The director, Olivia Newman, talks to Cinegirl about transforming the best-selling novel by Delia Owens Where the Crawdads Sing into a feature film, produced by Reese Witherspoon’s production company Hello Sunshine.
Tania Freimuth: Cinematographer
Personally, I felt a crisper look would be beneficial, the story is set in current times, but with a gentle roll off. We agreed that we needed the colours to pop, to downplay cold tones and accentuate warm hues which would favour the cast who had a mixed range of skin tones. The decider was the cast screen test for camera & wardrobe which revealed the S4’s had everything we wanted in spades and their low contrast provided the subtle softness I was looking for.
Primetime Graduate Showcase 2022
And we are back celebrating the incredible talent and creatives rising from the Primetime Graduation Showcase 2022. Head over here to find about more about the incredible work Primetime is accomplishing.
During such new exciting times, with so many positive changes and improvements to be looking forward to, Primetime applauds and showcases women graduates to give them greater visibility and connect them with established members in our community.
All of those listed below have either been shortlisted or nominated for Student BAFTAs both in UK and LA, are RTS Student Award and Grierson Award winners & nominees, have had their film screened at a BAFTA or Academy accredited film festival, or have been selected for one of our international Industry friends' programmes.
‘Elvis’ Cinematographer Mandy Walker, on filmmaking, lifestyle choices and more.
F: What made you say ‘yes’ to ELVIS?
M: It’s my fourth project with Baz, and we have developed such a great collaboration over the years, from Australia to the Chanel short films. I love working with him and he is a true visionary. When I got the script I was extremely excited, it’s a great story. His imagination always inspires me, so of course, I said ‘yes’ immediately.
Hello Emma Dalesman: Cinematographer
Fran: Let’s talk about another project you worked on; Nostalgia Ranch (with Artist/Director Daria Martin) shot on Cooke Anamorphic Primes.
E: This project was shot last year. Daria’s grandmother was a Jewish child in the Czech Republic and escaped months before the Nazi invaded. When this happened, she started to keep a dream diary. The last time I shot with Daria it was on 16mm with no DI and a photochemical print. The companion pieces to ‘Nostalgia Ranch’ were films shot on 16mm Anamorphic (in Brno) and an immersive video game. We used stills from the video game as backgrounds (using back projection) in the studio. The set-design was quite minimal and very linear (within the studio we placed scaffolding towers). I was keen to avoid too much distortion on ‘linear lines’ on wider group shot of all the characters. When I was looking for anamorphic lenses I was very mindful of this and we wanted a relatively clean look with just enough of the anamorphic character, whilst being able to shoot with quite a wide aperture. So, the Cooke Anamorphic primes were the perfect choice.
Catching up with Cinematographer, Ari Wegner ACS
It was an honour speaking with Cinematographer, Ari Wegner ACS, after she made history at the BSC award ceremony recently. She is the first woman ever to receive a BSC award for Best Cinematography in a Theatrical Feature Film for her stunning work on The Power of Dogs, directed by Jane Campion (and it was about time!). Read on to get to know and feel empowered by award winning Cinematographer.
Hello Hannah Jell
I've always been someone very visual. I drew a lot growing up, enjoyed taking photos and found myself to be quite happy when I got to have a go with a crummy handheld tape recorder as a young teenager. I had ideas of potentially going in to Producing whilst I was at Uni... haha... I can't ever imagine doing that now! My first job out of Uni was as a runner on a short film.. still slightly undecided on which role to take, but by that lunch time, having watched the Camera Department.. I knew for sure that Camera was the Department for me.
Catching up with Cinemamas
Cinemamas was founded in December 2020, the year after my daughter was born. I had quite a difficult first year as a new mum and felt pushed out of the industry. I was battling with all the fractured identities within myself - the mother, the filmmaker, the foreigner, and the Londoner; I wanted to bring all the pieces together. I really craved being part of a community that bridged both my career and my new life as a mother. I shared the Cinemamas idea with anyone who would listen and with the help of a kind friend who knew a lot more than me about websites, we put together a pretty basic site. I had been invited to speak at a panel and that gave me the push to get the website together.
Hello Primetime Graduate Showcase 2021!
Primetime’s Graduate Showcase 2021 is back, with some incredible talent on the rise. Now is the time to champion new voices: here they are. Share their work, sign them, hire them.
Meet Lucy Price: founder of "new school" agency Loop Talent
We are just so thrilled to be catching with Lucy Price (MD & Agent at Loop Talent) and her colleague, Daisy Stone over luscious coffe at a fashionable boutique hotel in central London.
Loop Talent is a specialist agency that manages and promotes below-the-line talent working in Film, TV, Commercials and Music Promos. We represent Directors of Photography, Production Designers, Costume Designers, Hair & Make Up Designers and Military Advisery company Bare Arms. Loop Talent is based in Greater London and works with global clients on projects worldwide.
