The Cinematography Podcast 2023 Academy Awards Nomination Special

Long-time friend and colleague Jenelle Riley of Variety magazine chats with Ben and Illya for our fourth annual Oscar nominations special. With a focus on cinematography, they discuss what they liked, what will win, what should win, and their favorite movies of the year that may not have been recognized.

Here’s a rundown of some of the nominations discussed in this episode, as well as great films that were not nominated this awards season. Click on the links to listen to our interviews with the nominated DPs as well as other films of note!

Tar, Florian Hoffmeister

Mandy Walker, nominated for Elvis, the first woman to win an ASC Award

All Quiet on the Western Front, James Friend, who won a BAFTA

Everything Everywhere All At Once, Larkin Seiple who was not nominated

Roger Deakins, Empire of Light

Darius Khondji, Bardo: False Chronicle of a Handful of Truths

Greig Fraser, who won last year for Dune and also shot The Batman

Women nominated for best cinematography but have never won: Rachel Morrison, Ari Wegner

Banshees of Inisherin, Ben Davis

Babylon, Linus Sandgren

Hoyte Van Hoytema, Nope

Find Jenelle Riley on Instagram and Twitter: @jenelleriley

and Variety 

Listen to Ben's new horror series Catchers, available NOW only on Audible!

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras

If you enjoy The Cinematography Podcast and you're interested in growing or starting your own podcast, contact Alana Kode at Greentree Creative. Greentree Creative can help you with social media marketing, strategy and planning, podcast production, and digital content creation.

LIKE AND FOLLOW US, send fan mail or suggestions! Rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts!


Email: editor@camnoir.com

Facebook:@cinepod

Instagram: @thecinepod

Twitter: @ShortEndz

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Podcast Credits:

Producer: Alana Kode

All web and social media content written by Alana Kode

Host and editor in Chief:  Illya Friedman

Instagram: @illyafriedman @hotrodcameras

Host: Ben Rock

Twitter: @neptunesalad

Instagram: @bejamin_rock

Editor: Ben Katz

Composer: Kays Al-Atrakchi

Subscribe to the Podcast on Apple Podcasts or click o...

Jenelle Riley, Variety’s Deputy Awards and Features Editor, discusses the 2023 Academy Awards nominations

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The Cinematography Podcast Episode 264: Armando Salas, ASC

Netflix's gripping new series, Griselda, takes viewers deep into the world of Colombian drug lord Griselda Blanco. But behind the drugs and violence is a masterfully crafted world, built by cinematographer Armando Salas, ASC. Armando, known for his work on Ozark, brings a unique perspective to Griselda. His approach to color throughout the series tells a story that's more about character than it is about the drug trade. “In the end, we're making a work of fiction, and we really want to connect with the audience,” says Armando. “And the things you know and hear about Griselda Blanco is, you know, she's a killer, a psychopath. There's not a lot of redeeming qualities when you're looking into the drug wars in Miami at that time.” Even through all the death and destruction in the series, director Andrés Baiz didn't want Griselda to be too dark. He still wanted to find some joy and absurdity within the story.

Armando met with director Andrés Baiz, who wanted to hire a local Los Angeles DP who also spoke Spanish, since a majority of Griselda's script is in Spanish. Growing up in Miami, Armando happened to know the story of Griselda Blanco very well. He also worked on a 2006 documentary called Cocaine Cowboys, about how Miami became the cocaine capital of the US. They did careful location scouting around LA for places that looked like Miami in the late 1970's and early 80's. Armando and Baiz wanted the show to have the right period look. “We didn't take an intellectual conceit, I wasn't only using lenses or camera technology that existed at that time. We were really more interested in finding the right feeling,” Armando explains. “And so, we looked at a lot of photography from the period, we looked at a lot of films from the period, we looked at modern films that were doing a good job of recreating the period, but we kind of landed our our own version. Again, it's really just like capturing the vibe and building the world. And so we had a very aggressive and unique approach to the LUT and the color characteristics of our negative.” The Polaroid pictures Baiz took during location scouting became a big inspiration for the color palette of the show.

