The Cinematography Podcast

Latest Episodes:

BONUS Episode: Oscar-nominated cinematographer Xiaoding Zhao on the movie Shadow and working with director Zhang Yimou on eleven films, including House of Flying Daggers May 18, 2020

Show notes

The Cinematography Podcast Bonus Episode: Xiaoding Zhao Illya sat down with cinematographer Xiaoding Zhao and Shadow producer and translator Ellen Eliasoph at Cameraimage 2019 to discuss the film Shadow. Director Zhang Yimou and Zhao worked together to create a very distinctive color palette, wanting it to appear to be like a Chinese ink brush painting. The costumes are also all in gray or black for the same ink washed look. It also enabled the color of red blood to show bold and bright against the duller background. For Shadow, Zhang Yimou chose to make most of the action design in constant rain, which proved a huge challenge for Zhao. Getting the proper lighting was difficult, because he wanted to use a softer light on the actor's faces, but illuminating the hard contrast on a wet and dark exterior was also important. Zhao actually started off life as a professional speed skater, but got injured and couldn't continue, so he began taking photos and videos of his speed skating team. He found he really enjoyed the work and was admitted to the prestigious Beijing Film Academy. Zhao and Zhang Yimou have made 11 movies together, including the acclaimed House of Flying Daggers, for which Zhao received an Oscar Nomination in 2004. You can stream Shadow right now on Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGetemRDuVY Find Xiaoding Zhao: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1618536/?ref_=ttfc_fc_cr31 Special thanks to Shadow producer and translator Ellen Eliasoph Zhao was featured in the May issue of American Cinematographer: https://ascmag.com/articles/asc-close-up-zhao-xiaoding Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/bonusshadow/ Website: www.camnoir.com Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

Toby Oliver, ACS talks Dead To Me Season 2, working with Jordan Peele on Get Out, horror films The Darkness and Happy Death Day, Mötley Crüe movie The Dirt, and the upcoming Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar May 14, 2020

Show notes

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 74: Toby Oliver Toby Oliver was an experienced cinematographer in his native Australia for a few decades before moving to the U.S. and establishing himself as a DP. He worked with fellow Aussie director Greg McLean on Wolf Creek 2 and other horror genre movies for Blumhouse Productions such as The Darkness. When shooting any genre or time period, Toby believes color palette is important and enjoys working with production designers to fine-tune the look. This was especially true for the Mötley Crüe biopic The Dirt, which takes place across the 1980's. Consistency and continuity of visuals have also played a big part in Toby's films, such as Happy Death Day and the sequel, Happy Death Day 2 U. Both films rely on the “Groundhog Day Trope”- as in, the main character must repeat the same day over and over again, so keeping continuity in sets, camera setups and lighting was important. Toby met director Jordan Peele through his connections at Blumhouse. Jordan Peele, as a first time director, needed an experienced DP and hired him for Get Out. They collaborated closely and created the look of “The Sunken Place” in the movie. For Season Two of Netflix's Dead to Me, Toby tried to keep the look of the show consistent with the first season, just tweaking lighting and camera angles to be more flattering to the actors. It took a little bit of adjustment getting used to shooting series television, but Toby also got to rely on his horror background for some of the creepier scenes. Dead to Me Season Two is currently streaming on Netflix https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmU7ylnmn_M Find Toby Oliver: https://tobyoliver.com/ Instagram @tobyoliverdp Twitter @tobyoliver67 Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/ep74/ Website: www.camnoir.com Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

War Stories Vol. 2: Tales from the Set featuring Walt Lloyd, Shana Hagan, Byron Werner, Claudia Raschke, Sal Totino and Ruben Fleischer May 11, 2020

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Special: The Cinematography Podcast War Stories Vol. 2 It's our second War Stories Special! Each of our featured guests shares an insightful, interesting, humorous or crazy story of an experience they had while on set. Walt Lloyd, ASC still remembers a crazy nightmare he had during a shoot, Shana Hagan on getting locked inside a prison while shooting the documentary Shakespeare Behind Bars, Byron Werner recounts shooting in Colombia at a very dangerous time, Claudia Raschke describes her experience of being perilously close to a calving glacier for A Sea Change, Sal Totino, ASC shares a tense story from the set of Any Given Sunday, and director Ruben Fleischer on a nearly disastrous experience directing a rap video for Who Ate All the Pies? Do you have a War Story you'd like to share? Send us an email or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/warstories2/ COMING SOON! War Stories Vol. 3. Website: www.camnoir.com Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

BONUS Episode: Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind director/producers Natasha Gregson Wagner and Laurent Bouzereau May 05, 2020

