Definition February 2025 - Web

DOP Autumn Durald Arkapaw shares how she and Gia Coppola captured the gritty glamour of Vegas in The Last Showgirl, catch up with the production designer on Squid Game, plus discover how Mufasa’s VFX squad brought the much-loved animation to life in the latest instalment of the Lion King franchise. We also dive into topics including XR, the future prospects of film shooting, and everything to expect from this year’s BSC Expo. Enjoy!

FEBRUARY 2025

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INSIDE SQUID GAME’S BOLD SET DESIGN VFX: WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE INDUSTRY?

handheld IS THE BEST way to dance WITH YOUR ACTOR”

BSC EXPO: THE KIT NOT TO MISS!

Autumn Durald Arkapaw, ASC casts a dreamy glow over Vegas in Gia Coppola’s poignant character study SHOWGIRL the last

THE ANTIDOTE TO AI? WE DIG INTO THE ENDURING APPEAL & FUTURE PROSPECTS OF CELLULOID

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WELCOME

Bright Publishing LTD Bright House, 82 High Street, Sawston, Cambridgeshire, CB22 3HJ, UK Definition is published monthly by Bright Publishing Ltd, Bright House, 82 High Street, Sawston, Cambridge, CB22 3HJ. No part of this magazine can be used without prior written permission of Bright Publishing Ltd. Definition is a registered trademark of Bright Publishing Ltd. The advertisements published in Definition that have been written, designed or produced by employees of Bright Publishing Ltd remain the copyright of Bright Publishing Ltd and may not be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. The content of this publication does not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher. Prices quoted in sterling, euros and US dollars are street prices, without tax, where available or converted using the exchange rate on the day the magazine went to press. EDITORIAL Editor in chief Nicola Foley nicolafoley@bright.uk.com Senior staff writer Katie Kasperson Features writer Oliver Webb Chief sub editor Matthew Winney Sub editors Zanna Buckland, Minhaj Zia Editorial director Roger Payne rogerpayne@bright.uk.com Contributors Miriam Balanescu, Adrian Pennington, Phil Rhodes ADVERTISING Sales manager Emma Stevens emmastevens@bright.uk.com 01223 499462 | +447376665779 DESIGN Design director Andy Jennings Magazine design manager Lucy Woolcomb Junior designer and ad production Holly May PUBLISHING Managing directors Andy Brogden & Matt Pluck Sales director Sam Scott-Smith samscott-smith@bright.uk.com 01223 499457

O ver the past year, the industry mantra has been ‘survive until 2025’. It became a familiar refrain at trade shows, film festivals and across LinkedIn – repeated so often that we grew tired of hearing it, but clung to its optimism as a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Now 2025 has arrived, and its opening weeks brought challenges we couldn’t even have imagined. The devastating wildfires that tore through LA, the heartland of moviemaking, couldn’t have come at a worse time for an industry still reeling from the effects of the writers’ strike and the pandemic. As Hollywood faces yet another uphill battle, cinematographer and director Rachel Morrison offers a clear call to action: “One of the biggest things you can do to help our city is to shoot here. We have some of the best crews in the world, who need work now more than ever.” To those affected, our thoughts and hearts are with you. The goal was to survive until 2025 – but this industry has never just been about survival. It’s about adapting, pushing forward and thriving. In this issue, we sit down with some creatives doing exactly that, including DOP Autumn Durald Arkapaw, ASC, who shares how she and longtime collaborator Gia Coppola captured the gritty glamour of Vegas showgirls in their latest project. We also go behind the scenes with the production designer of Squid Game and explore how Mufasa ’s VFX team brought the beloved animation to life in the latest Lion King instalment. Elsewhere, we dive into the world of XR, the future of film shooting and everything to look forward to at this year’s BSC Expo. Enjoy the issue and see you next month!

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CONTENTS

PRODUCTIONS 08 THE LAST SHOWGIRL Dreamlike long-exposure shots bring this Vegas-set story to poignant life 29 LAID DOP Judd Overton injects a little shock value into this witty romcom 50 STRICTLY We get the lowdown on the VP-powered production process behind the ritzy ballroom dancing show 52 SQUID GAME Production designer Chae Kyoung-sun talks colours, sets and inspirations POST 18 VFX BREAKDOWN VFX supervisor Adam Valdez discusses his effects work on Mufasa INDUSTRY 62 FIRESIDE CHAT Framestore’s CEO of film and episodic division considers the lay of the VFX land 64 BSC EXPO The display of industry excellence returns 69 INDUSTRY BRIEFINGS A boost for the indie screen sector, new R&D lab at Pinewood and more 75 A DIESEL-FREE FUTURE Liverpool is setting the gold standard in eco production practices. We find out how

DEFINITION RECOMMENDS… Oliver Webb, features writer, revisits Blue Velvet (1986) 14

