the pilots and describe angles and so on. We tried to shoot as much in-camera as possible, but obviously there are certain elements that you just can’t film, like combat scenes with live weapons; it’s far too dangerous. So all that stuff was done with VFX and added later. But it was always based in reality, and we had the Navy working very closely with us, advising us every step of the way on all the flying, the tactics, the technology and so on, making sure it was totally realistic.

How tough was the shoot?
It was really tough and very long. Principal photography was over 130 days, with so many locations. We shot on aircraft carriers and naval bases in California, in Death Valley, and the Cascades in Washington, as well as London and LA. So we were shooting in the heat, the snow, at sea on the carrier for two weeks, all to get the best footage possible. It was grueling but fun.

How tough was it filming Tom and the others actually flying in the jets?
It was a huge challenge. We’d have a dozen cameras in the air, more on the ground, and there would be 15-hour days just to get a couple of minutes you could use in the film. But we got some amazing footage, including Tom actually launching off the carrier in an F-18 jet. He did four or five catapult launches and some landings, and that’s a first for a movie. Only Navy pilots get to do that.

Tell us about post. Where did you do it?
Our post HQ was in Santa Monica at producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s offices. Most of the VFX were done by Method in Montreal, supervised by Ryan Tudhope. All the sound design and temp mixing was done at Skywalker, but then COVID hit, so we did the final mix at Twickenham Studios in London — the only stage available.

Tell us about editing with Eddie Hamilton. What were the main editing challenges?
I’d never worked with him before, but I really admired his work on the Mission: Impossible films he’d done with Tom, especially Rogue Nation. He wasn’t on-set for most of the ground story, but he was there with us when we were on-location shooting all the aerial stuff, as we needed to get immediate feedback on what we had and what we still needed.

He was based in an editorial trailer in the hangar for 14 hours a day, combing through all the footage the moment it came out of the planes. That was the big challenge, as we ended up shooting 800 hours of footage. So then we had two great editors come on at different points for a few months to help out with the huge workload — Chris Lebenzon (ACE), who cut the original Top Gun, and Stephen Mirrione (ACE), who cut Spiderhead for me and who’s cut a lot of films for Stephen Soderbergh and George Clooney. It actually took Eddie three months just to do the first assembly of the third act because all the flying scenes were so complex.

Do you like post?
I love it. I love every part of filmmaking. I love to prep until you can’t take it anymore. Then I love shooting until you can’t stand it one more day. Then at last you’re in post, and I love all those changes and the different rhythms. I love editorial and putting it all together and shaping it.

There are a lot of VFX. Talk about working with VFX supervisor Ryan Tudhope, who co-founded Atomic Fiction, and what was entailed?
VFX can be pretty tedious, and I went through the wringer on Tron, but there are things you can do in VFX that you could never shoot, so as long as it looks real, it works. I worked closely with Ryan who was on-set a lot, and we both had the same goal: to make every VFX shot as realistic as possible. We did a lot of testing to make sure we were on the right track, and no one could tell what was in-camera and what was VFX.

L-R: Joe Kosinski and Jerry Bruckheimer

Ryan had an amazing team at Method who did all the big, complex sequences, but there was so much to do that we also had a few other companies [including Lola, MPC, Gentle Giant and Blind] work on smaller stuff, cleanup and cosmetic.

Obviously, the sound and music are also iconic characters in the film. What was involved?
You’re so right. The original Top Gun soundtrack was like the demo disc for all home theaters for 20 years; that nature of the sound — the roar of the jets and afterburners and the way you feel it in your chest — was a huge part of this film. We even had a team from Skywalker on the carrier for a week recording the jet engines, so all that’s real, not designed and manufactured. And when Chris Lebenzon came on, he really helped us crack the secret of how they did the original film sound. It was shot on film, and they cut all the sound hard. Nothing was eased in. They put hard cuts where all the splices were in the footage, and that’s how they got that truly explosive sound quality. You got that full volume — boom! — right on the cut to the next shot, and once we began mimicking that on the Avid Media Composer, that film-cutting style made it instantly feel like a Top Gun movie. That was key.