Throughout the six episode series, Armando used color to help tell a compelling character story. Griselda's world is full of deep, rich colors as she's living the high life. In contrast, Armando chose a bluer, more desaturated color for scenes with June Hawkins (Juliana Aidén Martinez), the Miami PD intelligence analyst. As she breaks the case and convinces law enforcement officers to go after Griselda, she enters a world of color. “And on top of that, we unleash the camera. We go flying down the sidewalk with her from multiple angles. It's the fastest camera movements in the series. And over the course of the series, her storyline and Griselda's storyline meet, and the color, the glitz and glamour of Griselda's world has been mostly stripped out at that point. June has come into her own, and they meet in that world. The two arcs have now connected, and it's one story.”

Griselda is available on Netflix.

Hear our previous interview with Armando discussing his work on Ozark and more.

Find Armando Salas: Instagram: @cinesalas

Close Focus: Listener mail and comments.

Ben's short end: The YouTube Channel CinemaTyler takes an in-depth look at cinema's greatest movies. They recently created a 21 episode video essay about the film <a h...

Griselda cinematographer Armando Salas, ASC

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 263: Florian Hoffmeister, BSC

HBO's True Detective: Night Country has captivated audiences with its chilling atmosphere and compelling narrative. Cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister, BSC worked with director Issa López to craft the haunting visuals for the supernatural whodunit. “The detective procedural is part of the brand and it's part of the show, but it should not affect the cinematography,” says Florian. “The cinematography is never motivated just in terms of solving the mystery. We must be sure to show every important fact or clue, to understand the mystery or to build up a bigger mystery. But it's important to follow the characters and their internal struggles and secrets, the relationships, the darkness, the supernatural as the case unfolds.”

When he first met with Lopez to discuss shooting True Detective: Night Country, Florian liked the feeling of eerie isolation and darkness of the location. The influence of nature adds to the supernatural and to the characters' fragmentation from each other. Florian found inspirational images by photographer Alexander Gronsky, who took photos of Russian workers in mines near the Arctic Circle. John Carpenter's The Thing and the movie Sicario were also influences for the look of the series.

True Detective: Night Country takes place in Alaska near the Arctic Circle, with Iceland as the filming location. Most of the show was shot outside during the winter months, although it happened to be the coldest winter in Iceland in a hundred years. They used a soundstage only for the scenes where characters had to be outside in the snow naked or barefoot. Florian enjoys shooting in extreme climates, noting that proper clothing for the temperature is what matters the most. Even with the extreme cold, the ARRI Alexa 35 cameras all functioned just fine. The filming was over a period of 112 days, starting in October on the soundstage. Once winter really hit after Christmas, they began shooting in the snow and darkness. Each day provided about four hours of light, with just about five minutes of sunlight, then a few blue hours of sunrise and sunset.

True Detective: Night Country is available on Max.

Hear our previous interview with Florian Hoffmeister discussing his work on TÁR.

Find Florian Hoffmeister: Instagram: @florian.hoffmeister

Close Focus: A remembrance of Roger Corman who died this week.

Nikon acquired RED for just $85 million.

Ben's short end: A YouTube channel called Finzar puts the world's most expensive editing software, Flame by Autodesk, to the test.

Illya's short end: Hacks Season 3 on Max.

Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras

Sponsored by Greentree Creative: If you enjoy The Cinematography Podcast and you're interested in growing or starting your own podcast, contact Alana Kode at Greentree Creative. Greentree Creative can help you with social media marketing, strategy and planning,

True Detective: Night Country cinematographer Florian Hoffmeister, BSC

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 262: Matthew Temple, ACS

The critically acclaimed horror movie Late Night With the Devil blends found-footage, mockumentary and 1970s late-night television into a movie with genuine scares. Cinematographer Matthew Temple, ACS used shaky camerawork, close-ups, and multiple video sources to add to the feeling of watching “behind the scenes” documentary found footage. Though they didn't use vintage tube cameras for the 1970's TV look, Matt and the camera operators used studio pedestal bases or a crane for the cameras. “Right from the get-go, (directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes) came at me with this word, 'verisimilitude,' which means to make something feel real.” says Matt. “And that was kind of the seed for the television show.”