Show notes

Illya sat down with producer Natasha Gregson Wagner and director/producer Laurent Bouzereau at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival to talk about their documentary, Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind. As the daughter of famous actress Natalie Wood, Natasha Gregson Wagner wanted to tell the story of her mother's life, while working through her grief and loss over her mother's tragic death at the age of 43 in 1981. Natasha and Laurent discuss their approach to the film, which is full of personal photos, home movies, and interviews with friends and family. It was important for the filmmakers to celebrate Natalie Wood's life and work, and the documentary is an intimate look at her through the people who knew her best. You can see Natalie Wood: What Remains Behind right now on HBO. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2JRzLBVxWik Natasha Gregson Wagner: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0906031/ Find Laurent Bouzereau: https://www.nedlandmedia.com/ @laurent_bouzereau Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/bonusnataliewood/ Website: www.camnoir.com Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

Carlos González, SVC on working for Roger Corman, Raw Justice, Mutant Species, shooting films vs. TV series, Grey’s Anatomy, Party of Five and becoming a director Apr 30, 2020

Show notes

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 73: Carlos González Venezuelan-born cinematographer Carlos González graduated with a degree in architecture before attending film school at AFI in Los Angeles. While attending architecture school, he designed some film sets, and still enjoys collaborating closely with production designers. Carlos says that the experience of discovery when walking into a room as a cinematographer is very similar to the way an architect thinks, but focused on lighting placement and camera movements rather than walls and doors. Carlos started out making low-budget films for Roger Corman with director David Prior such as Raw Justice and Mutant Species. Working on low-budget films enabled him to become “the fast guy” and to develop a quick, basic lighting scheme for each film, a skill he was able to take with him into television series work. He's shot many episodes of Grey's Anatomy and the remake of Party of Five on Freeform. In the past few years, Carlos has moved into directing, and he is currently in postproduction on a family-friendly movie, The Kid Who Only Hit Homers. You can see the new Party of Five on Freeform. https://freeform.go.com/shows/party-of-five Find Carlos González: https://www.gonzalez-svc.com/ Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/ep73/ Website: www.camnoir.com Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

War Stories Vol. 1: Tales from the Set featuring Russell Carpenter, Jakob Ihre, Ellen Kuras, David Mullen and Kira Kelly Apr 26, 2020

Show notes

Special: The Cinematography Podcast War Stories Vol. 1 It's our first War Stories Special! Each of our featured guests shares an insightful, interesting, humorous or crazy story of an experience they had while on set. Russell Carpenter talks about shooting the iconic “I'm flying” scene from Titanic, Jakob Ihre tells the sobering story about working in Lithuania while shooting HBO's “Chernobyl,” Ellen Kuras shares a funny story from the set of The Mod Squad, David Mullen on avoiding a landslide while scouting for Big Sur, and Kira Kelly tells about how she endured a particularly difficult work experience. Do you have a War Story you'd like to share? Send us an email or reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/warstories1/ COMING SOON! War Stories Vol. 2. Website: www.camnoir.com Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

Jeff Cronenweth, ASC on David Fincher, Fight Club, growing up in Hollywood, music videos, Mark Romanek, One Hour Photo, Gone Girl, The Social Network and the new Amazon series Tales from the Loop Apr 22, 2020

Show notes

Jeff Cronenweth comes from three generations in the film business and followed his father, cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth (Blade Runner) into a career as a director of photography. Growing up on film sets and working alongside his father enabled Jeff to take a hands-on role in the camera department. He started as a loader and camera assistant, getting into the union while attending USC. He met David Fincher while working on the Madonna music video "Oh Father" as a camera assistant. Fincher gave Jeff his first opportunity to DP for the film Fight Club. Jeff's collaboration with Fincher later earned him two Oscar nominations- one for The Social Network and one for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. He also began working with director Mark Romanek on music videos, such as Eels “Novocaine for the Soul” and Nine Inch Nails' “The Perfect Drug.” Jeff and Romanek also worked together on the feature film, One Hour Photo starring Robin Williams. The film presented many lighting challenges since the bulk of it takes place inside a store with flat white lights before the darker undertones of the movie are revealed. Jeff also shot the pilot for Tales from the Loop with director Mark Romanek, streaming now on Amazon Prime. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1htuNZp82Ck Find Jeff Cronenweth https://www.ddatalent.com/client/jeff-cronenweth-asc-commercial Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/ep72/ LIKE AND FOLLOW US, send fan mail or suggestions! Website: www.camnoir.com Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

BONUS Episode: The Sound of Silence director Michael Tyburski Apr 20, 2020

Show notes

The Cinematography Podcast BONUS Episode: The Sound of Silence director Michael Tyburski It's a very special Shelter In Place episode as we dig into our archives to bring you some past podcasts you might have missed. Illya sat down with director Michael Tyburski during 2019's Sundance Film Festival to talk about his film, The Sound of Silence (in a rather noisy setting!) The movie is about a “house tuner” in New York City- a fictional job he made up for the film. Peter Saarsgard plays the house tuner, who listens for discordant tones in the home and adjusts them to create emotional resonance and harmony. Michael Tyburski talks about directing his first feature film shot by cinematographer Eric Lin. He discusses the color palette, directing Peter Saarsgard and Rashida Jones, and of course the importance of sound, music and sound design in the movie. You can stream The Sound of Silence right now on Hulu. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejZ75QFesgE Find Michael Tyburski: http://www.michaeltyburski.com/ Twitter: @michaeltyburski Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/bonussoundofsilence/ LIKE AND FOLLOW US, send fan mail or suggestions! Website: www.camnoir.com Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

