PORTRAIT OF WAR DP Sarah Cunningham and gaffer Cullum Ross explain how Think of England used large format capture, period lighting and bold choices to create its distinctive look. There’s a certain dark humour in the title Think of England — but not the…
PEAK CINEMA Romanian cinematographer Tudor Vladimir Panduru RSC reveals how natural light, long takes and Norway’s dramatic landscapes helped shape Cristian Mungiu’s Palme d’Or-winning Fjord. When the makers of Fjord attended this year’s closing ceremony at Cannes Film Festival, they…
A GREAT RESPONSIBILITY Spider-Noir takes a wildly different approach to the ‘Spider’ story than most previous on-screen outings to Manhattan, with cinematographer Darran Tiernan ISC helping to craft a film noir fantasy series that has wowed audiences and earned him…
A CUT ABOVE Experimenting with expressive and emotional imagery and embracing imperfections were pivotal when cinematographer Eric Yue paired with writer-director Jane Schoenbrun once again to shoot their slasher movie with a difference, Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma. …
SUPER STORYTELLING Captured entirely on Super 8 celluloid by dozens of filmmakers across the globe, Super Nature explores humanity’s relationship with the natural world in stunning style. Director Ed Sayers explains how he coordinated such a complex shoot. Since 1999,…
AWE AND WONDER IN WALES Jumping from high-end television to an independent feature film, Catherine Goldschmidt ASC BSC effortlessly combines entertainment and emotion through her visuals on Welsh sci-fi Out There. When experienced filmmakers offer advice to upcoming talent, one…
LENSING A LEGEND Combining painterly techniques, subtly shifting aspect ratios and celluloid capture, Pat Scola ASC and director Michael Sarnoski continued their successful production partnership to explore the last chapter of Robin Hood’s life. Having shot all of Michael Sarnoski’s…
TRUE FICTION Inspired by real events, Steven Spielberg’s Disclosure Day follows alien arrival in the US, with Janusz Kamiński shaping its grounded, conspiracy-driven visual approach. One would be hard-pressed to find a filmmaker who has done more to shape how…
A HANDMADE TALE Natasha Braier ASC ADF employs expressive imagery, bold colour and inventive cinematography to construct a tactile visual language capable of containing anarchic, genre-bending storytelling. Boots Riley’s I Love Boosters is not a film that sits quietly within convention. A…
ADVENTURES IN ANIMATION Toy Story 5 cinematographer Matt Aspbury discusses how he and the talented team at Pixar continue to create cinematic magic, captivating audiences with new escapades featuring the beloved and iconic toy characters. Matt Aspbury’s journey to becoming…
PUSHING TO THE MAX While Eben Bolter ASC BSC has previously embraced restraint on stunning shows such as The Last of Us, he took the opposite approach with his work on Cape Fear – which embraced maximalism when retelling the…
PUNCHING ABOVE THEIR WEIGHT While boxing films seem ever-present in cinema, Heavyweight – now available on all VOD platforms in the UK following its theatrical run – brings something completely different to the scene. Boxing has a storied history in…
TIME AND TIDE Process is as important as narrative to Mark Jenkin, a filmmaker adopting a liberating analogue approach, shooting on 16mm using his trusty Bolex and embracing imperfections along the way. He reflects on the tactile nature of celluloid…
COURT ON CAMERA Cinematographer Lotta Kilian crafts a restrained, unsettling visual language for Prosecution, using precise framing and naturalistic lighting to explore justice, control and rising extremism in Germany. At the 2026 Berlin Film Festival, during German Films’ annual ‘Face…
REALITY CHECK When shooting coming-of-age tale Mad Bills to Pay instinct and a documentary-inspired method helped cinematographer Rufai Ajala depict a naturalistic portrait of life in the Bronx as a summer of teenage kicks ends and reality sets in. What…
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…
STILL PROCESSING Past and present collide as social worker Sasha tries to make sense of what happened 20 years ago to her troubled stepbrother Jeremy in Blue Heron. After a series of short films, Sophy Romvari makes her feature…
CREATING CHAOS DP James Butler took a swing on a new approach to filmmaking when shooting frantic action film Bedlam, ensuring the audience could feel every hit as hard as its main character. Some titles sum up the character of…
CAPITAL PUNISHMENT Stuart Bentley BSC captures Hamlet using the night and darkness to heighten the tension of this classic tale, with fast-moving, raw visuals that echo the protagonist’s emotional unravelling in London. William Shakespeare’s name never goes out of fashion. Fresh…
SKY-HIGH EXPECTATIONS Paul de Lumen explains how he used Sony Venice 2s, practical lighting and a child’s point of view to bring John Travolta’s long-awaited directorial debut to the screen. John Travolta’s directorial debut, Propeller One-Way Night Coach, is not…
GETTING THINGS RIGHT When Gary (Zach Cherry) and Ell (Maria Bakalova)’s meet-up at a motel goes sideways, the pair find themselves on a chaotic road trip through British Columbia in the SXSW London-premiering All Night Wrong. DP Byron Kopman and…
THE DEVIL’S IN THE DETAILS Cinematographer Hillary Fyfe Spera explains how Daredevil: Born Again uses location, lighting and anamorphic lenses to execute the gritty feel of the Marvel show. As we speak to Hillary Fyfe Spera, cinematographer on Marvel series…
A WHOLE NEW WORLD A pioneer of stop-motion filmmaking, there are few challenges Dave Alex Riddett BSC hasn’t overcome in the medium – but Boop, which drops a plasticine alien into a Lego world, offered something completely fresh for the…
FORCE OF NATURE Jamie D. Ramsay BSC SASC mixed documentary-inspired footage with archive imagery to convey tension when retelling the incredible true story of the 72 hours before D-Day when the unpredictability of weather and one meteorologist’s forecast could have…
THE LOST BOYS Monsoon season, working with minors and a cinematographer on his knees: Mark Wolf BSC reveals the technical thinking behind the first Lord of the Flies series. Sir William Golding’s first novel, Lord of the Flies, has haunted…
A LOVE LETTER TO MANCHESTER With ambitions of crafting a fresh take on the British romantic comedy, cinematographer Rachel Clark BSC and director Alicia MacDonald framed Finding Emily’s unique love story while capturing the vibrant energy of student life in…
The Commission Supérieure Technique de l’image et du son (CST) celebrated the craftspeople who shape cinema from the shadows on Saturday, naming two technical laureates whose work quietly defined some of this year’s most talked-about films on the Croisette. Nicolas…
INTO THE UNKNOWN Starring Sleaford Mods leading man Jason Williamson, short film Unknown Male says a lot while saying very little – with visuals from DP Rufus Wilson setting the tone in stunning style. How did you first get involved…
EARNED SUCCESS Cinematographer Mattias Troelstrup explains how he and his team created emotional and atmospheric visuals in overcast Manchester and sunlit southern France for The Stolen Girl. How did you get involved with your project and what appealed to you…
THE CHRONOLOGY OF WATERS Telling a powerful tale based on Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir of the same name, The Chronology of Water’s visuals offer a boldness worthy of its singular story – here, Corey C. Waters explains how he put those…
THE LENS AS THRESHOLD While building a world that blends visual languages, Swarnim Gawade found inspiration in 12mm for Cyclops. When director Stefanos Papageorgiou and I began building the visual language of Cyclops, our central challenge was world-building. The film…
OUT OF TIME An international breakout this awards season, The Secret Agent is a time-capsule throwback that frequently defies expectations. Cinematographer Evgenia Alexandrova AFC talks about digging up old memories and shedding new light on the past. Brazil’s Best International…
DESCENT INTO IMMERSION On Abandoned, writer, director and producer Joby Stephens built a new production grammar for horror. Combining Sony Venice 2 cinematics with a remotely controlled FX3 system running across a custom multi-point AP network, the film shifts from…
LA STORY Crime 101 relies on practical lighting, real streets, compact Sony Venice rigs and remote vehicle cameras to capture high-speed, in-camera thrills safely. Director Bart Layton and cinematographer Erik A Wilson BSC return to the muscular grammar of 1970s American crime…
OFF THE RAILS As Hijack continues to captivate audiences, the action switches from the skies to Berlin’s underground in series two, with Ed Moore BSC and director Jim Field Smith adopting a darker, more subjective visual language mirroring the characters’…
WHEN NEEDS MUST Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice, shot by Woo-Hyung Kim, uses genre and visual precision to reveal morality eroded by relentless economic pressure. South Korean cinema is often celebrated for blending gripping storytelling with sharp social commentary, using…
ROMANCE AND RUIN Shooting on 35mm and VistaVision, Linus Sandgren ASC FSF embraced a painterly approach when helping achieve Emerald Fennell’s bold vision of Wuthering Heights – a tale of obsession, desire and despair. Whether capturing sweeping Yorkshire moors, passionate…
READY FOR ACTION Fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Never is this axiom more relevant than when you are asked to shoot an action-comedy road movie in just 15 days. The US-funded feature film Reckless, starring Scott Adkins, Vinnie Jones and…
Written and directed by Kogonada, zi follows a young woman whose chance encounter with a stranger changes the course of her life. Cinematographer Benjamin Loeb FNF and additional cinematographer Sheldon Chau explain how they helped to craft the film through…
The NFTS Graduate Showcase 2026, supported by BBC Studios, celebrates the culmination of over 500 students’ work towards over 80 inspiring and original short films, TV shows, commercials and games. The showcase is an opportunity for members of the screen…
The NFTS Graduate Showcase 2026, supported by BBC Studios, celebrates the culmination of over 500 students’ work towards over 80 inspiring and original short films, TV shows, commercials and games. The showcase is an opportunity for members of the screen…
The NFTS Graduate Showcase 2026, supported by BBC Studios, celebrates the culmination of over 500 students’ work towards over 80 inspiring and original short films, TV shows, commercials and games. The showcase is an opportunity for members of the screen…
The NFTS Graduate Showcase 2026, supported by BBC Studios, celebrates the culmination of over 500 students’ work towards over 80 inspiring and original short films, TV shows, commercials and games. The showcase is an opportunity for members of the screen…
The NFTS Graduate Showcase 2026, supported by BBC Studios, celebrates the culmination of over 500 students’ work towards over 80 inspiring and original short films, TV shows, commercials and games. The showcase is an opportunity for members of the screen…
The NFTS Graduate Showcase 2026, supported by BBC Studios, celebrates the culmination of over 500 students’ work towards over 80 inspiring and original short films, TV shows, commercials and games. The showcase is an opportunity for members of the screen…
The NFTS Graduate Showcase 2026, supported by BBC Studios, celebrates the culmination of over 500 students’ work towards over 80 inspiring and original short films, TV shows, commercials and games. The showcase is an opportunity for members of the screen…
The NFTS Graduate Showcase 2026, supported by BBC Studios, celebrates the culmination of over 500 students’ work towards over 80 inspiring and original short films, TV shows, commercials and games. The showcase is an opportunity for members of the screen…
The NFTS Graduate Showcase 2026, supported by BBC Studios, celebrates the culmination of over 500 students’ work towards over 80 inspiring and original short films, TV shows, commercials and games. The showcase is an opportunity for members of the screen…
The NFTS Graduate Showcase 2026, supported by BBC Studios, celebrates the culmination of over 500 students’ work towards over 80 inspiring and original short films, TV shows, commercials and games. The showcase is an opportunity for members of the screen…
The NFTS Graduate Showcase 2026, supported by BBC Studios, celebrates the culmination of over 500 students’ work towards over 80 inspiring and original short films, TV shows, commercials and games. The showcase is an opportunity for members of the screen…
A MOUNTAINOUS TASK Eva Kraljević recalls her seven-year-long journey on powerful Sundance Film Festival documentary To Hold a Mountain. At what point in the process did the film truly “find itself” in the edit and how different did it look…
ShotDeck, the world’s leading cinematic image library, has announced the winners of its 2025 Recreations Contest – which tasked participants with recreating shots from their favourite film, series, music video or commercial available on the website. Filmmakers were asked to…
ShotDeck, the world’s leading cinematic image library, has announced the winners of its 2025 Recreations Contest – which tasked participants with recreating shots from their favourite film, series, music video or commercial available on the website. Filmmakers were asked to…
FINDING COMEDY IN TRAGEDY Director Neil Berkeley explains how he struck a visual balance between comedy and drama in Sundance Film Festival documentary Paralyzed by Hope: The Maria Bamford Story. At what point in the process did the film truly…
ShotDeck, the world’s leading cinematic image library, has announced the winners of its 2025 Recreations Contest – which tasked participants with recreating shots from their favourite film, series, music video or commercial available on the website. Filmmakers were asked to…
LAIRY BIKER Nick Morris brings a restrained, emotionally precise visual style to Harry Lighton’s Pillion, balancing kink, tenderness and British grit through vintage lenses and composed camerawork. When Nick Morris was first contacted by writer-director Harry Lighton about shooting British comedy-drama Pillion, there was…
GOING OFF THE GRID Bringing Light Cycles from the Grid to the real world in Tron: Ares was no small feat. Jeff Cronenweth ASC explains how he shot a sci-fi spectacular that’s the latest in a series with a storied visual legacy. …
NOWHERE TO HIDE Edgar Wright’s 2025 The Running Man remakes the Schwarzenegger classic, embracing Stephen King’s darker vision with DP Chung-hoon Chung ASC’s rich cinematography, digital innovation and high-stakes dystopian action. In late 2025, The Running Man raced back to screens, reimagining Stephen King’s 1982 novel, written under…
FRAMED FOR ADVENTURE Cinematographer Caroline Bridges reimagines The Famous Five with nostalgic tungsten glow, cinematic depth and modern LED finesse, blending 1940s Hollywood craft with fresh BBC adventure. Four brave friends — and one loyal dog — set off on adventures that stirred imaginations.…
DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH Amy Vincent ASC captures Song Sung Blue, a love story of two musicians inspired by a legendary American singer-songwriter, blending heartfelt performances, infectious musicand the joy of a truly collaborative set. “The film isn’t a Neil Diamond biopic…
LETTING GO By stripping back gear and embracing an organic visual language, Łukasz Żal PSC immerses audiences in the raw, spiritual story of Hamnet, a production crafted by intuition, the natural world and the emotional impact of love and loss. Bringing Hamnet to the screen…
A MOVIE’S METAMORPHOSIS Led by powerhouse performances from leads Andrea Riseborough and Brenda Blethyn – with the pair scooping Best Joint Performance at the Tribeca Film Festival – Dragonfly explores an unusual friendship between two vastly different neighbours. Behind the camera, Girls on Film Awards nominee…
BURNING BRIGHT With Avatar: Fire and Ash, the Pandora saga continues, as cinematographer Russell Carpenter ASC details his work on the film, stereoscopic cinematography and a decades-long collaboration with James Cameron. With the release of Avatar: Fire and Ash – the third in the multi-billion dollar grossing sci-fi saga by director James Cameron, all set on the…
