As is the case every year, the second Saturday of the Sundance Film Festival ended in a highly anticipated awards ceremony.  With acquisitions and career futures on the line, the stakes don’t get much higher.  Yet, in the spirit of the Sundance Institute, the atmosphere of the festivities is far from competitive.  Undoubtedly, many leave disappointed, but getting into Sundance is in itself an achievement, which sources a current of deep and mutual respect among the filmmakers.  Whether an audience, or a jury for that matter, responds to  a film is entirely subjective  and out of the filmmaker’s control, so why not support one another?   Therefore in that same spirit of Sundance, we invite you to celebrate those that took home awards for their work…and those who didn’t. 2019 Sundance Film Festival Awards Night. photo by Rin Ehlers Sheldon The only true guarantee in the awards for each category are the Audience Award, the Grand Jury Prize (essentially Best Picture), and the Best Direction Prize, (or in the case of NEXT, the Innovator Award).  The audiences at Sundance are given ballots as they enter a theatre to rank a film “Fair, Good, Better, or Best” upon leaving. Any other “Special Grand Jury” awards are at the discretion of the jury.  If they find a film has a quality worth celebrating, they create an award to honor the filmmaker responsible.  Here’s how the night panned out. WORLD CINEMA DRAMATIC COMPETITION World Cinema Dramatic Grand Jury Prize: The Souvenir, directed by Joanna Hogg.  (Acquired by 1091 Media formerly The Orchard) Tom Burke and Honor Swinton Byrne appear in The Souvenir by Joanna Hogg. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Agatha A. Nitecka. World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award: Queen of Hearts, directed by May El-Toukh Director May el-Toukhy and actor Trine Dyrhom accept the World Cinema Dramatic Audience Award for Queen of Hearts by May el-Toukhy. The two had already left Park City to show their film at another festival but sent a video acceptance speech. Photo Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Jemal Countess. World Cinema Dramatic Directing Award: The Sharks, directed by Lucia Garibaldi Director Lucía Garibaldi accepts the award for the World Cinema Dramatic Award for Directing for The Sharks. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Jemal Countess. World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award: Monos, directed by Alejandro Landes (Acquired by Neon) Alejandro Landes accepts a Special Jury Award for Monos. photo by Graham Ehlers Sheldon World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Originality: We Are Little Zombies, directed by Makoto Nagahisa Arguably, the happiest human of the night: Makoto Nagahisa. photo by Rin Ehlers Sheldon World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award for Acting: Krystyna Janda, Dolce Fine Giornata Krystyna Janda (left) appears in Dolce Fine Giornata by Jacek Borcuch, an official selection of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Sonia Szstak. WORLD CINEMA DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION World Cinema Documentary Grand Jury Prize: Honeyland, directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov Tamara Kotevska, one half of the directing team of Honeyland. photo by Graham Ehlers Sheldon World Cinema Documentary Audience Award: Sea of Shadows, directed by Richard Ladkani A still from Sea of Shadows by Richard Ladkani. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Richard Ladkani. World Cinema Documentary Directing Award: Cold Case Hammarskjold, directed by Mads Brugger Producer Peter Engel accepts the award on behalf of director Mads Bruegger for the World Cinema Documentary Award for Directing for Cold Case Hammarskjöld. Courtesy of  Sundance Institute | photo by Jemal Countess. World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for No Borders: Midnight Traveler, directed by Hassan Fazzili Producers Su Kim and Emilie Mahdavian accept the award on behalf of director Hassan Fazzili for the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Midnight Traveller by Hassan Fazzili © 2019 Sundance Institute | photo by Jemal Countess. World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Impact for Change: Honeyland, directed by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma, the Macedonian cinematography duo for Honeyland. Feimi Daut was stung several times during filming. Samir was stung only once. World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Honeyland, cinematographers Fejmi Daut and Samir Ljuma Samir Ljuma accepts the World Documentary Special Jury award for Cinematography. Photo by Graham Sheldon U.S. DOCUMENTARY COMPETITION U.S. Documentary Grand Jury Prize Award: One Child Nation, directed by Nanfu Wang and Jialing Zhang.  (Acquired by Amazon)  U.S. Documentary Audience Award: Knock Down the House, directed by Rachel Lears (Acquired by Netflix) A still from Knock Down The House by Rachel Lears, Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Rachel Lears U.S. Documentary Directing Award: American Factory, directed by Steven Bognar and Julia Reichert. (Acquired by Netflix) Directors Bognar and Reichert share a kiss on the Sundance Stage after winning the Best Direction Award in their category.  photo by Rin Ehlers Sheldon U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Moral Urgency: Always in Season, directed by Jacqueline Olive Always in Season director Jacqueline Olive.  