I t’s a strange world.” In honour of the late great visionary David Lynch, my pick for this month is his genre-bending masterstroke Blue Velvet . Starring Lynch regulars Kyle MacLachlan and Laura Dern, and featuring haunting performances from Isabella Rossellini and a terrifying Dennis Hopper, the film explores the seedy underbelly of small-town America. MacLachlan plays Jeffrey Beaumont, a

college student who carries out his own unauthorised investigation to solve the mystery of a severed ear, in a role that embodies the same qualities and quirks of Twin Peaks ’ special agent Dale Cooper. Like most David Lynch projects, watching Blue Velvet is a nightmarish and otherworldly experience, but he’s certainly at the top of his game here. So long, Mr Lynch, there is trouble ’til the robins come.

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CONTENTS

OPINION 26 GOING OLD-SCHOOL In a post-heavy industry, do in-camera optical effects still matter? 30 ROUND TABLE A panel of aerial cinematography experts discuss the latest trends and tech TECH 14 TAKING STOCK What future for shooting on film? Adrian Pennington considers the road ahead 42 NAVIGATING XR We grill Brainstorm on the findings of its recent XR-focused white paper 56 KITBAG HEROES The latest software updates and new kit releases to get on your radar!

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I n the opening shot of the Sophie Turner-starring crime drama Joan , we see a flash-forward to the feisty protagonist at the top of her game as a diamond thief. “This shot establishes the look and tone of the whole show,” explains DOP Pedro Cardillo. Surrounded by cash and diamond rings, the scene shows Joan’s criminal lifestyle, but also hints at her traumatic background: “The character is in a glamorous environment – but she doesn’t belong there.” With the Pretenders’ Brass in Pocket playing, we’re planted in a hotel suite. DOP Pedro Cardillo on Joan’s opening scene

“To engage the audience and present all the information in this scene, the director and I imagined a long track that starts wide, with the actor’s back to the camera. We could see all the glamour of this five-star room, but then the camera moves slowly toward her back until we can see several scars. This shot presents contrasting information that puzzles the audience and triggers curiosity.” The scene cuts to a reverse angle via a mirror, showing Joan applying makeup and donning a wig, before tracking back to reveal her outfit and

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BEHIND THE SHOT

MIRROR, MIRROR The mirror shot reflects Joan’s dual identity, blending glamour and trauma

heighten the mystery. “The room had to look glamorous, and large windows were a must so we could enjoy classical directional light. It also needed to be big enough to fit a crane to perform the camera movement,” says Cardillo. This required three locations: a mansion for the suite’s interior, Walsall Town Hall for the reception, and a Birmingham hotel for the exterior. The show’s camera package was an ARRI ALEXA Mini LF, paired with Moviecam primes and Tiffen Black Glimmerglass filters, and the team also deployed a Scorpio 23 with

a stabilisation system for this scene. To avoid appearances from the kit and crew in the mirror, they shot clean plates to paint out any unwanted reflections. The scene was complex to shoot, but collaboration made it a success, claims Cardillo. “The director Richard Laxton is so talented and, fortunately, he shared the same feelings about Joan’s journey as me. The inputs and technical knowledge from the key grip, Neil Blakesley, and the camera operator, Andrei Austin, were also fundamental to achieving this ambitious shot – choosing

the right tools, rehearsing until we found the right speed, height and angle. “Also, the collaboration between cinematography and the art department can’t be overstated,” Cardillo reflects. “We established the key visuals for the glamorous aspects of the character’s lives, but it was technically challenging to have space for the crane, lights and camera traps behind the mirror. Trust and generosity are key for a creative environment where every department can reach its true potential and create a visually impactful drama.”

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PRODUCTION THE LAST SHOWGIRL

Autumn Durald Arkapaw, ASC shares how she and longtime collaborator Gia Coppola captured the fading glamour of Las Vegas’ famous showgirls, championing Pamela Anderson’s return

WORDS MIRIAM BALANESCU IMAGES ROADSIDE ATTRACTIONS

L as Vegas is certainly no stranger to the screen. From Martin Scorsese’s grubby underbelly of the gambling scene in 1995’s Casino to Steven Soderbergh’s suave Ocean’s Eleven bank heisters, the Sin City backdrop has long been a hotbed for swindlers, hustlers and dreamers in the imaginations of filmmakers. It’s no exaggeration to say that The Last Showgirl presents Vegas in an entirely new light, with its notably unshowy, delicately rendered portrayal. Uncovering the lives of Las Vegas’ workers – specifically the dying breed

of showgirls once synonymous with the city – The Last Showgirl offers a gentler, dreamier spin on this iconic filming location. For DOP Autumn Durald Arkapaw, ASC, whose credits include Black Panther: Wakanda Forever , Loki and the upcoming Michael B Jordan- fronted Sinners , she always knew this was the approach she wanted to take. It’s the trademark style she and her friend Gia Coppola – director of three of her projects to date – have crafted. “Working with Gia always feels like you’re just hanging out with your best

friend, making a little movie,” Durald Arkapaw laughs. “ The Last Showgirl is unique because we set out to make a certain type of intimate, personal film, and the results are exactly that. “Gia and I generally favour softer, dreamier images. I mainly shoot with Panavision anamorphics. My lenses always have loads of personality and fall-off. Lighting is also super important, and it’s always a character in my films. The way I light is dependent on the lens characteristics. They work hand in hand with each other.”