TORTURED SOUL Ben Fordesman BSC reveled in collaboration and creative problem-solving with a kindred spirit when lensing Ronan Day-Lewis’ directorial debut and Daniel Day-Lewis’ welcome return to the screen. Ben Fordesman BSC was urged to “stop everything” when he was sent the script for Anemone by agent Grant Illes…
SHOOTING WITH SENSITIVITY Sundance Film Festival thriller Night Nurse deals with a lot of sensitive themes – agency, control, consent, amongst others. DP Lidia Nikonova explains how she approached the cinematography to reflect this. At what point in the process…
PERFECTLY IMPERFECT Cinematographer Gabriel Patay explains how he purposefully used imperfect camera operating or imperfect manual zooming to make Sundance Film Festival documentary Going Sane: The Rise and Fall of the Center for Feeling Therapy feel like a lost artefact. At…
DOING DOCUMENTARIES DIFFERENTLY Sundance Film Festival documentary TheyDream takes a non-traditional approach to the format, making the editing from William David Caballero incredibly important. At what point in the process did the film truly “find itself” in the edit and…
LENSING A LEGEND American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez, premiering in Sundance Film Festival’s Documentary Competition, explores the life of the influential playwright, screenwriter, film director and actor – with editor Daniel Chávez-Ontiveros playing a key role. At what…
BEAR NECESSITIES Having been involved with the project for more than six years, Sundance Film Festival doc Nuisance Bear became more than just a job for editor Andres Landau. At what point in the process did the film truly “find…
DEEP DIVE Mollie Goldstein has two films showing at Sundance Film Festival, Hot Water and In the Blink of an Eye – she runs through her process for both… At what point in the process did the films truly “find…
CHASING SUCCESS Editor David Barker outlines how his collaboration with Josephine Decker led to success in Sundance Film Festival outing Chasing Summer. At what point in the process did the film truly “find itself” in the edit and how different…
A NEW YORK MINUTE Premiering at Sundance Film Festival, The Only Living Pickpocket in New York sees DP Sam Levy team up with Noah Segan and John Turturro for a race against time through the Big Apple. At what point…
Premiering at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, Suzanne Andrews Correa’s thriller not only leaves its mark on the audience, but changed the life of cinematographer Maria Sarasvati Herrera AMC – she tells British Cinematographer why… At what point in the…
GOING FOR GOLD Director David Kobzantsev explains how he worked with DP John Frost to craft a short film grounded in the reality of Farmland USA. Which creative choices in cinematography were most important in shaping the project’s visual style?…
POCKET CINEMA Cinematographers Ko-Chin Chen and Tzu-Hao Kao capture Taipei’s raw intimacy on iPhone, using stealth, natural light and minimal crews to deliver immediacy and emotional authenticity. Stripped back and raw, Left-Handed Girl (2025) marks Shih-Ching Tsou’s first solo feature after years…
HUNTING FOR SUCCESS Following up 2022’s Prey, a critically-acclaimed sci-fi flick that reignited the Predator franchise, was no easy task – but by crafting a fresh experience with Predator: Badlands, DP Jeff Cutter and director Dan Trachtenberg have done so…
TAKING THE PLUNGE Cinematographer Steven Breckon reflects on lensing Charlie Polinger’s debut feature The Plague; part body horror, part coming-of-age psychological thriller. From the raw realities of adolescence through to powerful underwater scenes, the team captured a unique tale of…
A TERRIFYING TENANT The Man in My Basement sees down-on-his-luck Charles become even more unlucky when a strange man takes residence in his cellar. Using lights and, more importantly, the absence of them, Ula Pontikos BSC worked with director Nadia…
MEMORY IN MOTION From shooting in Nigeria to walking the red carpet at the Cannes premiere, Jermaine Edwards’ cinematographic journey with My Father’s Shadow—his first feature—saw him explore capturing the feeling of childhood memory on 16mm celluloid. A child’s-eye view…
CAPTIVE CURIOSITY Robbie Ryan BSC ISC reveals how he created tension—largely within the confines of a basement setting—and the VistaVision adventure he enjoyed, working with rare cameras to craft one of Yorgos Lanthimos’ most technically ambitious films. Spanning The Favourite,…
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND Darren Aronofsky’s Caught Stealing ignites late-’90s Big Apple grit, with Austin Butler leading and cinematography from Matthew Libatique ASC LPS fuelling the chaos in this fast-paced crime thriller. Charlie Huston’s cult noir novel Caught Stealing gets the big screen…
RETURNING TO OZ Last year’s Wicked defied not only gravity but expectations, nominated for 10 Academy Awards and banking $750 million at the global box office, becoming the most successful Broadway film adaptation of all time. Alice Brooks ASC explains…
Welcome to British Cinematographer Presents… Wicked: For Good – a special digital edition of the magazine created to celebrate one of the year’s biggest cinematic events! As Universal Pictures brings the magical world of Oz back to the screen, we’re thrilled to offer readers an exclusive,…
PORTRAIT OF A FRACTURED MIND Reuniting with Lynne Ramsay, Seamus McGarvey ASC BSC ISC pushed visual boundaries when framing a tortured soul; finding the heartbreaking beauty along the way as the mental state of Die My Love’s central character gradually…
BRINGING A CLASSIC TO LIFE Very few stories are as well-known as Mary Shelley’s Gothic horror Frankenstein, but if any filmmaker can add a fresh twist to the tale, it’s Guillermo del Toro. Longtime collaborator Dan Laustsen ASC DFF explains…
PULLING UP TREES Following a logger in 1900s Washington, US, Train Dreams uses a grand canvas to tell a personal story – Adolpho Veloso ABC AIP explains how he and writer-director Clint Bentley crafted a period piece that feels relatable…
FEELING A MOMENT Timely tale A House of Dynamite is lensed in an authentic, intimate and honest way by Barry Ackroyd BSC, capturing the increasing threat and tension as the story is revealed from multiple perspectives. Viewing filmmaking as an…
DUST, BLOOD AND DEADLINES How a Brighton couple shot a horror feature in 10 days: Built from nothing. Crafted without outside support. When Brighton-based filmmakers Lawrence Jacomelli and Victoria Taylor sat down in their kitchen one ordinary morning, they weren’t trying to make a feature film.…
MEGALOPOLIS NOW When Megalopolis, Francis Ford Coppola’s self-funded project decades in the making, was finally given the green light, Oscar-nominated director Mike Figgis jumped on board to shoot fly-on-the-wall documentary Megadoc all about the filmmaking process. Speaking to British Cinematographer…
TAKING A PUNT Fresh off basketball drama Rez Ball, Kira Kelly ASC instantly turned her attention to another sport in Him. Yet, blending American football with surrealist horror, this shoot proved a very different experience for the filmmaker… “Unless a…
A META MOVIE When Charlie Shackleton was told his Zodiac Killer documentary had fallen through, he decided he couldn’t put his plans to bed. Enter: The Zodiac Killer Project, a meta film where Shackleton runs viewers through what he would…
FINDING SOLUTIONS Investigating the condition of the state’s prison system, The Alabama Solution uses footage from real inmates – as well as unique original photography – to tell its urgent story. Directors Andrew Jarecki and Charlotte Kaufman explain how. The…
HIGH STAKES Making Ballad of a Small Player meant striking a careful balance between atmosphere and restraint. Cinematographer James Friend ASC BSC reflects on the contrasting challenges of filming in Macau’s tightly controlled casinos and on the open waters of Lamma Bay. …
CREST OF THE WAVE Back in September, Vincent Kardasik and his 100 Foot Wave team took home the Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program award at the Creative Arts Emmys. The DP and producer explains why shooting the surfing world…
SERVING THE STORY Andrew Butler explains how he used the atmospheric setting of Guernsey to bring a centuries-old tale to modern audiences with short film Albert. Set against the windswept cliffs and secluded beaches of 17th-century Guernsey, Albert follows the…
ALL IN THE SUBTLETIES DP Sergio Delgado BSC, director Minkie Spiro and colourist Jateen Patel run through gripping new thriller All Her Fault, starring Sarah Snook as a mother living every parent’s worst nightmare. Director Minkie Spiro hopes you watch All Her Fault more…
FREEDOM FOR EXPRESSION DP James Blann explains how he and director Kirk Jones put performance first in one of the year’s most powerful films, I Swear. Anyone who has seen Kirk Jones’ I Swear – which tells the true story…
SIGNS OF THE TIMES Ollie Downey BSC relied on Astera tubes with diffusion socks and HMIs outside windows to light Reunion, managing a tight schedule and high page count with a traditional yet effective lighting setup. The BBC drama miniseries Reunion is widely…
A REVOLUTIONARY ART Nouvelle Vague recounts the production of Jean-Luc Godard’s seminal debut Breathless in fascinating detail, marking a triumphant pairing between Richard Linklater and rising French cinematographer David Chambille. Richard Linklater’s Nouvelle Vague (New Wave) spirits audiences to that…
MISFITS COME OF AGE Selecting tools and techniques to reflect the energy or intimacy of a scene were essential for Si Bell BSC, Kate Reid BSC and Neus Ollé BSC AEC when lensing the screen adaptation of the witty and…
SPACE ACE Jess Hall ASC BSC reinvents Marvel’s retro-future aesthetic in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, blending 1960s inspiration with cutting-edge IMAX technology for a unique visual journey. The story of Marvel Comics began in 1939 with the founding of Timely Publications, which…
A LENS ON LIFE From spontaneous dance routines through to the end of the world, The Life of Chuck’s unique narrative commanded an equally distinctive filmmaking approach to translate Stephen King’s short story celebration of what it means to be…
CREATIVE DRIVE The need for speed and authenticity was the driving force behind one of this year’s most highly anticipated cinematic events— F1: The Movie. Claudio Miranda ASC ACC details the method he and director Joseph Kosinski implemented when lensing…
ON A MISSION After making his name with the Fast & Furious franchise, director Justin Lin is focusing on a slightly more grounded story with Last Days, which follows 26-year-old missionary John Allen Chau. Here, 2nd unit DP Darius Shu…
GETTING THINGS RIGHT Diving into the complex topic of AI through a science fiction lens, The Correction Unit aimed to execute big ideas on a small budget – DP Will J. Carman explains how he and director Derry Shillitto worked…
INTO THE WOODS Taking place in the depths of an isolated forest, Knell is a short film that packs a horrifying punch. Director Dean Ferris explains how he and his team made use of their outdoor setting to tell a…
FINDING COMEDY IN THE COLOUR Sky’s Mr Bigstuff returns for a second season with colourist Grace Weston discussing her method to capturing comedy across diverse locations using DaVinci Resolve Studio. Sky Max series Mr Bigstuff first hit the screen in…
KILLING TIRED TROPES Dale Elena McCready BSC NZCS reveals how she worked with first-time filmmaker Charlotte Serena Cooper to bring this genre-bending short to life. What appealed to you most about the production? Bury Your Gays appealed to me to…
FIGHTING SPIRIT Simona Susnea explains why series 2 of Apple TV+ period drama The Buccaneers offered “a wonderful opportunity for exploration and playfulness”. The Buccaneers was my first period drama. I shot four episodes out of eight. The episodes were…
CRAFTING A RESERVED, CINEMATIC PALETTE For cinematographer Debojeet Ray, Kesari Chapter 2 was less about revisiting history and more about how to visually inhabit it. While the film follows the legal battle of Chettur Sankaran Nair in the aftermath of…
COLLECTIVE BODY Four filmmakers and a cinematographer demonstrated the power of a collective collaboration with the release of Where You Find Me which revolves around two women supporting each other as they fight for the right to their own bodies. …
Based on true life, Truckload was the winner of the inaugural Primetime Empower Fund and stars Evie Jones (EJ) Jodie Whittaker, Joe Dempsie, Cathy Tyson, Lara McDonnell and Adam Ali. Written by and starring Jones, who is a longtime close…
CULINARY CONSISTENCY Lauded as one of this generation’s most beloved shows, Andrew Wehde fills us in on how he has cultivated The Bear’s distinct visual style over four seasons. As the FX juggernaut airs its fourth instalment, Andrew Wehde has…
THE GREAT OUTDOORS Hélène Louvart AFC captures The Salt Path with striking naturalism, translating the couple’s devastating loss of home into imagery that feels both raw and timeless. The Salt Path is a quietly powerful film, grounded in a reality faced by thousands:…
MISSION ACCOMPLISHED Cinematographer Fraser Taggart reveals how he captured Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning’s most perilous scenes—some of the most extreme camera work ever attempted in a fictional feature. Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to…
CHASING THE DRAGON Bill Pope ASC reveals how he balanced soaring aerials with intimate drama, navigating northern Europe’s bleak weather to craft a sun-drenched fantasy adventure fit for IMAX. If you’re among those arching a sceptical brow at the arrival…
PACKING A PUNCH Like other established film series, the Karate Kid franchise has evolved stylistically over the years in keeping with different times and new audiences. Despite, that, from the original 1980s trilogy onwards, the basic story has remained the…
NEW PERSPECTIVE Rather than focusing on the trauma, Sorry, Baby aims to understand how someone deals with being dehumanised following sexual assault. DP Mia Cioffi Henry reveals how she worked with director Eva Victor to offer a fresh viewpoint and…
WALKING WITH DINOSAURS Shooting on 35mm in Thai jungles and Maltese tanks, John Mathieson BSC embraced old-school methods for Gareth Edwards’ Jurassic World Rebirth—despite modern pressures. When John Mathieson BSC was approached to make Jurassic World Rebirth, he was immediately…
PASS THE POPCORN G20 blends ‘80s-style political thrills with old-school action, as Checco Varese ASC uses classic cinematic tricks to frame Viola Davis’ president fighting terrorists at a global summit. Love a good political thriller with high-stakes action, fearless heroes…
GAME ON Cinematographers Ksenia Sereda and Catherine Goldschmidt ASC BSC explain how they built on series one of The Last of Us—a video game adaptation that became a landmark in television storytelling. When HBO released The Last of Us in early 2023, it…
MIND YOUR MANORS Miss Austen explores the story of Cassandra Austen through two different time periods, before and after her sister Jane’s death. Adapted by Andrea Gibb from Gil Hornby’s book of the same name, the series enlisted director Aisling…
DP Sheldon Chau speaks to British Cinematographer about shooting the epic myth Kannappa—from Alexa 35s in wild New Zealand weather to shaping light like Andrew Lesnie ACS ASC. BC: What is the film about and how did you get involved with the production? …
BALANCING ACT Shooting the wacky and wonderful world of work-life imbalance explored in Severance season two saw lead DP Jessica Lee Gagné form an even stronger partnership with the visual effects team and invite Suzie Lavelle BSC ISC and David…
Director of photography Alex Metcalfe discusses the making of Cielo, a film about a young girl who embarks on a journey across the country to take her mother to ‘heaven’. BC: Which cameras and lenses did you use and why? AM:…
FUTURISTIC VISION FOR KALKI 2898 AD When shooting sci-fi action film Kalki 2898 AD it was crucial cinematographer Djordje Stoljiljkovic SAS understood how lighting interacts with the VFX that was be applied later and selected the right tools: light fixtures…
A DREAMY LOOK FOR DECODED Decoded brings to life the story of a mathematical genius in wartime China, with Nanlux’s cutting-edge lighting technology creating surreal, dreamlike visuals that enhance the film’s cinematic brilliance. Based on the novel written by Mao…