photo by Graham Ehlers Sheldon U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for an Emerging Filmmaker: Jawline, directed by Liza Mandelup Liza Mandelup, director of Jawline. Photo by Graham Ehlers Sheldon U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Editing: Apollo 11, edited by Todd Douglas Miller (Acquired by Neon) Editor Todd Douglas Miller accepts award for Apollo 11. photo by Graham Ehlers Sheldon U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematography: Midnight Family, cinematographer Luke Lorentzen. Luke Lorentzen is also the director of Midnight Family. Still Courtesy of the Sundance Institute. Image by Luke Lorentzen NEXT: The Infiltrators swept both the Innovator and the Audience Award. Maynor Alvarado and Manuel Uriza appear in The Infiltrators by Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Lisa Rinzler. U.S. DRAMATIC COMPETITION U.S. Dramatic Audience Award: Brittany Runs a Marathon, directed by Paul Downs Colaizzo Director of the comedy Brittany Runs A Marathon, Paul Down Colaizzo. photo by Rin Ehlers Sheldon U.S. Dramatic Directing Award: The Last Black Man in San Francisco, directed by Joe Talbot Joe Talbot dedicates his award to his life-long best friend, collaborator Jimmie Falls and to “all of the people trying to stay in San Francisco.” U.S. Dramatic Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Share, screenplay by Pippa Bianco Pippa Bianco accepts the coveted Screenwriting Award for ,Share, which she also directed. U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Vision and Craft: Honeyboy, directed by Alma Har’el Alma directed Shia LeBeouf’s script based on his real life experiences with his father and rehabilitation. U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Creative Collaboration: The Last Black Man in San Francisco, directed by Joe Talbot. Actor Jimmie Falls accepts the award for Collaboration on behalf of The Last Black Man in San Francisco team. photo by.Graham Ehlers Sheldon. U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Achievement in Acting: Rhianne Barreto, Share. (Acquired by HBO Films in association with A24.) Rhianne Barreto appears in Share by Pippa Bianco. Still courtesy of Sundance Institute U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize Award: Clemency, directed by Chinonye Chukwu (presented by Damien Chazelle) Chinonye Chukwu receives the U.S. Dramatic Grand Jury Prize for her film Clemency Photo by Rin Ehlers Sheldon Curious about who decides the winners?  This year’s jurors were Desiree Akhavan, Damien Chazelle, Dennis Lim, Phyllis Nagy, Tessa Thompson, Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Yance Ford, Rachel Grady, Jeff Orlowski, Alissa Wilkinson, Jane Campion, Charles Gillibert, Ciro Guerra, Maite Alberdi, Nico Marzano, Véréna Paravel, Young Jean Lee, Carter Smith, Sheila Vand, and Laurie Anderson…and of course, the over 125,000 film fanatics who attended the festival.

The fishy love interest from Shape of Water has an evil cousin, and he’s here to eat you and all your millennial friends. Sweetheart is part survival, part creature feature, dripping with throwbacks to the the decade when this subgenre dominated sleepover nightmares. Image Credit: Sundance Institute Kiersey Clemons (Jenn), star of last years musical standout Heart Beats Loud (also a Sundance premiere), has the screen mostly to herself over the brisk 90 minute runtime of Sweetheart, and she doesn’t need Wilson’s help to captivate you. Director/Co-Writer, J.D. Dillard, crafts a simple setup in this Blumhouse thriller. After some post-college-prove-yourself boat trip, which is never really explained, two friends wash up on the shore of a deserted tropical island (shot in real life Fiji). The island is beautiful, but so was Fyre Island, and just like Ja Rule’s influencer victims, no one wants to stay. However, in the first two minutes of the movie, one of them becomes a permanent island resident because of well, dying there.  Spoiler: it’s not Kiersey Clemons. What’s nice about this rando named Brad’s last few flickering moments is that before he dies, he gives us our first tease of the creature, “Did you see it, too?” Jenn did not see it too, and she goes off to needlessly get him a healing coconut.  Even though retrieving this superfood is fruitless, seeing Jenn in the simple act of cracking a coconut serves its purpose. We discover that while she is maybe no survivor, Jenn is far from flimsy. Within the first five minutes of this movie, we see the seedling of a creature fighting heroine with all the strength of a Ripley or a Lara Croft, but none of the training or prowess, which is much of the fun of Sweetheart.  We watch our protagonist discover what she is capable of. The environment forces Jenn to rise to the occasion. First, she has to survive the weather and figure out where to find some gnosh. Her scavenging skills are A++, as she discovers an old campsite with SCORE! some matches and a few other useful bits and bobs. (The matches feel really convenient, but watching Jenn count the days by how many matches she has left is a clever way of tracking time for the audience.) With coconuts for thirst and fish for sustenance, Jenn buries her friend and feels like she has this whole survivor thing a little more under control. Jenn is unaware that despite watching the only other living being on the island (sweet, vacant Brad) journey to that frat house in the sky, she is not alone in this scare-adise. When a plane flies overhead, Jenn shoots a flare into the sky, seemingly to no avail… except for when the