What about the DI? Who was the colorist, and how closely did you work with them and the DP?
We did the DI with colorist Stefan Sonnenfeld at Company 3 here in Santa Monica. He worked with Tony Scott, so I wanted to work with him. He also did the DI on the recent 4K Blu-ray re-release of the original Top Gun, which I helped oversee, so I got a really good look at the original negative. Then Stefan, Claudio and I came up with a nice grain on the Resolve that gave it more of a filmic look and a great nostalgic feel that was a good match to the original.

Top Gun

It’s all warm and golden like the original until the third act. I wanted to flip that aesthetic on its head when they go on the mission, and we went for this very cool palette. In the end, we spent several weeks on the DI, and I couldn’t be happier with the way the movie turned out.

Finally, what did Tom bring to the mix?
Everything. All his enthusiasm, 40 years of experience making movies and working with these amazing directors who are all my heroes. He brings all that to the set every day, so it’s more than just his role – it’s about every aspect of the film.

He’s also a very experienced pilot, so he knew all these aerial scenes were going to be very difficult to capture, and he knew just how much preparation the other actors would need just to get in a jet and fly. They needed a lot of training, and he designed the whole course. That’s what makes all this so special — it’s not just Tom up there actually flying; it’s all of them. Yes, you can use greenscreen, but you can’t fake real flying, and that’s what we wanted. We wanted the audience to feel they were up there with the actors.

Industry insider Iain Blair has been interviewing the biggest directors in Hollywood and around the world for years. He is a regular contributor to Variety and has written for such outlets as Reuters, The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and the Boston Globe.

Danny Corey

Behind the Title: Director and DP Danny Corey

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Danny Corey is an LA-based freelance director and cinematographer who works closely with creative agencies and production companies – including Valiant Pictures and Team Bubbly — to craft and execute a client’s vision or brand. His body of work includes directing the Steph Curry and Sue Bird CarMax commercials (with more on the way). He specializes in working with A-list talent and brands with a dose of humor.

Let’s find out more from Corey…

Danny Corey

CarMax

What would surprise people the most about what falls under your titles?
I think people would be surprised at how much downtime I can have from job to job. That gives me a really great work/life balance, which is something I crave.

Are you typically both a DP and director on projects?
Yes, I typically do both, unless the visuals call for something that feels out of my element. I also love collaborating with other directors as a DP to help them execute their vision.
How does one influence the other? What are the benefits of having experience in both?
My work as a DP and my understanding of light has helped me develop my visual language over the years.
As a director/DP, I love being able to bridge the gap between director and crew. I think a lot of ideas can get missed when there’s a hierarchy of above-the-line creatives and the amazing crew that bring it all to life. My hope is that those boundaries don’t exist in jobs where I get to shoot and direct because collaboration is such a critical part of what we all do.

What’s your favorite part of the job?
Other than the creative fulfillment, I love to collaborate. My role affords me the opportunity to work with so many brilliant, creative and talented people all the time. And because I often shoot and direct, I get to interact with my on-set crew on multiple levels of creative problem-solving. When the shoot is over, I then get to work alongside a post team that brings their own fresh perspective to the project.

Danny Corey

Haunted

What is your least favorite?
As a director, I find myself bidding or pitching for work frequently — it’s a part of the job. While I enjoy that creative exercise, I find that rejection can sometimes be hard to process. When a treatment gets passed over, I rarely get any feedback. I think that uncertainty of wondering what I could have done better is what makes it so hard.

What is your most productive time of the day?
I love to work in the morning — that is when I’m at my most productive. The afternoon should be for taking naps only. I think we can all agree. (I also love a nice late-night creative session.)