DP Pierre Gill reveals how he balanced epic scale with emotional intimacy in Dune: Prophecy, using precise lighting, anamorphic lenses and immersive collaboration. BC: Lighting a large set in a way that still feels intimate is a delicate balance. How do…
GRIMM REALITY Disney reimagines Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in live action form, with cinematographer Mandy Walker AM ASC ACS balancing the responsibility of translating a beloved legacy movie for a modern audience, creating a stylised fairy tale vision and…
TIMES THEY ARE A-CHANGIN’ Skilled in immersing audiences in performance-focused stories such as Johnny Cash biopic Walk the Line, Phedon Papamichael ASC GSC GCA and James Mangold explored another musician’s beginnings, sharing insight into iconic singer-songwriter Bob Dylan’s early career. …
Longtime collaborators, director Brook Linder and cinematographer Frank Mobilio, unite again to capture the irreverent spirit of John Mulaney’s live talkshow. A live talkshow seemed incongruous to Netflix’s model when the first season of Everybody’s Live was launched last year,…
GAME OF LIFE AND DEATH Squid Game continues to captivate audiences worldwide. Cinematographer Kim Ji-yong, bringing a fresh approach to season two, discusses lighting challenges, cinematic techniques and his proudest moments behind the camera. In recent years, Korean film and television…
FEELING THE HEAT Director Sandhya Suri and cinematographer Lennert Hillege NSC overcame 48°C heat in rural India, collaborating to craft a powerful narrative. First, let’s address any questions about this being the third consecutive feature on Indian filmmaking in as…
CAPTAIN CHAOS The Franchise pulls back the curtain on the chaotic and unpredictable world of a superhero film franchise. Cinematographer Carl Herse gives the inside scoop on a show that stands out for its “unique” approach. Lights, camera, inaction! Forget explosive…
TURNING THE PAGE Bridget Jones gets a cinematic refresh with masterful cinematography, blending natural lighting, vintage lenses and grounded visuals for a glowing new chapter. How do you refresh a long-running franchise like Bridget Jones? Well, it helps when you…
A TALE OF TWO ERAS Following a hit film, a sequel with a fresh cinematographic style demands bold creativity. Ravi Varman ASC ISC shares insights into his different approach and the journey behind his vision. When Indian premiered in May…
CUSTOMERS ONLY Director Alex Barnes-Auld and Toby Martin shed light on how they filmed Long Black, a short comedy that sees a man on the verge of wetting himself begging a pretentious barista to use his bathroom. How did you…
GROWING PAINS In Heartstopper season three, Charlie and Nick’s emotional journey deepens, tackling mental health, self-discovery, and love. Simona Susnea’s cinematography intensifies the raw, heartfelt narrative. Few series in recent memory have tugged at the heartstrings as powerfully as Heartstopper.…
CAPITAL INVESTMENT Netflix’s Black Doves was filmed across multiple London locations. Despite the city’s popularity as a filming destination, it’s becoming increasingly challenging, requiring more creativity, says director of photography Mark Patten BSC. In recent years, television has seen a…
BEAR NECESSITIES The beloved Paddington bear returns for a third live-action instalment. Erik Wilson BSC reveals the delicate artistry behind blending CGI magic with heartfelt storytelling. A marmalade sandwich-loving creature is back and this time he returns to his land…
DIGGING DEEPER Apple’s dystopian drama Silo pushes creative boundaries in its ambitious second season, with parallel timelines, epic visuals, and innovative cinematography that redefines underground storytelling. Apple was confident enough in its world building drama Silo that season two was…
NO PLACE LIKE HOME VIDEO Director Jane Schoenbrun called for a neon-drenched and nineties-inspired visual identity to portray the visceral blending of the real and the fantasy in I Saw the TV Glow. Eric Yue, having previously lensed The Giant…
HAUNTING BEAUTY Capturing the mixture of macabre and melancholy in monochrome was a creative adventure DP Michał Dymek and director Magnus von Horn revelled in, always driven by story and the emotional path of characters. As first forays into shooting…
The National Film and Television School (NFTS)’s annual celebration of its students’ creative and technical achievements is back for 2025. The NFTS Graduate Showcase was held in March at the prestigious BFI Southbank in London. The event highlighted the next generation…
Seán Mackey discusses Red Egg & Ginger, blending quirky comedy and heartfelt drama to deepen emotional impact in this NFTS graduate film. The film follows Hannah, a young woman caught between her mixed cultural heritage and the chaos of a family gathering,…
Ola Mesmer’s NFTS graduate film Cuerpos employs a grounded, naturalistic visual style, using Cooke Panchro lenses and subtle camera movement. The movie follows a young maid’s struggle for survival amidst moral dilemmas in post-civil war Spain. British Cinematographer (BC): Please…
Ndrika Anyika discusses the technical approach for the NFTS graduate film Sunset on Pluto, focusing on the surreal and abstract visuals. A supernatural thriller exploring grief, loneliness, and self-forgiveness through surrealism. British Cinematographer (BC): Please can you share an overview of…
Lami Okrekson discusses the NFTS graduate film, Day Out, with a focus on precise visual storytelling, blending technical control with expressive cinematography. A heartfelt family story meets a camp, high-energy heist—exploring bold visuals, dynamic movement, and vibrant cinematic influences. British…
Jonathon Le Grice crafts a dark, fairytale-like world in Watch Me Burn, blending magical realism and deafness with striking cinematography in his NFTS graduate film. A deaf teenager’s search for belonging leads to darkness British Cinematographer (BC): Please can you share…
Emmy Ren delves into the visual storytelling and creative challenges behind Inflicted Kindness, her standout film at the NFTS showcase. DS Thompson and homeless teen Tillie form a bond, confronting turmoil. British Cinematographer (BC): Please can you share an overview of…
Ciara Rigney discusses her NFTS graduate film Weekend One, exploring fatherhood, intimacy and naturalistic visuals, inspired by Eugene Richards’ and Sophie Harris-Taylor’s work. Weekend One follows a father navigating hardship and emotional vulnerability. British Cinematographer (BC): Please can you share an overview…
Christopher Hudson discusses El Corazón, an NFTS graduate film, highlighting 35mm film, slow-motion wrestling stunts, and vivid lighting to capture Lucha Libre’s intensity. The film follows a young luchador’s journey in 1950s Mexico as he rises through Lucha Libre to challenge…
Cal Ola discusses Oneiros, an NFTS graduate sci-fi short that blends infrared and conventional cameras, revealing the creative choices behind its distinct visual style. Oneiros follows Isaac Meyer on a mission to rescue his mother on a mysterious planet. British Cinematographer (BC):…
Antonia Schäfer discusses the visual approach and inspirations behind They Made You Into a Weapon and Told You to Find Peace, her NFTS graduate film. The 20-minute drama set in a dystopian orphanage, exploring the impact of the Lebensborn Program during…
Find out why Adobe’s creative software remain the go-to choice for many filmmakers, with dozens of Sundance Festival hits made using tools created by the company. Train Dreams, a period drama starring Joel Edgerton and Felicity Jones, earned rave reviews…
FEAR IN THE FRAME The creative union between Robert Eggers and Jarin Blashke continues to immerse audiences in darkness and visual splendour in their latest much anticipated production, Nosferatu. The story of a vampire’s unquenchable bloodlust, Robert Eggers’ Nosferatu is…
FILMNG THE CHASE The Day of the Jackal (2024) channels James Bond-esque intrigue with DPs Christopher Ross BSC, Dale Elena McCready BSC NZCS, Ashley Rowe BSC, and Laurie Rose BSC at the helm. Shot with Sony Venice 2 and ARRI…
NATIONAL TREASURE Having been involved in Aardman’s stop-motion productions since The Wrong Trousers, Dave Alex Riddett BSC has a deep knowledge of capturing the trademark handcrafted look. He shares why practical magic is still at the core of Wallace &…
POIGNANT PERSPECTIVE Kindred creative spirits director RaMell Ross and cinematographer Jomo Fray adopt a first- person perspective to immerse the audience in the powerful narrative of Nickel Boys while navigating how to make a film so precisely orchestrated feel free-flowing.…
WITHSTANDING THE PUNCHES The Fire Inside battles through production delays and technical challenges, with Rina Yang BSC capturing Claressa Shields’ rise using dynamic lensing, natural lighting and cinematic realism. Having to take a few punches was The Fire Inside as…
THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK A unique energy was created on set when shooting Gladiator II as breathtaking battles in ginormous sets were captured by multiple cameras. With treasured memories of making the original Gladiator with Ridley Scott still fresh in…
What gear did you use and why? Rose and i originally planned to shoot on film and exhausted a good reason to, but ended up having to shoot on digital. Im very familiar with Arri cameras and the Alexa 35…
Please share an outline of the production? The Visual Feminist Manifesto by Farida Baqi follows the life of a woman from birth to adulthood in an unnamed Arab city, questioning the oppressive confines of patriarchy and the expectations imposed by…
BLACK BEAUTY The creation of a black doll was a pivotal moment in toy history. This important story is now featured in the Netflix production Black Barbie: A Documentary, captured through the lens of cinematographer Sara Garth. Barbie made her iconic…
WHEN EVIL RISES Crafting The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power series two pushed the boundaries of storytelling, including orchestrating one of the most monumental battles ever captured on the small screen. Season one of The Lord of the Rings: The…
GOING NATIVE In Fancy Dance, Carolina Costa AMC’s innovative cinematography blends Indigenous cultural insights with practical challenges. Using simplified lighting and dynamic locations, her visual style captures profound emotional depth. Productions showcasing the rich stories of Indigenous peoples in the US…
MOASIC OF MEMORIES The culmination of many years of friendship and creative exploration between cinematographer Andrew Wonder and writer-director Paul Schrader, Oh, Canada allowed the pair to share a personal story with audiences in the form of a cinematic tribute. …
NO LAUGHING MATTER Cinematographer Lawrence Sher ASC embraces large-format digital, innovative lighting, and virtual stages to craft Joker: Folie à Deux’s dynamic visual language. When he was shooting 2019’s Oscar-winning, $1 billion-grossing Joker, starring Joaquin Phoenix in the title role,…
DARING ORIGINALITY The result of an ambitious concept decades in the making, Megalopolis reunited Francis Ford Coppola with Mihai Mălaimare Jr. ASC to bring a bold vision of an epic Roman tale transported to an imagined modern America to the…
LIGHT IN THE DARK Cinematographer Drew Daniels reveals the challenges of filming Anora, navigating light and composition in a gripping, real-time fight scene. For cinematographer Drew Daniels, his journey with the Cannes-winning Anora began with a dinner in Los Angeles…
CREATIVITY, COLLABORATION AND COMPASSION Cinematographer Adam Lyons brought a thoughtful and resourceful approach to the short film Hamdardi, an emotionally resonant story exploring the human cost of divisive immigration policies. Inspired by the political aftermath of the 2017 US travel ban,…
THE CHASE Cinematographer Trevor Roach discusses the technical challenges and creative decisions behind shooting high-intensity feature City of Dreams, blending handheld shots, VFX, and intimate storytelling. Which cameras and lenses did you use and why? I was originally asked to…
Director and lead actor Louisa Connolly-Burnham and cinematographer Angela Zoe Neil offer insight on how their off-screen collaboration enhanced the on-screen chemistry of Mia McKenna-Bruce and Connolly-Burnham in the stunningly shot Sister Wives. How did your collaboration as cinematographer and…
A SHOT IN THE DARK Cinematographer Linda Wu reveals how OK/NOTOK used a single locked-off camera position to tell a near-future story of tolerance and human connection. Please share an outline of the production? OK/NOTOK is a dark comedy-drama set…
A MUSICAL ODYSSEY Innovative techniques from Paul Guilhaume AFC shaped the visual storytelling of Emilia Pérez, enhancing the film’s emotional depth and impact. Just as notorious Mexican drug lord Manitas Del Monte (Karla Sofía Gascón) undergoes gender confirmation to become…
A SEQUEL WITH SPIRIT Director Tim Burton makes a frightfully good return to the Afterlife, continuing the tale of cult classic Beetlejuice and trusting in Haris Zambarloukos BSC GSC to lense the spooky sequel. Admired by many, director Tim Burton’s…
THE WINGS OF CHANGE The DPs on House of the Dragon threw caution to the wind, abandoning the old adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”. They opted for new cameras and discarded virtual production for the new series,…
Marion is a short film co-written and directed by Joe Weiland and Finn Constantine, with executive production by Sienna Miller and Cate Blanchett. The film has been selected for both the Venice and Toronto Film Festivals. British DP Harry Wheeler…
Penelope follows a 16-year-old girl who, feeling out of place, leaves her family to trek into the wilds of Washington State. This poignant coming-of-age story intertwines survivalism and self-discovery. Editor Celia Beasley discusses her work on the film. How did you…
Mr Loverman is a powerful and heartfelt eight-part BBC drama that explores the life of an exuberant, closeted family man on the brink of a life-changing decision. He’s ready to end his marriage and embrace a future with his best friend,…
RAW REALITIES UNFOLD Cinematographer Wilson Cameron captures complexities of adulthood for the understated, yet quietly powerful, Good One. Through a collaboration with long-time friend and director India Donaldson, Cameron embraces imperfections, opting for an unfiltered aesthetic. Here’s how the duo…
SHOW TIME Cinematographer Pat Scola’s Sing Sing employs Super 16mm film, vintage lenses, and natural light to authentically capture the emotional depths and stark realities of prison life. “There’s a lot of sadness and hope,” cinematographer Pat Scola says about…
What interested you most about the project? How did you collaborate with the director? I met Neil Marshall initially in 2020, via a mutual friend, and we hit it off immediately. Both sharing a love for old school Hollywood action…
FIT FOR A QUEEN Cinematographers Jeffrey Jur ASC, Alicia Robbins, and Diana Olifirova tackled the challenge of evolving the stunning visuals from the first two series of Bridgerton in series three. Here’s how it was achieved. To offer a glimpse…
Las Azules (Women in Blue) is a 10-part Spanish-language crime drama on Apple TV+, set in 1971 Mexico City and based on true events. It explores the story of Mexico’s first female police force, focusing on four women—María, Valentina, Gabina,…
FEEL THE FORCE James Friend ASC BSC and Chris Teague, lifelong Star Wars fans, expertly crafted the stunning visuals of The Acolyte, the latest instalment in the saga. They unveil the secrets behind the series’ breathtaking cinematography. In a galaxy far,…
Discover how Emmy-nominated cinematographers and VFX teams collaborate to create compelling visual landscapes, from post-apocalyptic worlds to capturing the essence of a classic sitcom. “It was a true joy establishing the look of what this world was.” The observation is…
STRONG LANGUAGE How do you capture the story of a West Belfast-born hip-hop trio whose Irish imbued lyrics are as bombastic and outrageous as their origin story? Ryan Kernaghan ISC fills us in on how he shot Rich Peppiatt’s feature…
FEAR AND LOATHING Cinematographers Krzysztof Trojnar and Annika Summerson BSC have been blown away by the runaway success of their latest TV project, Baby Reindeer. Baby Reindeer: two sinister words which once struck fear into Richard Gadd. Now, they’ve been…
