by The Cinematography Podcast
Art, Business, Craft and Philosophy of the Moving Image
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🇺🇲
Publishing Since
12/26/2017
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April 16, 2025
The Cinematography Podcast Episode 307: Johanna Coelho<br /> <br /> As the cinematographer of all 15 episodes of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufR_08V38sQ">The Pitt</a>, Johanna Coelho helped create a fresh take on the medical genre's visual style. Executive producer <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0920274/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_1_nm_7_in_0_q_john%2520wells">John Wells</a> wanted a feeling of constant urgency and realism to the hospital drama. They chose to treat The Pitt as if it were live theater, meticulously choreographing and blocking every action and movement within the bustling emergency room setting.<br /> <br /> Most of the episodes of The Pitt were shot in order, which helped with continuity on set. Johanna used the scripts as her blueprint, which carefully detailed character positioning in the background and clearly indicated the point of view for each scene. Her shot lists were fluid, evolving organically from the actors' movements within the space. This approach gave the camera operators remarkable freedom to follow the kinetic energy of gurneys and operating tables as they navigated the ER. The set was entirely open, with few places for the camera people to hide, so the entire crew wore scrubs to blend in. “Because of the way it's shot, the way everyone moves, we do no marks on the set,” says Johanna. “There's no marks, there's no lighting on the ground. It's a 360 set completely.” This required flexibility from the crew to embrace the spontaneous adjustments made by both the actors and the camera team, only doing additional takes when absolutely necessary.<br /> <br /> With an open set, Johanna and the electrical team had to get creative with their lighting strategy. The lighting was all integrated into the ceiling and run through a dimmer board. Absolutely no stands, flags, or fill lights were on the floor of the set. The gaffer created custom lighting that could be attached to the matte box on the camera and the occasional fill light was handheld on a pole. Cameras were entirely hand held, using a<a href="https://thezeegee.com/"> ZeeGee camera rig</a> on a Steadicam arm, enhancing the sense of immediacy. As a result, the actors and crew never had to wait around for lighting or camera setups, which enabled them to shoot at a fast pace, about 9-10 pages per day. “We shoot extremely fast,” explains Johanna. “We come in at call time, we do the blocking and then we're ready to shoot, because the lighting is integrated. It's happening so fast, and we know the space so well. It's mostly the same pace and space all the time.”<br /> <br /> The immersive world of The Pitt was primarily constructed on a stage at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, with select exterior shots filmed on location in Pittsburgh. The production heavily relied on practical effects, employing detailed prosthetics and makeup captured in close-up to amplify the raw and visceral feeling of working in a high-stakes emergency room. “When I read the scripts, I felt it was clear you needed to be immersed in the middle of it,” says Johanna. “It's an experience for the audience, but it was also an experience for the crew shooting it. We were really inside that bubble, inside that ER set with the cast and crew.”<br /> <br /> You can see The Pitt on Max<br /> <br /> Find <a href="https://www.johannacoelho.com/">Johanna Coelho</a>: Instagram @johanna_coelho<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.camnoir.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/tech-specs-logo.png"></a>CAMERAS: ARRI Alexa Mini LF, shooting Open Gate ProRes 4444 XQ finished in 4K.<br /> <br /> LENSES: Angénieux Optimo Prime and Angénieux Ultra Compact Zoom lens.<br /> <br /> SPECIAL EQUIPMENT: ZeeGee camera rigs on top of a Steadicam arm.<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> Close focus: Some highlights from NAB Las Vegas. Overall, attendance was down, probably due to the uncertainty of tariffs and higher customs and immigration controls.<br /> <br />
April 2, 2025
The Cinematography Podcast Episode 306: Hillary Fyfe Spera, Pedro Gómez Millán<br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xALolZzhSM">Daredevil: Born Again</a> cinematographers <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1629321/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0_tt_0_nm_8_in_0_q_hillary%2520spera">Hillary Fyfe Spera</a> and <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2960150/?ref_=fn_all_nme_1">Pedro Gómez Millán</a> were both admirers of the original <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAy6NJ_D5vU">Daredevil</a> on Netflix. As the lead cinematographer on the new series, Hillary wanted to bring something new to the look of the story. “The goal was to evolve it, to bring it to a more cinematic realm,” she says. This vision was achieved through the use of anamorphic lenses, lending a more elevated and cinematic feel. Influenced by 1970s cinema, particularly <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T76K3RxJY0A&t=3s">The French Connection</a>, they established a strong visual reference point.<br /> <br /> Production, initially launched in 2022, was interrupted by the writers' strike. This hiatus allowed the showrunners to reassess the existing footage. Upon resumption, the production underwent rewrites and the addition of new material. Hillary was the DP for episodes 1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 8, and 9, while Pedro shot episodes 4 and 5 and additional photography. Their collaborative approach was essential to maintaining a cohesive visual style. “We didn't want every episode to look the same,” says Pedro, “so what can we do to make it better? It's about being a team player and executing that one single vision that everybody's on board for.”<br /> <br /> A key challenge was visually representing Daredevil's heightened senses due to his blindness. Hillary explains, “One of our challenges that we collaborated on was the sensory stuff. We're trying to represent a visual thing that's not visual, so it was fun to put our heads together and see what worked and what didn't work.” Consistent communication was facilitated by a shared camera crew, ensuring a unified visual approach across episodes. The process kept the production dynamic and engaging.