Born in France but now living in Los Angeles, DP Johanna Coelho has worked on a variety of projects, including narrative films, music videos and episodics. Her last feature, And Then There Was Eve, won the Jury Award at the LA Film Festival. Her recent television work includes Killer Siblings on Oxygen and ABC’s The Rookie.
Johanna Coelho
Coelho first came to the US to study cinematography at the American Film Institute in LA. But she has been passionate about creating and experimenting with images from a very young age. She calls herself a “visual psychologist” because her role is to understand and interpret the emotions of the characters and to create for them the best visual atmosphere to act in.
We recently spoke to Coelho about her work on The Rookie, which stars Nathan Fillion as John Nolan, who becomes a cop later in life. She first worked on the series in Season 2, where she was a 2nd Unit DP and then returned for Season 4 as one of the show’s two main cinematographers. She says this season, The Rookie showrunner “wanted a more cinematic look for the show so they talked about making it a bit more colorful and contrasty, depending on the needs of the scene.”
Let’s find out more…
Tell us about The Rookie. How early did you get involved in planning for this season? How did that help?
I got involved about two weeks before the shoot started for Season 4. My co-DP, Kyle Jewell, and I did stage walks and talked about what we wanted to change in our permanent sets, such as more flyaway walls or different lighting fixtures for some sets. Kyle and I talked about how we could make the show more cinematic while keeping a consistent look to match previous seasons. We talked about colors, LUTs and lighting approaches.
Were you working with LUTs on-set? If so, can you talk about that process? Did you have a DIT?
We luckily had a DIT on-set and were able to create LUTs for each episode, corresponding to the tone of the scene while keeping the overall look of the season. I would create lookbooks in preproduction for specific scenes of an episode, and we would create LUTs from them on-set. This gave our colorist — Dave Hussey from Company 3 — a good starting point.
Does the look change a bit from episode to episode?
This show has such a range of genres that it gave us an opportunity to approach different looks throughout the season.
Where was this season shot, and how long was the shoot?
It was shot in the Los Angeles area, from the beach to the desert. The shoot took place about 10 months for 22 episodes.
What about the challenges of shooting the action scenes?
Action scenes are always challenging because they require extra planning. We had action scenes every episode, and they always take place in different situations. For some scenes, we worked with a storyboard artist to map out every single bit of the action sequence to help us on the shooting day.
We talk a lot in prep about the shooting order being as efficient as it can be with all the stunts and special effects involved in these scenes. We often had to shoot a pass with the stunt doubles and then a pass with the actors in these situations.
The reality of action scenes is that no matter what, it takes time. It requires extra rehearsals and extra shooting time but often less permitted takes! So, ideally, you have to get it right the first few times.
What camera and lenses were used? Why was this the right combination?
We’ve been shooting with the ARRI Alexa Mini and Angenieux Zooms (EZ) for most of the show. It’s been great for giving a cinematic look, and the zoom abilities allow us to move fast. The Alexa Mini gives this nice, slightly grainy texture while supporting low and highlights. The Angenieux zooms have been really nice on skin tones while keeping a nice variety of focal ranges that allowed us to do multiple sizes on a setup pretty fast.
Can you describe the lighting? Any “happy accidents” you captured?
Each episode is a bit different tonally, so we had different lighting approaches on different scenes. Some were more or less moody. One lighting approach we try to keep consistent is the actors’ faces and making sure they look great for dialogue. We always use diffusion on our key lights and adapt it to the diversity of skin tones on the show. For example, we often used a gray grid diffusion frame on darker skin tones, making the light a bit cooler on the skin reflection.
The most common happy accidents have been when we shoot outside, and the sun gets low enough that it flares the lens beautifully on perfect moments during a scene.
Any challenging scenes that you are particularly proud of or found most challenging?
We shot at the Aquarium of the Pacific in Long Beach for an episode. We had very limited time to shoot at night after hours before the lighting in the aquariums’ tanks shut off. We also were restricted on what lights we could use inside because of how sensitive fish are to certain lights. We kept our lighting package pretty limited, using the aquariums’ tank lights mostly and turning off any tungsten overhead to keep the scene moody and cool. We added some small lights in dark corners and keyed our actors’ faces for dialogue.
How did you become interested in cinematography?
I always loved stories and how to tell them visually. When I started playing around with a VHS camera with friends, I realized how many different ways you can tell a story. I love that approach. I like to consider cinematographers as visual psychologists. I love the way you can show and interpret emotions within a frame.
What inspires you artistically?
People and emotions. They have always been my inspiration. People are so mysterious and unpredictable, and emotions are such a big part of our life. They make me think outside the box, show me something different in front of my eyes, and it’s often what drives my artistic view.
Johanna Coelho on the set of The Rookie
What new technology has changed the way you work?
I think DMX lighting consoles have changed my lighting approach. It feels so much easier and faster to try different colors or intensities — we just get to experiment a bit more and can adjust lighting faster on the go when time is limited.
On another note, higher-resolution digital cameras have been making everything sharper. I usually use diffusion filters in-camera to help soften up the skin tones.
What are some best practices or rules you try to follow on each job?
Creating a good and respectful environment on-set is key to a happy crew and a successful shoot. In the past, I have found myself in difficult and uncomfortable situations, and it is important to me that it doesn’t happen on my sets.
Also, collaboration is everything to me, and I love to acknowledge my crew for their ideas.
Johanna Coelho
What’s your go-to gear – things you can’t live without?
I often pick my gear based on the needs of the project.
Though, I have been a big fan shooting on the Alexa Mini and using Zeiss Super Speeds or Cooke Panchro primes.
I love using filters for every project, and always have a Black Pro Mist set and ND SE grads in my kit. I often use the ND SE grads to shape the floor instead of the sky in some situations. I also love using color filters, but it depends on the type of project.
Can you talk about being a female cinematographer in such a male-oriented industry and position? Any tips for young women who are thinking about a career in cinematography?
I think there some people still seem surprised when they see a woman DP on set. I regularly have actors coming to me saying they have never seen a woman in this position before, and it’s crazy to me since I know so many amazing women DPs.
My advice to young women thinking about a career in cinematography is that you should trust your instincts and don’t let anyone tell you you can’t do it. Being a DP is not gender based. It’s having great eyes, and you should trust them.