If you didn’t have this job, what would you be doing instead?
If I wasn’t a director/cinematographer, I’d honestly love to run a bar. I worked in the service industry prior to production, and I loved the fast-paced environment and the camaraderie with co-workers. Since that time, I’ve really gotten into mixing and creating cocktails, designing drink menus and photographing my creations.

It’s a really fun, low-stress hobby for me, which is probably why I shouldn’t do it for a living. So I’ll go with the backup plan and say park ranger in Death Valley National Park.

How early on did you know this would be your path?
I always loved films as a kid. But more than that, I loved peeking behind the curtain to see how the sausage was made. I had no idea that a kid from the suburbs of Philadelphia could work in the industry. But slowly I met more people that gave me a chance, until one day I realized that I was making a living at it.

CarMax

Can you name some recent projects you have worked on?
“Call Your Shot 3.0,” a CarMax campaign starring Steph Curry and Sue Bird for Valiant Pictures.

Haunted House, a music video starring Mckenna Grace of Ghostbusters: Afterlife for Photo Finish Records.

What is the project that you are most proud of?
It’s been out in the world for over a year now, but I’m most proud of my short documentary film Las Vegas Bender. It’s the story of a neon artist from Las Vegas and her relationship with her mother, who is a burlesque dancer. It’s a project that I went into with zero expectations about the outcome, and that allowed me to be creatively present throughout the process.

Name three pieces of technology you can’t live without.
I hate that one of the answers has to be my phone… so lame. I can’t live without my light meter, and I must always have a camera (any will do).

Haunted

Do you listen to music while you work?
I do like listening to music while I work. The music depends on what I’m working on. If it’s writing, I like to listen to film scores. In particular, I love the scores from The Last Black Man in San Francisco by Emile Mosseri and 20th Century Women by Roger Neill. But for other creative work, I love everything from calypso (Harry Belafonte, Mighty Sparrow) and exotica music (Martin Denny, Esquivel) to indie rock (Middle Kids) and pop-punk (The Front Bottoms).

What do you do to de-stress from it all?
I love spending time with my partner, Heather, and my one-year-old daughter, Teddy. We all love to travel. Desert road trips have been the most common during the pandemic. I also love to jog, go to movies alone, read and do crossword puzzles at bars. A little of everything, I guess.

Behind the Title: Editor and Filmmaker Carla Roda

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Carla Roda, an editor and filmmaker from Barcelona, Spain, has been living in Los Angeles since 2014. She originally came to the US to get her masters in fine arts, but after graduation her interests changed and she dove headfirst into a career in editing.

Carla Roda

Carla Roda directing

Roda taught herself how to edit with Apple Final Cut 7. As the years went by, she discovered new editing software, and the rest is history. For her, editing is almost like directing, another path she would like to explore again.

So far Roda has directed three short films and one feature film. Let’s find out more.

What would surprise people the most about what falls under the title of editor?
I always say editors are like magicians. We have the power to create stories by playing with images, sound effects, music and graphics. I think people are not fully aware of the amazing things that can be done with some imagination.

What’s your favorite part of the job?
I get to be a part of telling inspiring stories. That is what motivates me every day while working on my computer.

What’s your least favorite? 
I’m extremely lucky that I’m able to do what I love. There is not a single thing I would change… well, maybe some clients’ attitudes. I have to deal with a lot of people, and sometimes it’s hard to align everyone’s character.

Carla Roda

Camila

What is your most productive time of day?
I’m a morning person, so I normally wake up at 6am and start working at around 6:30. I like those first hours of silence when no one will email or call me. That’s when I get the most work done.

If you didn’t have this job, what would you be doing instead?
Before finding my passion for editing I really wanted to be a criminologist. Sometimes I still want to. That’s why I find the most joy editing investigative documentaries. In that genre, I’m able to combine my two passions.

How early did you know this would be your path?
I didn’t know to what extent, but growing up in a family of artists, my future was very much designed for me, and I’m extremely happy about it because it gave me amazing role models to follow and learn from.