red flash falls to the ocean in the most epic homage to the creature feature of this entire film, a quick silhouette of our muscly man-shark rising out of the water. Every night that follows, Jenn finds herself on the wrong side of the hunt. When it’s finally revealed, the monster looks A LOT like Guillermo del Torro’s fish-man from Shape of Water, but with the head of a baby shark… da-doo-doo-doo-dah-doo. However, this amphibian is less interested in listening to music and making out, and way more interested in eating everything that moves. With a script light on easy answers and heavy on unsettling moments, you rarely learn much about the protagonist, but that’s okay, because what matters is the warrior she’s becoming. With very few places to hide, Jenn has to figure out how to put any barrier between herself and her hunter. There’s an attempt at using height, but all she has is a makeshift hammock. There’s an attempt at a haven, but all she can find is a hollowed out palm tree. These two scenes in particular are quite effective in giving the audience a good jump. The action unfolds across a taut line on which Jenn must balance being visible enough for rescue and covert enough to not be eaten by the predator beneath the waves. The effects are uniformly fantastic, and although the creature may be a little silly, once you see what it can do to you, and where it drags its victims, it’s easy to be onboard. The creature’s audio design elevates its impact, and may keep you out of the aquarium for quite some time. That’s not to say there isn’t a face-palm moment or two. When the addition of a few surprise human guests brings dialogue into play, you will long for moments when all we had was our star and her will to survive. While this isn’t a life-changing cinematic experience, there are still a great many elements that categorize this saltwater saga as a good fun watch. Chase scenes on the beach lit by lightning, underwater cinematography, and badass fight choreo that Kiersey Clemons absolutely slays, make this worth seeing in theatres. Be warned that if you aren’t already, you will probably become a Kiersey fanatic, as you cheer on a warrior guaranteed to become America’s next creature-crushing Sweetheart. (i.e. Badass)

Corporate Animals is a horror/comedy in the vein of The Office, but with a healthy dose of cannibalism. The majority of the film takes place in a cave (built on a soundstage) which led to a few challenges that DP, Tarin Anderson, was happy to tackle. We asked Tarin how she struck the delicate balance of lighting both a horror and a comedic film and how she shot this truly unique Sundance 2019 premiere movie.  Image Courtesy of Sundance Institute DP: Tarin Anderson Film: Corporate Animals (dir. Patrick Brice) Sundance Category: Midnight Camera: Alexa Mini Glass: Ultra Primes DP Philosophy: The story dictates the look. I believe in always putting the story first and trying to create a visual language that is specific to each story rather than doing something I’ve done before. I believe in working hard and hopefully having fun while we do it. cinema5D: What camera body did you choose for this film? Why? TA: Alexa Minis. The majority of this film is in a cave and even though it was mostly a stage build, it was still great to be able to strip the camera down and get into some small spaces and tunnels. cinema5D: What optics did you use?  TA: Ultra Primes. The director and I picked them after testing several lens sets. We loved the natural halation it gave from the headlamps. cinema5D: Did you and the director, Patrick Brice, watch any films together?  TA: Pretty much every cave movie ever shot! The challenging part creatively was that we were shooting a comedy in a cave so the goal was to still see the actors faces as much as possible even when the lights go out and we’re in “movie dark”. We spent a lot of time talking about the tone of this film. It’s a dark comedy and mostly in one location, so it was important to keep changing the look as the movie progresses to keep it interesting. cinema5D: How did you plan out your shots?  TA: We mostly shotlisted and then took stills of the more complicated sequences to help clear up our plan for all departments. cinema5D: How important was prep going into this project?  TA: Preproduction was key. Patrick and I spent a lot of time in prep laying the foundation for the visuals so that by the time we started shooting we had an established short hand and were able to move quickly and be on the same page. cinema5D: Did you use any new tech or tools for this shoot? You mentioned some type of filter that I’m not familiar with.  TA: Yes! We used the RGB LED filter from Keslow. It allowed us to slightly flare out the lens with colors that we could adjust wirelessly. We had a hallucination sequence and Patrick was open to experimenting so we tried it out. cinema5D: Talk a little about your approach to the lighting? How were you balancing the comedy/horror mixed tone?  TA: Our philosophy on this film was to get to “movie dark” while retaining faces since it is a comedy, literally and figuratively, a dark comedy. We used soft boxes overhead to keep some ambience and then used floor lights to model faces. Most lights were on a dimmer board so that we could make color temperature and intensity changes during the shot. No update yet on when you’ll be able to catch Corporate Animals if you missed it at Sundance, but stay tuned to this page for further updates. You can learn more about Tarin Anderson and her work on her website HERE. 

