Sundance 2024: How 37 Cinematographers Shot Their Narrative Features

“The American Society of Magical Negros”

Dir: Kobi Libii DP: Doug Emmett
Category: Premieres
Format: Sony Raw X-OCN 6K
Camera: Sony Venice
Lenses: Tribe 7 Blackwing

The Look: We liked the Tribe7 Blackwing glass for their subtle ethereal quality. When the lenses are shot wide open the flares and softness become more pronounced and conversely, when stopped down you gain more control over sharpness. I appreciate how many variations you can achieve with one set of glass. That specific quality was a nice pairing for a film that deals in magical realism and strives to maintain a grounded look throughout the movie.

“Between the Temples”

Dir: Nathan Silver DP: Sean Price Williams
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition
Format: Super 16mm
Camera: Aaton XTR
Lenses: A mix of S16 and S35 Zeiss Super Speeds. Canon 11-165mm and Fujinon19-90mm zooms

The Look: We have a fast schedule. We needed to be able to move quickly with our setups. I won’t know if I really used the right tools until people see the film and let me know what they think. We enjoyed making the film which matters a lot. I used tools I am familiar with. But are they the “Right Tools”? To be able to say that would take more confidence than I contain. 

“Brief History of a Family”

Dir: Jianjie Lin DP: Jiahao Zhang
Category: World Dramatic Competition
Format: 2.8K 4:3
Camera: ALEXA Mini 
Lenses: ARRI Master Prime, ARRI Signature Zoom, Angenieux Optimo 24-290mm

The Look: During the prep of “Brief History of a Family” director JJ and I shared a common vision — we aimed to give this film a more “modern look”. Our aspiration was to craft an Eastern family drama with a thrilling approach, depicting the nuances of family dynamics.
I heavily relied on the zoom lenses for this project. Building on our static camera movements, I integrated numerous slow zoom shots for the characters, serving as a tool to guide the audience’s focus. My goal was to visualize the underlying family struggles and desires of each character. After several tests, I found that only the ARRI Master Anamorphic and a few spherical zoom lenses could almost perfectly match. This allowed me to seamlessly integrate these two lens types within a scene. I envisioned the visuals of this film to be sharp, clean, and with a slightly cold look. The ARRI Master Anamorphic enabled me to authentically recreate the main house location but introduced subtle distortions, giving a slightly odd feeling to the movie. Additionally, the lens is fast enough to shoot many scenes in low-light conditions. In many instances, we found ourselves in a super dark environment with only a few practicals on inside the house, and even wide open, the lens delivered a sufficiently sharp image for my approach.

For me, the ALEXA system is always the go-to choice for projects with very short prep time. I opted for the ALEXA Mini LF even though we were shooting in s35mm mode, primarily due to my confidence in its performance in high-sensitivity modes. Most of the time, I had to shoot at EI1600 or even higher sensitivity.

“Didi (弟弟)”

Dir: Sean Wang DP: Sam Davis
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition
Format: 4.6K Open Gate
Camera: ALEXA 35
Lenses: Master Anamorphic

The Look: We tested a variety of formats and lenses at Videofax and ultimately chose the ALEXA 35 with Master Anamorphics, cropped to 1.85. The distortion and anamorphic roll-off dirtied the ALEXA 35 image up in a unique and subtle way that suited the grit of this coming-of-age story.

“Exhibiting Forgiveness”

Dir: Titus Kaphar DP: Lachlan Milne, ASC
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition
Format: 4.6k 16×9 ARRIRAW
Camera: ALEXA 35 
Lenses: Leica Summilux

The Look: Titus and I spoke at length about coverage style and editorial pace for “Exhibiting Forgiveness” during our prep time. It felt like a predominantly single-camera movie, and we both have a love of minimal coverage. We wanted to play things wider mostly and allow our wonderful cast to use the entire frame. Holding shots, especially on the wider end, for me personally, makes it feel more like a “live experience,” if that makes sense. Things seem a bit more “observed” and less “process,” maybe. The Leica Summilux lenses are sharp edge to edge with almost no breathing and a very fast aperture. They have a large choice of focal lengths between 18 and 50mm with minimal flaring. The ALEXA 35 is physically small, has fantastic shadow detail, and amazing highlight latitude. We were a location movie, so being compact is always important. The combination of the lenses, camera sensor and some low contrast filtration gave our cast the freedom to move without compromising the photography, which I hope helped them give such amazing performances.

“Freaky Tales”

Dirs: Anna Boden & Ryan Fleck DP: Jac Fitzgerald
Category: Premieres
Format: ARRIRAW 2.8K
Camera: ALEXA Mini
Lenses: Panavision Anamorphics, Cooke Pancros, Panavision Primos, Zeiss superspeeds 

The Look: The film is told in four separate chapters, and, as we wanted each to have its own distinctive looks, we had four separate lens packages! It was a very important part of the overall film to have the lenses give each chapter a personality. Our format also changed accordingly. Chapter One is in 4×3, and Chapter Four is 2 39. 