Vote Neil

Can you name projects you have edited?
In the last few years, I finished the documentary The Green Wave, directed by Guido Verweyen. It won Best Feature Documentary at the Los Angeles Film Festival and was recently bought by Screen Media. I also edited the short documentary Vote Neil, directed by Honora Talbott. It was the Tribeca Film Festival 2020 Official Selection in Documentary Shorts. It was also licensed by NBC News and Meet the Press.

I also edited the feature documentary We Stand Corrected, directed by Richie Elson. It’s an alternative narrative to Ben Stiller’s Showtime limited series, Escape at Dannemora.  Another project was the feature documentary Our Quinceañera, directed by Fanny Veliz Grande. It won the Audience Award for Best Documentary at The Bentonville Film Festival and Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Panamanian International Film Festival in Los Angeles.

The Green Wave

A more recent project was the feature film Six Feet Apart, directed by Jessa Zarubica.  That will be premiering soon. I edited another feature film called Skinny Dipping, which is  a romantic comedy starring Roberto Manrique and Gisella Aboumrad, who are big influencers in South America.

Have you been continuing to edit during the COVID crisis? Can you describe that experience?
I was very lucky to start a project right before the pandemic. I have been working from home for about five years now, so for me it wasn’t as different. I did notice that everyone on the team was more relaxed by the fact that you could be more flexible on your working hours as long as you were meeting your deadlines.

Do you expect these workflows to stay with us going forward?
The beauty of working from home is that it allows you to collaborate with people anywhere. I’m currently working on a docuseries, and my AE is located in New York and I’m in Los Angeles. That wouldn’t be possible without this current workflow.

What system do you edit on these days?
I edit on a Mac, and depending on the project, I use Adobe Premiere or Avid Media Composer.

Carla Roda

Camila

Are you often asked to do more than edit?
It has been hard for me over the years to explain to clients that I’m a “picture editor” only. Sometimes clients asked me to do sound or even graphics. I always tell them that sound editing is a very different job and there are amazing professionals that are the best at that. Same for graphics. Sometimes clients want a one-stop shop and, unfortunately, that’s not how I work.

You have also written and directed. What have you completed?
My first project as a director was Camila, which I wrote, directed, produced and edited. I was able to tell a very personal story in a very artistic way. It got into a lot of festivals and even won some of them. I feel Camila was my introduction to the film world; it helped me craft my storytelling skills.

Carla Roda on the set of Let Go

Tell us about Let Go. What is it about? 
I started writing pieces of Let Go back in college as a therapeutic tool to cope with tragedy, adversity and hardships in my life. Little did I know that these entries would transform into a 10-year journey of self-discovery, growth and a lesson in perseverance.

Let Go is a story that invites you to meditate on the importance of self-care through highly charged and emotional encounters. It is an open love letter to all the brave people who are struggling daily with depression, decisions, and the notion that our decisions affect the course of our lives forever. It is a movie and a message that I feel is very necessary nowadays.

What is your advice for other women, Latinx and in general, who may want to work in your field?
Don’t give up. If this is what you want to do make sure no one stops you from doing it. The only person who can stop you is yourself.

Finally, what do you do to de-stress from it all?
I do a lot of sports. If I have time, first thing in the morning, I go for a run. It not only helps activate my brain, but it also helps with any nerves I might have. If I don’t have time in the morning, I try to do it at night to get my mind out of the project I’m working at that moment.

Melinda James

Sundance: DP Melinda James on Shooting Short Film Work

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Screened at this year’s Sundance, Work is a short film about Gabi, a queer Latina, who goes through a difficult breakup and decides to revisit her former gig as a dancer at lap dance club. While there, she runs into someone from her past. Directed by April Maxey, Work’s cinematographer was Melinda James, who used both digital and film on the project.