Producer Brendan Davis tells his story about fleeing China before it was shut down during the pandemic Apr 15, 2020

Show notes

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 71: Brendan Davis Producer Brendan Davis tells his story about fleeing China before it was shut down for coronavirus Brendan Davis has been producing film and television for the Chinese and U.S. market in Beijing for the past few years. He was in the midst of developing the feature film My Favorite Season and was planning a trip back to the U.S. when he got word from a doctor friend that the city would be shutting down and a stay at home order was imminent. Fearing an extended lockdown, Brendan got on one of the last flights headed to San Francisco, keeping his mask on nearly the entire time, and is temporarily living in Los Angeles, which is under a mandatory stay at home order. He talks about the differences he's noticed between the Chinese and American governments and how people have been reacting to the crisis. Brendan Davis also hosts a few podcasts: If I Knew You Better (with an episode featuring Ben Rock) https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/if-i-knew-you-better/id1457785319 Big Fish in the Middle Kingdom https://bigfishmiddlekingdom.libsyn.com/ How China Works https://www.howchinaworkspodcast.com/ Find Brendan: https://www.crazyinagoodway.com/ “My Favorite Season”: https://www.myfavoriteseasonmovie.com IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0204272/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brendandavis/ Brought to you by Hot Rod Cameras: Find your next camera, lens, light or accessory at https://hotrodcameras.com/ Aputure: https://aputure.com/ The Aputure MC- Any color, any time. You can buy Aputure products at Hot Rod Cameras. Here are the winners for the MC light contest sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras! DP Casey McBeath and his pal Drew Kowalski will each receive an Aputure MC Light. Close Focus: With some weekly and nightly TV shows being shot via webcam or conferencing apps, will this become something more common post-coronavirus? The technology has definitely started to catch up. https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/super-janky-but-it-works-how-late-night-producers-have-adapted-remote-filming-1288279 Ben's short end: A YouTube channel called Cinema Tyler, by Tyler Knudsen, who does video essays into various topics. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7GV-3hrA9kDKrren0QMKMg Illya's short end: John Krasinski's YouTube show Some Good News is feel-good content for these times. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F5pgG1M_h_U Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/ep71/ LIKE AND FOLLOW US, send fan mail or suggestions! Website: www.camnoir.com Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz

BONUS EPISODE: Jeff Sengpiehl, chief technologist at Key Code Media, gives tips for remote editing and other post production options from home Apr 13, 2020

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BONUS EPISODE: Jeff Sengpiehl, chief technologist at Key Code Media, gives tips for remote editing and other post production options from home Finding the right technologies and new ways to work from home is becoming a necessity right now. Jeff Sengpiehl discusses ways to remotely access your work edit bay from your computer, edit from the cloud, consolidating the project onto hard drives and physically taking it home, and how to proxy edit from your editing facility. In this episode: Hewlett Packard's Z Central Remote (Remote Graphics Service, or RGS)- Free to those with HP systems, or it can be used through Apple's boot camp partition and paying the HP Z Central Remote license fee. A plus: Still allows collaboration so everyone knows who is doing what. https://www8.hp.com/us/en/workstations/zcentral-remote-boost.html VPN: Virtual Private Network, can be used to connect to another network as if you're there which allows more bandwidth. https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-vpn-services Adobe editing systems, such as Premiere can be “lifted and shifted” into the cloud https://www.adobe.com/products/premiere.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwm9D0BRCMARIsAIfvfIajfwAVEc8MQudttNTgB56iKpQsARUo2pzuLJdsue-bPw2KKfcB1iwaAgKEEALw_wcB&sdid=KKQOM&mv=search&ef_id=Cj0KCQjwm9D0BRCMARIsAIfvfIajfwAVEc8MQudttNTgB56iKpQsARUo2pzuLJdsue-bPw2KKfcB1iwaAgKEEALw_wcB:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!3085!3!383822034471!e!!g!!adobe%20premiere Studio Network Solutions has a product called Nomad, with asset management proxy files available through a shared browser software. NOT collaborative, but there is an “over-the-shoulder” mode for a producer to give notes. https://www.studionetworksolutions.com/nomad-remote-workflow-offline-editing/ Teradici- For PCs only, software to access your workplace's shared cloud using PCoIP (PC-over-IP) https://www.teradici.com/ Good and fast, not inexpensive. See Jeff's YouTube video explaining some of the technology mentioned in the episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzsHG3IbVcA Find Jeff Sengpiehl: https://www.keycodemedia.com/ Find out even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/bonusremotework/ LIKE AND FOLLOW US, send fan mail or suggestions! Website: www.camnoir.com Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz Brought to you by Hot Rod Cameras: Find your next camera, lens, light or accessory at https://hotrodcameras.com/

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