Podcast Episodes - Cam Noir

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 341: Caleb Heymann

Cinematographer Caleb Heymann has been a key architect of the Stranger Things aesthetic since the tail end of Season 3. After starting as a second unit DP, Heymann was promoted to lead cinematographer for the blockbuster Season 4, and now its fifth and final season. The crew dedicated a full year to filming Season 5, spanning from January through December 2024. While the desert dreamscape was captured on location in New Mexico, the bulk of production remained in Atlanta.

Seasons 4 and 5 traverse a variety of locations, each requiring vastly different palettes. Heymann views...

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 340: Steve Yedlin, ASC

Cinematographer Steve Yedlin, ASC, and director Rian Johnson have shared a creative shorthand for over thirty years. Their collaboration is so deep that it rarely requires extensive dialogue. “Rian will mention things he wants to do differently or specifically, but a lot of it is already in the script,” says Yedlin. Johnson describes the vision; Yedlin elevates and translates it to the screen.

While Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) remains the series' constant touchstone, each Knives Out installment is a visual standalone. “Rian and I are adamant that we don’t...

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 339: Autumn Durald Arkapaw, ASC

Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, ASC was first introduced to director Ryan Coogler through fellow DPs Bradford Young and Rachel Morrison. After their successful collaboration on Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Coogler sent her the script for Sinners, a supernatural horror-action film. The film tells the story of twin brothers who return home in the 1930's to open a juke joint, only to encounter the ancient evil of the undead. Autumn's epic cinematic camerawork on Sinners integrates the vampire story with the spiritual power of Black American rhythm and blues music.  Duration: 00:52:37

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 338: Bryan Fuller and Nicole Hirsch Whitaker

Bryan Fuller has one of the most recognizable visual signatures in modern television. Whether he’s dealing with a forensic pathologist who bakes pies (Pushing Daisies) or a sophisticated cannibal (Hannibal), his work consistently balances the grotesque with the gorgeous. His style of hyper-stylized morbid surrealism was influenced by French maximalism in the 90's, such as Jean-Pierre Jeunet (Delicatessen, Amelie). “Between Delicatessen, City of Lost Children, and Amelie, there was this experience I had in the 90's and early aughts watching those films that gave me permission to p...

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 337: Eric Lin and Lyle Vincent

Rosemead tells the tragic, true story of Irene (Lucy Liu), a terminally ill single mother, and her son, Joe (Lawrence Shou). As Joe battles schizophrenia and urges toward violence, Irene is left isolated from her Chinese American community in Southern California, facing impossible choices without a safety net.

After decades behind the camera, director Eric Lin connected deeply with the personal nature of Rosemead. He grew up in Southern California and frequently visited the San Gabriel Valley, where the film takes place. Producer Mynette Louie, who...

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 336: Alice Brooks, ASC

For cinematographer Alice Brooks, ASC, shooting both Wicked and Wicked: For Good concurrently was a huge feat. The giant sets, precise camerawork and complex, live lighting cues for the musical numbers required detailed planning and prep. But first, Alice and her long-time collaborator, director Jon M. Chu, broke down the scripts and discussed the emotional intentions for each scene. “When we first start talking about a movie, we talk about emotion,” says Alice. “I love getting an emotional cue for the camera the same way an actor would. What is the em...

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 335: Jess Hall

Cinematographer Jess Hall, ASC, BSC reunited with director Matt Shakman to bring the retro-future world of The Fantastic Four: First Steps to life. The two had collaborated on several projects together, such as Marvel's Wandavision. “I have a lot of faith in Matt Shakman,” says Jess. “I went into it with a lot of goodwill behind me. I was very aware that this was one of the original Marvel, it is the first family of Marvel, so I took that responsibility very seriously. I got very well prepared and I made sure t...

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 334: Jeff Cutter

Cinematographer Jeff Cutter first collaborated with director Dan Trachtenberg on 10 Cloverfield Lane. Their successful partnership continued on the Predator prequel, Prey, which became Hulu's most-watched streaming premiere. Jeff and Trachtenberg found they had a strong bond over their mutual interests, such as films like Die Hard with “muscular” camerawork. As gamers, the two often use cinematic moments and cutscenes from both videogames and movies as visual references during pre-production meetings.

For Predator: Badlands, Tractenberg created a previsualization (previs) of the major sequences. He and Jeff then discussed the overall visu...

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 333: Jeff Cronenweth

Two-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth, ASC is known for visually defining modern classics like Fight Club and The Social Network. With TRON: ARES, he melded three distinct realities: the digital Grid, the gritty real world, and the retro feel of the grid in the original TRON.

Jeff’s involvement with TRON: ARES began through his long-standing relationship with Jared Leto. After working together on Fight Club, Leto, who stars as Ares and is a producer on the film, personally asked Jeff to meet with director Joachim Rønning. Jeff fou...

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 332: Dan Laustsen

For nearly 30 years, cinematographer Dan Laustsen, ASC, DFF and director Guillermo del Toro have produced one of cinema's most visually distinctive collaborations. Sharing a deep affinity for rich colors and dark themes, their partnership has yielded five films characterized by an unmistakable aesthetic.

Del Toro's idea for Frankenstein had been discussed since their work on Crimson Peak in 2015. Finally, del Toro let Dan know he was ready to get to work on Frankenstein. Dan re-read Mary Shelley's original work before reading the screenplay. While the script proved a very...