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THE LAST SHOWGIRL PRODUCTION

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PRODUCTION THE LAST SHOWGIRL

Heralding the return of Baywatch star Pamela Anderson in her most impactful performance yet, the actor plays once- revered showgirl Shelly. Informed that her longstanding show Le Razzle Dazzle is coming to a close, Shelly rekindles her relationship with her daughter. What follows is a tender exploration of the choice women have to make between motherhood and their career. “Gia is now a mother, so it was nice to see her balance motherhood and filmmaking. I’ve done this for the past eight years and found it rewarding,” says Durald Arkapaw. Homing in on the cast’s female characters – with Kiernan Shipka and Brenda Song starring as fellow showgirls – was crucial to the decision to shoot on film. “It was important to have that nostalgia, saturation and density in the image,” explains Durald Arkapaw. “We wanted to capture all the magic that

WE SET OUT TO MAKE a certain type of intimate, personal film; THE RESULTS ARE EXACTLY THAT”

comes with shooting film – the unknown, bravery, excitement and depth. But most important for us was to shoot a small film where we had all the control: no monitors, no video village, no distractions. “The thing with film is that you can’t have fear. There’s no room for it. You’ll get lots of fear from producers, so you have to be confident in your choices and execution. That’s the beauty of film: you

have to trust and be brave. In that, you’ll find the beauty and emotion you want.” Bespoke anamorphic lenses were created specially for Durald Arkapaw by Dan Sasaki – senior vice president of optical engineering and lens strategy at Panavision. “Anamorphic 16mm options are slim or non-existent,” insists Durald Arkapaw. “Not many films are shot in anamorphic on Super 16. I wanted a close focus and fall-off, since we were staying with the women on a handheld camera to track all their emotional cues. Las Vegas can feel like a fishbowl when you visit or live there; I wanted a lens that would make these women look beautiful and help us focus on them. “The characteristics of these anamorphic lenses helped push that fishbowl idea forward. I did some early tests with Dan and AC Ethan McDonald; one round filming Ethan’s young son and the second featuring my mum as the subject. I showed Gia the resulting images and she loved them. “Dan knows all about my love for the perfect field

TEAM PLAYERS Durald Arkapaw and Coppola’s long-established working friendship means they have developed a real chemistry

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PRODUCTION THE LAST SHOWGIRL

curvature. He understands that what we ultimately create will be accompanied by particular lighting, to allow those lens characteristics to shine through. All this is to say, I wanted the women to look beautiful and strong.” The main challenge to Coppola and Durald Arkapaw’s vision for the film was a slim 18-day window for shooting. “We couldn’t have done it without gaffer Brian Bartolini, key grip Miguel Benavides, Ethan and their teams,” she enthuses. “I also brought on AD Jason Lombardo, with whom I work on commercials – he was amazing at guiding the film and integral to its success.” Everything was shot handheld. “I don’t see handheld as a challenge,” asserts Durald Arkapaw. “If you’re physically up for it and the story calls for it, it’s the best way to dance with your actor. I always operate this way, and it’s the only way I know how to emotionally tell the story.” Dancing – including an impromptu performance from Jamie Lee Curtis on a casino podium and dazzling sequences choreographed by Gregory Butler – was fundamental to the story. Durald Arkapaw’s experience on lower-budget music videos and musical numbers streamlined the shooting process. “It’s important to give the choreographer a sense of what the camera will actually capture and the time we have to work with,” she explains, “especially in our situation, as we didn’t really have an audience and our stage wasn’t very big. “It was important on the day to make sure we got all the details Gia wanted – to capture the breadth of what these women do nightly, as well as how beautiful and hardworking they are.” Among the key details were the vivid colours, flamboyant feathers and

STRIPPED BACK Shooting on film lends itself to the soft, dreamy quality Coppola was seeking

shimmering fabrics of Le Razzle Dazzle ’s costumes, designed by Coppola’s mother Jacqui. “They both have amazing taste, and I know what goes in front of the lens will have its own personality. I want the costumes to shine, so I take care to get the right contrast and light to reveal the details that matter. It was fun to get dailies back and see all the wonderful colours and reflections that came out of the images. And it was a treat to shoot the ladies in original Bob Mackie designs.” The marriage of cinematography and subject matter have earned The Last

