American Cinematographer Podcasts

Written, directed and executive produced by Lana and Lilly Wachowski, who created the series with J. Michael Straczynski, the Netflix series Sense8 traces the lives of eight unique individuals located in different cities around the world but who are bonded by a singular vision and a powerful form of telepathy that allows them to feel, interact and communicate. Meanwhile, a clandestine organization is bent on actively hunting them down. Seeking to capitalize on this global setting, the production has shot in countries outside the U.S. including Kenya, India, Germany, South Korea, Mexico, England, The Netherlands and Brazil. Cinematographer John Toll previously worked with the Wachowskis on the feature projects Cloud Atlas (2012) and Jupiter Ascending (2015). The series is currently in its second season on Netflix.

Written and directed by Jordan Peele, the horror hit Get Out has received near-unanimous critical acclaim. Described as “a mashup of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner and The Stepford Wives” (David Edelstein, Vulture), the film has been praised for its dark, subversive commentary about racial tensions in America. The film stars Daniel Kaluuya as Chris Washington, a young African-American man who ventures to meet his Caucasian girlfriend’s family for the first time on their estate. The story quickly and wryly descends as Chris discovers that many of local black residents have gone missing. Oliver worked with Peele to create a natural look that grounds Chris’ world in reality. He paired an Arri Alexa Mini with Angenieux zooms, which gave him flexibility and minimal lens changes — an advantage during the tight 23-day schedule.

Directed by Oliver Stone (Platoon, JFK, World Trade Center), the political thriller Snowden (2016) details the real-life story of National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the former U.S. Army soldier and CIA computer network security specialist who became a highly placed NSA infrastructure analyst and leaked classified information about the U.S. government’s elaborate global surveillance programs. At issue are provocative questions about patriotism, conscience and the right to privacy in the Digital Age, as well as the need for the state to protect its citizens and the duty of an individual to do what is right despite the possible personal cost of that action. The film was based on the books The Snowden Files (by Luke Harding) and Time of the Octopus (by Anatoly Kucherena) and co-stars Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto, Timothy Olyphant and Nicolas Cage.

Cinematographer Crescenzo Notarile, ASC discusses his work in the stylish series Gotham, which chronicles the intrigue and drama surrounding a young Bruce Wayne long before he became Batman.

Cinematographer M. David Mullen, ASC speaks with journalist Steve Macfarlane to discuss his work in The Love Witch, a stylish feminist homage to 1950s horror films.

James Chressanthis, ASC, GSC discusses his documentary, No Subtitles Necessary: Laszlo & Vilmos, the influence of László Kovács and Vilmos Zsigmond on the field of cinematography, and their influence on his own development as a director of photography.

Director of photography James Hawkinson connects with filmmaker and American Cinematographer contributor Iain Marcks to discuss his work in the imaginative Amazon Studios series The Man in the High Castle.

Director of photography Jakob Ihre sits down with filmmaker Jim Hemphill to discuss his work on the acclaimed independent film Louder Than Bombs. Ihre discusses the role of the cinematographer in facilitating great performances, his ongoing collaboration with director Joachim Trier, being influenced by films including Ordinary People and The Breakfast Club, and how he finds visual corollaries for emotional states.

Jan de Bont, ASC, connects with AC via Skype to discuss his work on John McTiernan’s Die Hard, now considered a classic of the action genre. Citing an affinity for a proactive, participatory camera, De Bont details how he and McTiernan sought “the right style for the right moment,” and explains how production designer Jackson De Govia and editor Frank Urioste helped them achieve that. He also discusses the influence of John Frankenheimer, his approach to lighting the skyscraper interiors and exteriors (including balancing the two in shot), working with Panavision anamorphic lenses, and lighting the massive atrium set.

Jack N. Green, ASC, connects with AC via Skype to discuss his work on Clint Eastwood’s acclaimed Western Unforgiven. Touching on his three-decade collaboration with Eastwood, Green discusses several aspects of the project, including the decision to shoot in Alberta, Canada; how he worked with production designer Henry Bumstead to develop a period-correct lighting scheme and muted color palette; the importance of shooting anamorphic; and what it’s like to collaborate with a director who is also the star.

Shortly after wrapping the series finale of Mad Men last summer, Christopher Manley, ASC, sat down with AC to discuss his work as both a cinematographer and a director on the show. He shares what he learned from taking some turns in the director’s chair, explains the production’s transition to digital capture, and discusses his unique collaboration with Phil Abraham, who shot the pilot and moved on to direct many episodes of the series.

Cinematographer Tat Radcliffe connects with AC via Skype to discuss the gritty period thriller ’71, which he calls “a political piece, a documentary piece and a psychodrama.” Radcliffe details the filmmakers’ desire to achieve “a level of raggedness” that suited the suspense, how they integrated Super 16 and digital capture, and how they gave the extensive night exteriors an appropriately “hellish” feel.

Russ Alsobrook, ASC, discusses his approach to the drama Black or White, explaining why the filmmakers made last-minute decisions to go digital and to shoot widescreen, how they made the most of the 2.40:1 frame, and how he used lighting to illuminate the story’s complicated emotional terrain.

Cinematographer John Bailey, ASC, discusses his work on the acclaimed drama Ordinary People, which marked Robert Redford’s directorial debut and was one of Bailey’s earliest feature credits. Bailey discusses how Redford, then at the peak of his acting career, came to choose him for the project, how the seemingly disparate styles of Vittorio Storaro and Gordon Willis influenced his work on the picture, and how he approached scenes in the most important set — a strategy that led, many years later, to his landing the job shooting In the Line of Fire for Wolfgang Petersen.

AC correspondent Iain Stasukevich surveys the scene at the 22nd annual Camerimage International Film Festival in Bydgoszcz, Poland. One of the largest gatherings of cinematographers in the world, Camerimage features several categories of competition, honors select filmmakers for their career achievements, includes seminars and panel discussions, and showcases some of the latest cinematography equipment. Featured in this podcast are cinematographer Michael Neubauer, BVK; director David Scott Smith; Phil Greenstreet of Rosco Laboratories; Sarah Priestnall of Codex; Mike Hibarger of Panavision; and AC correspondents Benjamin Bergery and David Heuring.