Feel Good Season 2: Mae Martin and Charlotte Ritchie talking about Queer sex onscreen, gender identity, relationships and more.
Fran: Do you think this show is for anyone?
Mae: I think I was very positively surprised by the response to Season 1, and it meant a lot that it reached people across all demographics. That has to be the goal. It contains a lot of themes that seem topical or “youth skewed”, but I love that the show is so universal in its relationships and themes. My parents’ friends like it.
Charlotte: I agree, it’s got a big intergenerational audience, because it is so universal in how personal and detailed it is. People have connected with it on levels that we wouldn't expect, especially with characters that you wouldn’t normally expect people to have an affinity to. But that’s what I found so astounding; the more specific you are, the more people tend to relate.
A refreshingly honest conversation with Cinematographer: Barbie Leung
I am so excited to catch up with Barbie Leung on zoom! After coming across her account on social media, I just had to interview her. I love her work and more specifically, I truly admire how authentic she has been able to remain to herself and her vision, in an industry which can so easily turn into a vacuum of integrity.
Catching up with Tian Liu: Founder of Tigertail Pictures, Award winning cinematographer and acclaimed fashion photographer
Tian Liu is an acclaimed Chinese camera operator, cinematographer, and photographer whose knowledge and experience have contributed to numerous short and long-form film projects, and whose still photography has been published in international publications, including China Daily, Vogue Italy, and more. This year Cannes Film Festival will be screening Tian’s most recent film, The Best Date Ever, directed by Cherry Cao. Having developed her passion for the visual arts and put this passion into practice early, Tian has already amassed 17 years of experience in photography. Her areas of expertise include narrative film, fashion films, reality TV, and documentaries. Tian has served in the capacity of cinematographer on over 40 film projects, a number of which were captured on 16 or 35mm film, making Tian one of the very few female cinematographers of her generation versed in and loyal to motion picture’s original medium.
Skybird Records: They just love making music
SkyBird Records is being launched with the aim of delivering affordable top quality music backing and lead soundtracks for Film and TV media. With its network of professional musicians and producers it can accommodate any genre requirement from Classical to Rock/Pop through to Jazz.
Chloë Thomson (BSC) shoots Channel 4 Adult Material
Fran: What is your background? Did you go to film school? When did you realize that you had a passion for cinematography?
Chloë : My dad is a film editor, so there was always cinema in the family. When I was about 11, I went to the Children's Film Unit, which was a charity that taught kids how to make films, and that got me really passionate about filmmaking. So I did that from ages 11 to 16, and I really learned a lot. They had Steenbecks, we shot on 16mm, we made films for Channel 4. It was really, really inspiring. Then when I was 16, I was given a 35 mm stills camera, and started shooting stills and seeing the world in shots. I really loved that side of things. Then I went a slightly more wayward route to films. I did an academic degree in social psychology and worked in a number of different areas, before circling back to documentaries. Then I worked as a camera trainee and clapper loader for about 3 years before I went to the NFTS to do an MA in Cinematography. DoP Vanessa Whyte inspired me to apply. When I was a trainee, I loaded for her on a short film, which was a 35 mm short, and I just thought, hang on a second, what am I doing? I'm an assistant when I want to be shooting. So then I went to NFTS, and I graduated in 2012.
In Conversation with Nathalie Pitters: Cinematographer
Fran: If you could tell me in one sentence, what it is that you love about being a DOP?
Nathalie: I love telling stories from different perspectives. That's what it always boils down to.
Nathalie Pitters work can be viewed here: https://www.nathaliepitters.com/
Nathalie is a member of Sporas, Illuminatrix Rising and is currently rep’d by Worldwide Production Agency.
Meet Dale Elena McCready: Cinematographer, Trans female in progress, Cyclist
Summer. Richmond cafe. Socially distancing over coffee and banana cake. Dale with her sleek cycling gear greets me with such a contagious smile. I had previously met Dale (online) a couple of weeks ago as a guest on Cinegirl’s podcast. I confess that I was so looking forward to meeting her. Just glancing over her extremely impressive IMDB credits made me nervous and excited at the same time.
Camera and Lens Service Technician and Rising Cinematographer: Amanpreet Sahota
Tucked away at a work station, I had the pleasure of (virtually) meeting Aman, one of Panavision’s camera and lens service technicians in London, aspiring cinematographer, and Sporas member.
Meet Director: Emily Freda Sharp
What is your background? When did you realise you wanted to become a Director?
For the most part, I always knew that I wanted to go into the creative industries. Growing up, it was the work I saw my family doing all around me; my dad was a Music Producer, my grandpa was a film director, my grandma was an actress, so I suppose it felt like a natural progression. I was lucky enough to go to a secondary school that specialised in performing arts as well, which really helped to validate the arts as a genuine career option as opposed to just a bit of extra-curricular fun.