Showgirl comparisons to works by John Cassavetes and Sean Baker, directors Coppola has cited as influences. But Durald Arkapaw reveals no other films were used as reference points: “Gia does send me references, but mostly photography. Some are exact, for mood, others are abstract. I know her so well I don’t have to ask for much explanation.” One of the most memorable scenes in the film is set on a rooftop at sunset – a sequined Anderson wearing a bold plume of orange and pink. “Gia liked the rooftop location because we could see the Strip and feel the weight of Vegas,” recalls Durald Arkapaw. “I made sure with the AD that we were up there at the right time for blue hour. I always like to shoot important wide shots right before the sky turns black. I remember after those dailies stills came in, I sent them to Gia. She said, ‘I think that’s the first image we release,’ and I agreed. It was so obvious when you saw it. “These women, both on and off the camera, have led such amazing and full lives – I wanted to make sure they looked powerful and gorgeous.”

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FILM TAKING STOCK

We might be deep into the digital cine age, but top cinematographers can’t seem to resist good old- fashioned celluloid. We dig into the enduring appeal and future prospects of shooting on film

WORDS ADRIAN PENNINGTON

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TAKING STOCK FILM

IN THE DARKROOM Shot on 35mm Kodak film, the processing on All of Us Strangers was by handled by Cinelab

M ore than two decades into the digital cine revolution, and you can reliably predict that over half the nominees for best cinematography at the Oscars will have been shot on film, even if –in volume terms – less than 5% of all releases are now shot on celluloid. A high-water mark was Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer , which was shot on black & white 65mm and IMAX, landing Hoyte van Hoytema the Academy Award. This year, cinematography nominees Maria , The Brutalist and Nosferatu shot film. Six-time nominee Anora shot 35mm, while

digitally photographed Conclave and A Complete Unknown had film grain layered on in post. “This doesn’t suggest that because it’s shot on film it’s a better movie,” stresses Adrian Bull, CEO of Cinelab Film & Digital. “What it absolutely does indicate is that film attracts creativity and, on average, better quality filmmakers. If a production has committed budgets to shooting on film, it’s likely to have just gone through a bit more scrutiny than a digital production.” The pandemic brought feature production to new lows, before the double whammy of the writers’ strikes further impacted the year

2023. But last year, the UK’s only film processing lab processed over five million feet of film, returning to 2019 levels. “2019 was a big year for us,” reports Bull. “We had No Time to Die, which, on its own, shot over a million feet of film. “We’ve seen a steady increase in interest in shooting on film – not just indie productions but higher-profile, higher-budget studio projects too,” he adds. Cinelab processed All of Us Strangers (DOP Jamie Ramsay) and The End We Start From (photographed by Suzie Lavelle), as well as scanning and deliverables for Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things , with processing done in Hungary.

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TAKING STOCK FILM

Emerald Fennell’s Saltburn also passed through the lab, with DOP Linus Sandgren later bringing Noah Baumbach’s upcoming Netflix comedy- drama Jay Kelly to the facility. Fennell also plans to shoot Wuthering Heights – starring Margot Robbie – on film. Meanwhile, in post-production and set for release this year are Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme , lensed by Bruno Delbonnel, as well as Lynne Ramsay’s comedy-horror Die, My Love , shot by Seamus McGarvey. “The first response you get from producers is about the cost. They’d love to shoot on film but think it’s going to be too expensive,” says Bull. “There’s a misconception that shooting on film will cost an additional half to three-quarters of a million, but many pictures we handle are on sub-$10-million budgets, with the spend with us being less than £100k. The cost of the stock actually exceeds our processing costs.” The Brutalist was notably made for £8 million, including all film processing out of labs in Hungary. “It proves that you don’t need really high studio budgets to shoot on film,” insists Bull. Brady Corbet’s epic was shot using VistaVision, the first in a wave of features in this antique format. Others include Paul Thomas Anderson’s untitled Leonardo DiCaprio drama and two Warner Bros-financed projects: Alejandro González Iñárritu’s untitled 2026 film starring Tom Cruise, photographed by Emmanuel Lubezki, and Yorgos Lanthimos’ forthcoming Bugonia , starring Emma Stone and lensed by Robbie Ryan. “VistaVision offers a bigger area and, creatively, a very shallow depth-of-field, despite using twice as much stock (8- perf versus 4-perf) and incurring twice the processing costs compared to conventional 35mm,” explains Bull. In the age of AI, the creative cachet and even commercial value of shooting on an analogue format could actually