“Ghostlight”

Dirs: Kelly O’Sullivan, Alex Thompson DP: Luke Dyra
Category: Premieres
Format: ARRI UHD ProRes
Camera: ALEXA 35
Lenses: Panavision Ultra Speed and Primo Zooms

The Look: I knew from my initial conversation with directors Kelly O’Sullivan and Alex Thompson that we wanted to shoot on the ALEXA 35. As we dove into prep, I distinctly remember Alex telling me how fond he was of using a 40mm because of the way it can hold comedy and drama in the same shot. In many ways, that conversation became the guiding light in developing a visual style for the film: creating a look that emphasizes the dramatic beats and leaves room for the moments of levity and connection. It was incredibly important to us that the film feels grounded and real, so we opted to embrace a sense of naturalism. We landed on a look that I think feels set out of time, intimate, and unembellished. The Panavision Ultra Speeds have a distinct softness and warmth that pair beautifully with the richness of the Alexa 35 sensor. We also carried Panavision Primo 19-90mm and 35-400mm zooms and a handful of Panavision portrait lenses for select shots, generously provided by Panavision Chicago. We found that a light touch was all that was needed for most of our lighting set-ups. A minimalistic approach meant that, with our small crew and limited budget, the camera’s extensive dynamic range would be doing a lot of heavy lifting when it came to shooting exteriors and mixed source environments.

“Girls Will Be Girls”

Dir: Shuchi Talati DP: Jih E Peng
Category: World Dramatic Competition
Format: 4:3 2.8k, ProRes 444XQ
Camera: ALEXA Mini
Lenses: Zeiss Super Speed MKIII

The Look: “Girls Will Be Girls” is a coming of age set against the expectations of girlhood and what it means to be a woman. These themes obviously figure in a lot of the visual approach, namely in our approach to softness vs. rigidity, when the camera can relax and when it adheres to formality, the harshness or gentleness of the light and how it plays on their faces. But our central thread was to ensure that the audience was always in Mira’s internal space, that you felt a part of her world and the struggles that she faces in a deeply intimate way. It influenced when we chose to use a shallower depth of field, how close we were to her, how the landscape and world around her figure into her psyche.

We shot on the ALEXA Mini, which has been such a workhorse for me and so many other DPs in past productions. I’ve always loved ARRI’s color science and image quality, and its small form factor was helpful for moving quickly and limiting strain on crew. We shot on Zeiss Super Speed MKIIIs after doing tests; they had the right gentleness and softness we were looking for for the film. It was important to us that the optics “cradled” Mira’s face, and they performed beautifully in that regard.

“Good One”

Dir: India Donaldson DP: Wilson Cameron 
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition
Camera: ALEXA Mini (Blackmagic Pocket 4K as b-camera for some scenes)
Lenses: Zeiss Super Speeds, Angenieux Optimo 17-80

The Look: This movie is about relationships, and we wanted the cinematography to help the nuances of the script and the performances to shine through. We thought a lot about how scenes could play in wider, long takes, and how the camera could follow certain characters or track between them. One of our key rules was that when in doubt, we would stay on Sam and be in her world. In terms of camera, the ALEXA just produces the best, most flexible image and it’s great for filming daytime exteriors. And the Zeiss Super Speed lenses are my favorite because they just have this special quality that felt right for this story — they are sharp but have a bit of a classic feel. Our entire setup was designed to be very lean so that we could move easily while trekking through the woods.

“Hit Man”

Dir: Richard Linklater DP: Shane F. Kelly
Category: Spotlight 
Format: 6K Sony OCN full-format with 2:35 crop.
Camera: Sony Venice 1 with Rialto and Venice 2.
Lenses: Panavision primo 70.

The Look: Rick wanted the look of the film to be “a sunlit noir, ” but in the vein of a screwball comedy; so we started by referencing “Chinatown” and also Altman’s “The Long Goodbye,” which has always been a favorite of mine. We originally wanted to shoot on film but it was hard to make the numbers work and when we saw that a lot of the locations were tiny, we opted for the Venice with the Rialto, which allowed me to shoot in places that would have been impossible otherwise. The primo’s gave me that classic Panavision look on digital.

“How To Have Sex”

Dir: Molly Manning Walker DP: Nicolas Canniccioni
Category: Spotlight
Format: Prores4444 4.5K (sometimes 2.8K)
Camera: ALEXA Mini LF 
Lenses: Canon K35

The Look: We chose to work with the ALEXA Mini LF camera and Canon K35 lenses for aesthetic and technical reasons. The main location was relatively small, so the compactness and modular possibilities of the camera combined with the small size and light weight of the lenses gave us the opportunity to make the best use of every available centimeter in the space, giving the actors maximum latitude and for me a great ease of reaction to their performances. Most of the time we were filming handheld, camera held at chest level or on the shoulder very close to the characters’ emotions.

We also chose to film in LF to minimize the use of very wide angles in small locations, which gave us the possibility of filming mainly with the 35mm and 55mm and maintaining the kind of immersive atmosphere we were looking for in the film. The Canon K35, gave us also what we were looking for in terms of speed and image texture with its almost perfectly round diaphragm and its purple and orange flares, they are one of a kind when looking for compact vintage lenses covering a large sensor. It is also a nod to Photographer Martin Parr who used a medium format camera equipped with a 55mm for his series of photos, “The Last Resort.”