POWER TO THE PEOPLE Cinematographer Aaron Reid grounds a new breed of superhero in south London. Few would have pegged Peckham as the home of a new breed of superheroes but that’s what new six-part Netflix series Supacell has done.…
Single Malt Productions is behind the new stop motion music video, Insomniac by Nikita Faie. Cinematographer Jamie Touche talks through a rather challenging process. Single Malt Productions is behind the new stop motion music video, Insomniac by Nikita Faie. Cinematographer…
Window Zebra Media is a diverse team of directors, producers, creatives, filmmakers, and editors who create content for global brands and artists. Known for handling projects of varying scales and budgets, the team recently showcased this capability in its latest…
What Men Do For Love is a 15-minute, single-take, neo-noir film that delves into vulnerability and the raw honesty needed for a healthy love life. The story centres on Charles (Jerome Wright), an elderly dentist who kidnaps Martin (Morgan Scriven), a…
RISE AND FALL A sparky retelling of Edgar Allen Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher allows cinematographer Valentina Caniglia CCS to embrace a kaleidoscope of colour. When director Craig Cukrowski was looking for a cinematographer to shape the visual…
ART WORKS Jake Andrew’s innovative artistry is spotlighted in the documentary A Perceptual Phenomenon, which earned James Hubbard, the director of photography, both the CVP & Canon Stories in Motion competition’s overall prize and best documentary award. The word…
THE RIOT ACT Rebirth is a compelling film that draws inspiration from the 2011 London riots. Director of photography, Charlie Knight, elucidates on his approach, describing the film as a modern rendition captured in an almost static, photographic style inspired…
Chuck Chuck Baby, a musical comedy drama set in a chicken factory in a working-class area of north Wales, defies categorisation and upsets expectations at every turn, explains DP Sarah Cunningham. Directed by Janis Pugh and produced by BBC Film +BFI, Chuck…
FACING THE FUTURE Specialist lawyer Dr Cristina Busch and cinematographer Argyris Theos GSC, chair of the IMAGO Authorship Committee, examine the impact of artificial intelligence on the art of cinematography from a creativity and authorship perspective. Will artificial intelligence (AI)…
BIRDS OF A FEATHER Cinematographer Agnesh Pakozdi builds on her career-defining collaboration with Elene Naveriani with the pair’s most lauded film to date, a subtle portrayal of feminism in smalltown Georgia. 48-year-old Etero has never wanted a husband, but after…
CYCLE OF LIFE To tell a story of risk, riders and renegades, writer-director Jeff Nichols and cinematographer Adam Stone hit the open road, drawing upon tried and tested techniques and exploring new expansive horizons to bring the lost era of…
LOVE SHINES IN DARKNESS Cinematographer David Katznelson BSC DFF, drawing on his personal connection as the son of child of a concentration camp survivor, makes The Tattooist of Auschwitz especially poignant. Even in the darkest of situations love can be…
COURTING RIVALS Thai cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom serves up a winning shot with 35mm Kodak film, precise aspect ratios, and innovative techniques in Challengers. In their electrifyingly propulsive Challengers, director Luca Guadagnino and cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom set out not to make…
THREE OF A KIND Shooting a multi-story narrative consecutively and maintaining a consistent visual style was at the centre of Robbie Ryan BSC ISC’s process when crafting triptych tale Kinds of Kindness alongside Yorgos Lanthimos. Like many successful production pairings,…
THE ONLY WAY IS UP Skywalkers: A Love Story delves into the thrilling realm of ‘rooftopping,’ showcasing the lives of Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, the reigning figures of this extreme activity. The film captures their adventures through careful preparation and bold guerrilla filmmaking. Before you ask, no, Skywalkers: A Love Story is not another spin-off in the Star Wars saga. Instead, it’s a tale of two individuals whose extraordinary abilities and daring feats reach a level of agility, precision, and mental fortitude that would make a Jedi Knight nod in approval. In comparison to another Netflix film, The Deepest Breath, known for its intense emotional depth and gripping narrative, this film charts a different course. While the former takes the audience on a rollercoaster ride of emotions culminating in a heart-wrenching finale, Skywalkers offers a contrasting narrative arc. This documentary chronicles the story of two Russian daredevils, Angela Nikolau and Ivan Beerkus, who saved their romance by scaling one of the world’s tallest buildings. “I dabbled, though not to the extremes that Angela and Ivan did, but I was attracted to it for similar reasons,” he explains. “When I discovered that this activity had a name— rooftopping—and that people were climbing the tallest buildings in their cities worldwide, I began to track the rise of this phenomenon and search for a story I thought was worthy of a feature-length documentary.” THE FUTURE It wasn’t until 15 years later that Nikolau burst onto the scene as the first female rooftopper, bringing her own style and vision without trying to compete with the boys. “She wanted to bring a feminine lens to rooftopping, which was really impressive, so I reached out to her,” he adds. “She told me she was raised in a circus and was a trained acrobat and gymnast, which I found even more intriguing,” Zimbalist […]
The documentary Bam Bam: The Sister Nancy Story blends digital and film footage, capturing authentic moments with versatile Sony and Aaton cameras. Cinematographer Lucas Joseph explains how, after a slow start, he used the pandemic to his advantage. If Sister Nancy isn’t…
DYNAMIC CAMERA AND LIGHTING DP Ray Wongchinda on shooting a comedy-drama film, revolving around a woman who has faced a series of challenges, including pandemic isolation and ramen shortages What specific camera angles and techniques did you employ to capture…
CAPTURING THE UNIVERSE ON A SHOESTRING BUDGET 30-year-old Agfa film, a talking praying mantis, and a haunted Hoover. Director Vito Rowlands and cinematographer Thomas Heban were the masters of their own mythology in Rowlands’ poetic adaptation of the Metamorphoses. We…
HISTORY MAKERS The new World War II epic from producers Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg uses cutting-edge virtual production techniques to bring the story of the United States Army Air Forces’ 100th Bomb Group to a new generation. Five miles…
STELLAR STORYTELLING Markus Förderer ASC BVK reflects on his influences and inspirations for the visual language of Constellation, which takes space-set sci-fi to new heights. When Markus Förderer ASC BVK was inducted into the ASC in 2019 he was asked…
IN THE MOMENT Adopting a realistic approach based on newsreel footage and photographs of real combat, Rob Hardy ASC BSC helped realise Alex Garland’s dystopian story of a nation engulfed by the violent clashes of civil war. Director Alex Garland…
LARGER THAN LIFE Ben Seresin ASC BSC reflects on the successful fusion of live-action cinematography and CG as the iconic Titans reunite for another monster hit. After working with director Adam Wingard on the 2021 blockbuster Godzilla vs. Kong, cinematographer…
NORTHERN EXPOSURE ITVX series Passenger employs two DPs for distinct shooting blocks, illuminating the symbiotic collaboration that enhances the visual storytelling. The north of England has a long history of either inspiring or providing the haunting backdrop for various productions,…
LIFE THROUGH A LENS The remarkable yet tragically brief life of Amy Winehouse is vividly portrayed in a compelling new biopic. Cinematographer Polly Morgan ASC BSC explains how she added colour to Back to Black. The “27 Club” is uniquely…
Lights, camera, ethics! Uh Oh is a comedy short film that explores unethical technology, inspired by the director’s personal experience with virtual reality. Cinematographer Aman K Sahota discusses shooting a markedly different film about prejudice and discrimination. Bias, prejudice, bigotry, and…
WOMEN ON THE VERGE Tania Freimuth captures the unlikely friendship between two Irish women at very different stages of life in Verdigris, an incisive study of power and privilege from director Patricia Kelly. Despite commentary decrying its apparent demise, social-realist…
TOMB RAIDERS Filming amidst the northern Italian countryside’s starkly contrasting seasons, winter and summer, presents certain challenges. Cinematographer Hélène Louvart AFC sheds light on the techniques employed to evoke both the desolate and optimistic tones within the narrative landscape of…
Bridging the divide Across his 30-year career, French cinematographer Jean Marc Selva AFC has seized the ever-increasing opportunities to work on international features. Delve into his work on the Hindi-language action film Lakadbaggha as he shares the fun and thrills…
SWEET SIMPLICTY Cinematographer Simona Susnea shares how keeping things simple on Sweet Sue helped elevate both the story and build the look of Leo Leigh’s wry comedy-drama. Sweet Sue, Leo Leigh’s fiction feature debut, is a funny – if occasionally…
SIGNS OF LIFE Female representation in the superhero realm has been lacking both on and off-camera, but Echo’s powerful protagonist and its cinematographers’ work mark a seismic shift. As the first Deaf, indigenous and amputee character in the Marvel Cinematic…
DRIVING THE LOOK Cinematographer Jasper Enujuba helps first-time narrative writer-director Ntando Brown bring short film My Brudda to life in South London. About a decade ago, writer-director Ntando Brown was on his lunch break in East London when a man…
Painting a picture Nine-year-old Tessa is faced with a tough choice to make about her mother, Luna, in The Ornament, lensed by Michael Wylam. The Ornament is a heart-wrenching short based on a true story about childhood abuse and trauma hidden behind the façade of wealth and success. Cinematographer Michael…
SCULPTING 3D When it comes to collaborating with German countryman Wim Wenders, 2023 was an interesting year for Franz Lustig. Director Wim Wenders and cinematographer Franz Lustig were responsible for Perfect Days, Japan’s first Oscar entry for Best International Feature…
Royal rumble The infamous Newsnight stand-off between Prince Andrew and presenter Emily Maitlis has been given the Netflix treatment in Scoop. Cinematographer Nanu Segal BSC worked closely with director Philip Martin to bring light and shade to this thrilling dramatisation…
MARRIAGE OF MINDS Tasked with bringing Mr. & Mr. Smith to the small screen, the show’s three cinematographers reflect on crafting a stirring and standalone visual language for the spy thriller. Inspired by Doug Liman’s 2005 romantic spy thriller starring…
ON THIN ICE The latest instalment of True Detective, set in a remote Arctic research station, challenged Florian Hoffmeister BSC to take a utilitarian approach to lighting design. Another season of True Detective recently wrapped on HBO – and was…
FEUDAL FEUDS Sprawling epic Shōgun allowed cinematographer Christopher Ross BSC to craft a rich tapestry of 17th-century feudal Japan. An English pirate is shipwrecked on the shores of feudal Japan and uses the local political system to ingratiate himself in…
MONARCH OF THE LENS Over six lavish seasons, The Crown has offered a behind-closed-doors glimpse into the fictionalised life of Queen Elizabeth II and the wider British royal family. Cinematographer Adriano Goldman ASC BSC ABC reflects on his career-defining association…
TRANSCENDING TIME Dutch cinematographer Lennert Hillege NSC felt a special responsibility when lensing Steve McQueen’s ambitious documentary, Occupied City. Through “filmmaking at its purest” and adopting an honest visual approach they took audiences on a hypnotic journey through the history…
BITTERSWEET SYMPHONY A passion project many years in the making, Maestro immerses the audience in the life of composer-conductor Leonard Bernstein and his complex yet deep love for wife Felicia Montealegre Cohn Bernstein. Following their success with another musically focused…
GIRL GANG Cinematographers Oliver Curtis BSC, Laura Bellingham and Matt Wicks on meshing contemporary and period in Apple TV+’s youthful ensemble drama The Buccaneers. Oliver Curtis BSC hadn’t shot a period drama since he filmed BBC’s Vanity Fair in 1998…
TROUBLE IN PARADISE A party holiday with pals is a British teenager’s rite of passage, but Molly Manning Walker’s debut feature as director shows a darker side to the traditional trip abroad. Ever since How To Have Sex bowed at…
RULING THE ROOST Over 20 years since the original Chicken Run clucked up a fuss on the stop motion scene, its long-awaited sequel – in production for three years – highlights the magic of this time-consuming filmmaking technique. Some feature…
SWEET SUCCESS Wonka‘s cinematography shifted unexpectedly from Seamus McGarvey ASC BSC ISC to Chung-hoon Chung ASC, marking a pivotal turning point and making the South Korean an accidental hero in shaping the film’s vision. The latest motion picture inspired by…
Finding the sweet spot When deciding how to capture vehicle-based scenes for their short film Sherbet, indie filmmakers Tom French (cinematographer), Danny Gibbons (director) and Camilla Dazzi (gaffer) decided to take a DIY approach to virtual production. Here, the trio…
DIVINE LIGHT In telling a spiritual and personal story that was long in the making, multi-hyphenate filmmaker Warwick Thornton ACS created an atmospheric and absorbing cinematographic piece of work worthy of the Golden Frog in Camerimage’s Main Competition. Echoing the…
LIFE IN THE FAST LANE When portraying a significant period of change in the life of ex-racer and famed automaker Enzo Ferrari, eliciting an emotional response from the audience was a priority for writer-director Michael Mann and DP Erik Messerschmidt…
Café culture A new riff on the ‘brief encounter’ romance, A90 gives a contemporary twist to a classic tale, as cinematographer Leon Brehony explains. A roadside café on the A90, which stretches across northeast Scotland from Edinburgh to Fraserburgh,…
Her way or the highway Find out how Oli Russell, Catherine Goldschmidt BSC and director Ben Taylor fused history and magic to bring Sally Wainwright’s genre-bending story to the screen. Disney+’s Renegade Nell marks a bold departure from Happy Valley…
HIDDEN HORROR Adopting unconventional filming techniques and a hidden network of cameras, The Zone of Interest observes one of the most harrowing periods in history through a modern lens. Director Jonathan Glazer and cinematographer Łukasz Żal PSC discuss how working…
GIRLS ON FILM Cinematographer Suzie Lavelle BSC ISC divulges insights into her craft for the film adaptation of Megan Hunter’s book, The End We Start From, meticulously tailored for the screen. Within her process, she elaborates on sculpting the visually…
OLD FLAME Unfazed by the challenge of limited resources, cinematographer Eleanor Bowman ISC used natural light and candlelit compositions to her advantage to lend an eerie suspense to Irish period piece Lies We Tell. J. Sheridan Le Fanu’s 1864 Gothic…
The age of innocence Young Evie’s summer trip to the Cornish countryside takes a sinister turn in Edge of Summer, director Lucy Cohen’s narrative debut lensed by Rachel Clark. Set in 1990, Edge of Summer follows 11-year-old Evie (Flora Hylton)…
Cinematographer Matthew J. Lloyd ASC reteamed with with close collaborator Ava DuVernay for a “once-in-a-lifetime” opportunity bringing Origin from script to screen. The Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson published Caste: The Origins of Our Discontents in 2020 and the book…
Beatrice da Gama on reflecting the grit of 1700s Cornwall in the visual language of her NFTS graduate film, Bal Maiden. In the rugged landscape of 1700s Cornwall, Bal Maiden unfolds as an intense, unpaved road movie centred around two…
The National Film and Television School (NFTS)’s annual celebration of its students’ creative and technical achievements is back for 2024, supported by BBC Studios. The NFTS Graduate Showcase was held from 19-22 2024 February at the prestigious BFI Southbank in…