GRAIN OF TRUTH Nosferatu (above), The Brutalist (left) and Oppenheimer (below) giving us the film grain we love to see

increase to sustain film as a niche, but essential part of the filmmaking palette. “Film is the antidote to AI,” Bull says. “It’s probably the only format you can shoot that has the provenance of a true representation of what actually happened in front of the lens. “If people wanted to be really particular about disproving that their work was AI-generated, they’d probably shoot on film,” he continues. “Anything shot digitally can be modified, and evidence of those modifications can be easily suppressed. In contrast, a developed piece of film serves as proof; it can’t be modified or adjusted. It’s a permanent record of that performance that was captured in camera.” It could become a marketing credential to state that a story wasn’t created by AI – although as the tool

seeps further into editing, VFX and colour creation, this will blur. “Certain actors might want audiences to know that the performance they are watching is completely genuine,” Bull suggests. “Therefore, they may want it to be known that it was shot on film and is not some AI-generated incarnation.” Such arguments hark back to the idea of the integrity of film as a medium versus digital’s latent synthetic quality. “Every image shot on film exists in real life. There’s no synthesis. Each frame is different. The beauty of film is that even a static image holds movement, as the grain changes frame by frame.”

A developed piece of film SERVES AS PROOF; it can’t be modified ”

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VFX BREAKDOWN MUFASA

VFX BREAKDOWN

Production VFX supervisor Adam Valdez on crafting the Pride Lands for Mufasa

WORDS OLIVER WEBB IMAGES DISNEY

M ufasa: The Lion King serves as a prequel to the events of The Lion King and is the origin story of the titular character, father of Simba. After a chance encounter with another lion named Taka, the heir to a royal bloodline, the two must journey across the plains in search of a new destiny. Adam Valdez served as production visual effects supervisor on the film, with a team of over 1700 artists and production crew at MPC delivering the visual effects. Valdez initially met with director Barry Jenkins for an orientation, as it was Jenkins’ first animated feature. “We had phone calls and meetings, and then he asked if I could do the movie,” Valdez recalls. “I said yes because he’s a great filmmaker and a wonderful person. It felt

like a great experience to work with him, especially since I’d done similar movies before. Barry had lots of questions about how to elicit emotions from lions. His focus is on telling emotional, intimate stories, and he really views the world from a character’s point of view.” Making Mufasa was a four-year process, with Covid-19 significantly impacting production. “I was initially working from my house in London, while Barry was in LA,” Valdez explains. “Our production designer Mark Friedberg was in New York City. Fast-forward many months, and we were all in LA, finally shooting and prepping. The first year was this strange hybrid where we initially couldn’t be together but gradually moved toward the day we could all work under one roof.”

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MUFASA VFX BREAKDOWN

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VFX BREAKDOWN MUFASA

Creating the vast landscapes for this film was a major challenge for Valdez and his team, with MPC sculpting environments down to every blade of grass. “There is so much potential material to draw from in a continent as vast as Africa,” shares Valdez. “We relied on local knowledge, and scouts captured photos and gathered information for us. “That’s how we approach complex worldbuilding movies – we are not inventing entirely fantasy places but aiming to represent some truth,” he continues. “We were lucky to visit Africa for Mufasa ; you come back with a sense of obligation to represent it – a place so powerful in many ways. You’re striving to make a world that functions for a story and creates an experience for an audience, while also honouring the truth that gives it depth.” MPC has extensive expertise when it comes to 3D worldbuilding. “You’re constructing complex worlds using libraries of plants, rocks and landscape elements to replicate the variety found in nature,” says Valdez. “There’s a detailing phase where the team applies a simulation approach – imagining how water flows through an environment, eroding and leaving traces of its history.” He elaborates: “They combine texture maps to achieve a sense of naturalism and complexity. While you’re doing all that, you still need to art direct, making it a whole series of steps and tools that combine to solve the classic filmmaking issue of capturing environments in all their fullness.” WE ARE NOT INVENTING entirely fantasy places BUT AIMING TO REPRESENT some truth ”

MANE ATTRACTION Photogrammetry scans of African savannah helped form realistic landscapes

One of the film’s most visually striking scenes introduces a snowy mountain terrain the characters must journey through. “There was something fun and novel about seeing lions in snow,” admits Valdez. “I don’t know if lions naturally go to that high altitude, but there are pretty significant mountain ranges not many people might know about. “For the snowy mountains, it was about being as far away as possible from the end scene, which is a beautiful, lush green world,” he adds. “I was concerned about whether our snow would actually resemble snow; it’s not an easy thing to convey in the computer. The main focus was on the crystalline aspect. I think the

team did a fantastic job of bringing the material definitions of ice, including ice with bubbles and veins of frost. There’s so much layering in those environments. Additionally, there’s a beautiful love song beneath the frozen falls, where sheeted water is frozen into icicles, creating beautiful moments of distortion and reflection. It was a highly complex scene.” Just shy of 1500 visual effects shots were created for the film in total, with one of the major production challenges being the simulation of the interaction between animal fur and water – a noteworthy innovation. Another tricky process was capturing the nuanced facial language of the animals.