You may know documentary DP, Matt Porwoll, from his work on the gutsy academy award nominated documentary, Cartel Land.  We also featured him last year at Sundance for his work on the movie The Trade. He’s back at the festival with a new film, Tigerland, helmed by veteran doc director, Ross Kauffman (Born into Brothels).  Tigerland follows the fight in Russia and India to protect tigers from extinction.  Image Credit: Discovery DP: Matt Porwoll FILMS: Tigerland (dir. Ross Kauffman) SUNDANCE CATEGORY: U.S. Documentary Competition CAMERA:  Canon C300 MKII, RED Helium, DJI Osmo GLASS: Canon K35 Primes, Canon CN-E Compact Zooms DRONE:  Inspire 2 w/ RAW license DP Philosophy: As a documentary cinematographer, I always try to soak in an experience and capture it in a way that best conveys the character’s experience. This is oftentimes difficult, but it’s also what I love most about vérité documentary. The more time you spend with your characters, the more you can relate to them, and ultimately the better insight you can give to the audience. So with that, I try to build relationships with the characters that are built on trust. In the moment, I don’t like to have a lot of people in the room. Ideally, just the director, camera and sound. Many times its just camera and sound with the director watching wirelessly outside the room. The less it feels like we’re making a movie and more that we are active participants in the moment, the better off it’ll be. This approach passes down to how I like to work with the crew. When I have a camera assistant with me, I like someone who can anticipate; thinking ahead to what might come and prepare for it. I like someone who can wear many hats, because in documentary production, less is more. When I know there is someone just outside the room prepared with what I might need, while also keeping that entire process hidden from the characters, the better off the film will be. Obviously this can be a difficult endeavor, but if it can be our guiding principle, then we’ll be in good starting place when things get challenging. cinema5D: What camera body did you choose for this film? Why? MP: We chose to shoot Tigerland on the Canon C300 MKII for a variety of reasons. This was a story that begged for beautiful images shot in 4K, but also had the challenges of a vérité documentary that required flexibility in build size and an ability to hold up under harsh shooting conditions. I have been a longtime user of this camera, and have found it extremely capable of delivering on all of those requirements. On this film, both Ross Kauffman, the director, and I were shooting, so we could build out the camera to our liking from a compact body-only setup all the way up to a full should-mounted rig. It’s incredibly flexible in that regard. We found ourselves shooting in all kinds of environments, from riding on snowmobiles in Far East Russia to the back of dusty trucks in India, with temperatures ranging from 35° below 0 to 110° F. I don’t know of any other camera that could handle this extreme range of conditions without constant care and attention. And to top it off, we shot in DCI 4K with Canon’s beautiful color science to deliver a gorgeous image. In addition to carrying 2 C300 MKII’s in Russia and 3 bodies in India, we brought along a DJI Osmo to Russia for filming off the back of snowmobiles, employed a DJI Inspire 2 shooting in CinemaDNG/RAW for aerials, and a RED Epic Helium for slow motion in India. cinema5D: What optics did you pair with the Canon C300 MK II and the RED Helium? Did your lens choices vary by region or environment at all?  MP: The lenses played such an important part in the look of the film. We wanted our two main storylines to have a different feel, while also having ways of blending them together in the edit, so we tailored our lens choices around that. In Russia, we wanted to convey the cold, stark feel of winter, so we chose to use the Canon CN-E Compact Zooms 15.5-47mm and 30-105mm T2.8 for the vérité scenes. Theses lenses are incredibly sharp with good contrast that beautifully draw out those qualities. For our atmospherics, we used the Canon K35 primes. These lenses have a gorgeous quality of lower contrast, interesting flares and a lot of character. In India, we wanted to complement the richness of color and light, so