Melinda James

James met Maxey at the New Orleans Film Fest in 2019. James’ short Oklahoma Is Black, which she filmed and co-directed with Tatyana Fazlalizadeh, was being screened there, and Maxey was a finalist in the screenplay competition. Let’s find out more about how James works and her collaboration with Maxey…

When did you get involved on the project? If early, how did that help your work?
She reached out after she got into AFI’s Directing Workshop for Women, which was February 2020. The idea was to film late spring/early summer, but at that stage of the pandemic, productions were being halted, and COVID restrictions were pretty strict.

Though it was tough to shift the momentum of moving toward production, it allowed April and me another year to form a friendship and understand what our background and interests were, not just as filmmakers, but as folks making their way through life in a pandemic. It also allowed us to really think about the visual language, not just in terms of how things looked but being intentional to our approach as well. Since we were featuring queer women of color and intimate moments, it was important to consider elements of gaze and framing that always kept our talent in positions of power.

WhatMelinda James direction did April give you for the look? Were you provided examples, lookbook, etc.?
Initially for the look, we set up a Pinterest board, but then mostly we would text each other images that we liked and thought would work for certain moments.

April also ended up shooting a loose proof of concept for Seed&Spark (crowdfunding), so that helped guide those earlier conversations too. Since Work is based off of April’s life and experiences, I would ask her, “What did the night club look like? What does this particular moment represent for Gabi? When is Gabi in her own world, and when is she in the confines of reality?” Those moods really dictated when something should feel cool and somber or warm and playful or colorful and otherworldly.

How did you work with the colorist? Was it all remote?
The colorist on this project was Mark Sanna of Ntropic, and it happened remotely since they are based in New York. To start things off, April had sent over references and had an in-depth call about the tone and mood of the film. From there Mark would send over cuts, and April and I would take a look, discuss and share our feedback.

Melinda JamesCan you talk about doing camera tests, and what did you end up shooting on and why? This was shot digitally and on film? Can you talk about that decision?
We didn’t do any camera tests for our digital camera. We knew that we wanted to use either an ARRI Alexa Mini or an Amira, and our budget led us to the Amira (laughs). We rented the camera from a local vendor, Sam Hicks of Sam Shot It, who gave us a very good deal on a package. I love the color science, ease and dynamic range of the Amira. It’s solid and reliable and had every function that we needed out of a camera.

We also used a wind-up Bolex H16 that was loaned to me from Echo Park Film Center. During lockdown, I played around with a lot of Super 8 and 16mm. Being so disconnected from folks and the previous way of living, I found a lot of comfort working with these kinda clunky, heavy pieces of equipment that required a lot of focus to use, and I loved hearing the film move inside the cameras.

Melinda James shooting with the Bolex

Then there’s the texture and color of the images; the film burns from opening and closing the camera, which always feels a bit enchanting. April was given two expired rolls of Vision2 500T by a friend and asked me how I felt about shooting some 16mm for Work. She thought that it would be an interesting way to distinguish the flashbacks between Gabi and her ex. There’s a feeling of nostalgia that we get with watching grainy film, so it felt like that would be a better way to emphasize the longing of the memories versus trying to stylize those moments digitally.

Can you talk lenses and lighting?
April is a big fan of Zeiss Super Speeds and really wanted to use those, but I suggested that we try the Cooke Panchros, which I love for their warmth and how they render skin tones. A lot of the work that I do tends to lean toward the warmer ends of things, and I love how black and brown skin looks on the warmer side. We ended up doing a lens test at CSLA between the two sets of lenses, and April fell in love with how the Panchros looked, so we ended up going with those. Our set of Panchros was generously donated to the production by Chapin Hall.

Blake Smith was the gaffer on this project and incredibly thoughtful and intentional when it came to how we lit different scenes and moments. We took the references that April put together and created a story from there — When does Gabi feel alone? When does Gabi feel clear? When does Gabi get her footing and feel free and most herself? We are both big fans of street photography and portrait photography, so we understood that when it was possible, we wanted to lean on natural lighting (most of the lighting in the office scenes was natural) or be really minimal with how we lit.