“I Saw The TV Glow”

Dir: Jane Schoenbrun DP: Eric K. Yue
Category: Midnight
Format: 35mm
Camera: ARRICAM LT 
Lenses: Zeiss Master Primes

The Look: Jane and I wanted to make a film that had a deep sense of loneliness and isolation. We wanted the film to be rich in color and grainier in the blacks. 35mm felt like the right choice and for how much it can hold up when you push the color palette and how evocative and visceral the images are upon developing.

The variety of lens sizes that Master Primes offer at a T1.3 — as well as its sharpness wide-open helped me make this decision. I thought pairing these clean, modern lenses with a grainy film stock would strike a good visual balance and give me the most flexibility on set.

“In a Violent Nature”

Dir: Chris Nash DP: Pierce Derks
Category: Midnight
Format: 4K Cinema Raw LT framed for 1.33 aspect ratio
Camera: Canon C70
Lenses: Modified Canon FD primes

The Look: I ended up looking at a lot of different cameras in pre-production because a “traditional” camera package wasn’t going to work for this project. We were off in the remote woods for most of the shoot and needed something lightweight and compact enough that we could bring on long hikes and rig up in a variety of unconventional manners to capture Nash’s specific vision. Canon’s C70 ended up being right in the sweet spot since it met our logistical needs without sacrificing the quality of the image. Having a camera that easy to move around as both the cinematographer and operator was quite freeing.

We paired the camera’s super 35 sensor primarily with old modified Canon FD lenses, with and without a Glimmerglass for filtration, depending on the scene. That combination helped give us the look we were after, something slightly impressionistic but still a bit gritty. Having an image that felt organic and living was very important for the particular tone of the film.

“In the Land of Brothers”

Dirs: Alireza Ghasemi, Raha Amirfazli DP: Farshad Mohammadi
Category: World Dramatic Competition
Format: 3.2K
Camera: ALEXA Mini 
Lenses: Sony Master Prime

The Look: Based on the guerilla nature of the shooting and the limited space on some scenes, I paired the camera and lenses that would give the best result while keeping the build compact. Most of the scenes were shot handheld, so I needed to choose a camera that would easily become a part of my body all day while giving me the result I was looking for.

It’s What’s Inside”

Dir: Greg Jardin DP: Kevin Fletcher
Category: Midnight 
Format: 4.6K ARRIRAW – Open Gate 
Camera: ALEXA 35
Lenses: Leica Summilux C primes, Angenieux Optimo Zooms

The Look: I like to get to know a movie/project before I choose a camera and lenses. So once the director, Greg Jardin, and I got deep into conversations about the look of the film, I knew that the ALEXA 35 would be the perfect tool. I had been fortunate enough to test the A35 before its release, so I had a strong sense of it and knew it would be ideal for numerous reasons.

For one, this movie had a lot of nights, and the A35’s low-light capabilities are incredible — which is always great, but especially helpful on films where an economy of scale is crucial. Then, there is the increased latitude of the sensor (especially in the blacks) which achieved the visual tone we wanted. This camera also met the requirements of the story’s technical needs — like slow motion and what Greg needed for post. But by far, the main reason I chose this camera was for the new ARRI color science. This whole film is rooted in color, and no camera I had used prior to IWI renders color like this camera does (especially in the red/magenta realm, which is very important to the story).

As for lenses, I love them all (vintage, anamorphic, sharp, soft). For IWI, I knew there would be a lot of style within the storytelling: the camera movement, the lighting, the editing, music and sound, FX, and so on. I didn’t feel the need to impose another layer of “look” with lenses that carry a strong character. Don’t get me wrong; when it’s appropriate, I love distinct lenses. But a “vintage” look wasn’t right for Greg, for me, or the story. So choosing these Leicas — which render skin tones beautifully, have incredible highlight roll-off, and are fast and lightweight — was a no-brainer.

One other thing I want to say: Despite having all of these “perfect” tools, they are merely that — tools. It’s when you put them in the hands of a director like Greg and a crew like the one we had — that is where the magic manifests.

“Kidnapping Inc.”

Dir: Bruno Mourral DP: Martin Levent
Category: Midnight
Format: 4k 2.40
Camera: Red Epic MX
Lenses: PANAVISION PRIMO lenses

The Look: “Kidnapping Inc.” is a mashup between comedy and action movies, with stunts, car chase, green screen, gunfights… so I was looking for a versatile camera. The RED was the best choice. I’ve chosen to shoot with RED epic MX because I was looking for contrast and saturation specially in Port au Prince, which is really colorful. RED’s RAW is great to work with in post, and offers plenty of flexibility in color also have a wide dynamic range, so it was perfect to shoot black skin tones against bright background. We had a few shots over 100fps and the director wanted to make digital zoom or resize anytime so the RED camera was the perfect tool. My first choice of lenses was Panavision Primo Lenses. I really like the deep contrast; you have detail in the highlight, rich skin tones and nice bokeh. The softness of the Primo lenses was the perfect counterbalance to the harsh sensor of the RED. Also, we had many night shoots. Even at wide open, these lenses are great. They gave us the right feel for the story.

“Kneecap”

Dir: Rich Peppiatt DP: Ryan Kernaghan, ISC 
Category: NEXT
Format: 5.8k X-OCN. 6:5 Anamorphic
Camera: Sony Venice 2
Lenses: Cooke S6 Anamorphics

The Look: We had initially considered spherical lenses as we knew that a lot of the film would be played in close quarters with the characters, but because “Kneecap” has so many fantastical elements in it, we felt that the Cooke Anamorphics would give us the separation from the real that we needed.

