How Emmy Nominated Queen Sugar and 13th DP Kira Kelly is Breaking the Mold
It was a no brainer for cinematographer Kira Kelly to take the call when director Ava DuVernay sought her out. The project they initially discussed didn’t pan out, but Kelly was soon tapped for DuVernay’s stirring documentary 13th. Kelly’s mesmerizing work was the perfect fit for the high pressure interviewees she filmed and earned her an Emmy nomination alongside her co-DP Hans Charles. Following the success of 13th, DuVernay brought Kelly on to season two of her hit show Queen Sugar.
How the Genius Cinematographer Brought Einstein to a Modern Audience
Casual historians often sum the life of Albert Einstein in a single equation: E=mc^2, but National Geographic’s series Genius reveals that there is so much more to the story. Cinematographer Mathias Herndl’s work on Genius sheds a new light on Einstein’s life. The famous physicist’s reckless youth and pacifist objections that give way to his invention of the atomic bomb in wartime inspired Herndl’s dynamic filmmaking. Ahead of the season finale,
Extreme Contrast: DP Shoots FX’s Fargo and Legion
Calgary-based cinematographer Craig Wrobleski happened to be in the right place at the right time four years ago when the makers of FX series Fargo came calling with an urgent request. "At the end of their first season, it was an intense schedule and they needed someone to help shoot some second unit stuff in Alberta," he says. "I live south of Calgary and had just finished another show, so they asked me to do some establishing shots."
How Taboo’s DP Conjured Painterly Tableaux of 19th Century London
When cinematographer Mark Patten got hired to shoot Tom Hardy's moody 19th century period thriller Taboo, he immediately invited Danish director Kristoffer Nyholm to check out British masterpieces at London museums. "I took Krisotoffer to see landscape paintings by William J. Turner, who was painting the Thames at the time of our story," Patten recalls. "We wanted to understand the way the light looks and start with that knowledge about the river because it gives so much life to Tom Hardy's character.
Check out This Exclusive Behind-the-Scenes Clip From Nat Geo’s Genius
Last week we shared with you the story of how the hair and make-up departments working on National Geographic's Genius have transformed stars Johnny Flynn and Geoffrey Rush into the young and not-so-young Albert Einstein at the different stages of his life. Now, we've got an exclusive clip from behind-the-scenes of the show (Nat Geo’s first foray into scripted drama, by the way) that showcases the work of showrunner Ken Biller and cinematographer Mathias Herndl.
The Crown‘s DP on Capturing TV’s Most Lush Period Drama
The beautifully shot and lavishly produced Netflix series The Crown has raised the bar in terms of the quality that we can expect from a television series. Cinematographer Adriano Goldman chats to The Credits about how he went about achieving this, creating intimacy in grand locations and why he approached the story as though it was fiction.
Congratulations on your work on The Crown.
Dead Men Tell No Tales DP on how They Made the Splashiest Pirates Film of All Time
Ever since Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) first set sail in Curse of the Black Pearl, nothing says summer like a rum soaked Caribbean cruise with a swashbuckling gang of rogue miscreants. Friday will mark the fifth time that Disney has ushered in blockbuster season with a Pirates of the Caribbean adventure. Dead Men Tell No Tales introduces the undead Captain Salazar (Javier Bardem) who has a vendetta against Jack.
Get Out‘s Cinematographer Reveals the Methods Behind Jordan Peele’s Brilliant Madness
From the moment the first trailer for Get Out dropped, we knew this was going to be something special. We were beyond excited to see comedy genius Jordan Peele (Key & Peele) take on a horror movie and the final product exceeded all our hopes. Get Out travels from poking fun at the insecurities of race relations in America to dramatizing the terror of racism in a way that has critics becoming philosophers as they try to unpack Peele's genius for tackling sensitive subjects with humor,
SXSW 2017: Talking with The Transfiguration Filmmakers About the Vampire Thriller
The Transfiguration is a gritty urban vampire story that ditches the typical startling horror vibe of monster movies for the shock of a realistic bloodthirsty killer. Adding to the film’s discomfort is the innocence and confusion of the quiet teenage predator. Raised by his older brother, Milo (Eric Ruffin) is lonely and doesn’t seem to be able to comprehend the consequences of his actions. When fellow angst ridden teen Sophie (Chloe Levine) takes an interest in him,
How the Kong: Skull Island Cinematographer Channeled Apocalypse Now
From the minute cinematographer Larry Fong walked into Jordan Vogt-Roberts' office to discuss Kong: Skull Island, it became clear that the director wanted to make more than a by-the-numbers monster movie. "The walls in Jordan's office were filled with stills from Apocalypse Now," recalls Fong, citing Francis Ford Coppola's Vietnam War masterpiece. "We were both interested in capturing this kind of classic '70s look, rather than just taking all our references from other monster movies.
