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.
How DC’s Legends of Tomorrow Cinematographer Films Multiple Worlds
The CW has become home for the DC comics since Arrow premiered in 2012. The show’s incredible success prompted spinoffs The Flash, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow and Supergirl. Cinematographer Mahlon Todd Williams designs the dynamic visual style of the time-traveling epic Legends of Tomorrow. Despite the logistical challenges that come with working on one of four interrelated shows, Williams produces visually stunning masterpieces week after week.
The Future of Film: 360 VR
Technology has been propelling storytelling techniques since the advent of the camera. Annie Lukowski and BJ Schwartz are at the forefront of the newest revolution in filmmaking. Their company, Vanishing Point Media, aims to immerse audiences in the story by surrounding them with 360 degrees of action.
Oscar Watch: DP Shoots Lush Oscar-Contender Moonlight Wide Screen Anamorphic
Action franchises like Star Trek, X-Men and Transformers exploit the wide-screen "anamorphic" format so they can showcase epic-scaled explosions. By contrast, the biggest action sequence in coming-of-age drama Moonlight happens when a 14-year old boy busts a chair over the back of his high school classmate. A Best Picture contender, Moonlight takes place in Miami's rough Liberty City neighborhood, where Chiron (portrayed in successive time periods by Alex Hibbert,
Inches From an Icon: Gimme Danger Cinematographer on Filming Iggy Pop
Cinematographer Tom Krueger has filmed his share of charismatic musicians ranging from Bob Dylan and U2 to Stevie Wonder and David Bowie. But nothing prepared him for the Iggy Pop experience. Shooting Jim Jarmusch-directed documentary, Gimme Danger, Krueger captures the hair-rising misadventures of proto-punk band the Stooges as told by craggy-faced Jim Osterberg, known to the world as Iggy Pop.
Iggy Pop in GIMME DANGER.
Cinematographer Kirsten Johnson Creates Cinematic Memoir From Outtakes
Sifting through outtakes from some three dozen documentaries she shot over the years, cinematographer Kirsten Johnson initially came up with a cinematic memoir she now calls the "trauma cut." Johnson, whose credits include Fahrenheit 9/11 and Oscar-winning Citizenfour and, says "I reached out for material that had been the most haunting to me."
The New York filmmaker had plenty of disturbing stuff to pick from,
Cinematographer Crescenzo Notarile on his Emmy Nominated work on Gotham
Whether you’re a fan of movies, television, or music videos, Crescenzo Notarile’s award winning cinematography has permeated nearly every medium of entertainment. Notarile has worked with some of the most iconic directors, musicians and brands in the industry for more than 30 years. He was there at the very beginning of the CSI series, helping to shape it into one of the most watched television programs in the world.
Notarile is now nominated for an Emmy in Outstanding Cinematography for transforming New York into a pre-Batman Gotham.
Oscars 2016: Spotlight Surprises With Best Picture Win
A genuinely surprising Oscars wrapped with Tom McCarthy's Spotlight winning Best Picture over equally likely contenders The Revenant and The Big Short. Mad Max: Fury Road cleaned up the technical awards, which wasn't surprising, but Mark Rylance beating out Sylvester Stallone for Best Supporting Actor sure was. Despite five nominations, Star Wars: The Force Awakens didn't pick up a single award (but droids C-3PO,
Know Your Oscar Nominees: Cinematographers
Like the Globes, the Oscars can be overwhelming. And while you may feel comfortable trying your hand at predictions for Best Picture or Best Director, the technical categories (that is, Cinematography, Film Editing, Sound Mixing, Sound Editing and Visual Effects) can prove a little more difficult. So difficult in fact, that for some, the arrival of each February has come to mean a new imposing challenge to your cinematic knowledge. Luckily, The Credits is here to help you fill out your ballots confident and impress your Oscar party guests with the low down on the best,
Check out The Force Awakens Cinematographer Dan Mindel’s Amazing Photos
Cinematographer Dan Mindel worked with J.J. Abrams on the reboot for Star Trek, and again on Star Trek: Into Darkness, and even as eagerly anticipated as those films were to Trekkies the world over, his work on The Force Awakens was going to be scrutinized to a degree an order of magnitude higher. Now that the film has been a critical and commercial smash, Mindel's released a few photos from behind-the-scenes of the shoot.