I’ve used the Cookes on many different projects, and they gave you that painterly fall off around the edge of the image that we wanted while still delivering a solid image that isn’t difficult to control. They were a great combination with the Sony Venice 2 and the sensor’s high sensitivity allowed us the option to have a deeper stop and find the sweet spot of the lens where necessary. The 65mm macro is a lovely lens, and we favored this as our close-up lens, along with the 40mm and 50mm, which we frequently used to bring us more into the subjective space of the characters. We usually had a 1/8 or a 1/4 Tiffen Smoque filter on the lens, which added a gauzy texture to the image that other diffusion filters can’t quite replicate. We also had a lot of unusual macro shots in the film; for this, we used a Laowa 24mm periprobe lens which allowed us to play with scale, often putting the lens within a few centimeters of the characters.

“Krazy House”

Dirs: Steffen Haars, Flip Van der Kuil DP: Joris Kerbosch
Category: Midnight 
Format: ARRIRAW, XDCAMHD
Camera: ALEXA Mini, Sony XdcamHd PDA-700
Lenses: Zeiss Super Speeds MKIII, Elite Anamorphic S7

The Look: We immediately knew we had to come up with a visual plan that would be more than “just making it look good.” “Krazy House” is set on one location, a sitcom house build in the studio. We decided early on that Bernie’s (played by Nick Frost) state of mind would be our leading visual principle. Different moods, aspect ratios, and lighting techniques of the era we grew up in all came in to play to achieve the visual style. That results in a very eclectic film with a lot of visual storytelling.

Steffen Haars, Flip van der Kuil (directors), and I wanted the film to start as the typical ’90s sitcom as we memorize it from our childhood watching badly transferred copies. Sometimes intercut with anamorphic flashes of what’s happening inside Bernie’s head, the film gradually turns into this really dark story where we follow Bernie’s internal battle. We shot the first part with 4 Sony XDcamHD cameras simultaneously to achieve the sitcom feel on set as well as having the depth of field of 2/3 video.

After that, the form changes into a handheld style where we suddenly follow Bernie and his family closely. Aspect ratio changes from 1.33 to 1.85, and the light changes from sitcom to a moody and dimly lit house. The ALEXA Mini combined with the Super Speeds on open gate was the ideal combo. Especially the 35mm super speed turned out to be my favorite lens. The shallow depth of field together with the great textures from the ALEXA when underexposing got the job done.

In the last part where Bernie finally decides to take matters in his own hands, we wanted to be close and at the same time grimy and transforming. The ALEXA Mini, now combined with the anamorphic elite S7’s in 2.39 aspect ratio, proved to be the right combination. Lots of warm skin tones from fire and colder shades completed the post-apocalyptic look. It was a real joy to watch it all come together on set as we had envisioned when working with all these amazing actors and crew.

“Layla”

Dir: Amrou Al-Kadhi DP: Craig Dean Devine 
Category: World Dramatic Competition
Format: Pro Res 4444 3.2K
Camera: ALEXA Mini 
Lenses: Cooke Anamorphic 

The Look: We wanted to use Cookes and shoot Anamorphic because it was important for us that the film had an elevated and commercial aspect to the visual language. We didn’t want to be limited by the expectations of Indie Queer cinema; we wanted it to look big, glamorous, and high quality. We wanted it to stand up on a big screen despite the budget and restrictions we faced. At the same time, we still wanted to tell a character-driven story that was intimate and personal. A film that uses contrasting styles throughout to show the diverse range of characters, locations, and atmospheres. We wanted to throw it on sticks, give sharp edges and low saturation, and then throw it a few scenes later on the shoulder and run around a grungy London drag bar. We didn’t want to be locked in. We would do big 360 spins on the steady cam, casting a spell on the characters as they fall in love and then moments later be locked on a still frame of them at their most intimate. 

“Little Death”

Dir: Jack Begert DP: Christopher Ripley 
Category: NEXT
Format: 4.6K Open Gate Prores and 3 Perf 35mm
Camera: ALEXA Mini LF, ARRICAM LT, ARRI 235
Lenses: ARRI Signature Primes, Camtec Custom Optics 12:1, Zeiss B Speeds, Cooke 18-100mm t/3.1, Cooke 25-250mm t/3.7

The Look: From the beginning, my director Jack and I knew that “Little Death” needed two completely different looks — one was super-crisp large format digital and the other was 35mm film. We considered using our lens choice to bring the looks closer together, but after testing we decided to use our lenses to separate the two looks even more. We used sharp modern lenses with no diffusion on the digital shots and softer, hazier vintage lenses on the 35mm shots.

On top of that, our lighting plan was much more controlled and stylized in the digital look, while the film look leaned more heavily on practicals and we allowed it to feel more messy and real. Much of our lighting in the 35mm shots came from real practicals we installed — for instance, my gaffer and I built custom metal halide and sodium vapor fixtures for much of the nighttime exterior work. We even lit one scene with low-quality compact fluorescent and household LED bulbs to create an oppressive, anxious look. The digital shots were lit by more typical film lighting and a custom ring light that we built to create a very soft, controlled source.