Our Complete 2017 Oscars Coverage
And here it is, the complete guide to our 2017 Oscars coverage. Our annual "Know Your Nominee" series once again looks at every category, giving you the information you need to conquer your Oscars pool.
Know Your 2017 Oscar Nominees: Cinematography
We’ve gone big for our Oscars coverage this year. Our annual "Know Your Nominee" series once again looks at every category, giving you the information you need to conquer your Oscars pool. Learn more about the nominees for Lead Actor, Foreign Language Film, Costume Designers, Documentary Short, Editing, Live Action Short, Actress in a Supporting Role,
How Walking Out’s Cinematographer Conquered Winter in Montana
Sundance selection Walking Out pits Matt Bomer (White Collar) and Josh Wiggins (Max) against the snowy Montana wilderness on a hunting expedition gone wrong. In order to capture the survival story, cinematographer Todd McMullen had to conquer the elements in real life. There were no soundstages or CGI to paint the beautiful and unforgiving landscape. McMullen and the film crew shot on location in the Montana mountains in January weather.
Oscar Watch: The Salesman‘s Cinematographer Hossein Jafarian
The Salesman, nominated for this year’s best foreign film Oscar, reunites Iranian writer-director Asghar Farhadi with his frequent actors Taraneh Alidoosti and Shahab Hosseini. Hosseini earned Best Actor honors for The Salesman at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival (Farhadi won Best Screenplay at Cannes).
The film also re-teams Farhadi, best known for his Oscar-winning A Separation (2011), the first Iranian film to capture that honor,
Oscar Watch: Lion DP Greig Fraser Captures Five-Year Old’s POV
He shot 2016’s biggest box office hit Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and last month picked up an Academy Award nomination for his work on Lion, so what’s cinematographer Greig Fraser doing in Mexico City filming a TV spot? "Commercials are an incredible technical proving ground," says the Australian-born director of photography. "I'm able to learn new camera systems all the time and that translates directly for features."
The Space Between Us DP on Capturing Earth’s Beauty in Sci-Fi Thriller
Cinematographer Barry Peterson has been behind the camera on hit comedies like Zoolander, 21 Jump Street, and Central Intelligence, but his latest film may be his most stunning work yet. Peterson was Director of Photography on the visually ambitious sci-fi romance The Space Between Us that boasts incredible imagery of our world. The story follows Gardner Elliot (Asa Butterfield),
La La Land Cinematographer Goes Wide to Evoke Classic Hollywood Look
Oscar frontrunner La La Land declares its affection for old-school Hollywood spectacle in its very first frame, when a retro-looking PRESENTED IN CINEMASCOPE logo takes over the screen. From that moment on, writer director Damien Chazelle’s movie musical unspools across an unusually wide screen as an expertly crafted love letter to mid-century movie making. The challenge for Swedish cinematographer Linus Sandgren? He needed to capture present Emma Stone's struggling actress and Ryan Gosling's downcast jazz musician against a modern-day Los Angeles backdrop that assumes fairytale like splendor once the sun goes down.
Cinematographer Mandy Walker Frames History in Hidden Figures
Mandy Walker knows a thing or two about defying expectations. One of the movie industry's very few female cinematographers, she decided at age 13 to become a DP. "My dad made me a little dark room in the back yard and I loved going to movies, so I decided to join those two things together," says Walker, an award-winning Australian with credits that include Shattered Glass and Mia Wasikowska's desert adventure Tracks.
One DP Visualizes Marvel’s Jessica Jones, Luke Cage and now Iron Fist
He’s the go to cinematographer for Marvel's crop of Netflix shows, focusing on a new breed of super-flawed superheroes. First Manuel Billeter filmed private eye Jessica Jones in muted tones appropriate to her downbeat Hell's Kitchen environs. Then he showcased Harlem as backdrop for the bullet-proof ex-con with a mission in Luke Cage. And now, Billeter's serving as director of photographer for martial arts thriller Iron Fist,
Oscar Watch: Designing the Look of Loving With the DP, Costumer & Production Designer
In telling the true story of a white man and his black wife, director Jeff Nichols nails the late fifties period with uncanny precision. His Oscar-buzzed Loving (opening wide Nov. 11) begins in 1958 when police arrest Richard and Mildred Loving at their own Virginia home in the middle of the night and throw them in jail for being a mixed race couple. Banished from Virginia, Richard and Mildred (played with slow-burn intensity by Joel Edgerton and Ruth Negga) decide to fight back and eventually win a landmark 1967 Supreme Court case declaring all anti-miscegenation laws unconstitutional.