Rufai “Roo” Ajala rose to the challenge of shooting a feature on a short film budget for their ambitious graduate project, Que Te Vaya Bonito, Rico (May It Go Beautifully for You, Rico). Rico, an aimless teen from a strict…
Cinematographer Owen Cant reflects on crafting a sense of chaos in a seemingly everyday setting in NFTS graduate film Trouble. Trouble explores the intricate dynamics between two brothers in their early 20s, as they attempt to navigate their divorced parents’…
Essi Hyrkki leant into a naturalistic, documentary-style visual storytelling when crafting her NFTS graduate film Latcho Drom. Latcho Drom is a subtle, poetic film about three Romani brothers and their struggle to move on after the death of their father.…
Cinematographer Sunshine Hsien Yu Niu opted for a handheld approach for her NFTS graduate film, Rock, Paper, Scissors, based on a true story. Rock, Paper, Scissors follows a father and son who run a makeshift hospital on the front line.…
Natdanai “Ham” Naksuwarn relished the challenge of shooting on 35mm celluloid for the first time when tackling postcolonial psychological horror Remains. Remains follows a Windrush migrant who is employed as a servant on an estate – presumably to look after…
Cinematographer Jake Duncan headed to Spain’s Almería to lens family drama Resort, aiming for a naturalistic look while dealing with the challenges of shooting in direct sunlight. After mum’s most recent psychotic episode, a dysfunctional family of three tries their…
Cinematographer Edward Hamilton-Stubber draws on his experiences living in Berlin when crafting the visual language for his NFTS graduate film, Tapeworm. Trapped in a cycle of debt, years as witness and accessory to cold-blooded exploitation have hardened Worm. A final…
Jester, lensed by Bart Bazaz, is a 17th-century period piece imbued with a sense of scale and adventure. Bazaz shares his insight into the filmmaking process, including using some interesting lenses for a nightmare sequence and achieving a fable-like feel…
COVID caper The COVID-19 pandemic stands as one of the most transformative periods in recent human history, reshaping societies, economies, and individual lives on a global scale. Cinematographer Arlene Müller explains how she brought this lamentable period back to the…
Black Britain Unspoken (BBU), part of Warner Bros. Discovery Access, aims to give access and voice to talented Black British creatives and storytellers. BBU offers three filmmakers a pitch to production which supports them to develop, produce and launch their…
Eye of the storm New ITV drama Breathtaking is a chilling depiction of the COVID pandemic as seen through a doctor’s eyes. Breathtaking is adapted from Dr Rachel Clarke’s memoir; a courageous insider’s account from the hospital floor at the…
Into the blue When an aeroplane crash-lands in the Pacific Ocean, the clock is ticking for its passengers in claustrophobia-laced survival thriller No Way Up. Trapped in an air lock and circled by sharks, will any of them escape before…
Young minds The Boy in the Shed tells a powerful narrative of children’s mental health and bereavement. The director and DP of the short film discuss the challenges of working with child actors on a tight budget and limited time.…
Gangsters’ paradise Cinematographer Bebe Dierken was entrusted with setting the look for the exciting prequel series to the seminal gangster film Sexy Beast. A prequel series to Jonathan Glazer’s lively debut film, Sexy Beast follows Gary ‘Gal’ Dove and Don…
In at the deep end Amid the swirling waters of the River Tees, the cast and crew of After The Flood pulled together to shoot a breath-taking opening sequence that would set the tone for the thrilling ITV drama. Cinematographer…
Stealing the show An ocean-hopping heist with heart, Culprits’ shifting timelines allowed DPs Philipp Blaubach BSC and Anna Valdez Hanks to get creative and colourful with their lensing choices. “Complex and ambitious” is how cinematographer Philipp Blaubach BSC sums up…
History makers Lensing a satire-laced mockumentary set in 17th-century Poland was a unique challenge for cinematographer Nils Croné FSF. Take a rip-roaring ride through 17th-century Poland in Netflix’s 1670, which follows crazy nobleman Jan Paweł Adamczewski as he vies to become…
Introducing Lapel, the London Film School Graduation Film directed by Nicholas Seaton and lensed by Adar Raviv. In Lapel, a sound recordist, Lydia, buries herself in work to avoid going home to her family. But when she witnesses a transformative performance…
The London Film School Graduate Showcase took place from 22 – 26 January at the BFI Southbank, celebrating the achievements of the latest cohort of fledgling filmmakers as they make their first steps into the industry. British Cinematographer is delighted to be…
Introducing Pillow Fights, the London Film School Graduation Film directed by Abigail Quinlan and lensed by Blerta Kambo. Four flatmates decide to go on a night out, but for some inexplicable reason they can never leave the flat. Pillow Fights is…
Introducing Light Cracks, the London Film School Graduation Film directed by Clara Pavía and lensed by Bo W. Giesen. Suffering from derealisation, a young woman departs from her physical self to embark on a journey through her inner world in…
Introducing Gorse Mother, the London Film School Graduation Film directed by Sonya G. Rosen and lensed by Lucas Boetsch. Gorse Mother is a love letter to folklores, pagan rituals, traditions and beliefs. It is about the gorse game, a sensual,…
French cinematographer Laurent Barès on the lure of a London shoot, his love for prep, and the challenges of bringing a complex narrative to the small screen. Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo star as detectives drawn together by an anonymous…
Finding magic in monochrome First-time filmmaker D. Smith’s unflinching lens contrasts the strength and struggles of America’s Black trans sex workers. One of the most striking things about Kokomo City – a documentary that’s hardly shrinking in its tone or…
Quick change With a change in crew, Tim Maurice-Jones BSC and director Scott Waugh had to get the large-scale action thriller Expend4bles ready to shoot in less than a month, tackling prep head-on. With a few weeks to go before…
Visual feast Cinematographer Matthew Lewis cooks up a storm in Boiling Point’s small-screen adaptation, which shifts from its predecessor’s one-shot approach. 2021’s Boiling Point successfully mixed two distinct movie genres: The meal-as-revelation film, which includes such wide-ranging fare as…
Textures of living Shooting on celluloid and creating tactile imagery was key when cinematographer Jomo Fray lensed a love letter to the last three generations of women in director Raven Jackson’s family. Taking part in the US Dramatic Competition at…
The boys of summer Twins Rémi and Raphaël are growing up – and growing apart. A summer in the mountains reignites their childhood bond, captured through Myriam Payette’s intimate lens. Justine Martin’s documentary short Oasis is a honey-hued love letter…
Napoleonic coding Henry Badgett from BlueBolt explains the team’s approach that secured Napoleon a place on the Academy’s visual effects longlist. Ridley Scott described his recent epic Napoleon as “a character study with violence, with action, with everything you got”, as…
Letter of the law Wronged by a flawed IT system, a quietly heroic sub-postmaster seeks justice in a four-part ITV drama lensed by Matt Gray BSC. The Horizon scandal, an egregious stain on the reputation of the Post Office, saw…
In the realm of horror in 2023, familiar titles like The Exorcist: Believer, the franchise’s sixth instalment, and Renfield, steeped in vampire lore, were complemented by Haunted Mansion exploring the supernatural and The Nun II continuing its eerie sisterly tale.…
FUTURISTIC VISION Remaining as nimble as possible during shooting saw the filmmakers behind The Creator change the methodology of making a blockbuster and work with multiple camera configurations including easy-to-assemble prosumer equipment. More often than not, two cinematographers credited on…
EXECUTION IS EVERYTHING Oscar-winning DP Erik Messerschmidt ASC re-teams with David Fincher for a live-action comic book adaptation that required a meticulous approach to its cinematography. When Erik Messerschmidt ASC got the call from David Fincher to work on…
Miller’s crossing Sam Levy, the cinematographer on She Came to Me, explains the challenges of shooting and lighting in a theatre. Rebecca Miller’s life has been steeped in the realm of creative expression. Initially influenced by her father, the revered…
A new dawn for the Doctor When the opportunity to shoot one of Doctor Who’s 60th anniversary specials arose, sci-fi fan Mika Orasmaa FSC couldn’t turn down the chance to lens a giant of the genre. “The Giggle”, the final…
Keep your enemies close Femme, Sam H. Freeman and Ng Choon Ping’s queer reframing of the neo-noir thriller, offered cinematographer James Rhodes unrivalled creative freedom in his lensing choices. When Jules’ (Nathan Stewart-Jarrett) career as a drag performer is ruined…
PAINTING BY CANDLELIGHT The rise of one of France’s most emblematic figures is the subject of Ridley Scott and Dariusz Wolski ASC’s latest collaboration. The cinematographer reveals how capturing Napoleon’s epic battle scenes felt akin to shooting a rock concert. …
Trapped in trauma Fully Focused, an innovative, youth-led production company, has offered aspiring crew a helping hand into the industry since 2010. Find out how projects like PTSD are giving talented young people from diverse backgrounds space to shine. When…
IN SEARCH OF THE TRUTH Yet another powerful meeting of creative minds between Martin Scorsese and Rodrigo Prieto ASC AMC sees the filmmakers breathe cinematic life into the true story of betrayal and murder that devastated the Osage community in…
Lifelong love Nick Dance BSC grew up watching Doctor Who in the ’60s; now, he’s one of the beloved show’s cinematographers as it celebrates six decades on our screens. David Tennant’s Doctor and Catherine Tate’s Donna continue their romp through…
BLEAK BEAUTY Linus Sandgren ASC FSF was perfectly aligned with writer-director Emerald Fennell’s visual ambitions when lensing a twisted tale that is shocking yet beautiful. Following writer-director Emerald Fennell’s 2020 bold debut feature and breakout success Promising Young Woman (Cin:…
Cinematographer Gavin Struthers ASC BSC on shooting docs, shooting drama and adapting the look for Apple TV+ show Invasion. After a decade making blue chip British drama like Shameless, Secret Diary of a Call Girl, Holby City, Downton Abbey, Doctor…
Lensing a legend Matt Gray BSC shares the thrills of stepping into the time-hopping world of Doctor Who as the beloved show celebrates 60 years on the small screen. David Tennant, Catherine Tate and Russell T Davies have returned to…
Dark and stormy Ari Wegner ASC ACS takes on the psycho drama of Eileen and the wintry conditions of a New Jersey shoot. Reuniting for the first time since Lady Macbeth in 2016, director William Oldroyd and cinematographer Ari Wegner…
Night of fancy Boston’s oldest – and most notorious – queer bar rises from the ashes for one final night of fun in Georden West’s interdisciplinary spectacle, reuniting a striking cast of characters who worked and played there over the…
Lensing a love letter Cathy Ye’s experience shooting narrative projects brought a new creative dimension to experimental documentary Bone Black: Midwives vs. The South. Shifting into the documentary space also taught the cinematographer the importance of being reactive and adaptable.…
Female gaze Adura Onashile’s personal portrayal of a fraying maternal bond in Girl gave cinematographer Tasha Back plenty of opportunity to paint with light and colour in Glasgow’s concrete jungle. When Ama hits puberty, her impending womanhood proves an unwanted…
Asking the big questions Lensing filmmaker Ella Glendining’s intensely personal journey of discovery brought the issue of ableism into sharp focus for cinematographer Annemarie Lean-Vercoe. “This film is not about the body; it is about the soul. It is about…
Fight of your life The macho world of wrestling is sent into a spin with the arrival of the ‘Liberace of Lucha Libre’ in Roger Ross Williams’ biopic Cassandro, lensed by Matías Penachino. Saúl Armendáriz has made his name as…
Memorable moments Cinematographer Stuart White reflects on the exciting challenges of capturing Arabella Burfitt-Dons’ feature debut. At this year’s Female Eye Film Festival in Toronto, when director Arabella Burfitt-Dons won the award for Best Foreign Debut with her indie feature…
Mists of time On the hunt for a nostalgic aesthetic for his BFI London Film Festival debut Haar, Ben Hecking turned to the quirky DS8 format – a decision that would prove a fun challenge for cast and crew. Filmmaker…
PLAYING BY THE BOOK Faced with a tight timeframe to shoot Heartstopper’s second season, cinematographer Simona Susnea reveals the creative and technical processes that helped her beat the clock when capturing Charlie and Nick’s cross-Channel adventure, while paying homage to…
MULTICAM MASTERCLASS Todd Banhazl ASC was enlisted from the get go of Winning Time‘s production to ensure the HBO show captured the explosive rise of one of sport’s most iconic dynasties. With Jerry Buss’ 1979 purchase of the Los Angeles…
Cabin fever The apocalypse comes knocking in master of thrills M. Night Shyamalan’s trope-twisting horror. Cinematographer Lowell A. Meyer, who shares a DP credit with Jarin Blaschke, reveals how he helped craft the film’s spine-chilling visuals. The haunted-cabin-in-the-woods cliché gets…
HEAVEN SENT Gifted a vast creative landscape from two of fantasy’s foremost authors to play with, Gavin Finney BSC reveals how he crafted the otherworldly visuals for Good Omens 2. It started with a letter from beyond the grave. Following…
The morning after Cinematographer Carmen Pellon Brussosa on striking the perfect balance of comedy and drama in her lensing of gender-flipping short film Does Your Condom Make You Fat? After a boozy night with his date, Owen wakes up to…
Perils of parenthood Newborn euphoria soon turns to trauma when baby Brian’s mother, Emma, makes a horrific decision in The Changeling, the Apple TV+ adaptation of Victor LaValle’s hit novel. With a narrative spun from folklore and fairy tales, framed…
Killer instinct Shane Kelly reteams with Boyhood collaborator Richard Linklater for a screwball comedy based on an astonishing true story. A 2001 article in Texas Monthly by journalist Skip Hollandsworth about a deadly contract killer with surprising allegiances inspires Richard…
IMMERSIVE IN IMAX We caught up with DNEG VFX supervisors Andrew Jackson and Giacomo Mineo to learn about how they crafted the stunning VFX for one of the most visually explosive films of the year. Did your process have to…
Nocturnal narratives Stuart White reveals how he crafted the Fincher-esque aesthetic of Raindance-selected feature Warhol. In the words of Elliot Grove, founder of the UK’s Raindance Film Festival, the new feature film Warhol “effortlessly crosscuts between three gripping storylines: a shock-jock…
Shifting perspectives Matt Gray BSC tells us about the power of the camera in manipulating perspective and challenging preconceived notions in his lensing of twisty legal thriller The Killing Kind. The latest TV project for award-winning DP Matt Gray is…
MISSION: IMPECCABLE It’s the most daring cinematic adventure in the Mission: Impossible franchise’s 27-year history, packed with adrenaline-fuelled stunts and a powerful visual approach to match. Cinematographer Fraser Taggart reveals how the latest instalment was lensed to immerse the audience…
VAMPIRIC VENGEANCE Pablo Larraín’s latest film borrows from film and folklore history to reimagine Chile’s former dictator Augusto Pinochet as a blood-sucking vampire. Ed Lachman ASC was enlisted to help Chilean director Pablo Larraín exact his revenge on Pinochet, using…
Tangled web Lensing the eight-legged invasion of a Paris banlieue was an exciting first feature project for cinematographer Alexandre Jamin. The closing film of Venice Critics Week, Vermines unites two long-time collaborators: cinematographer Alexandre Jamin and director Sébastien Vaniček. Jamin…
MORAL DILEMMA A right-to-die evangelist is forced to confront his faith and morality after meeting his latest client in a quietly powerful two-hander from filmmaking brothers Paul and Simon Wade, lensed by Donna Wade. Despite a runtime of just 18…