It was important for Jack and me that both looks had their own unique voice, but also that they felt like parts of a consistent whole. Throughout photography and into post we were constantly checking in to make sure that balance felt correct.

“Love Me”

Dirs: Sam and Andy Zuchero DP: Germain McMicking ACS 
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition 
Format: 4.5K ARRIRAW, 35 mm KODAK Negative
Camera: ALEXA Mini LF, Panavision Millenium XL2, iPhones, GoPro
Lenses: Cooke 1.8x Anamorphic SF, Zeiss Supreme Radiance, Panavision C & T series anamorphic. 

The Look: This had the most unique script I’ve read. Incredible cast and very bold ideas. Hard not to fall in love. The filmmaking process was open and constantly evolving. Sam and Andy played guitar and sang in between set ups, always keeping the set light and alive. 

With so many points of view and distinctive spaces in the film, we felt it necessary to capture them with different optical perspectives. Give them unique character and try to help tell the story of the passing of a lot of time. Particular colors and contrast seen through the production design, light, and grade became a strong linking element for the characters.

“Love Me” is shot on large-format digital, both with spherical and anamorphic lenses, motion capture to animation, and 35mm anamorphic film.

“Malu”

Dir: Pedro Freire DP: Mauro Pinheiro Jr, ABC
Category: World Dramatic Competition
Format: ARRIRAW 3.4K
Camera: ALEXA Mini
Lenses: Cooke S4

The Look: Since the early conversations in preparation for “Malu,” we realized that the film should be shot handheld so that the camera could breathe the same air as the characters, following their emotions and intentions. For this, I chose an Arri ALEXA Mini with a set of Cooke S4 lenses because I needed a lightweight, small, and reliable camera that would allow me to behave with the same freedom I had in films I shot with the Aaton Prod S16mm in the late ’90s, the period in which the film is set.

As “Malu” is a character-driven film, I agreed with the cast that there would rarely be reflectors, tripods, or flags obstructing their paths. I also discussed with Pedro Freire, the director, that I would keep the set mostly free of anything that couldn’t be framed. In daylight scenes, artificial light always came from the outside, reinforcing the natural light entering through doors and windows. During night scenes, I simply enhanced the practical lights. This way, I crafted lighting that closely resembled ambient light but with dramatic design, creating areas of light and shadows that we used according to the emotions of the scenes.

“The Moogai”

Dir: Jon Bell DP: Sean Ryan
Category: Midnight
Format: 3.4K ARRIRAW, cropped for a 2.39:1 finish
Camera: ALEXA Mini 
Lenses: Panavision PVintage

The Look: Prior to shooting the feature-length film version of “The Moogai,” I’d been lucky enough to shoot the proof of concept short film of the same name. The director Jon Bell and I loved the tone we created for that, so we stuck to a lot of the decisions we’d made and brought them into the feature. From the beginning, we knew we wanted it to be finished in scope (2.39:1) though I wanted to avoid the distortions of anamorphic lenses. We wanted to be able to get quite intimate with our characters and let the audience decide if the strange occurrences happening to Sarah are real or all in her head. Shooting spherical seemed to be a more objective way of looking at these events.

After being familiar with the Panavision PVintage lenses for some time from commercials and other narrative projects, I opted to go with those again on this project. To me they have a really pleasant falloff and gentle highlight blooming that one can often try to re-create with filtration but can never quite imitate that same quality.

Not to be overstated is the choice of focal lengths, especially when working in drama. I love the 40mm for close-ups in the 2.39:1 aspect, and we made use of other, more unique lengths like the 29mm quite often. Shooting a lot of interiors as we did on this movie it’s great to have a lot of options between 20–50mm to make sure you can get the right emotion and perspective for the set.

“My Old Ass”

Dir: Megan Park DP: Kristen Correll
Category: Premieres
Format: 6K X-OCN ST MXF
Camera: Sony Venice 1
Lenses: Panavision Panaspeeds

The Look: The Venice allowed me to shoot ISO5000, which gave a dirtier, more nostalgic look. The Panaspeeds were a nice complement since we didn’t want to funk up the image too much with heavy-handed lenses. We wanted the look to be reminiscent of the films we grew up watching that stay with us as adults in a sentimental way. Those films, for me, always blend the cinematography seamlessly into the story, allowing the viewer to really experience the emotions. 

“The Outrun”

Dir: Nora Fingscheidt DP: Yunus Roy Imer
Category: Premieres
Format: ProRes 4444 3.2k & 2.8k & S16 HD
Camera: ALEXA Mini, AMIRA 
Lenses: Panavision C-Series, Panavision Primo Primes, S16 Cooke-Zoom

The Look: The film can be divided into three different strands, if you like: The London part, the Orkney part, and an essayistic documentary level, in which we also worked with archive material. To visually separate the individual strands, we worked with different lens sets. For the London storyline, where being drunk and alcohol abuse are a central part of the story, we worked with the anamorphic Panavision C-Series, very characteristic, special lenses and still easy to operate handheld. To exaggerate the dizzy look of some parts of this sequence, we even used the Panavision Lens Baby.