During the preproduction period on Late Night with the Devil, the Cairnes brothers gave Matt a lookbook that they'd created referencing documentaries from the time. Matt had honed his craft on Australian TV shows like Comedy Inc., a sketch comedy show that spoofed movies and TV shows. He learned how to deconstruct a movie and replicate a specific look. Matt used the same approach for the film and watched several late night talk shows from the 1970's to get the visual aesthetic right. As he learned and took notes, Matt made an extensive document setting out rules for the camera crew to follow to keep the look authentic. Using the studio pedestal bases and cranes were key, with Sony Venice cameras in 4K mode with Fujinon zooms. “We had three pedestal cameras. They were new Venices, but nonetheless they were on pedestals. Each operator had to do their own focus and zoom and trucking up the pedestals in shot. I was careful to hire two camera operators who really knew what they were doing with studio cameras because the last time I did that was 35 years ago.” Matt himself acted as the third camera operator. He would brief the other camera operators in preproduction, break down the scene, and map out how all the cameras would work together. It was critical that the cameras always have a logic and placement and appear to be moving together.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Growing up in Australia, Matt was impressed with the Australian movie Mad Max as a teenager. After studying some photography and stage production, he got a trainee job at ABC Television in Sydney. He slowly worked his way up as an assistant, operator, Steadicam operator and DP in Australian television. Late Night with the Devil is Matt's first feature film as a cinematographer. He previously worked with directors Cameron and Colin Cairnes as a Steadicam operator on their first feature, 100 Bloody Acres. Matt thinks Australia is its own independent film and TV powerhouse because of their ability to innovate and work with very small budgets.

Find Matthew Temple: Instagram @dpwolfie

Late Night with the Devil is still playing in some theaters and is available on Shudder and VOD.

Close Focus: The music video for The Hardest Part by the band Washed Out was created entirely by OpenAI's new video tool, Sora.

Ben's short end: Francis Ford Coppola's new trailer for <a href="https://www.youtube.

Late Night with the Devil cinematographer Matthew Temple, ACS

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 261: Mike Cheslik and Quinn Hester

Hundreds of Beavers is a callback to slapstick comedies like classic WB Looney Tunes cartoons. It's full of live-action wacky pratfalls, ridiculous situations, and a healthy dose of beaver-related mayhem. Shot on a micro-budget of $150,000, Hundreds of Beavers was made with passion, creativity, and a whole lot of beaver costumes.

Director Mike Cheslik and cinematographer Quinn Hester and most of the cast and crew are all from Wisconsin, where Hundreds of Beavers was shot. Everyone was comfortable with snow, loved physical comedy, and had the desire to make a film that would stand out as a true indie. After first meeting at the Milwaukee Film Festival in 2018, Mike called Quinn in October, 2020 to ask if he'd DP the film during the winter in zero degree weather. “It couldn't have been anybody but Quinn because he's just a tough guy and he's used to the winter,” says Mike. In total, the film took about 8 weeks of shooting with a core crew of about 4-6 people over the course of two winters. The main location was a remote cabin in Northern Wisconsin. “We're out there in the elements. It's very rare to be on a production where you are not only making a movie and having to use all your energy, focus and creativity and meditate on how to accomplish certain looks and goals and shots,” says Quinn. “But you're also trying to not die. All of us almost died at least once.”

To make Hundreds of Beavers, Mike spent years creating extensive storyboards and animatics. “People could watch the animatic on the DIT computer and they could also see the boards in my binders that I was carrying around,” he says.”But it still takes a lot of explaining and there's a lot to wrap your head around because there's so much in this movie. It is a lot. I was just thinking about it nonstop for years. And then just doing my best to explain it to the team. I was always surprised how much trust we got.” The film is very effects-heavy and made to look old-timey in grainy black and white. “The freedom of picking a grainy black and white style, it frees you up to tell a bigger story and to have bigger visual ideas. This style gave us permission to work that way in the modern day,” says Mike. Since they were shooting in the winter, they would have to wrap by 4:30 pm. Mike imported everything into Adobe After Effects and edited with Adobe Premiere every night. That way, Quinn and the crew knew exactly what they needed by the next day. Quinn shot on a Panasonic LUMIX GH5 camera that worked well even in extremely cold weather. All the footage could easily be imported into Adobe Premiere and After Effects.