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VFX BREAKDOWN MUFASA

Virtual production stages were also used to capture performances of some of the characters, with motion capture used for multiple performers playing key characters. Jenkins was then able to watch a live feed on screen through Unreal Engine, which allowed him to view real-time performances. Motion capture was used in the film for two purposes, as Valdez explains: “We used it to track the camera movement, but we also utilised it to input human actors as performers for the lions. There was a technique that was dubbed Quad Cap because of the quadruped nature of the lions. Here, the front half of the person controlled the front legs of the lions, and wherever I was looking, the lion would also be looking. “You are warping the human body under this lion shape to allow a performer to drive a lion,” continues Valdez. “The back legs are generated with a puppeteered rig, a mechanism that ensures the lion follows wherever you’re going. We didn’t use this for every scene in the movie – if you have a lion swimming through water, it’s extremely difficult to achieve that on a normal sound stage.” Jenkins found this method useful for directing the action, rather than watching

animation slowly build up through keyframing, where animators create the action. “Everything you see in the final movie is actually done by animators,” reveals Valdez, highlighting the skill behind the animated sequences. “The motion capture was a way of laying out the action,” he adds. “It’s not really a motion capture film in the sense that we didn’t capture the final performances. Instead, they are an amalgamation of voice acting, motion capture and what the animators bring at the end – from different references of natural motion to their own interpretation of the moment.” For Valdez, one of the most enjoyable elements of working on the film was the collaboration with Jenkins, as well as the filmmakers who were deeply focused on perfecting the emotion, acting and artistry of the project. “They had to learn a lot and bend their normal ways of working to meet the demands of this process. I think it’s often underappreciated how much Disney and its teams care about making great work. There’s not a single person on the movie who isn’t there to do something excellent and who doesn’t love movies or want to make great pieces of work,” he concludes.

BREAK OUR PRIDE Dynamic fur simulations were tailored to respond to various weather conditions, from dry plains to rainstorms

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THE LION KING TAKE TWO

N ow 30 years old, Disney’s The Lion King has stood the test of time, inspiring a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical, two sequels, a spin-off TV series, a 2019 CGI remake and now Mufasa: The Lion King – a prequel that details the titular lion’s origin story. The 1994 film was a truly unique piece of IP, with its creators tapping into the universality of life and death. The original allegorical story – which has been likened to Shakespeare’s Hamlet – follows Simba, son of the pride’s leader Mufasa, as he navigates guilt over his father’s passing. He runs away from home, only to return years later, unrecognisable to his friends and family and forced to become king. The Lion King was to Disney what Shrek was to DreamWorks – a side project that came second to Pocahontas , which was released the following year and attracted most of the studio’s animators. Although it meant the crew carried an underdog mentality, this ultimately made them a force to be reckoned with, as they threw themselves into research, storyboarding and recording sessions to give audiences a reason to see a film all about animals. The presence of Elton John and Hans Zimmer elevated The Lion King further, despite the fact it wasn’t initially set to be a musical. At the helm of the soundtrack and score, respectively, the two made it an Oscar and Grammy winner. Can You

THE LION KING Disney’s animated allegory stands out above the pack. We look back on how it was made, from musical numbers to simulated movement Take Two

WORDS KATIE KASPERSON

Feel the Love Tonight took best original song at the 67th Academy Awards and Zimmer bagged best original score. The crew studied African animal behaviour by visiting Los Angeles Zoo, as well as Hell’s Gate National Park in Kenya. With Bambi as the main in-house reference, The Lion King ’s animators consulted regularly with wildlife experts Jim Fowler and Ron Magill to ensure authenticity. Artistically, the filmmakers modelled their landscapes on nature documentaries, paintings and the work of John Ford, aiming for a sense of realism. While each main character had their own lead animator, the herds proved a different beast entirely. To mimic real movement patterns, the animators used computer programs to simulate random pathways. The two-and-a- half-minute wildebeest stampede, for instance, took more than two years to create; the vintage Computer Animation Production System (CAPS) proved critical in generating the lighting, colouring and replicating camera movement. Three decades on, we’re all still familiar with the film’s opening scene – a shot of the sun rising over the savannah backed by Circle of Life , which begins with South African composer Lebo M singing in Zulu. The movie delivers on this circularity, ending with a reprise of the same song. The first and only Disney feature to be dubbed in Zulu, The Lion King owes its global success partially to localisation, but it really goes back to the story at its heart: one that’s resonated demonstrably with audiences everywhere.