For a more restrained, visually calm style on the Orkney Islands, we shot with the spherical Panavision Primo Primes, and for the essayistic documentary layer, which also differs in aspect ratio from the rest of the film, we worked with the S16 Cooke Zoom. For most of the film, we shot with the ALEXA Mini. Not filming with a newer ALEXA was also a budget decision in the end, but I still think the Mini is a great camera due to its handling and reliability, which is why it can be the right camera for certain projects. Together with the S16 Zoom, I had an ARRI AMIRA available most of the time, to capture moments, landscapes, nature, and weather conditions in an uncomplicated way in between.

“Ponyboi”

Dir: Esteban Arango DP: Ed Wu
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition
Format: 4K 6:5 Mode Anamorphic Desqueeze — X-OCN XT
Camera: Sony Venice
Lenses: Atlas Orion

The Look: “Ponyboi” was a unique experience from the beginning. The script combines an eclectic collection of genres that wouldn’t normally fit together: LGBTQ+ drama, thriller, surrealistic, mobster, and romance films. Yet somehow… they meshed perfectly. Just like the mashup of genres, the character Ponyboi and the backdrop of industrial Jersey are in a constant struggle with their duality of grit/beauty and masculinity/femininity. Esteban and I used these themes as our bedrock for the visuals. With this being our second film together, we knew we wanted to push the loud and bombastic style we established in “Blast Beat” and ground it with a genuine sincerity to the portrayal of the characters.

To showcase this in the cinematography, we decided to shoot on the Sony Venice with Atlas Orions and a white promist 1/4 in front of the lens (which was entirely a happy accident when the rental house gave it to us instead of a black promist to test with). We used a lens baby, step printing, lyrical light cues, and more to emphasize the surreal sensations that Ponyboi has gone through his entire life. We used bold vibrant colors lit by Sean Soto (gaffer) and Rob Stile (Key Grip) that were beautifully elevated by our colorist Kath Raisch to heighten the danger and tenderness of each moment.

On the tech side of the cinematography, we almost always used the Sony Venice’s high ISO mode in every night exterior which allowed us to showcase the New Jersey streets and bridges while keeping our lighting package slim. “Ponyboi” is a special film where we fought tirelessly to push every penny of the budget and time to bring this vibrant visual story to life.

“A Real Pain”

Dir: Jesse Eisenberg DP: Michał Dymek
Category:U.S. Dramatic Competition
Format: 4.5K ARRIRAW
Camera: ALEXA Mini LF 
Lenses: LEITZ M 0.8 

The Look: In “A Real Pain,” we wanted to be close to the characters but also maintain a sense of spaciousness. The ALEXA Mini LF with its large format sensor scope was perfect for this purpose. Moreover, “A Real Pain” as a story of two cousins taking part in a journey to the unknown homeland of their recently deceased grandmother inspired me as a story in which the change of perspective will play an important role as an element emphasizing differences in opinions or how we often perceive things and places known and unknown in different ways. The ALEXA Mini LF seemed to me to be a great tool to portray people in the context of a place in a different optical way and to influence them with the surroundings and the viewer’s well-being.

For example: A light and close camera portrait of the cousins in funny moments in Warsaw contrasted with a striking moment of encounter with history in the Majdanek Concentration Camp, which causes an over-scale in portraying them as small compared to the overwhelming history of this place. We imagine unknown things and places according to our imagination and knowledge, our perspective changes as we get to know them. This also applies to meetings with other people, we often change our minds about someone we don’t know and then come to know them. The framing in large format allowed for the creation of a different atmosphere for portraits of the same person within one focal length. While maintaining a distance, it creates an objective image of the character, but when the camera gets closer, it allows us to portray the character in an extremely beautiful way.

“Reinas”

Dir: Klaudia Reynicke-Candeloro DP: Diego Romero Suarez Llanos 
Category: World Dramatic Competition
Format: 4.5 LF 3:2 Open Gate ARRIRAW
Camera: ALEXA Mini LF 
Lenses: Zeiss Supreme Prime 

The Look: I worked with the Alexa Mini LF and with Zeiss Supreme lenses. I started my career shooting film so I had to adapt to the digital world like most cinematographers. At first, I was not very convinced with the result of the new cameras until ARRI came in with the ALEXA, and since that moment whenever I have been able to and they have let me (due to budget), it is the only camera with which I feel comfortable since, practically, I find very little difference with it between shooting in digital or on film (the dynamic range, the color, the ergonomics…). I have already made 16 feature films in digital with ARRI, and this is the second one I have made with the Mini LF. I can’t wait to work with the new ALEXA 35, and I am sure that it will not disappoint me.

As for lenses, I have always been a big fan of the Zeiss Ultra Prime, which I find to be very honest lenses (since I found very little difference between shooting at T2.8, T4, or T5.6 or with different focal lengths in terms of contrast and definition). But as soon as the Supreme series came onto the market and I was able to do some comparative tests, I was delighted with them. This is the second time I have used them in combination with Mini LF, in “IL Boemo” by Petr Vaclav, which also had many scenes with candles (much more than in Reinas) and the truth is that I was delighted with the reproduction of fire. I always put a black promist 1/8 in front, but when there is a fire (candles or a fireplace), I take it out because I don’t like the flares they produce (but it is a characteristic of the filter, not the lens).