we used the K35s as much as possible. The images produced from these lenses feel like you’re in a dream. When prime lenses weren’t appropriate, we used the Canon Compact Zooms, but paired them with a Tiffen ¼ Black Pro Mist to soften the highlights and slightly reduce the overall contrast. For all of our wildlife footage, we had the Canon CINE-SERVO 50-1000mm T5.0-8.9. This was an amazing lens to work with, not only for its incredible telephoto ability with tigers or the setting sun, but also in-scene with the ability pull back to 50mm and really feel the location. Image Credit: Discovery cinema5D:  Talk to me about your process working with Director, Ross Kauffman. Did you reference specific films to get on the same page regarding the look of the project?  MP: From the beginning, Ross Kauffman had a very clear vision of how he wanted the film to look. We knew there would be a blend of vérité, archival and animation elements, so we discussed how to give these elements their own feel, but also allow them to blend seamlessly for the edit. Despite this being a documentary, many of Ross’s visual inspirations came from the narrative films of Terrence Malick like The Tree of Life and The Thin Red Line. We wanted the atmospheric imagery to have a grace and beauty to them that properly conveyed the majesty of the landscapes and the mysticism of the tiger. With these films in mind, we tried to capture something that evoked our own feelings of being in these beautiful environments. The camera and lens choices played heavily into making these shots a reality. cinema5D: Were you both on the same page the entire project when it came to doc coverage? MP: Both Ross and I come from a vérité documentary background, so even though there’s a good amount of this language in the film, there were new challenges for us to actualize with visual poetry. We constantly talked about the ethos of the tiger, its impact on people’s imagination and so on. We did some digging into our own perceptions to see the best way to visualize these impressions. It was a wonderful experience for me to work in this way with a fellow documentary director. Image Credit: Discovery cinema5D: Any new gadgets find their way into your kit for this project?  MP: Despite having multiple camera bodies and a full zoom/prime lens package, we tried to keep our gear to a minimum since we were shooting a vérité film. With that said, the one tool that was incredibly useful to have was a DJI Ronin 2. It had just come out while in pre-production, so I decided to upgrade my original Ronin for this project. We found it incredibly helpful with shooting tracking shots of our characters and rigging onto our safari vehicle for driving shots through the tiger preserve. I feel the shots produced from the Ronin 2 really helped elevate the footage in the film. cinema5D: Any go-to glass filtration in your kit? MP: So that we could use the same cinema zooms in both Russia and India, we employed the Tiffen 1/4 Black Pro Mist in India to offer a different feel to the images produced. I also always carried a set of ND’s, ND Soft-Edge Grads for landscapes, a Polarizer for richer skies and killing reflections and a Clear filter for the dust. cinema5D:  What does the future of documentaries look like in your opinion? It seems like we are in a bit of a golden age.  Documentaries have exploded in popularity over the last 5-10 years. Its incredible! Through this expansion, the expectation of the quality has gotten much more critical. Gone are the days that a doc is expected to not look as good as narrative films. As a documentary cinematographer, this is exciting, but also quite challenging. I grew up learning from the greats of vérité filmmaking where the mantra has always been content over style. Sadly, I think this emphasis has been turning towards style over content, but it has also lit a fire under us all to maintain the integrity of the stories we are telling, while also pushing us to make them look as good as possible. It is certainly an incredible time to be working in the art form. To see more of Matt’s work you can visit his website HERE. Distribution: You won’t have to wait long to check out this wildlife conservation doc. Tigerland was acquired in advance of the festival and it airs on March 30th on the Discovery channel. 

