The Cinematography Podcast

Lawrence Sher, ASC, is the cinematographer of Apex, the action thriller currently sitting at number one on Netflix. Apex stars Charlize Theron as a woman hunted through the Australian wilderness by a relentless pursuer, and it's one of the most visceral and visually grounded survival thrillers in recent memory. The entire film was shot on location in the Blue Mountains of Australia.

Key Podcast Highlights:

-How the extreme remoteness of the locations forced a documentary-inspired toolkit, including the Sony Venice bodies packed into backpacks, lightweight lenses, very few lights and a skilled drone pilot.
-Building a visual philosophy around what you can't control. Lawrence embraced shifting sunlight, unpredictable weather, and inaccessible terrain as creative assets rather than obstacles.
-Using a "documentary grammar" framework to justify camera angles and movement, drawing on the visual language of climbing films like Free Solo and The Alpinist.
-How streaming has changed a cinematographer's relationship to their work. Lawrence sees Netflix's democratizing reach as a genuine second chance for films that deserve a wider audience.

Find Lawrence Sher: Instagram @lawrencesherdp
See APEX on Netflix
Check out Shotdeck: https://shotdeck.com/
Hear our previous episodes with Lawrence Sher:
https://www.camnoir.com/ep350/
https://www.camnoir.com/ep293/
https://www.camnoir.com/ep56/

SHOW RUNDOWN:

02:32 Close Focus
13:01-56:48 Lawrence Sher interview
57:13 Short ends
01:07:44 Wrap up/Credits

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

Margo's Got Money Troubles DP Tari Segal, ASC approached the show with spontaneity, intimacy, and a creative way to bring static backdrops to life. Margo's Got Money Troubles follows a young woman navigating an unexpected pregnancy, a complicated family, and some very creative ways to pay the bills. It’s one of the most visually inventive comedies currently streaming. Tari shot four of the show's episodes.

Key Podcast Highlights:

-How Tari and the team built a shooting style rooted in spontaneity that allowed the actors freedom of movement on set.
-Using actual licensed music piped into the crew's headset and actors earpiece so the camera could keep tempo with the final cut.
-Developing the visual language of the show, sometimes shifting from handheld, Steadicam, and studio modes {X} in the same scene.
-Shooting the entire Vegas episode in just three days, and the practical tricks Tari used to make four-walled L.A. sets read convincingly as Las Vegas.

Find Tari Segal: https://www.tarisegal.com/
Instagram @tarissegal

SHOW RUNDOWN:

02:22 Close Focus
11:34-01:00:43 Tari Segal interview
01:01:17 Short ends
01:09:22 Wrap up/Credits

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

DP Greta Zozula remakes the world of Gilead in The Testaments, a sequel to The Handmaid's Tale. She chose a very specific color palette and brighter look to show the optimism for the young women at the school for future wives. Flashbacks to the world of Toronto are sharper, grittier and more realistic.

Key Podcast Highlights:

-How Greta kept the same camera and lenses consistent from The Handmaid’s Tale into The Testaments, while brightening and widening the look for the optimistic young women of Gilead.
-Establishing the aesthetic of The Testaments with a color palette of plums, pinks and greens rather than higher contrast reds and blacks. Greta also used different lenses and framing to separate Agnes’s world and Daisy’s world in Toronto.
-Using miniatures and a probe lens for the opening sequence of the show as the camera takes us through Agnes’s dollhouse.

Find Greta Zozula: https://www.gretazozula.com/
Instagram: @gzoz

Show Rundown:
02:17 Close Focus
09:22-48:35 Greta Zozula interview
50:05 Short ends
53:53 Wrap up/Credits

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

Hunting Matthew Nichols is an indie horror film that’s shot as a mockumentary/found-footage movie about a documentary filmmaker investigating her brother's disappearance 20 years earlier on Vancouver Island. Writer/producer Sean Harris Oliver and DP Justin Sebastian shot the horror film in 12 days, then independently released it into theaters.

Key Podcast Highlights:

-How cinematographer Justin Sebastian used Sony FX9 cameras on autofocus, shot archival footage scenes on period-correct cameras, and then physically digitized the tapes for documentary authenticity.
-Keeping the camera crew small and the lighting natural, so that the film’s characters could realistically pull off the documentary.
-Detailed scriptwriting by Sean Harris Oliver, such as specifying who holds the camera in each scene. Sean scripted the film with cleaner, more deliberate camerawork that degrades into chaotic, survival-mode footage as events progress.
-How the team pushed hard for theatrical release against distributor pressure to go straight to streaming. They self-funded distribution and budgeted for marketing from the very beginning.

Find where to watch Hunting Matthew Nichols in theaters and play the interactive game on the website: https://www.huntingmatthewnichols.com/

Find Sean Harris-Oliver: https://www.seanharrisoliver.com/
Instagram: @SeanHarrisOliver

Find Justin Sebastian: https://www.justinsimonsebastian.com/
Instagram: @JustinSebastianDP

Listen to our episode with producer Ted Hope, who discusses similar approaches indie filmmakers can take to understand and control the entire filmmaking process from budget to shoot to distribution: https://www.camnoir.com/ep352/

Show Rundown:
02:45 Close Focus
13:04-01:02:59 Sean Harris Oliver and Justin Sebastian interview
01:03:19 Short ends
01:12:42 Wrap up/Credits

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 353: Isaac Bauman

Cinematographer Isaac Bauman captured the visual identities of two different horror movies in They Will Kill You and Faces of Death. Both films are currently in theaters. Bauman discusses the intricate technical gymnastics required to give each film a distinct, cinematic feel.

Key Podcast Highlights:

-Carefully developing the look of They Will Kill You and Faces of Death with each film’s director.
-Solving big lighting challenges for They Will Kill You's climax, using a massive 18K light that had to be repeatedly moved.
-Working with practical puppeteering effects for the crawling eyeball in They Will Kill You, which gave the scene a higher sense of realism.
-Shooting on 35mm film for Faces of Death and intentionally reducing the camera’s visual capabilities. Isaac used wider lenses, stopped down, and embraced darkness to enhance the gritty, filmic quality of older movies.

Find Isaac Bauman: Instagram @isaacbauman
See They Will Kill You and Faces of Death in theaters.
Hear our previous interview with Isaac Bauman: https://www.camnoir.com/ep242/

Show Rundown:
02:12 Close Focus
10:28-01:00:24 Isaac Bauman interview
01:00:45 Short ends
01:07:34 Wrap up/Credits

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com
YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast
Facebook: @cinepod
Instagram: @thecinepod
Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social