“Rob Peace”

Dir: Chiwetel Ejiofor DP: Ksenia Sereda
Category: Premieres
Format: 4K ProRes
Camera: ALEXA 35 
Lenses: Cooke Uncoated

“Sebastian”

Dir: Mikko Makela DP: Iikka Salminen
Category: World Dramatic Competition
Format: 3.2K Prores 4444
Camera: ALEXA Mini
Lenses: Canon K35s & Angenioux Zoom 25-250HR

The Look: We aimed to steer clear of overly dramatizing the film’s themes — centered around sex work and a struggling writer — by avoiding a gritty visual style. Instead, our goal was to find elegance, a choice that resonated better with the main character. The ALEXA, with its pleasing color and texture, served as a natural starting point in crafting the look. When working with ALEXA, I feel like I can approach the image more as an artist than a technician, enabling me to focus on storytelling. I treated the sensor like a film stock, using two look-up-tables made specifically for the film.

We wanted to shoot with vintage lenses to break away from the electricity of the digital medium. Simultaneously, I wanted to avoid any prominent visual artifacts that could create a barrier between the audience and the story. K35s were chosen for their painterly and subtly soft representation of the world. I was especially drawn to the creamy bokeh that rendered specular highlights in a natural way. Additionally, our longer lensing style benefitted from their beautiful focus fall-off, maintaining three-dimensionality even with longer lenses.

“Stress Positions”

Dir: Theda Hammel DP: Arlene Muller 
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition 
Format: 2K Prores
Camera: ALEXA 35 
Lenses: Canon 7-63mm, Canon 11-165mm

The Look: In prep, Theda expressed that she wanted the images to feel honest and un-precious, giving priority to the performances and also to being flexible and unconstrained by a heavy camera package that required extra time to move around and set up, as we were working on a very tight schedule. After testing, we found that the ALEXA 35 was the perfect camera for this project as it allowed us to film in 2K on vintage 16mm Canon zoom lenses with all the latitude and beautiful texture of the renowned ALEXA sensor. With this setup we had a lightweight package that gave us tons of flexibility in our fast paced shoot. We loved the film-like quality of the images, the natural skin tones, and the ability to dig deep into the shadows in color.

“Sujo”

Dir: Astrid Rondero, Fernanda Valadez DP: Ximena Amann
Category: World Dramatic Competition
Format: Red RAW 8K
Camera: Red V Raptor (cam A) and Red Komodo
Lenses: Seizz Jenas (Part 1), Minolta Rocker (Part 2), Canon FD (Part 3), Leica R (Part 4).

The Look: We wanted to achieve great latitude for the use of less artificial light and use the most possible natural light at a precise time of the day. Another consideration was the weight and size of the camera because we needed a lot of movement and to get through narrow places; 8K gave us more flexibility in the frame.

Choosing of optics was a very exciting and fun part of the creative process. We wanted to give the film a “whole unit concept,” but each chapter has its own “personality.” We used 4 different sets of lenses, one for each chapter. All of them are still photography lenses adapted for film. Astrid, Fernanda, and I had long conversations about the lenses, and together, we researched and tested the look of a lot of options, searching for the right characteristics. Fernanda and Astrid tracked the lenses we chose all over the world. I’m very lucky to have two directors who wants to create and develop a beautiful and unique cinematic style.

“Suncoast”

Dir: Laura Chinn DP: Bruce Francis Cole
Category: U.S. Dramatic Competition
Format: X-OCN
Camera: Sony Venice
Lenses: Vantage Hawke V-Lites

The Look: Inspired by a bunch of vintage color postcards from Florida by John Hinde, Laura Chinn and I decided that we wanted to build texture into this film in a natural in-camera way. She expressed to me that many of the beautiful films she experiences today are very sharp and don’t quite have the memory-like feeling she wanted this film to have. At the same time, she wanted to remove the technique/craft so that you can really get swept up into the story. We tested out a few different scenarios and ultimately decided to shoot on the Sony Venice at 2:1 ratio to allow characters to feel a bit more accessible, especially when photographed alone. Taking inspiration from the vintage postcards, we chose a set of Hawk V-Lites provided by Keslow Camera, which gave us lots of edge distortion character/texture like the frayed and tattered edges of an old postcard while keeping the center clean. 

“Tendaberry”

Dir: Haley Elizabeth Anderson DP: Matthew Ballard
Category: NEXT
Format: Super 16, Mixed Format
Camera: Aaton XTR Prod, ALEXA Mini, AMIRA
Lenses: ARRI Zeiss Ultra 16

The Look: Shooting on 16mm was always the original intent from the director Haley Elizabeth Anderson. For me, I feel that shooting on film is all about the tonality, color, and process. I enjoy working with it as a medium and feel confident I can get the images that I’m looking for tonally. It’s also about the process as a whole and putting ourselves creatively into a state of belief that pushes us to take greater risks. I love to feel when film is dark or overexposed and the light, color, and grain all begin to dance and become one. Seeing it in that way feels very expressive and sensorial for me. Haley and I talked about the feeling of whispering in darkness, and alongside the protagonist Dakota’s struggle and very personal and endearing narration, I wanted the image to also feel like it’s barely holding on but still shimmering.