The compelling dramedy Paddleton, starring Ray Romano and Mark Duplass premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2019 in the premiere category. The film is part of a four-picture deal between Duplass and Netflix. We discussed the cinematography behind the film with DP, Nate Miller.  Image Credit: Netflix DP: Nate M. Miller FILMS: Paddleton (dir. Alex Lehmann) SUNDANCE CATEGORY: Premieres CAMERA:  Canon C700 GLASS: Cooke Speed Panchros DP Philosophy: I’m always of the mindset that it’s not the camera that makes the movie, but the creative energy behind it. Having said that, you need the right tool to put your mind at ease. Do your research so that on set you can rely on instinct. Be conscious of not putting the photography in front of the story. The Duplass Brothers are great because they keep their crews small and create an atmosphere of family. No a**holes. This is surely one of the most important building blocks. I’m nothing without my crew and I never forget that. cinema5D: What camera body and optics did you choose for Paddleton?  NM: The Canon C700. I’ve worked with Canons consistently throughout my career and have always been happy with the image I’ve captured – we also needed a 4K acquisition. We paired the C700 with the Cooke Speed Panchros. They create a rich, warm world, and add a softness that helps mellow out a sharp 4k sensor. Image Credit: Netflix. Nate Miller operating on the right in Paddleton. cinema5D: Talk a little about pre-production for this project. How did you work with the director, Alex Lehmann, during this part of the process?  NM: Although Alex and I had more time than I’ve had on other projects, we still had to keep things rather abbreviated. You just soak up as much information from the director as possible so you can be in sync with them on the day when every second counts. To be honest, we’d didn’t watch any films or even talk about them really. Alex knew what he wanted cinematically and I was on board right away. No storyboards. Simply shot listing and a lot of discussion about the best way to tell this story visually. We didn’t want any fancy camerawork to detract from the story. Alex and I (as 2nd Unit DP / Op) had worked together before on his first film, Blue Jay. This meant there was a built-in comfortability factor and pre-established communication with us that helped expedite the technical and get straight to the creative side of things. cinema5D: Any go-to glass filtration in your kit? NM: I always have a Hollywood Black Magic in my kit. I never go above a 1/8. I like to keep it really subtle. Just to soften the digital image a touch, and if there’s a practical source in the frame, I appreciate a soft bloom, as opposed to a harder digital edge. We also used a Low Con 1/8 on daytime exteriors on this one. cinema5D: Talk a little about your approach to the lighting specific to this film.   Any particular challenges?  Any looks that you knew would be tough?  What were you really pleased with at the end of the shoot in terms of aesthetic?  Basically highlight anything you want about the cinematography of this film.  Don’t worry about being too concise, we can trim it for you if need be. NM: It was just more about realism than anything. Alex and I also really encourage mixing color temperatures. The film was improv heavy, so as much as we could we created a 360-degree set the actors could roam around in. A lot of lighting with practical’s. It was a two camera shoot too… lighting is always a tightrope in these situations, but my gaffer, Armando Ballesteros, is a wizard, so I always felt in good hands. Image Credit: Netflix. Photo Credit: Patrick Wymore cinema5D: What is your goal for the future? Do you see your process changing going forward?  NM: I just keep rolling with the punches. I don’t have a hard take on this despite seeing constant change. I came up right when digital was just getting going. I learned my craft as things were changing fast so I guess that’s prepared me for this ever-changing world. Having said that, I thing it’s important to keep things simple. Stick to simple storytelling through imagery. Don’t try to impress. It’s obvious and will take away from what’s important. For more of Nathan M Miller’s work be sure to visit his website HERE. This was a Netflix original production so we expect a streaming date soon and we’ll update here when Paddleton goes live for Netflix users. 

