REINTRODUCING GILEAD WITH COLOUR AND CONTROL Greta Zozula takes viewers back to Gilead in The Testaments, reworking its visual language—balancing continuity with evolution in lensing, lighting and colour to reflect a world shifting from idealism to disillusionment. I was a huge…
BUILDING THE BACKROOMS DP Jeremy Cox explains how he helped bring YouTube sensation Backrooms to the big screen in true cinematic style. Backrooms came to me through Chris Ferguson, a producer at Oddfellows. We’d worked together on several projects, so…
STAYING GROUNDED Surviving Earth DP Olan Collardy explains why he prioritised observational visuals for this touching true-life feature, which follows an Eastern European migrant in Bristol. My journey to shooting Surviving Earth didn’t start with a script. It was one…
PLANET OF THE ADDICTS Cinematographer James Whitaker ASC on shooting Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die — the most technically demanding project of his career and the sequence that kept him testing and guessing until the very last week. We are already…
NEVER STATIONARY Netflix hit The Vince Staples Show shifts between visual languages, tones and genres with unique results – epitomised by its stunning season two opener, set in a car rental store with a difference… The question mark in this…
BOLDLY GOING WHERE I’D NEVER GONE BEFORE Tommy Maddox-Upshaw ASC reflects on honouring Star Trek’s legacy while crafting a warmer, intimate visual language that balances anamorphic tradition with modern in-camera innovation. I grew up on Star Trek original films and…
MAKING A SPLASH In one of Primate’s most tense sequences, its characters try to escape a bloodthirsty chimp by diving into an infinity pool – Stephen Murphy BSC ISC explains how the impressive set and sequence came together. Most of…
SHAKE IT OFF Every scene in The Testament of Ann Lee, following the titular leader of the Shaker Movement, is unique, stylish and supporting of its story. Yet one particular sequence – as Ann and her followers head on a stormy voyage from the UK to the…
FILMING WITH PURPOSE There are many powerful scenes in Iranian drama It Was Just an Accident. However, the penultimate sequence of the film – in which Ebrahim Azizi’s Eghbal is tied to a tree and interrogated by the film’s protagonists – is striking in…
LOVE AND LAVA Ollie Downey BSC recounts shooting The Fires in Iceland, navigating volcanic eruptions, extreme weather and a tiny crew to capture epic visuals on a modest budget. There aren’t too many more exciting calls to get as a cinematographer than to travel to Iceland…
TUNNEL VISION Using high-speed Venice 2 photography, practical lighting and selective VFX, Outrageous evokes fractured memory, culminating in a stylised, slow-motion “Cathedral of Light” at Nuremberg. Outrageous is narrated by eldest sibling Nancy Mitford, who opens the show by describing…
CAPTURING THE CHAOS OF THE ER Johanna Coelho reveals how she shot The Pitt’s 15-hour ER shift, using immersive 360-degree sets, handheld intimacy and inventive lighting to bring every moment to life. When I first read the scripts for The…
BRINGING TRUTH TO LIGHT Balazs Bolygo BSC HCA crafts a rigorous, multi-format reconstruction, using lighting to underscore emotional proximity, institutional detachment, and shifting perspectives in Jean Charles de Menezes’ tragic misidentification. The four-part Disney+ series Suspect: The Shooting of Jean Charles…
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