For “Tendaberry,” we shot on my own Aaton XTR Prod with ARRI Zeiss Ultra 16 glass from ARRI in NY. We also used an ALEXA Mini for the final summer portion of the film when Dakota has sort of surrendered and is coming into a state of acceptance. It was important for us to bring a different kind of transparency for the end of the film that would have a completely honest and humble feel. For me, filmmaking is about the sum of positive decisions and setting yourself up to be continually curious and passionate about what you’re doing. It’s important to really believe in what you’re shooting and to feel excited that you’re exploring it with the best paint brushes you have.

“Thelma”

Dir: Josh Margolin DP: David Bolen
Category: Premieres
Format: 4.6K Open Gate (2x DeSqueeze) Anamorphic – Apple ProRes
Camera: ALEXA 35 
Lenses: Hawk V-Lite Anamorphic Lenses

The Look: “Thelma” tells the incredible story of 93-year-old Thelma Post (June Squibb). After getting duped by a phone scammer pretending to be her grandson, she sets out on a treacherous quest across the city to reclaim what was taken from her. Visually, it was an incredible project to shoot because. on the one hand, it had to have the epic scope of an action film, but on a deeper level. we wanted it to be a personal and subjective character study about an older woman fighting to reclaim her sense of self-worth and independence. The ALEXA 35 paired with the Hawk V-Lite Anamorphics was the perfect combo to achieve both things.

The anamorphic lenses provided the film a larger-than-life scope and allowed us to capture the L.A. landscapes in a very cinematic way. But at the same time, the package was small and nimble, enabling us to get shots that had a closeness and intimacy to Thelma. As a cinematographer, I always prefer using wider lenses and placing the camera closer to the actors. It gives a feeling of subjectivity that is impossible to replicate when using longer zoom lenses. The Hawk V-Lites were perfect for this, and the set had a magical 55mm macro lens which became our portrait lens for Thelma and the other characters.

The ALEXA 35 was absolutely beautiful and the latitude of the sensor and high ISO capabilities allowed us to capture the valley in a really beautiful way. Much of the film takes place at night, and I could crank the camera to 6400 ISO with very minimal noise. This allowed for beautiful night photography where we embraced the available light that the city had to offer. With our camera/lens combo we could capture both the epic and the intimate of Thelma’s story.

“Veni Vidi Vici”

Dir: Daniel Hoesl DP: Gerald Kerkletz
Category: World Dramatic Competition
Format: ARRIRAW 
Camera: ALEXA LF
Lenses: Angenieux Optimo 24‑290

The Look: I use the entire spectrum of focal lengths for this film, which is actually atypical for most of my camerawork. Our protagonists in “Veni Vidi Vici” are under observation but don’t seem troubled by it. No one is hiding. Nothing gets swept under the carpet. Everything happens before our eyes in broad daylight. In this movie, there are perpetrators, victims, and people who literally walk over dead bodies. That sounds like it could be a crime thriller, but here, there’s no mystery to unravel. We wanted to make a movie about people living on the sunny side of life, who don’t worry at all. That’s why there are hardly any shadows; or rather, we flooded even the shadows with light. I always exposed for the shadows because I knew that the sensor of the ALEXA LF could cope with the blown-out highlights.

We shot Super35 rather than full frame, even though we were shooting with the ALEXA LF. I’m generally not very interested in shallow focus cinematography, and I am usually not looking for super sharp, high-resolution images, but especially for this film in particular, I didn’t want to over-stylize its super-rich environment. Super35 also gave us the opportunity to work with Angenieux’s Optimo zoom lenses, including the incredible 24-290. Large parts of the film were shot with this unique lens, and for some of the “walking and talking shots” we used almost the entire zoom range to get the same image size! These zooms are not the sharpest lenses, compared to contemporary glass — and I mean that in a good way. Especially when you don’t cover them against the light, they give you that warm and elegant low-contrast vintage look that I wanted for this movie.

“Winner”

Dir: Susanna Fogel DP: Steve Yedlin, ASC
Category: Premieres
Format: ALEV 3 Sensor (in 3.4K Open Gate mode, recorded to ARRIRAW)
Camera: ALEXA Mini
Lenses: Zeiss Supreme Primes and Fujinon Premista Zooms

The Look: Our cinematographic style comes more from shot design and lighting than from gear selection. Tonal, color, and textural rendering are often (mis)attributed to gear but are actually authored primarily in the processing pipeline, not camera selection. So we chose gear for versatility and logistics, not look-making, and crafted the photorendering look in our pipeline.

“Your Monster”

Dir: Caroline Lindy DP: Will Stone
Category: Midnight
Format: ProRes 3K (3072×3072) 2x Anamorphic (final ratio 2:1)
Camera: ALEXA 35
Lenses: Neo AO Anamorphic lenses from Lensworks

The Look: The ALEXA 35 paired with Lensworks Rentals’ Neo AO 2x Anamorphic lenses was the perfect package for “Your Monster.” The ALEXA 35 allowed us to be bold with our visuals, and we could really play in the dark with the additional stop of range in the shadows. Also, the additional 1.5 stops in the highlights are super helpful when moving fast on a small film. Lensworks’ Neo AOs gave us the perfect aesthetic reminiscent of ’90s romantic comedies, while still allowing for us to be creative and bring a more modern feel to the image.