Hundreds of Beavers is still playing in select theaters and is tons of fun to see with a live audience. Go to the Hundreds of Beavers website to find cities where it's playing.

Hundreds of Beavers is also available to rent on Amazon and Apple.

Find Mike Cheslik: Instagram @mikeches

Find Quinn Hester: Instagram <a class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x1ejq31n xd10rxx x1sy0etr x17r0tee x972fbf xcfux6l x1qhh985 xm0m39n x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz xt0b8zv x1fey0fg" tabindex="0" role="link" href="https://www.instagram.com/_u/quinn.hester?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR27km_ERJ46uGFqL9dn3HDTEpEThrDT57C3GBIVjIt3WoWsbxTpW0vPm5E_aem_AZwnQ-i11IO5vsAN8lFMjn5Z8mW4iBNUatq2Cm07HctDnLCRjt2tb8M4fjoTboO_EF5P1QkowTPSAeDd3JuVLRVq" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferre...

Hundreds of Beavers director Mike Cheslik and cinematographer Quinn Hester

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 260: Kyle Roberts

Kyle Roberts is a DP working in Birmingham, Alabama. One of the important aspects of working in a smaller market is to be skilled enough to function in multiple roles depending on what each project demands. “I'm a big problem solver,” says Kyle. “I feel like my career has taken off mainly because I'm the guy that can not just do multiple jobs, but it's using my creative mind, doing the problem solving, that's taken me far. That's what still brings me to the job every day.”

After working in LA at Radiant Images, Kyle relocated back home to Birmingham to work for a local ad agency. He began shooting corporate video and regional commercials. Though he loves shooting narratives, commercials in this market are what pays the bills. Fortunately, production in the area has grown enough to support more work. Alabama is a pretty good central location for Kyle to work in Atlanta, Nashville and New Orleans, so he's able to work as a local in any of those markets. He also finds and trains those who are eager to learn, so there's more experienced crew available and work can be shared. With his partners, Kyle opened Next Level Productions, a rental house, and Moonmen DJS, a production studio with an LED video wall.

Find Kyle Roberts: Instagram @nextlevelfilm

Close Focus: Some of the cool new products at NAB 2024, including the Blackmagic PYXIS 6K camera (Available for pre-order at Hot Rod Cameras.) Illya also saw new versions of Chinese manufactured lenses, like the DJI Focus Pro LiDAR Combo system. (Available for Pre-Order at Hot Rod Cameras.) He was also impressed by the Core SWX Powerbase Edge Snap 49wh SMART Stacking battery pack (Available for Pre-Order at Hot Rod Cameras.)

Ben's short end: The production company Participant Media is shutting down.

Illya's short end: The Fallout series on Amazon Prime is a great adaptation of the videogame, full of violence, radioactive mutants, and interesting characters. It's already been greenlit for a second season.

Sponsored by Greentree Creative: If you enjoy The Cinematography Podcast and you're interested in growing or starting your own podcast, contact Alana Kode at Greentree Creative. Greentree Creative can help you with social media marketing, strategy and planning, podcast production, and digital content creation.

LIKE AND FOLLOW US, send fan mail or suggestions! Rate, review and subscribe on Apple Podcasts!


Email: editor@camnoir.com

Facebook:@cinepod

Instagram: @thecinepod

Threads: @thecinepod

YouTube

Podcast Credits:

Producer: Alana Kode

All web and social media content written by Alana Kode

Host and editor in Chief:  Illya Friedman

Instagram: @illyafriedman @hotrodcameras


Jenelle Riley, Variety’s Deputy Awards and Features Editor, discusses the 2023 Academy Awards nominations

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