Spine-tingling visuals Anastas Michos ASC GSC reteamed with director David Prior to shoot the Emmy-nominated episode “The Autopsy” for Guillermo del Toro’s anthology series Cabinet of Curiosities. In this version of Michael Shea’s short story, adapted with the help of screenwriter…
Lighting a dark past Portraying a dark stain on Ireland’s past with humour and light poses a daunting challenge, particularly when many victims are still alive. In a new series about the Magdalene laundries scandal, cinematographer Si Bell reveals how…
Lighting the way The cinematographer and director behind a Goya Awards-shortlisted documentary set against a backdrop of Sierra Leone’s energy crisis reveal their filmmaking choices. The Road Bad and the Place Dark takes viewers to Sierra Leone, and inside the…
SOUNDS OF THE UNDERGROUND Fresh from his Bafta Television Craft Award success, Chas Appeti, the cinematographer and co-creator of Amazon’s Jungle with Junior Okoli, reflects on his winning work on the innovative musical series. Tinie Tempah, Big Narstie, Unknown T…
CAMARADERIE IN COMBAT Capturing the bond and bravery of two men from different cultures who selflessly help one another led Guy Ritchie and cinematographer Ed Wild BSC to choose a more stripped back shooting package than the director’s previous productions.…
DIALLING UP THE THRILLS As Phedon Papamichael ASC GSC becomes the latest cinematographer to lens a rip-roaring Indiana Jones romp, he and director James Mangold reveal the privileges and challenges of bringing Harrison Ford’s adventure-fuelled archaeologist to the screen. Getting…
Cold hard dash Ruairí O’Brien BSC ISC couldn’t resist the unexpected opportunity to shoot Will Gilbey’s debut feature Jericho Ridge in icy Kosovo. It’s a Thursday morning in early spring 2022, and cinematographer Ruairí O’Brien BSC ISC is prepping for…
COSMIC CREATION Robert Yeoman ASC enjoyed another inspiring creative adventure with director Wes Anderson, exploring new filmmaking terrain to create a multi-dimensional story that plays out in a stunning pastel coloured dreamlike desert and the contrasting harshly lit black-and-white world…
LIFE THROUGH THE LENS With an undeniable passion for filmmaking, Syrian refugee Ayman Alhussein was given the opportunity to explore and nurture his natural talent. During the inspiring transformation that followed he made the leap from being filmed by a…
WILD CHILD Queen of genre filmmaking Jennifer Reeder’s new horror about a supernaturally transformed teenager, lensed by Sevdije Kastrati, oozes with feist and feminism. The ‘troubled teen’, one of the most riffed-on coming-of-age stories, is captured in a bloody new…
Hitting the right notes Richard Swingle reveals the creative and technical processes behind his lensing of Ian Puleston-Davies’ feature directorial debut, Bolan’s Shoes. When producer Terri Dwyer of Buffalo Dragon called to arrange an early meeting with Ian Puleston-Davies about…
FOLK FRIGHTS Hamish Doyne-Ditmas makes a bold debut as a feature film cinematographer in Jon Wright’s Unwelcome, which recalls classic B-movie horrors. Hamish Doyne-Ditmas ACO GBCT was a keen horror film fan from an early age. When he was nine…
INTO THE WILD When the BBC first approached Dale Bremner ACS to shoot an episode of Our Universe, he was caught off-guard by their desire to shoot the ground-breaking hybrid nature series with a 2x anamorphic squeeze. The DP reflects…
Into the unknown Documentary cinematographer Tim Cragg focuses on the breathtaking world of freediving for Laura McGann’s gripping documentary. It’s not often that a film comes along that makes you – quite literally – hold your breath. But in the…
TIME FOR REFLECTION Challenged with crafting the dystopian world for Silo, DP Mark Patten BSC made the most of the Lightbridge CRLS system to shape the Apple TV+ series’ dark visual language. When composing the short story Wool, author Hugh…
Making headlines The storyteller becomes the story in Vinay Shukla’s gripping portrayal of one of India’s elder statesmen of journalism. He’s the esteemed journalist who’s been breaking stories on NDTV (New Delhi Television) for over 25 years; yet in tense…
The power of the pen Class divides and family dynamics are tested in Alice Troughton’s psychological thriller, as a young author becomes a tutor for a writing maestro’s son. Anna Patarakina FSF tells us how she translated Troughton’s vision into…
Keeping heads above water The Little Mermaid is a complicated, VFX-heavy production in which the main challenge was to blend mostly CGI-created underwater sequences with the largely live-action shoot for above-water scenes. The latest in Walt Disney Pictures’ live-action retelling…
ELECTRIC DREAMS A sparky HETV reimagining of Naomi Alderman’s award-winning speculative novel, The Power, subverts gender dynamics with an electrifying twist. We speak to three of the show’s DPs – Ollie Downey BSC, Ruairí O’Brien BSC ISC and Carlos Catalan –…
Finding meaning An agoraphobic Welsh translator gets a surprise visit from her brother’s friend in Keith Wilhelm Kopp’s tender two-hander. Kopp and cinematographer Mark James reveal their influences and inspirations for Translations, captured in black-and-white. After years trapped inside her…
Risky business Cinematographer Nikita Kuzmenko reunites with film school collaborator Dmytro Sukholytkyy-Sobchuk after a decade to lens eerie folk thriller Pamfir. Deep in the Carpathians, we meet the eponymous Pamfir (Oleksandr Yatsentyuk), who has just returned home to Ukraine to…
EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED It’s been over 160 years since Charles Dickens published his penultimate novel, but his oeuvre is an endless source of inspiration for contemporary creatives. Cinematographers Dan Atherton and Kate Reid BSC reveal how they crafted the visual…
SMOKE & MIRRORS Checco Varese ASC reveals how he visualised 1970s Los Angeles for Daisy Jones & The Six. “There is this myth in American culture that if you live on the East Coast and you travel to the West…
Green and pleasant Ravi Doubleday reveals how he rose to the challenge of lensing a Mark Rylance-fronted feature for his long-form debut. There’s a whiff of the Lynchian to writer-director-producer Fridtjof Ryder’s bright debut, which frames a dark filial drama…
Emotional shelter Cinematographer Tibor Dingelstad NSC shares how he crafted a visual language influenced by street photography and naturalism for British-Dutch drama Silver Haze. Tell us about Silver Haze… 23-year-old Franky is a nurse who lives with her large family…
Classified act Cinematographer Paul Yee on lensing the turbulent story of NSA whistleblower Reality Winner. It’s an otherwise ordinary Saturday afternoon in June 2017 and 25-year-old Reality Winner returns home to be accosted by the FBI. In a narrative that…
BEST OF BOTH WORLDS Fusing film and digital capture, cinematographer Greta Zozula portrays the nuances of shifting father-daughter dynamics in the shadow of the AIDS epidemic in Fairyland. The halcyon days of a ‘70s San Franciscan childhood are juxtaposed with…
BRUTALITY MEETS BEAUTY Communicating the cruelty of slavery while lensing elements of the beautiful in historical drama Emancipation was a multifaceted and sizeable responsibility that led director Antoine Fuqua and cinematographer Robert Richardson ASC into new creative territory, venturing into…
Southern comfort Raine Allen-Miller’s Peckham-accented love story has upended the Curtis monopoly on London romcoms in vivid style. Cinematographer Olan Collardy’s lensing puts the south of the Thames firmly in the spotlight. There’s a knowing moment in sunny romcom Rye…
Crazy space opera Cinematographer Henry Braham BSC dissects Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, including the film’s mocap magic and keeping the characters mobile. Back for a third, and possibly final act, Marvel’s beloved motley crew assemble for another candy-coloured…
LOVE AND WAR Tasked with shooting the second block of Dangerous Liaisons, Ashley Barron ACS was able to add her own creative stamp in her lensing. When Ashley Barron ACS started on Dangerous Liaisons as the second block DP, the…
DEEP DIVE Originally conceived as a fable for all ages, Blueback, by Australian author Tim Winton, gets a feature film adaptation by fellow countryman Robert Connolly who sought to capture the water sequences in camera with the expertise of cinematographers…
Small but mighty Find out how DP Fraser Stephen blended digital and film capture to create the dreamy visual language of award-winning short, Safe. The timely topic of young women’s safety is the focus of Aleah Scott’s reflective film, which…
PARTNERS IN CRIME Shooting a fast-paced police drama on a limited budget required an innovative approach from the show’s DPs, Stephen Murphy BSC ISC and Angus Mitchell. BBC1’s Blue Lights follows three rookie cops trying to fight crime and navigate…
JOURNEY OF REDEMPTION Mesmerised by the play The Whale, director Darren Aronofsky set his sights on translating the story of regret, transformation, and salvation from stage to screen. Friend and valued collaborator Matthew Libatique ASC was trusted with lensing an…
FUTURE PAST Against the bomb-strewn backdrop of the Second World War, a clever pair of sisters, Thom and Mars, are hard at work creating something extraordinary: LOLA. But despite its name, the titular star of Andrew Legge’s found-footage feature is…
TROUBLE IN PARADISE Canadian cinematographer Karim Hussain CSC shares his passion for the horror genre, and how Infinity Pool marks the next part of a visual trilogy where rules and practical techniques established through earlier collaborations with writer-director Brandon Cronenberg…
CUTTING THROUGH THE NOISE Translating Don DeLillo’s inimitable novel White Noise which spans family dynamics through to apocalyptic doom into film form was a challenge director Noah Baumbach and cinematographer Lol Crawley BSC embraced, tackling technically ambitious sequences, and experimenting…
MYSTERY AND MIRACLES It was instantly evident to director Sebastián Lelio that the story at the centre of Emma Donoghue’s book The Wonder would make great cinematic territory. Exploring the possibilities with likeminded experts in their craft such as Ari…
Fright night Cinematographer Brett Jutkiewicz is tasked with bringing Ghostface to New York City in slasher favourite Scream‘s latest outing. After a decade-long hiatus, slasher fans were in for a thrill with the announcement of a fifth instalment of the…
Thrills and spills Head behind the scenes on Six Four with cinematographer Mattias Nyberg BSC as he reveals his love for ’70s American cinema, his successful collaboration with director Ben A. Williams, and the challenges of lensing remotely thanks to…
LAYERS OF ATMOSPHERE Benoit Blanc swaps Stateside for the Greek seaside in his latest mystery romp. Capturing Blanc’s every move with a similarly scrupulous approach to Daniel Craig’s detective was Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’s cinematographer, Steve Yedlin ASC. …
FRESH TAKE ON A FAIRYTALE The magical power of stop motion animation made it the picture-perfect medium to tell a tale close to director Guillermo del Toro’s heart. Helping heighten the emotion and drama of the reimagining of Pinocchio by…
DECADES OF DECAY What does it take to create the futuristic, apocalyptic world of one of the most talked about shows on the planet? British Cinematographer caught up with Stephen James (VFX supervisor, DNEG) and Nick Marshall (DFX supervisor, DNEG)…
MOVIE MAGIC AND MAYHEM Damien Chazelle’s Babylon transports cinemagoers to 1920s Los Angeles and uncovers a world of decadence, freedom, and chaos traversing the heights of Hollywood to the depths of depravity. Reteaming with Linus Sandgren ASC FSF following their…
Deep, dark secret How far would you go to relive treasured memories with lost loved ones? AI meets the afterlife in a Black Mirror-esque short from the team behind Oscar-winning The Silent Child, including cinematographer Ali Farahani. An incisive glimpse…
Seeing red A nurse (and recovering user) sees addiction sink its teeth into her own son in Brad Anderson’s sanguinary horror, captured by Björn Charpentier SBC. A gripping family drama laced with gore, Blood follows recent divorcee Jess (Michelle Monaghan)…
THE FABLE MAN Spielberg’s most personal work yet shines a light on the director’s early years of moviemaking and is full of nods to his great filmography. By his side for every film since 1993’s Schindler’s List is Janusz Kamiński,…
FABLE OF FRIENDSHIP LOST A commentary on friendship, the pain of rejection, and moving on, writer-director Martin McDonagh’s latest creation reunites Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, the stars of McDonagh’s debut feature, In Bruges. Cinematographer Ben Davis BSC reveals how…
THE WAY OF CAMERON Over a decade since the world first encountered the blue-skinned Na’vi tribe, James Cameron’s ground-breaking futuristic universe returns for Avatar: The Way of Water. Long-time Cameron collaborator Russell Carpenter ASC took on the titanic task of…
NFTS cinematographer Genevieve Reyes explores how she crafted her graduate short film, including taking inspiration from the work from Old Masters and the importance of a meticulous pre-production process. In this fictional short film, Hoora, a young girl from Iran,…
HARMONISING CINEMATIC CREATIVITY As the only manufacturer to provide both the cameras and panels to support virtual production practices, Sony’s VENICE cinema camera and Crystal LED panels are the perfect pairing for optimum image quality. Virtual production (VP) is upending…
Meet some of Brompton Technology’s virtual production partners who are using the manufacturer’s innovative technology to raise their game. As a leading manufacturer and supplier of LED processors for high profile live events, stepping into the fast-growing world of virtual…
A spellbinding new sci-fi series from the creators of HBO’s Westworld captures the dystopian future which lies at gamers’ fingertips. Cinematographer Stuart Howell Assoc. BSC takes us behind the scenes on his time-travelling adventure on The Peripheral and reveals how…
Joe Saade lenses a tender portrayal of suffocating patriarchy and LGBT struggles in a tradition-laden family in Joyland – the first Pakistani film to show at Cannes and make it onto the Oscars shortlist. In a plot twist worthy of…
An age-defying pill is the focus of Cordelia Lawler’s National Film and Television School (NFTS) graduate film. She shares how she and the team behind the film sought inspiration from ’60s European cinema and leant into a dreamy visual language…
The National Film and Television School (NFTS)’s annual celebration of its students’ creative and technical achievements returns for 2023, supported by the BBC Studios. There’s no better place to meet the next generation of talent in film, TV, commercials, games…
Toby Elwes’ National Film and Television School (NFTS) graduate short film is a claustrophobic journey into the depths of the sea. The project involved building ambitious sets, shooting dry for wet, and capturing the drama of both cityscapes and seascapes.…
R.J. Ong had the challenge of balancing an ensemble cast in his National Film and Television School (NFTS) graduate short film while still telling a coherent story – not to mention having to shoot on some of the hottest days…
Linda Wu was tasked with bringing a tender tale of care home residents to the screen in her National Film and Television School (NFTS) graduate film. Find out how she tackled the challenges of shooting underwater, including a complicated drowning…
Helena González takes us through her rigorous testing process and shares how she and director Simon London were immediately on the same page when it came to crafting the 1960s drama’s mood and atmosphere. Trapped in a 1960s facility evaluating…
A newlywed Indian couple’s early days in the UK in the early 1990s is the focus of Nina Oyens’ National Film and Television School (NFTS) graduate film. She reflects on crafting the film’s nostalgic look, including using a period-accurate Hi-8…
Head behind the scenes on cinematographer Tom Simington’s National Film and Television School (NFTS) graduate film, including the joys of shooting on film, the logistical challenge of shooting in Yorkshire, and how the team delved into AI image generation for…