PRIDE AND JOY With loveable characters and a heartwarming storyline, The Lion King has enormous cross-generational popularity

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OPINION

In a post-heavy industry, do in-camera optical effects still matter? Phil Rhodes argues that they do – now more than ever

long time ago, your narrator found himself at Panavision’s Woodland Hills facility, staring at an unassuming cylindrical object

People working on less well-funded productions have hoovered eBay clean of historic stills lenses with much the same goal. It has been a big deal for such a long time that finding reasonably priced options now typically demands hanging around back-alley lens dealers stocked with a wedge of used twenties. And even then, this is not a reliable route to finding lenses that give every pixel on a 6K sensor something to do. To an extent, that’s the point – given a moderate stop, such a lens might produce pictures that provoke chin-stroking approbation among connoisseurs while simultaneously satisfying distributors with a UHD mandate. On the other hand, the sort of production that’s most likely to seize enthusiastically on a lens found in a compost heap might also struggle to maintain that moderate stop, and interesting lenses often don’t look interesting at f/8 anyway. That’s when hard-to-fix fuzziness can creep in, which is why ZEISS (for instance) promotes the idea that the Radiance edition of its Supreme Primes aren’t simply interesting, but consistently interesting across all f-stops and focal lengths. Crucially, though, they might not be a financial option for the kinds of recent graduates who are challenged to put together a different look every week for projects such as music videos or short films.

marked ‘C40’ as if it were some sort of religious icon. The C series anamorphics are among the most storied lenses out there: this is the Blade Runner lens, the Close Encounters lens, the Jaws lens. They’re more or less the founding example of anamorphics that produce big blue horizontal flares. Back then, it took ten minutes to find an example C lens to photograph, even at this emporium of Panathings. Practically all of its siblings were out there satisfying the modern cinematographer’s need to impose an indelible influence on the image, in a world where filmmaking equipment is increasingly designed to defer every possible decision to the post-production process.

STRETCHING THE LIMITS The Synergy kit from Simmod contains frames and glass to create custom filters with any materials you have lying around

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OPINION

Filters can also see things beyond the edge of the frame. The most famous anamorphic lenses cast horizontal flares into the frame from light sources which are outside it, and filters (and crystals sold by FlareKit) do the same. How real optical objects react to the motion of lights, subjects in the scene and the camera can be as complex as the object itself. FIX IT IN POST? It’s possible to approximate optical effects in post. But doing that accurately requires software that understands light transport, the field that lets us simulate things like rippling lines of light – caustics – at the bottom of a CG swimming pool. Many filters are effectively 2D effects, which are somewhat easier to approximate; Tiffen’s now-discontinued DFX plug-in suite did this. Sometimes, the approximation is fine. Anything done in camera provokes risks. Put too many pieces of laundry or foliage in front of the lens, and heaven help the person who tries to match that look for the sequel after the leaves have wilted. Commercially made filters cost what they do because, in an ideal world, a top-notch frost filter made decades ago precisely matches one made today. Designs such as Simmod’s make improvised optical chicanery more reliable, controllable and repeatable, though there are still caveats. Apparent filter strength varies with focal length, and if we need a stronger effect from a commercial filter series we can simply pull the next one out of the box. Conversely, Fogal doesn’t describe its stockings in multiples of one-eighth. Privations aside, though, all optical accessories – including lenses, filters and ladies’ foundation garments – support high dynamic range. They all support wide colour gamut. So does anything else we might choose to put between the sensor and the subject. They all have instant preview, zero rendering time and can’t be undermined by a sudden attack of artistic conservatism in post. Not everyone is in the position to commit their production to a look in that way. Even so, there’s a certain symmetry to the idea that taking real control of an image in a high-tech world engages some of the more old-school elements that can be duct-taped to a matte box.

REAL EFFECTS Given all that, it’s no surprise to find people seeking other routes to real, in- camera optical effects, which is where filters come in. The definition of ‘filter’ has been somewhat liberalised to include anything that can be duct-taped to the front of a camera: lenses, filters, flora, fauna, even underwear… Seriously. There are commercial filters out there that involve sandwiching dandelion seeds, horsehair or stockings between two pieces of glass. Even that is fairly restrained by modern standards. The appetite for refractive glitter has incentivised FlareKit to create a product that looks shockingly like a prop from The Crystal Maze , intended specifically to be waved around near a lens to scatter light prettily across the frame. Real optical effects are now so deified that Simmod offers not only a range of conventional effects filters, but also its Synergy kit, which is designed to facilitate making filters out of anything. There’s a frame to stretch fabrics over and glass on which to smear anything that will stick. The company also offers a flashlight on a long goose neck, which is intended to reach the front of the camera and provoke flares. The results are certainly unique, but more importantly, they’re in camera, melded with the frame. Overworked camera assistants might find themselves responsible for making these improvised solutions practical,