Memory – The Origins of Alien, premiering in the Midnight Category at Sundance 2019, follows the making of the science fiction classic: Alien. I caught the screening on a Friday morning… admittedly not midnight… more of a brunch showing. The film is a deep dive into the pace, imagery, cinematography, script and THAT ONE SCENE where the creature buys a one way ticket to Bloodville via the Chest Cavity Express. Here’s a glimpse at the doc that aims to reveal what made Alien a gooey, light flickering sci-fi masterpiece, where it rains inside and steam is inexplicably everywhere…oh wait.  Ridley Scott did explain it.  “‘Cause it looks cool.” Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Dan O’Bannon Director Alexandre O. Philippe‘s (78/52: Hitchcock’s Shower Scene) documentary begins, a little like the classic film, with a long drifting tracking shot down a familiar looking spacecraft hallway ending at an unspeakable horror —one I won’t spoil here. This prologue works as a great hook that becomes an anchor for the entire doc. (Shots of the hallway along with beauty shots of The Temple of Delphi return every now and then throughout the doc’s 93 minutes.)  With such a striking beginning, I was primed for the type of cinematic doc that seems to be so on trend, but from that first hallway, we move into more of a standard Ken Burns sort of format that loosely follows the act structure of the 1979 film. (Motion on photos covering voiceover and seated interviews.) This standard structure isn’t a bad thing, as there is much to unpack in the imagery surrounding the production design of Alien. Philippe works hard to dig into every nuance of what made the film tick. The tick, a blood drinking arachnid, not to be confused with parasitic wasps — Alien writer Dan O’Bannon apparently had a love/hate relationship with bugs and parasites of all kinds. There is a tendency in “making of” films to rely too heavily on footage from the scripted source material and thankfully Alexandre O. Philippe works creatively to build interesting b-roll moments, such as cutaways to vintage Ridley Scott interviews, housed in monitors that would be right at home on The Nostromo. In fact, Philippe’s film is a fitting tribute to the  original franchise, from the brief scripted moments to the high contrast interview lighting. Bonus points from this fan for the green font style from the ship’s computers. Alexandre Philippe, director of MEMORY – Courtesy of Sundance Institute. The real reason to seek out this doc when it comes into your orbit, is the core content: the unveiling of what inspired the production design.  We learn how a rough 30-page script (originally named Memory), morphed into an iconic sci-fi feature that birthed some truly terrifying creature design from Swiss master of space horrors: H.R. Giger. The source materials outlined in the doc are too numerous to mention here. Some may surprise you.  The 1979 film borrows heavily from resources like artist Francis Bacon, Lovecraft, the Egyptians and the Ancient Greek furies — I’ll save you a step.  Here’s the wikipedia page for furies. Sorry for the nightmares. The film does avoid the less-stellar entries in the Alien universe and mainly concerns itself with the Ridley Scott directed films: Prometheus, and Alien: Covenant. Ridley, unfortunately doesn’t make a modern-day appearance in “Memory,” and that’s a shame given that the filmmakers featured attribute much of the grungy, dark world-building in the original film to Scott. Thankfully, the film makes use of older Ridley Scott interviews to fill in those gaps. Another unfortunate omission is Sigourney Weaver — who is nowhere to be seen in the cast interviews outside of her blood and sweat soaked clips from the original film.  An Alien doc with no Ripley? There are actors who played secondary and tertiary characters, but breaking down the heroine without the woman who brought her to life is a bummer.  is one of those films that sticks with you over the years, and no matter what your degree of fandom, you’ll be happy with Alexandre O. Philippe’s Memory.  It’s not flashy, but it is satisfying. If you’re like me, this documentary making its way into Sundance might have you thinking which filmmaker’s masterpiece you could dissect in documentary fashion.  What movie would you choose?  Comment below!

It’s that magical time of year when filmmakers flock to Park City, Utah.  We’re giving you a brief on the cinematographers who are showcasing their work at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival – one DP at a time.  Ashley Connor filming The Miseducation of Cameron Post Most cinematographers dream of getting a film into competition at Sundance. Ashley Connor got two – in the same year. DP: Ashley Connor FILMS: The Miseducation of Cameron Post (dir. Desiree Akhaven) Madeline’s Madeline (dir. Josephine Decker) SUNDANCE CATEGORY: U.S. Dramatic Competition & NEXT  Competition CAMERA:  Alexa Mini XT (MCP) &  Arri Amira (MM) GLASS:  Cooke Panchro (MCP) & Canon K35 (MM) cinema5D: Why did you choose this particular camera body? AC: I prefer anything in the ARRI family. I don’t think other digital camera systems can compare to the image quality and ease of use. cinema5D: How about the lenses?  AC: Both films required a look that wasn’t the sharpest or cleanest, so I chose lens sets with characteristics I could exploit, especially the K35s. I wanted a very shallow depth of field and a short throw in case I wanted to pull my own focus.     Helena Howard and Molly Parker appear in Madeline’s Madeline by Josephine Decker, an official selection of the NEXT program at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. cinema5D: What was really pivotal for you on either production? AC: My ACs helped me a lot to explore and play with some toys I used to distort the image in Madeline’s Madeline. cinema5D: Any go-to glass filtration in your kit? AC:  ND & various for softening. cinema5D: Talk a little about your approach to lighting this film in particular.    