SEASON 2 - EPISODE 114 - PEDRO PÁRAMO - with Rodrigo Prieto

On this special episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, our friend and former guest Rodrigo Prieto (Season 1, Episode 112) joins us to discuss his directorial debut, PEDRO PÁRAMO, an adaptation of the eponymous and iconic Mexican novel written by venerated author Juan Rulfo. The focus of our conversation centers around Rodrigo’s experiences as a first-time director, and we cover the lifetime of the film’s journey from prep to release. Rodrigo starts by sharing how he came to direct the project in the first place, and he reveals why he felt he could be the one to tell this story today. We later discuss the novel’s legacy within Mexico and Latin America, and we learn how the themes of the complex story informed many of Rodrigo’s creative choices, from retooling the script to casting the appropriate actors. Rodrigo also shares what his biggest surprise was as a first-time director, and he reflects on the naturalistic direction of his telling of the story while discussing the 1967 adaptation of the novel. We also discuss the leniency with light enabled by modern digital cameras, and Rodrigo reveals how an added budgetary pressure can lead many to avoid spending money on lighting packages of any kind. Throughout the episode, Rodrigo reflects on his love for the magic trick that is cinema, and we learn if and how often he plans to direct again!

PEDRO PÁRAMO is available worldwide on Netflix.

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Recommended Reading: Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo

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Recommended Viewing: PEDRO PÁRAMO

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 113 - Technical Knowledge for Cinematographers - with David Mullen

In this special episode of the Team Deakins Podcast, we’re joined by our friend and cinematographer David Mullen (Season 1, Episode 83) to discuss what and how much technical knowledge a cinematographer ought to know these days. The conversation includes specific explanations of technical details (such as the difference between film grain and digital noise) and more general subjects (such as the importance of telling a story and eliciting an emotional response from the audience). We also share a number of work stories, including Roger’s early-career exposure to cinematographer Douglas Slocombe’s internal light-meter and David’s experience seeing his work on a TV show smothered by a yellow filter during post. Reflecting on the diversity in images in older Hollywood films despite limited film stock and optical options, we maintain the position that the look of a film is the product of a cinematographer’s eye (rather than the technology one uses), and David elucidates how cinematographer Oswold Morris developed the desaturated look of director John Huston’s adaptation of MOBY DICK using the technology available to him to serve the storytelling. We also reflect on the lost knowledge of how films were made in the early digital days of the 2000s and stress the need to study and remember filmmaking history, recent and ancient. Towards the end, we also consider director Yasujiro Ozu’s prolific and effective use of a single 50mm lens when the conversation drifts towards the phenomenon of people avoiding “boring lenses”. Plus, we highlight the need to understand basic high school mathematics (no excuses!).

Cinematographers at all levels, from the aspiring to the battle-worn, can enjoy and learn from this discussion, and we hope you enjoy listening.

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure

SEASON 2 - EPISODE 112 - DAN LEMMON - VFX Supervisor

VFX Supervisor Dan Lemmon (THE BATMAN, DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES, AVATAR) joins us on this episode of the Team Deakins Podcast. Expanding upon our collection of conversations with filmmakers who worked on THE BATMAN, Dan is more than eager to discuss his work on the film, and he breaks down his team’s contributions to the Batmobile chase sequence and the look of the film as a whole. We also discuss the value of shooting references for the VFX department, and Dan reveals his reasoning for advocating to shoot as much as possible in-camera. We later learn how VFX houses are adapting to deliver their work at the same quality under tightening budgets, and we reflect on how the pace of innovation in the field has changed over Dan’s career. Dan also explains how motion capture technology works and how it’s evolved to allow for films like AVATAR and the recent PLANET OF THE APES trilogy to exist as envisioned by their directors. Towards the end, we reflect on the modern trend towards naturalism and the diminishment of theatricality in how stories are told cinematically.

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This episode is sponsored by Aputure