Shooting on tungsten stock, cinematographer Jack Hamilton and the team behind Killing Boris Johnson sought a textural image, grounded in realism. Hamilton takes us behind the scenes on his National Film and Television School (NFTS) graduate film, filmed over almost…
The bond between mother and son is seen through Toby Lloyd’s lens in his National Film and Television School (NFTS) graduate film. He reveals how the project was influenced by Spaghetti Westerns, the difficulties of shooting in cars on a…
How did you collaborate with the director on this project? In pre-production, Amanda and I set about investigating the scripts, not just to determine the character’s story arcs and how we can help lead the audience on the characters journeys, but…
The grape and the good A swanky Sussex vineyard becomes the blood-spattered setting for Mark A. C. Brown’s comic thriller, Dead on the Vine – a pandemic project for first-time feature cinematographer Kieran Coyle. But Coyle is no stranger to…
Lensing a legend TV pioneer Noele Gordon returns to the spotlight in Nolly, one of streaming service ITVX’s flagship series. Cinematographer Sam Care tells us how he crafted a range of period settings for the show – with the help…
Trouble in paradise A couple heads to the Caribbean to give their marriage one last shot in Tom Paton’s thriller Assailant. Cinematographer George Burt reveals how he and his team pulled off the shoot, dealing with challenging locations and unpredictable…
Get to grips with the technology that’s helping filmmakers bring crowds to life without thousands of extras. Given that Queen (Bohemian Rhapsody), Elton John (Rocketman) and Elvis (er, Elvis) have all been given the biopic treatment, it was about time…
Living the dream Tasked with breathing new life into a Kurosawa masterpiece, Jamie D. Ramsay SASC relished the challenge of crafting Living’s carefully composed look. Here, the cinematographer lifts the curtain on his work on the film, which reunited him…
Freedom of expression Swapping a script for a ‘scriptment’ offered an alternative perspective on filmmaking for both cast and crew of Jamie Adams’ improvised indie She Is Love, as cinematographer Jan Vrhovnik explains. “We all had to become vulnerable, strip…
Cutting-edge creativity Netflix’s UK Documentary Talent Fund will return for its second year to seek out a new generation of documentary storytelling stars. One of the inaugural programme’s winning projects, Love Languages, has been longlisted for the 2023 BAFTAs. Find…
LIGHTNING IN A BOTTLE British Cinematographer caught up with VFX supervisor Fabricio Baessa to find out how DNEG brought the comic book stylings of Black Adam to the screen. How did you collaborate with the cinematographer on this project? We…
FRIGHT CLUB Tasked with reviving the legend of a demonic serial killer terrorising smalltown Louisiana, cinematographer Simon Rowling wasn’t spooked by the challenge ahead. “Jeepers creepers! Where’d ya get those peepers?” It’s a tune that makes a generation of horror…
HERE BE DRAGONS House of the Dragon has filled a Game of Thrones-shaped hole in viewing schedules with aplomb. Two of the DPs who’ve brought their expertise and visions to the prequel series are Fabian Wagner BSC and Catherine Goldschmidt. …
LOVE AND ROBOTS A human story with a robot at its heart, After Yang’s soft brand of sci-fi oils the cogs of a saturated genre. Cinematographer Benjamin Loeb FNF captures the nuances of a grieving family in his understated lensing. …
CODE OF CONDUCT A celebrated conductor falls prey to cancel culture in TÁR’s catastrophic crescendo. Cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister BSC takes us centre stage on the long-awaited third feature from director Todd Field. “When he called, he could have offered me…
Reindeer games Challenged with defrosting a Christmas classic, cinematographer James Oldham was up for the task. Four-legged fantasy drama Prancer charmed a generation of children when it bounded onto screens in 1989. Over 30 years on, it was time…
MAKING A SPLASH Capturing the remarkable true story of the Mardini sisters in The Swimmers allowed Christopher Ross BSC to dive back into the world of underwater filming. When Christopher Ross BSC first met director Sally El Hosaini for her…
IMPERFECT WORLD Setting the tone from the very first scene, giving the actors freedom of movement and expression, and embracing imperfection were paramount for director Olivia Wilde and cinematographer Matthew Libatique ASC when building a believable distorted utopian vision for…
CLASSIC TWIST Chosen to be the official 2023 Oscar submission for South Korea is the romantic thriller Decision to Leave by Park Chan-wook (Oldboy), who creates an unconventional love story with the trappings of the crime noir genre. Cinematographer Kim…
DNEG’s VFX supervisors Fabricio Baessa and Francois Lambert reveal how they painstakingly recreated historical planes and ships and crafted some jaw-dropping war sequences for J.D. Dillard’s Devotion. 2022 has been a bumper year for high-flying filmmaking. Following in the vapour…
BONE APPÉTIT For his first US feature, Call Me by Your Name director Luca Guadagnino enlisted the help of a young Belarusian DP with a flair for film. Arseni Khachaturan gives us a fascinating insight into his lensing of cannibal…
GUIDING LIGHT Bringing a tale of connection and community set in a fading cinema in a south coast seaside town to the screen saw director Sam Mendes once again collaborate with Sir Roger Deakins CBE BSC ASC, entrusting him to…
STORY FIRST The Long Goodbye, an impactful production conveying an important and timely message, deservedly won Best Live Action Short Film at this year’s Oscars. Stuart Bentley BSC shares how the film was crafted and why it demonstrates that the…
Midway through a week of film festivities and frolics at Poland’s EnergaCAMERIMAGE Film Festival, a missile struck Polish territory. The explosion happened in the village of Przewodów, near the Ukraine border and almost 300 miles from the festival’s home in…
Temprimental VFX was responsible for all visual effects on Blonde led by Raoul Bolognini, owner, VFX producer/supervisor and Phillip Mosses, VFX supervisor. British Cinematographer spoke to the pair about how to meander through several separate visual styles whilst keeping the…
QUEEN OF THE SCREEN She was one of the brightest lights of the Golden Age of Hollywood, but Marilyn Monroe’s troubled private life was equally in the spotlight. Chayse Irvin ASC CSC explains how he revived Monroe’s star power in…
KINGS AND QUEENS Fresh from winning the ninth Pierre Angénieux Cinematography Tribute at Cannes, Darius Khondji AFC ASC’s latest project takes him from the glitzy French Riviera to gritty 1980s’ New York. Here, the French-Iranian cinematographer explains how he captured…
Turf wars As Gangs of London season two explodes onto screens, VFX supervisor and producer James Jordan and DP Björn Charpentier SBC reveals how virtual production helped to bring some of the show’s most jaw-dropping scenes to life. If you haven’t…
Streets ahead Coronation Street holds the official Guinness World Record for being the longest-running television soap opera in history. The show premiered in 1960 and has since aired over 10,200 episodes. In October 2022, the series ran its ‘Super Soap…
Fishy business A rip-roaring black comedy that puts Grimsby firmly on the filmmaking map, Three Day Millionaire follows a handful of the town’s fishing folk as they attempt the heist of a lifetime. Cinematographer Andrew Rodger shares his technical and…
MYSTERY IN THE MARSHES Bringing a much-loved book to the screen saw Polly Morgan BSC ASC reconnect with a love for nature that blossomed in childhood, brave the elements, and embrace a lyrical visual approach to tell the gripping tale…
Father figures Bruiser, Miles Warren’s striking feature debut, grapples with toxic masculinity and paternal conflict, as witnessed by a 14-year-old boy. Behind the lens on the coming-of-age drama was cinematographer Justin Derry, who reveals how he developed the film’s rich…
Smile for the camera It’s been the autumn’s unexpected box office hit in all its toothy glory; Smile, originally destined for the streamers, has topped charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Cinematographer Charlie Sarroff takes us behind the scenes…
Gearing up for success A thoroughly Bristolian ode to bikes and boyhood, The Fence marks the feature debut of British filmmakers William Stone and Adam Pickford. The director-DP duo reveal how they transformed their award-winning short, inspired by Stone’s father,…
Secret weapon Far from staying in the shadows of its successful predecessors, the ITV remake of The Ipcress File pays homage to its past while bringing modern techniques to the Cold War spy story. Cinematographer Tim Maurice-Jones BSC reveals how…
Girl, uninterrupted A Welsh coming-of-age drama that crackles with wit and woe, BAFTA-winning In My Skin embeds itself in the turbulent world of sixth former Bethan. Joining to lens the production’s second season was cinematographer Christopher Sabogal, who brought a…
SOARING ONTO THE SCREEN More than three decades after Top Gun became a high-flying force of filmmaking, aviator Pete “Maverick” Mitchell returns to the screen for more airborne thrills in Top Gun: Maverick. Cinematographer Claudio Miranda ASC and the talented…
LOST IN A MOMENT Conveying the punk power, art, and anarchy surrounding the Sex Pistols’ rapid rise to fame saw frequent collaborators Anthony Dod Mantle BSC ASC DFF and director Danny Boyle set out to capture the extraordinary feeling when…
The ShotDeck Recreations contest was dreamed up during the first Covid-19 lockdown, when Oscar-nominated cinematographer Lawrence Sher ASC and his wife, Hema, recreated film stills using household items as props, family members as actors, and their cell phones for cameras.…
Rebel with a cause The latest live-action Star Wars spin-off, Andor, eschews the tried-and-tested StageCraft formula of its Disney+ predecessors. Block three DP Frank Lamm takes us into the heart of the action, shooting both on stage at Pinewood Studios…
It’s less than five weeks away from the beginning of the annual celebration of the art of cinematography – the 30th anniversary edition of EnergaCAMERIMAGE International Film Festival. The festival will once again boast a dazzling selection of great screenings…
WALKING WITH DINOSAURS Closing any epic saga is no mean feat, but Jurassic Park Dominion reunites cast members old and new to go out on a high. Cinematographer John Schwartzman ASC explains his lensing choices and challenges of being part…
The ShotDeck Recreations contest was dreamed up during the first Covid-19 lockdown, when Oscar-nominated cinematographer Lawrence Sher ASC and his wife, Hema, recreated film stills using household items as props, family members as actors, and their cell phones for cameras.…
The ShotDeck Recreations contest was dreamed up during the first Covid-19 lockdown, when Oscar-nominated cinematographer Lawrence Sher ASC and his wife, Hema, recreated film stills using household items as props, family members as actors, and their cell phones for cameras.…
The ShotDeck Recreations contest was dreamed up during the first Covid-19 lockdown, when Oscar-nominated cinematographer Lawrence Sher ASC and his wife, Hema, recreated film stills using household items as props, family members as actors, and their cell phones for cameras.…
Purple Reign It’s the low-budget romance that fought off competition from the Russo Brothers’ $200 million behemoth, The Gray Man, to be crowned Netflix’s most-watched film of the summer – and one of its most successful of all time. Delve…
CONVERSATIONS WITH CREATIVES Naturalism, softness, and elegance were at the fore for cinematographers Suzie Lavelle BSC ISC and Bobby Shore when establishing the appropriate tone to successfully translate novel Conversations with Friends into a BBC Three series. Helping bring Sally…
CALL OF THE WILD When Alex Pritz was shooting his debut film, The Territory, in the Amazon jungle, he probably didn’t expect that he’d end up sharing the role of cinematographer with one of his documentary subjects. But teacher-turned-DP Tangãi…
IN TUNE WITH THE TIMES The halcyon nights of the British drum and bass scene take centre stage in coming-of-age drama Purple Beatz, lensed by Violetta D’Agata AEC AIC. It was the not-so-quiet revolution that captivated the UK club scene…
TEENAGE KICKS Heartstopper’s deft portrait of teenage LGBTQ+ romance has charmed viewers young and old. Bringing her trademark eye for colour to the production was London-based Ukrainian cinematographer Diana Olifirova, who shares her lensing choices. It’s the ultimate meet-cute: teenagers…
INVISIBLE IMPACT Jordan Peele relied on the services of MPC to ensure the VFX was fantastical, yet grounded in realism, to achieve the right tone for his sci-fi horror epic Nope. MPC VFX supervisor, Guillaume Rocheron, spoke to British Cinematographer…
CREATING THE MAGIC Magizoologist Newt Scamander (Eddie Redmayne) returns in the latest of the Fantastic Beasts movies, the prequel-saga of the wizarding world in Britain, America, and beyond before Harry Potter’s Hogwarts career. The Secrets of Dumbledore, co-written by JK…
QUIETLY CONFIDENT It’s goodbye to South Los Angeles as Insecure ends after five seasons of awkward-girl antics, but the show leaves behind an indelible cultural legacy. Cinematographer Ava Berkofsky ASC reflects on the evolution of its distinctive visual language. When…
FULL STEAM AHEAD As the post-pandemic filmmaking world started to stir in autumn 2020, Bullet Train roared to life, bringing Japan’s iconic Shinkansen to the big screen with rip-roaring flair. Stephen James, VFX supervisor at DNEG, reveals how some of…
A NEW ERA OF ELEGANCE There’s a clear line between Gosford Park, Downton Abbey: A New Era, and their cinematographer but the comparison between Highclere Castle (aka Downton) and the Star Trek Enterprise is a little harder to discern until…
A CUT ABOVE With The Outfit’s action playing out in the shop of a master tailor, it is fitting that a master of the screen craft, Dick Pope BSC, captured the intrigue and stillness of Graham Moore’s stylish and considered…
THE SHERIFFS OF NOTTINGHAM Decades-old tensions simmer over in a mining-scarred community following two grisly killings in Sherwood. DP Sam Care shares how he cultivated a growing sense of tragedy in his lensing. The UK’s last deep coal mine may…
STAR MAN New world building techniques, emotional responses to the script, and observing a shared visual guide helped reimagine The Man Who Fell to Earth in a grounded series that doubles up as a commentary on modern society. “Alex [Kurtzman]…
MATERNAL INSTINCT Kate Reid BSC stays flexible when lensing HBO’s limited series The Baby. “When I finished reading the pilot script of The Baby, I didn’t really know what to make of it,” says cinematographer Kate Reid BSC. “And that’s…
His hedonistic antics have inspired operas, plays and poetry – now Don Juan, from director Serge Bozon, offers a musical riff on the womaniser’s evergreen story. When actor and ladies’ man Laurent (Tahar Rahim) is jilted on his wedding day…
A LIBERATING CREATION When teaming up with director Hiro Murai for the latest season of Atlanta, Stephen Murphy BSC helped create a look based on carefully unobtrusive photography that deliberately avoids the hyperreality adopted by some films and TV series. …
FREE SPIRITS Telling the wild story at the centre of Pam & Tommy saw cinematographer Paula Huidobro adopt a bold approach to realise director Craig Gillespie’s visual aspirations for the series in line with his desire to give the actors…
ARTISTIC FREEDOM The great Polish born American cinematographer has a seventh Oscar nomination for his nineteenth picture with Steven Spielberg and he is still striving for perfection. You cannot understand Janusz Kamiński, his extensive relationship with Steven Spielberg nor their…
HANDLE WITH CARE Two sudden deaths are the catalyst for one woman’s implosion in Daniel John Peters’ debut feature film. The cinematographer reveals his creative vision and technical approach when bringing Jane’s story to the screen with sensitivity. How would…
THE DARK OF KNIGHT When shooting Matt Reeves’ The Batman, Greig Fraser ASC ACS drew upon comic book references, ‘70s cinema, combined digital and “emulsified” techniques, and entered LED volumes whilst creating an emotional experience to transport the audience to…