When it came to the club scenes, though, we thought that’s when you should really feel the lighting of the space…as we’re entering a different world and a different headspace for Gabi. Blake had a really great way of adding accents and details — adding hints of blues and purples in our edge and back lights to add elements of contrast — that helped ensure we weren’t washing out our talent in red.

Are there some scenes that stick out as challenging?
The most challenging scenes were the ones at the night club, which we filmed at No Vacancy in Hollywood. We originally had three days planned for this location, but with our budget we could only afford two days, so everything we needed to get got squeezed and condensed. In most scenes, Gabi is alone or with one other person, but this location had the most setups and the most talent.Melinda James

Most of our scenes here were physically intimate, so we had to dedicate a significant amount of time to choreograph with our intimacy coordinator to make sure everyone felt safe and comfortable. This stretch of production felt like those moments where you are moving so quickly from one setup to the next that you are using a lot of muscle memory and intuition to make it through.

Looking back on the film, would you have done anything different?
I think with each project, there will always be something that I wish I had done differently. But in any given moment, you do the best you can with the resources and time that’s available to you. There are also many happy accidents, things that you can’t plan or predict, that happen along the way, and who knows if I would’ve stumbled upon those particular happy accidents if I had done something different. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so I always have a lot of things I’d like to tweak or adjust, but overall, I feel pretty good about how the film looks.

Melinda James

Is your process different working on a full-length project versus a short film?
I haven’t had the opportunity to shoot a feature-length film yet. The first full-length film that I’ll get a chance to lens is A Lo-Fi Blues by my best friend and collaborator, Ed Ntiri. The script is currently in development, but we’ve been filming screen tests as we work on developing the visual language. One thing I’ve learned from working on shorts is that you can never prepare enough, test enough, talk through scenes enough, so I’m going to carry over the importance for lots of tests and prep for the feature.

You have shot many different types of projects. How does working in all these genres help you, and do you have a favorite?
I love short films. I know that often short films are treated as the proof of concept for feature films, but I have great respect for anyone who can shape a whole world and tell an impactful story in three to 10 minutes.

I also love documentaries, and more so I’m curious about films that blend experimental and documentary elements together. While I enjoy working on narratives, branded content and commercials, I appreciate the space, freedom and ways to be curious that documentaries allow you to have.

With narrative and branded work, you’re always racing against the clock in a particular way, but I do my best to create space to look, to wonder, to try something unexpected, to follow something you didn’t plan for, and I get that from my documentary work.

I think what I’m most grateful for is what I learned from my professors at UC Santa Cruz’s Social Documentation program, which is the power that the camera has with its ability to include and exclude people and experiences simply by how something is framed. There is a great responsibility that cinematographers have when it comes to photographing a film. Is the camera looking up at someone, or looking down at someone? What parts of someone’s body or face are you cutting off? What does your gaze, or where you linger, communicate to your audience or to the person you’re filming? It is an extreme privilege to be able to witness and document something through a camera, and that is something that doesn’t fall lightly on me because of my documentary background.

Any tips for young cinematographers, especially women and people of color?
Follow your curiosity the best you can. Ask questions, especially the ones that seemingly don’t have answers. They will eventually lead you to move in a way that is all your own. Use what works for you and leave the rest. Along the way you’ll learn that saying no to things will ultimately lead you to finding your folks, the projects that are meaningful and most fulfilling to you. Understand that there is great responsibility as an image maker, and it’s important to know that how you decide to light and compose folks is a reflection of your care for those individuals.

Melinda James and director April Maxey

For Black women and women of color, it’s important to know the ways in which working in film can be freeing, fun and exciting, but can also be a test of character and self. There have been great strides made in cinematography for Black folks, but it still values and benefits cisgendered, heterosexual white males first, and you will come to encounter that more than you’d like, in overt ways and subtle ways. If something feels off, you are not being sensitive or reading into something too deeply — trust what your gut is saying. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve doubted myself or went against my gut on something and ended up having to learn very difficult lessons.

