For the speculative fiction film starring Saoirse Ronan and directed by Kevin Macdonald, the DP had to work fast, often using available light, amid the changing weather conditions of the Wales countryside.
To make his low-budget thriller Blue Ruin, director-writer-cinematographer Jeremy Saulnier talks about how he took control of his film. "I see so many directors without that opportunity to work a scene … I needed more days," he said. "No 18-day schedule for me. I do 30 days. A key component was owning the camera."
Director of photography Eric Robbins talks about how he lensed The Sacrament, director Ti West’s take on cults. He used primarily the Canon C300, plus the Canon 5D cameras, to create the point of view of a video journalist. Here, Robbins describes the shoot.
Labor Day’s director of photography Eric Steelberg and director Jason Reitman have known each other since they were teens, and have collaborated on films including Young Adult, Up in the Air and Juno.
Here, Steelberg talks about how his latest film is a style departure for Reitman, and why food played a key role. To properly photograph these scenes, Reitman and some of the crew took up baking—while other reveal this to be longtime hobby.
"The film references that we looked at were mostly about tone," said director of photography Michael Fimognari of director Mike Flanagan’s "character-centric horror narrative" Oculus.
"So The Shining, Changling, and Poltergeist were more about families fighting an unknown."
Having shot Michael Dowse’s romantic comedy The F Word, in which the former Harry Potter actor stars, the director of photography says that Daniel Radcliffe "was incredible. If we were moving locations, he was the guy asking ‘What can I carry? Can I carry a camera case?'"
Anthony Dod Mantle—who won an Oscar for Slumdog Millionaire and shot TIFF entry Rush—has had “a huge influence on me especially in terms of what you can do digitally,” says Jeff Bierman—director of photography of dramatic crime thriller 'We Gotta Ge Out Of Here.' The movie marks the feature directorial debut of Simon and Zeke Hawkins.
"One thing that shines through the most is the cast," director of photography Autumn Durald said of Palo Alto. "James Franco is an amazing actor — seeing him against Emma Roberts in the intimate scenes; it's a sensitive subject matter as he is a soccer coach and she is his student." Based on material written by Franco, Palo Alto was helmed by first-time feature director Gia Coppola.
Lensed on location in Seattle with the Arri Alexa, Lucky Them's cinematography was sometimes challenging. "We were shooting in January on a beach," cinematographer Ben Kutchins said of one of scene. "The wind was kicking and the entire crew was freezing. None of our heaters would work. The crew was just miserable. It was a testament to them … we got the scene."
Cinematographer David Walter Lech recalls that he was sitting on a park bench in L.A. when director Alexandre Rockwell sat down beside him and started a conversation, eventually asking, “Are you a camera person? I’m shooting a film next week with my kids.” Seven days later, the pair was making Little Feet.
Giles Nuttgens—director of photography on Dom Hemingway discusses why he wanted to shoot film, the decision to go digital, and his take away from working on Star Wars (episodes I to III) with George Lucas.