The new horror film Demonic, from director Neill Blomkamp (District 9, Chappie), features a young woman who unleashes terrifying demons when supernatural forces at the root of a decades-old rift between mother (Angela) and daughter (Carly) come to light. Cinematographer Byron Kopman worked with Blomkamp to make the film dark, moody and terrifying.
Beyond his work on Demonic, Kopman has a working relationship with the director that spans the past five years. Recently, Byron has worked with Blomkamp’s production company, Oats Studios, on the latest trailer for the video game Anthem.
Kopman’s resume is varied; his work includes feature films such as Volition (2019), music videos for various musicians, and commercials for companies like Zara, Subaru and Planet Fitness.
Let’s find out more …
Which scene was your favorite to shoot in Demonic?
My favorite scene to shoot during Demonic was the sequence when Carly (Carly Pope) and her childhood friend Martin (Chris William Martin) get to the sanatorium and start piecing together what is happening and why they are having bad dreams. This is the start of the climax of the movie. The whole sequence takes place at night which we shot over four nights in the desert in British Columbia at an abandoned sanitorium.
Describe this scene and the significance it has to the rest of the film.
This scene is pivotal in the movie because Carly and Martin have been debating whether to come to the sanatorium where they had a lot of bad childhood memories. They had to face their fears and come save Carly’s mom (Nathalie Boltt as Angela). Their concerns were met with the worst possible outcome, and they stayed to end their bad dreams once and for all.
What equipment did you use to shoot this scene?
We shot with two ARRI Alexa Minis and a set of Zeiss Super Speeds. For the night exterior in the sanitorium, we had two ARRI M18 HMIs on rooftops of opposing buildings to provide general moon ambience. We used practical fire from a burning vehicle and LED flashlights that the cast were holding in shot. For interior shots, we used Astera Titan and Helios tubes with grids. For night vision shots, we used a FLIR camera on a custom helmet rig built by 1st AC Kelvin Wong.
Night vision setup
What technical challenges did you encounter while shooting this scene?
These scenes were challenging from a lighting perspective because we had to light a very large area for both interior and exterior. We had a certain amount of gear and a smaller crew, so we had to leapfrog equipment every day. Our shooting crew was also our rigging crew, so shout out to them for working so hard and for so many hours in the desert heat.
What was the dialogue like between you and the film’s director on this scene?
Neill and I have been working together for five years now, so I have learned that he has the clearest vision of anyone I have ever met. When planning the scene he wanted it very dark. Your imagination will take it to the scariest place, so we wanted to work with that. He had to remind me many times to go darker than I felt comfortable, which helped me grow as a cinematographer.