THRILLS AND CREATIVE SKILLS Tim Maurice-Jones BSC reveals how he lensed a globe-trotting production featuring an all-star cast, developing deliberately contrasting looks for each location, and using kinetic camerawork to capture the dynamic fight scenes. After two years of restricted…
ART HOUSE Combining three self-contained narratives in one and shifting between different eras, Nexus Studios’ stop-motion creation chronicles the events that unfold in one unconventional house. While experienced in the unique world of stop-motion, having worked on productions such as…
DISTORTED TRUTH What we see may not be what is going on. Similarly, memories can distort and tell very different stories with the passage of time. These uncertainties form the basis of psychological thriller Chloe, which called for cinematographer Catherine…
A FRESH PERSPECTIVE After being nominated for the BSC Short Film Cinematography Award in 2018 and 2019, Dutch cinematographer Evelin van Rei got the opportunity to transition into long form by working on ITV crime drama Vera with veteran series…
EMOTIONAL JOURNEY Guided by the emotions of Swan Song’s central character, cinematographer Masanobu Takayanagi and director Benjamin Cleary create a visual style to suit a poignant, family-focused tale set in the near future that today’s audience will find relatable. Struggling…
Director Roland Emmerich is no stranger to putting earth-shattering events on screen. The director of Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow and 2012 teams up with DP Robby Baumgartner and returns with another blockbuster disaster movie in which the moon…
STOKING THE FLAMES Fruit-seller Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation in protest of government corruption sparked Tunisia’s Arab Spring. Set in the embers of that revolution, Harka is a quietly intense depiction of one man’s struggle, lensed by first-time feature film cinematographer Maximilian…
PREHISTORIC PERFECTION Directors Adam Valdez and Andy Jones spoke to British Cinematographer about their collaboration with MPC when delivering the mind-blowing VFX of Prehistoric Planet. Apple TV+’s latest adventure into the natural world, executive produced by VFX veteran Jon Favreau…
THE GILDED AGE OF LIGHTING Manuel Billeter reveals the techniques and technologies used when lensing The Gilded Age, including taking the Lightbridge’s Cine Reflect Lighting System to the next level. Cinematographer Manuel Billeter has a habit of shooting shows situated…
FLESH AND BLOOD Filmmaker Leroy Kincaide reveals how he pulled off multiple roles behind the camera – including cinematographer – to make his debut feature, The Last Rite, on a sub-£30k budget. “Wrestling tends to lend itself to the moving…
THE SILENT TREATMENT Long-time collaborators Sparky Tehnsuko and cinematographer Andreas Neo reunited for this atmospheric short. Villain consists of very little dialogue, instead using a visceral environment, heightened by a swelling score and intuitive lighting tricks, to tell a compelling…
ART IMITATES LIFE A multi-layered tale drawn from personal experience unfolds on screen in The Souvenir: Part II, a film blending self-discovery and transformation, grief, and memory in almost hypnotic cinematic form. “It’s a Russian doll of sorts because it’s…
MAKING MOVES Michael Bauman makes the transition to director of photography on Licorice Pizza, the latest film from director Paul Thomas Anderson. Historic gaffer Michael Bauman has had his hands in a lot of pies this last year, perhaps most…
FILM AND THEATRE UNITE January 2021. Britain is locked down, divided, and facing some difficult truths. Old friends Michael (Neil Maskell, Peaky Blinders) and Delroy (Giles Terera, Hamilton) are dealing with issues much closer to home. Tensions are running high, and…
A ROMANTIC REINVENTION Seamus McGarvey ASC BSC pairs up with Joe Wright again to create a sensuous Cyrano. You know how the world sort of goes tipsy when you fall in love? Especially that first time. How lines soften and…
PORTRAIT OF A PRINCESS Claire Mathon AFC reveals how a meticulous reconstruction of the period and characters was achieved when shooting Spencer, a form of“reverse fairy tale” chronicling three days Princess Diana spent at Sandringham in the Christmas of 1991.…
ANOTHER DIMENSION Released in the middle of the latest COVID maelstrom, while proving to be a draw for at-home viewers with its concurrent release on HBO Max, the fourth – and perhaps, final – Matrix film reveals surprises both in…
FURY IN THE FAMILY As Succession’s story of power, politics, and cutthroat family business continues to unfold, the shooting style of the cinematographers and their camera crew has needed to be as fast-paced as the series’ razor-sharp dialogue. “I’m not…
LEADING THE WAY Delivering an important message about climate change, short film Leader follows Donnie who lives alone in a remote coastal spot creating sculptures from ocean waste. Written by Rachel Shenton, produced by Rebecca Harris, directed by Chris Overton,…
DARK ADVENTURE An ambitious production team crafted their own version of Los Angeles when filming vampire thriller Night Teeth. Eben Bolter BSC reveals how the approach adopted allowed them to be bigger, bolder, and more expressive when telling the story…
This article has been shared with permission from Zeiss. – Based on the series of stories by Isaac Asimov and created by David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman for Apple TV+, Foundation deployed seven cinematographers and their teams on (at…
LYRICAL LIFE STORY Part musical, part biopic, tick, tick…BOOM! details the struggles and successes of a composer and playwright at a pivotal point in life as he navigates life and strives to fulfil his creative ambitions. In telling Jonathan Larson’s…
WAR OF WORDS William Nunez’s biopic depicts the life and times of celebrated war poet Robert Graves. The film mostly sits against the backdrop of post World War I and the creative duality of expression and repression that co-existed amidst…
HAUNTING ABSTRACTION When approaching Shakespeare’s Macbeth from a cinematic perspective, Bruno Delbonnel ASC AFC and director Joel Coen enjoyed a fruitful creative collaboration as they explored a theatrical form of abstraction driven by rhythm, simplicity, and powerful performances. For a…
A PERSONAL CONNECTION Cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos BSC GSC and writer-director Kenneth Branagh reveal how their team created heartfelt coming-of-age tale Belfast, using an unobtrusive approach to filmmaking to craft an accessible experience infused with a love of cinema that captured…
Dune cinematographer Greig Fraser ASC ACS and actor Josh Brolin enjoyed a liberating creative process and visual and poetic freedom of expression whilst collaborating on a book that celebrates a shared love of film and storytelling and captures the emotion…
Adapted by screenwriter Alice Birch (Normal People, Succession), British drama Mothering Sunday is based on the critically acclaimed, best-selling novella by Graham Swift, and directed by Eva Husson (Hanna, Girls of the Sun). Set in post-World War I England, the…
A MARRIAGE OF COLOUR Suddenly, one finds oneself in the early decades of a new century, dealing with economic boom and bust, the lingering effects of pandemic, and the rising clouds of fascism abroad. How do you keep your spirits…
In 2018, Amazon Prime and the BBC produced A Very English Scandal, a drama depicting the real-life events of a 1979 murder trial involving the elite of British politics. With that success in mind, the two organisations recently reunited to…
HEARTBREAK AND LIBERATION Award-winning writer and director Paolo Sorrentino’s latest film, The Hand of God, is the poetical story of a young man’s heartbreak and liberation in 1980s Naples, Italy. The story follows Fabietto, an awkward Italian teen whose life…
A LOVE LETTER TO LITERATURE The creative forces of Robert Yeoman ASC and Wes Anderson are victorious once again in The French Dispatch. The cinematographer and director – along with other collaborators such as production designer Adam Stockhausen and stop-motion…
IDENTITY IN A NEW LIGHT Cinematographer Edu Grau ASC AEC felt honoured to be asked to shoot Rebecca Hall’s directorial debut Passing. He tells us about enjoying a new type of creative freedom and why it was important to tell…
The supernatural drama of Archive 81 translated by DP Bobby Bukowski ASC and Picture Shop colourist Freddy Bokkenheuser. Urban thriller Archive 81 seemed to come out of nowhere when it catapulted to the top of Netflix’s TV rankings shortly after…
POWERFUL IMAGERY “The Power of the Dog” – Thomas Savage’s 1967 novel examining masculinity from the perspective of a deeply homophobic, but closeted, rancher – has been adapted by director Jane Campion for Netflix and skilfully lensed by Ari Wegner…
GRAND FINALE An epic and stylish gangster family series set in 1900s England envisioned by Steven Knight and embodied by Cillian Murphy gets an appropriate BBC Two send off. Five days before principal photography was to begin on season six…
NO ESCAPE Stephen Murphy BSC ISC discusses creating and shooting spaces to ensure the audience remained visually engaged in the on-screen adaptation of No One Gets Out Alive and how especially vital the relationship between the cinematographer and production designer…
THE RETURN OF REMORSE When establishing the visual style for the second season of BBC comedy drama Guilt, cinematographer Caroline Bridges wanted to remain true to the cinematic approach Nanu Segal BSC adopted for season one whilst exploring new creative possibilities. Season one delved into how two very different characters – brothers Max (Mark Bonnar)…
The NFTS Graduate Showcase, supported by BBC Studios, celebrates the culmination of over 500 students’ work towards over 80 short films, TV shows, commercials and games. The showcase is an opportunity for members of the screen industries to see firsthand…
A TIMELESS TALE Inspired by real events and adapted from Jo Bloom’s 2014 novel by Sarah Solemani, four-part BBC drama Ridley Road transports audiences back to London’s East End in the 1960s. It explores the opposition to British neo-Nazis such…
HEART OF THE ACTION At times hilarious, at times devastating, seven-part series This Is Going to Hurt follows Adam (played by Ben Whishaw), a junior doctor as he wends his way through the ranks of hospital hierarchy. Based on Adam…
AT THE RACES Capturing a sport known for its brutality and aggressiveness in a tender light is no easy feat. But this is exactly what ASC Spotlight Award nominee Adolpho Veloso achieved in lensing Clint Bentley’s Jockey. Starring Clifton Collins…
HEIST HOMAGE We caught up with cinematographer Haider Zafar about his work on Marcus Flemmings’ Blonde. Purple. The director of photography filled us in on how he lensed the surreal homage to the ’90s heist movie. What initially appealed to…
TORTURED SOUL Cinematographer Alexander Dynan reunites with writer-director Paul Schrader to explore mixing traditional cinematographic techniques with VR-inspired imagery to communicate a story of retribution and past trauma. A narrative centred around traumatic memories and a visual language carefully crafted…
AGENT FOR CHANGE The tragic tale of two sisters and the life-changing impact of an attack on their village is juxtaposed against the glorious landscapes of Taraba, Nigeria, in The Milkmaid. The human cost of religious extremism in the African continent is explored in writer-director-producer Desmond Ovbiagele’s The Milkmaid. The first Nigerian production…
PUNK POWER Compelling narrative and equally bold cinematographic concepts combine in We Are Lady Parts – a character-focused sitcom with a female gaze that charts the highs and lows experienced by a Muslim punk band. An all-female, Muslim punk band are the stars of the show in We Are Lady Parts, Channel 4’s six-part comedy series that follows the…
IN THE FAST LANE Markus Förderer ASC blends vintage Hollywood with 8K images on race drones for action thriller Red Notice. How do you squeeze Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson into a car along with three cameras and…
FOOD FRENZY Depending on which side of the pond you see it, Boiling Point is either a very savoury year-end cinematic dish, or a great way to start the new one, especially once the New Year’s black-eyed peas are finished. …
LET IT SNOW Filming an instant Christmas classic is a notoriously hard task, but it’s exactly what cinematographer Zac Nicholson BSC achieved in lensing Gil Kenan’s magical A Boy Called Christmas. Centring a narrative around Santa Claus’ origin story may…
FEAR AND FANTASY Cinematographer Annika Summerson discusses blurring the lines of fiction, reality and memory in Censor, a psychological horror exploring the social hysteria surrounding video nasties in ‘80s Britain. After meeting on their first day at the London College of Printing, cinematographer Annika Summerson and director Prano Bailey-Bond developed a friendship and collaborated on many…
BONDED TOGETHER Linus Sandgren ASC FSF and director Cary Joji Fukunaga discuss capturing the action in the latest Bond adventure whilst ensuring the audience feel a connection to the characters. After three theatrical release delays caused by the pandemic, audience members are going to be able see the…
PAINTING TERENCE DAVIES’ POETRY You wouldn’t associate filmmaker Terence Davies with VFX. His films are fluid but sedate, his compositions painterly, the structure and content tending to the poetic. Yet in Benediction, a drama based on the life of solider and…
A WINNING TEAM David Rom discusses avoiding comedy visual stereotypes, a fish-out-of-water cinematography style and pairing the ARRI Alexa LF with Tokina lenses. Ted Lasso is the hugely successful Emmy award-winning comedy series that follows an American football coach as…
CREATING THE LOOK FOR LAMB Lamb is a dark and atmospheric folktale that focuses on a couple living and working in rural Iceland. They make a challenging discovery in their sheep barn, and when they defy the will of nature, soon…
Filmed entirely with IMAX-certified RED cameras, The Suicide Squad is the explosive return to action of DC Comics’ Super-Villain characters. A completely standalone feature, Warner Bros. Pictures release The Suicide Squad is envisaged by writer-director James Gunn and inspired by the classic 1967 war…
Cinematographer Molly Manning-Walker and the creative team behind Wolf Alice’s Blue Weekend visual album, which Digital Orchard was proud to manage the scanning and dailies for, share the story of its creation. Mercury Prize-winning Wolf Alice formed in London in 2010 and…
LIBERATION AND LAUGHTER Laughter and living life to the full play a starring role in Channel 4 comedy Big Age. Cinematographer Bani Mendy reveals how he lensed the pilot episode of the invigorating production. “It’s so liberating for young women and conveyed such a positive message about being free to live…
TRICKS OF THE MIND Hugh Jackman plays private eye Nick Bannister in a noir-infused murder mystery romance which hinges on the filmmaker’s ability to show us several layers of reality. In 2050, Nick Bannister (played by Hugh Jackman) is a PI…
SPECIAL OPS The team behind short film Fireworks explain how they used virtual production technology to explore new ideas and immersive storytelling. Fireworks is a short political thriller about MI6 agents in a special operations room in London attempting to eliminate a dangerous militant…
SHARED JOURNEY Compartment No. 6 is an arctic road movie and a story about connection. Like the film’s central characters, cinematographer J-P Passi FSC and writer-director Juho Kuosmanen have experienced a shared journey of discovery during their filmmaking careers. Chemistry and connection are at the centre of the narrative as well as…
FAITH AND FREEDOM Renowned for taking risks and making movies with impact, including the 1980 sexually explicit Spetters (Babes) and erotic thriller Basic Instinct (1992), director Paul Verhoeven desires a high level of freedom throughout the creative process whilst allowing…
ADAPT AND REACT Jenna Cato Bass’ Flatland took DP Sarah Cunningham out of her comfort zone and into the remote, barren landscapes of South Africa. The film centres around the lives of three women as they navigate the suffocating gender…
He’s our ChatGPT-powered friend with an encyclopaedic knowledge of all thing’s cinematography from British Cinematographer. Ask him a question and you’ll be amazed by his response.