Find the folks who advocate for you and support you and believe in you; they are out there. Find the projects you identify with; they are out there. Never hesitate to ask for what you are worth, especially when working with big brands — they can afford it. They are actively deciding what projects get certain budgets and what that cast and crew looks like on those projects. Despite the boundaries, barriers and obstacles, you will find a way that makes the most sense to you. Film is a beautiful medium. A place to explore, to dream, to wonder and to stay curious and inquisitive. Everyone should be able to make a living doing this in a way that feels and makes the most sense to them.

 

Music Video Jaunty

Ijaaz Noohu Talks Directing the KOAD Music Video Jaunty

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Director Ijaaz Noohu is a Sri Lankan-born, Los Angeles-raised director and writer. One of his most recent projects is the music video for the song “Jaunty,” which is a track from KOAD’s upcoming album, “Treehouse.” While Noohu’s resume includes a variety of narrative productions, a lot of his work involves music videos, such as New York by Subi, Effy Stonem by Nick Mono and Come and Goes by KOAD, all from 2021.

Music Video Jaunty

Director Ijaaz Noohu

We recently reached out to Noohu to find out about his workflow on the music video.

Can you describe the Jaunty video?
The concept for the video riffs off the themes of the song, which begins with a classic, all-American rock ‘n’ roll guitar riff and ends with traditional Indian tablas. From the jump, we always envisioned the arc of this video as going from “0 to brown, and we aimed to create something that reflected the East/West influences that shaped us as artists and people from the South Asian diaspora.

How did you get involved with Jaunty?
KOAD and I have been working together for a few years. Alongside Amit Dodani, we partnered to create KOGO, a multidisciplinary artist community that aims to tell unprecedented narratives across every medium. Besides developing my own film and TV projects, I direct all of the visual material associated with “Treehouse.”

Music Video Jaunty

Jaunty

Can you tell us a bit about the concept and video?
We had an ambitious vision for the project. It needed a precise lighting style, which Monty Sloan cued on the fly. It also called for evocative production design, which Maya Sassoon built with an eye for key props. That all happened alongside a climactic dance sequence that Amrita Patil choreographed for KOAD, which he learned the day of production.

Amia Serrano even designed a custom kurti for KOAD.  We had to pull all that off in a single day. It was an extremely tight schedule, and every creative involved had to deliver under immense pressure.

What was the video shot on?
We were fortunate enough to have some of the best creatives in the space join our team. DP Justin Moore shot the piece on an ARRI Alexa Mini using these beautiful LOMO Round Front lenses, which our first AC, Sam Hecker, kept sharp through every chaotic dance sequence.

Can you talk about the post?
On the post side, Michael Scotti Jr. edited the project in Adobe Premiere. He honed our vision into something precise but frenetic, bursting with an energy that drove a clear narrative arc.

Finally, we finished the project with color in Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve with Sarah Sebring, who gave the project it’s saturated flair and distinct hues.

Music Video Jaunty

Ijaaz Noohu

What were some of the challenges you faced on the project?
The biggest challenge we faced was time. We knew we wanted to begin with a variety of looks that we could cut together frenetically, which would contrast with the measured pace of the climactic dance sequence. The whole team needed to move fast and precisely so we could cycle through all the looks, light cues and outfits and leave time for KOAD to both learn the choreography and shoot the dance sequence.

Did you have a favorite scene? If so, what was it and why was it your favorite?
The climactic dance sequence is easily my favorite sequence of anything I’ve directed. I think it melds all my artistic aims into one moment — evocative images and precise and spontaneous camera work, all in service of a climactic beat of storytelling. Also, it’s just really cool, and it’s really cool to look at this thing that is distinctly brown, distinctly American, and distinctly me.