August 4, 2019

Ep 41 – Vanja černjul, ASC – Talks Crazy Rich Asians, The Deuce, 30 Rock, Orange is the New Black, and more!

Vanja Černjul began his career in the U.S. filming small independent films like “Wrist Cutters, A Love Story” before breaking into television, shooting the pilot for “Ugly Betty” then going on to DP the first season of “30 Rock.” He developed the realistic, naturalistic lighting looks for “Nurse Jackie” and “Orange is the New Black,” and created the grainy, gritty 70’s look for HBO’s “The Deuce.” Vanja’s biggest project to date is “Crazy Rich Asians,” which has become the highest-grossing romantic comedy of the last 10 years. He talks about its success, working with director Jon M. Chu and finding a gorgeous, unconventional look for a romantic comedy.

July 24, 2019

Ep 40 – Oscar Winner Russell Carpenter, ASC – On Titanic, True Lies, James Cameron, Hard Target, John Woo, Ant-Man and more!

Academy Award winner Russell Carpenter, ASC has a huge Hollywood career that’s spanned decades, though he got his start working in public television and didn’t even go to film school. He discusses his early experience on films like the cult classic “The Wizard of Speed and Time,” “Cameron’s Closet,” and “The Lawnmower Man,” and still enjoys shooting small films like the Indian movie “Parched.” For “Hard Target” with director John Woo, each scene was meticulously timed and shot with multiple cameras. Russell first worked with director James Cameron in 1994 on the film “True Lies” and then again on “Titanic,” which won an Academy Award for Best Cinematography. He tells a few stories about the movie tricks he and James Cameron used on “Titanic.” Russell is currently working again with Jim Cameron on Avatar 2 and 3.

July 13, 2019

Ep 39 – Manuel Billeter – Talks the Marvel/Netflix series Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, Orange is the New Black and working with Alfonso Cuarón

Manuel Billeter discusses his early career and getting his big break working in post production editing “Y Tu Mama También” for director Alfonso Cuarón, who encouraged him to pursue a path in cinematography. He talks about the high profile series he’s worked on, such as “Law and Order,” and “Person of Interest,” how a show getting canceled or getting fired can lead to better opportunities, working in urban settings with night exteriors and the incredible energy it can generate. When creating the unique noir feel for “Jessica Jones” and “Luke Cage,” Manuel loved the look of sodium vapor streetlights, but most of New York has converted to LED lights, so each individual streetlight was gelled to get the yellower look.

July 3, 2019

Ep 38 – Matthew Clark – Talks Late Night, 30 Rock, working with Vanja Cernjul, Tina Fey, Nisha Ganatra, Emma Thompson and much more

DP Matthew Clark talks to Ben about his early career, getting his big break on the NBC comedy series “30 Rock” from cinematographer Vanja Cernjul and working with the brilliant Tina Fey, Robert Carlock and Alec Baldwin. He discusses the importance of creating a look for a comedic series that keeps viewers happy and comfortable, and how to light for comedy to make it more dramatic and interesting but not distracting from the story. Matt’s recent film “Late Night,” starring Emma Thompson and Mindy Kaling, was directed by his film school friend Nisha Ganatra. The two crafted a very naturalistic and approachable look for the movie.

June 23, 2019

Seamus McGarvey, ASC, BSC: Multi-Oscar Nominated Cinematographer Talks Joe Wright, Avengers, Nocturnal Animals, Atonement, High Fidelity and The Greatest Showman

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 37 Seamus McGarvey, ASC, BSC Talks Bad Times at the El Royale, shooting Black Mirror’s “Nosedive” episode with director Joe Wright, The Avengers, Nocturnal Animals, Atonement, High Fidelity and The Greatest Showman. Mulit-Academy Award nominee Seamus McGarvey sits down with Illya for an intimate conversation about his work on High Fidelity,

June 17, 2019

Special Episode – Checco Varese, ASC – Live Podcasting at Hot Rod Cameras “Cine Beer” 2019 Summer Bash

In our second LIVE podcast, Checco Varese, ASC discusses his collaborations with Guillermo Del Toro on “Pacific Rim” and “The Strain,” his upcoming movie, “It: Chapter 2,” working on many TV pilots and music videos, his early days in South America as a war correspondent and much more.

June 5, 2019

Ep 36 – Dan Laustsen, ASC, DFF – The Oscar Nominated Cinematographer of Shape of Water, Dives into John Wick 3, Shooting Film and His Career

Acclaimed Danish cinematographer Dan Laustsen talks to Illya about working with Guillermo del Toro on The Shape of Water, Crimson Peak and Mimic.  Del Toro’s frequent collaborator discusses the ease of shooting digital cinema now vs. the old days of relying on a lab to process the film correctly.  For the John Wick films, lens choices and tricks played a big part in how he and director Chad Stahelski accomplished a flare effect on the films.  In John Wick-Chapter 3- Parabellum, Dan discusses shooting mainly at night and created a glistening, rainy look.

May 22, 2019

Ep 35 – Linus Sandgren, ASC, FSF – The Oscar Winning Cinematographer Talks First Man, Damien Chazelle, Gus Van Sant, David O. Russell and Storyboarding

Swedish cinematographer Linus Sandgren talks to Illya about his extensive career working with high profile directors like Damien Chazelle on First Man and La La Land, Gus Van Sant on Promised Land, and David O. Russell on the films American Hustle and Joy. For the film First Man, Linus used 16mm, 35mm and IMAX formats to portray different looks throughout the movie. While working on Promised Land, he and director Gus Van Sant decided to use Super 35mm 1.3x anamorphic. He also discusses lighting choices and his passion for drawing his own storyboards.

May 9, 2019

Ep 34 – Lije Sarki – The Writer, Director and Producer, discusses making the beautiful new movie, Concrete Kids

Writer, Director, Producer, Lije Sarki talks to Illya about his latest project, Concrete Kids. The movie follows two nine year old boys on one adventurous night in Los Angeles. Lije discusses wearing many hats as the writer, director, and producer of the project, willing a project like this into being and aesthetic choices that served the production .  Concrete Kids was shot in 17 nights with a budget of only $25K.  Lije talks about the challenge of the search for the two young leads, shooting with kids almost entirely at night, and then securing sales and distribution for feature film.

April 21, 2019

Sundance 2019 Special Podcast Pt. 4 (of 4) – Midnight Movies, the Occult and Horror

Episode 4 of The Cinematography Podcast’s Sundance 2019 Special – Midnight Movies, horror and occult! In our FINAL episode covering the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. We talk to 3 filmmaker and discus their features. The first is Hail Satan? is at its heart an examination of the right to religious freedom. Next is “Little Monsters” writer-director Abe Forsythe sat down with Illya to talk about his zombie-romantic comedy-buddy-horror movie. The film stars Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o. Finally we chat with JD Dillard about his midnight movie, “Sweetheart.” The horror/thriller movie stars Kiersey Clemons (“Hearts Beat Loud,” “Dope”) as a woman who is stranded on a desert island and stalked by a mysterious monster.