AC: For The Miseducation of Cameron Post, it was really about creating a realistic world that made you feel the oppressive nature of the institution. The color palette was quite limited, lots of beige and blue, and we wanted there to be an almost clinical feel at times. We slowly loosen the reigns as the story unfolds and we wanted you to feel the burst of energy when the “disciples” rebel.   Still from The Miseducation of Cameron Post. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. AC: In Madeline’s Madeline it was almost the opposite. It was all very subjective camera work that would enter the mind of the main character. I had a lot of room to create textured landscapes where the focal plane almost vibrates and morphs. It’s about Madeline’s mental breakdown, so we wanted the look of the film to be representative of that and the lighting could be more playful at times. My gaffer Danny April and I really speak a common language.  Helena Howard appears in Madeline’s Madeline by Josephine Decker, an official selection of the NEXT program at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Ashley Connor. cinema5D: Anything new for you on this shoot? Anything perhaps surprising? AC: I come from an experimental background where my professors always encouraged a lot of play. It was about taking some viscous fluid and rubbing it on a filter, or taking the camera lens off the body and holding it by hand to record an image. Essentially, what can you do through practical means to create a more emotional or abstract image – I’m always hesitant to fully describe a process because I think it takes away the spirit of experimentation. But yes, lots of glass and liquids. Ashley Connor is a New York based director of photography. Her work on Josephine Decker’s Butter on the Latch and Thou Wast Mild and Lovely, which both premiered at the 2014 Berlin Film Festival, prompted New Yorker film critic Richard Brody to name her alongside Darius Khonji and Fabrice Aragno, as one of the year’s best cinematographers.  

It’s that magical time of year when filmmakers flock to Park City, Utah. We’re giving you a brief on the cinematographers who are showcasing their work at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival – one DP at a time.  Lakeith Stanfield and Tessa Thompson appear in Sorry to Bother You by Boots Riley, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute. DP: Doug Emmet FILM:  Sorry To Bother You – written and directed by Boots Riley SUNDANCE CATEGORY: U.S. Dramatic Competition CAMERA: Alexa Mini 4:3 GLASS: Cooke Anamorphic cinema5D: Why did you choose this particular camera body? DE: We knew shooting anamorphic on a 4:3 sensor was the best way to go, and I don’t think there’s a better digital cinema camera out there. cinema5D: How about the lenses?  DE:  Cooke Anamorphic. We wanted a fast, modern anamorphic lens with subtle curvature distortions – something not too clean but not super flare-y either. cinema5D: What was a piece of gear that was really pivotal for you on this production? DE:  Using the ARRI Skypanels and wireless DMX control sped things up and allowed us to be creative on a tight budget and schedule. Same can be said for the RGB Litegear Lite Ribbon.cinema5D: Any go-to glass filtration in your kit? DE:  Tiffen Black Diffusion FX 1&2 Lakeith Stanfield appears in Sorry to Bother You by Boots Riley, an official selection of the U.S. Dramatic Competition at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Doug Emmett. cinema5D: Talk a little about your approach to lighting this film in particular.    DE:  We let the location and the mood of the scene dictate our approach to lighting. We were lighting with bold colors and with strong contrast, but we didn’t want the cinematography to distract from the characters. That being said, we wanted a stylized visual. Bouncing sunlight with mirrors, white cloth and foam core lent a more natural look for interior and exterior day scenes. For night scenes – such as apartment and bar interiors – colors were chosen with tone in mind, helping support the narrative. The film is dark, with many scenes intentionally lit so that you can’t always see the actor’s eyes or half their face. We felt that the added noise and contrast sometimes rendered an “imperfect” look, and that appealed to us. cinema5D: Any particular challenges?  DE:  The locations didn’t present too many challenges other than the typical issues you encounter: large loft windows and a quickly moving sun, etc. We tried to use the available daylight when possible. DP Doug Emmet and Dir. Boots Riley. Photo Cred: Peter Prato cinema5D: Anything new for you on this shoot? Anything perhaps surprising? DE: Pushing the color saturation and the contrast was a new experience for me as a DP, as many of my films have had a more naturally-lit aesthetic. Not to say the lighting isn’t natural – there are plenty of locations in Oakland, CA that inspired the colorful palette of our film. I found the artist community and crew in Oakland to be such a kind, passionate, and supportive group of individuals. The city’s art and culture really inspired the cinematography choices we made. Doug Emmet is known for his work as the director of photography on the Duplass Brothers’ Room 104, The Edge of Seventeen, The One I Love, and The Bachelorette. Emmet originally hails from the East Coast and is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. He is a Union Local 600 cinematographer and a member of the Directors Guild of America.