<br /> <br /> To define the visual world of Daredevil: Born Again, both DPs employed a range of cinematic techniques. Color transitioned from a desaturated palette to increased saturation as the narrative progressed, with a heightened use of red to signify Matt Murdock's return to his Daredevil persona. These choices were meticulously planned in collaboration with the production designer.<br /> <br /> Hard lighting was strategically used to emphasize that there was nowhere to hide in the courtroom settings. Pedro enjoyed using hard light on Fisk/Kingpin, noting, “Let's take the hard light and make it interesting, especially because these two actors can take it. It goes with the character and the story. He's in the spotlight as the New York City mayor.”<br /> <br /> Camera movement in the show was also carefully considered. Matt Murdock's world is depicted with handheld shots, conveying a sense of immediacy, while Fisk's world is characterized by locked-down shots, dollies, and wide-angle close-ups, reflecting his power and control. Hillary chose to use many long zooms throughout the show. “We called them 'doom zooms,'” she explains. “This impending doom that's happening in the first season, it's all relentlessly crushing down. And so the zooms are doing the same thing- they're pushing in and targeting one thing.”<br /> <br /> You can see Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+<br /> <br /> Find <a href="https://www.hillaryspera.com/">Hillary Fyfe Spera</a>: Instagram @hillaryspera<br /> <br /> Find <a href="http://www.pedrogomezmillan.com/">Pedro Gomez Millan</a>: Instagram @pedrogmillan<br /> <br /> Close focus: Ben and Illya discuss a listener comment from Instagram. Send us your questions or comments- we may discuss it on the show!<br /> <br /> Ben's short end: Ben recently rewatched <a href="h...
March 27, 2025
The Cinematography Podcast Episode 305: Rachel Mason<br /> <br /> <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5194305/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_2_tt_0_nm_7_in_0_q_rachel%2520mason">Rachel Mason</a>'s documentary, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8mMU7QZ-0Y">Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna</a>, is not a sensationalist recounting of tragedy. It's a deeply personal exploration of the life and untimely death of cinematographer <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5035099/">Halyna Hutchins</a>, whose life was tragically cut short on the set of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWnmUj5dRrM">Rust</a>. Rachel, a friend and fellow filmmaker, centers the narrative on Halyna herself, weaving together interviews with her friends and colleagues to illuminate her legacy beyond the sensationalized headlines.<br /> <br /> Rachel and Halyna became friends through their children, who were classmates at the same daycare. This shared experience blossomed into creative collaboration, with Rachel and Halyna working together on music videos, gallery installations, and performance art pieces. Following Halyna's death, her widower, Matt Hutchins, entrusted Mason with the task of creating a documentary, out of a desire to counter the overwhelming media frenzy. “At first, the idea of doing a documentary about Halyna made literally no sense,” Mason recalls. “She's the person I wanted to make films with. Suddenly I had to recognize, no, she has passed on, and someone's got to tell the world who she was.”<br /> <br /> Rachel dove into Halyna's filmography and personal film archives that she had stored on hard drives. Halyna's detailed notebook for Rust, filled with ideas and references, offered a profound insight into her creative process. While Rachel wanted to create a beautiful biography about her friend, she recognized the need to confront the media's portrayal of the shooting. “The media portrayal of the way things unfolded became part of the film, because all the different people involved got distorted in the media. That became part of grappling with this story and trying to find the truth by going back and meeting the real people who were there.”<br /> <br /> As Halyna's friend, Rachel gained the trust of Halyna's colleagues on the film, who shared their memories of her. Halyna's own words from her notebooks and in messages and emails add to the narrative. Rachel also had to sit through the trial of the armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, which was one of the of the hardest things she had to do for the documentary.<br /> <br /> The decision to complete Rust after Halyna's death sparked ethical debates within the film community. However, her family, including her mother, strongly supported the project. Rachel, who was granted exclusive access to the set during filming, believes that finishing Rust was essential. “Halyna wanted the world to see her work. She was so ambitious,” Mason emphasizes. “I have no doubt, Rust was gonna be the film that all the other directors would see a new, up and coming superstar. This would have taken their breath away. She would have gotten calls—she would have been a high level DP.”<br /> <br /> You can see Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna on <a href="https://press.hulu.com/shows/last-take-rust-and-the-story-of-halyna/">Hulu</a>.<br /> <br /> Find <a href="https://www.futureclown.com/">Rachel Mason</a> Instagram:@futureclown<br /> <br /> Close focus: The <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/studio-profit-report-lower-costs-1236168895/">Studio Profit Report</a>- studios are still looking to lower costs to increase profits, with some studios posting profit growth, while others declined.<br /> <br /> Ben's short end: Ben and friend Scott Weinberg make a podcast called <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/horror-movie-yearbook/id1165391575">Horror Movie Yearbook</a> that goes through every horror movie in a given year.<br /> <br />
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John August and Craig Mazin
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Meg LeFauve & Lorien McKenna
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