Berlin-based Jörg Widmer started in the industry working as an assistant photographer in fashion, stills and the car industry. He jumped into cinematography with an internship at a public broadcast company called Südwestfunk Baden-Baden, SWF.
Over time he became known for his Steadicam skills and amassed extensive credits as an operator or second unit DP on films such films as Babel and The Tree of Life. As a director of photography, his credits include the Oscar-nominated Buena Vista Social Club and A Hidden Life.
Jörg Widmer
A frequent collaborator of director/producer Terrence Malick, Widmer’s most recent project was the Malick-produced and Carlo Hintermann-directed The Book of Vision.
How did your relationship with Terrence Malick begin, and how has it evolved?
Originally, Malick saw my Steadicam work in films. He wanted to meet, and when I finally connected with him in Los Angeles, he told me he’d like to have me on board for a film. Our first movie was The New World, which was a joyful adventure for me, with Emmanuel “Chivo” Lubezki directing photography.
There were some visual rules, the so-called dogma, to be respected, but apart from that it was a matter of collecting beautiful images while trying to capture the action. It was on 35mm film and, in certain parts, even 65mm. The collaboration went quite well — Chivo was Oscar-nominated.
The Book of Vision
Four years later, we were all happy to return for The Tree of Life, and three subsequent films. On Voyage of Time, an IMAX documentary, I worked with Malick as DP for some scenes, and I was really excited when he offered to bring me on as cinematographer for A Hidden Life. Our last collaboration was The Last Planet, which is still in post production.
The Book of Vision, produced by Malick, has been screening at festivals. What is the movie about and can you describe the look and feel of the film?
The Book of Vision is a film that is hard to describe. It’s about the mystery of the body and the way doctors look at it now, much differently than they did in the past. It’s a love story with a lot of philosophical thoughts about the meaning of life and reincarnation. It takes place over two time periods, with the same actors appearing in both, but in different roles.
Where was it filmed?
We shot in the Trentino region of northern Italy and around Brussels.
How did you and director Carlo Hintermann communicate about the look you wanted?
We looked at and exchanged images, which could be considered as reference. We also went to museums, not only to see art but to learn more about medical history. At an early stage, production designer David Crank was involved and came up with a lot of ideas. We tried to achieve as much as possible in-camera and minimized the amount of VFX work because the production department came up with many fantastic ideas.
The Book of Vision
For the look, we had to decide whether or not we wanted to separate the two time periods visually by using different lenses or different grading, such as black-and-white for the period scenes and color for the contemporary parts. We decided we wanted to keep the same look for both parts, using the sets and costumes to provide the distinction. The two periods are interwoven, and the transitions from the past to the present are smoother and hardly noticeable. We also agreed to use bold colors. It was great fun to see the fabrics that costume designer Mariano Tufano wanted to use. I think we succeeded quite well in fine-tuning the color palette of production design and costumes.
How did you go about choosing the right camera and lenses for this project?
Testing is always the best way to find out what can be achieved. We wanted to use the same lightweight Red camera system with the Helium sensor that we had already used on A Hidden Life. I had seen how much latitude it provided, especially after Red introduced IPP2 color science. But the look of The Book of Vision needed to be different, so we tested different lenses.
Vantage provided us with the One T1, which turned out to be a great choice. For one setup, we needed a wide-angle lens to be able to emphasize the supernatural role of the tree, for which we used the 8mm ARRI/Zeiss 8R Ultra Prime. It provides a very special, almost magical feeling by itself.
A Hidden Life
Who was your colorist on the project, and how did you two collaborate to achieve the look?
For a couple of films, I’ve been working with Christian Kuss, who is based in Berlin. He was also the DIT on set. We would grade rushes every evening after wrap as close as possible to the final look we wanted to achieve. Since Christian always uses DaVinci Resolve on set as well as in the grading suite, the settings and metadata created while we shot fed right into the final grade. This was also helpful for the VFX department as a reference. And since the director had the chance to see images at an early stage and get a feel for what we were aiming for, it was convenient for him too. He came to Berlin for only one day for some minor and final adjustments. It was basically the same workflow Christian and I had used for A Hidden Life.
Now more general questions….
How did you become interested in cinematography?
I started as a still-photographer apprentice and worked in the business for a couple of years. This studio work was very helpful to get experience with shaping light and working with reflections under controlled conditions. But I always wanted to shoot movies. When I went for an internship at a broadcast station, I got my hands on a Steadicam, which was not very popular yet, and I became a Steadicam operator. From very early on, I could work as a DP as well and was able to hone my skills in both fields.
Jörg Widmer on the set of A Hidden Life
What inspires you artistically?
I’m fascinated by light and darkness and moving lights. I like architecture and watching changing reflections on buildings when the sun disappears behind the clouds. Also, I look at all kinds of commercial photography, YouTube videos, paintings, dance, and theater on stage or in the street. I also like to read, which helps me to create my own images.
How do you stay on top of advancing technologies in filmmaking?
Luckily, I like to go to the movies! But I’m also watching all kinds of YouTube tutorials, reading film articles and cinema gear ads. I try to visit rental houses, too, when they proudly show off their new equipment.
What are some best practices that you try to follow on each job?
I really like to listen, since I want to help bring the ideas of the director to the screen. I try to be open to changing circumstances and be prepared for the unexpected, to capture it when it happens. I try to make a film that I would love to watch myself in the theater.
As production restarts, are you looking at new gear or trying new methods of filmmaking to support your process going forward?
Every film has its own requirements to tell the story. If I find out about new ways of lighting or new ways of moving a camera, it’s my duty to try it and test it, to know in advance that it will work on set.