and see the whole approach as a bit of sophistry, and perhaps unnecessary in a world where Resolve runs on a laptop. So, can clever lenses, filters and pieces of cut glass be simulated, given enough code? Strictly, no. Cameras don’t record complete light fields (the 3D clouds of photons that collide with the front element of the lens), which might travel anywhere and in any direction. Nor do they record every photon down to absolute darkness, or every last highlight detail up to the surface of the sun. Trivially, something like an ultra contrast filter can’t be simulated because it increases the brightness of details that would otherwise be lost in darkness. But there aren’t any mathematical solutions to that. Filters also don’t suffer any meaningful limit of colour gamut, which is the whole point of a real glass ND filter. Cameras clip to white, while filters handle as much light as we can throw at them (until they melt). Even the best modern cameras have limits in their recognition of really deep colours, but filters just transport photons, regardless of what colour they are. On a practical level, anything that creates glow or flare can react to bright lights in complex ways. We might pick out the bright parts of an image in post to make them glow, but if there’s a brighter centre within the saturated part of a highlight (a filament in a light bulb, say) a computer can’t see it, and there’s nothing software can do without manual work.

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LAID PRODUCTION

UNTIL DEATH DO US PART

WORDS KATIE KASPERSON IMAGES JAMES DITTIGER/PEACOCK A show as morbid as the modern dating scene, Laid – based on the Australian series of the same name – follows 33-year-old Ruby, who realises her exes are dying in the order she was with them. Directed by Nahnatchka Khan and Maurice Marable and shot by Judd Overton, the eight-episode series blends romantic warmth with the shock of death, all while maintaining a comedic lightness. Though gooey and ‘almost cliché’ at times, says Overton, Laid doesn’t shy away from a gruesome shot. “It was important that we went there with these shocking moments – almost like jump scares at some points – and have some fun,” he shares. The first occurs in episode 1, when Ruby’s ex walks into the road, is struck by a car and catapults into the air, landing on her windshield. Working within a tight schedule, Overton began blocking the sequence early, with his wife as a stand-in. The final sequence only lasts a few seconds, but his prep pays off – and sets a dark tone for the series. Over the following episodes, we’re thrown further into the chaos, with each In Laid, the murder weapon is sex. DOP Judd Overton brings the shock value to this darkly comedic love story

GRAVE SECRETS Stephanie Hsu (right) stars as Ruby alongside Zosia Mamet (left) as AJ

death seemingly stranger than the last. In episode 2 – titled Fb to the T – Ruby’s baseball-playing ex takes a hit to the head, which she watches on live TV. Overton filmed this clip in slow motion, exaggerating the moment so it leans slightly ‘ridiculous’. In episode 4, more exes die off in ‘rapid fire’, he explains, demonstrated via montage. In episode 6, Ruby visits Aubrey, her ‘one that got away’, at the tattoo parlour where she works. “We’re starting to finally hear about Ruby’s real story and break through the shell, and then at that moment there’s a tussle outside and a spray of blood, and [Aubrey] gets taken out,” Overton summarises. “We didn’t want to pull any

punches on that; we wanted to make sure it was a real shock to the system.” For this sequence, Overton filmed in layers. “We shot the performance in the foreground with a blue screen behind. We then took [the actors] out and shot the performance through the window. It’s hard to get both things in focus, but through the edit we could choose when to see the action in the background and when not to let it distract,” he describes. “When the gun goes off, it gave us the flexibility to dial in with the stunts in the foreground performance and put it all back together in post.” Overton’s creativity shines through in every episode, whether during a drunken flashback (where he used an ultra- wide lens, enhanced with a Module 8 Tuner) or dialogue-led sequence (here, a split dioptre). The result is a romcom that’s truly a balance of genres – and one that keeps the audience guessing what comes next, a kiss in the rain or a disastrous death? Laid will soon be streaming in the UK

WE WANTED TO MAKE SURE IT WAS A real shock to the system ”

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THE PANEL

Round Table

John Marzano CEO, Marzano Films

A panel of high-flying aerial specialists gives us the view from the top

Olly Sugars Drone pilot, Flying Pictures

DEFINITION: WHAT TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCEMENTS HAVE HAD THE BIGGEST IMPACT ON AERIAL FILMING IN RECENT YEARS, AND WHY? JEREMY BRABEN: One of the most noticeable advancements is that cameras have become smaller and better. Where we once would need a heavy-lift drone to carry a cine camera, we can achieve the same results with more compact, agile options like the DJI Inspire 3 with its 8K camera or a RED KOMODO-X mounted on an FPV drone. That said, there are still times when only a heavy lift will do; generally it’s dynamic range and lens choice that dictate this. The shift to smaller cameras also means multicamera arrays can now be used on drones. Our three- or six-camera, and even 360°, aerial arrays on the helicopter are proving popular for VFX. Our recent experiences working with Big Sky, Apple and Sphere have also demanded new

methods of integration and use of these large format cameras. EMMA BOSWELL: For us, the release of the RED V-RAPTOR 8K large format camera has done for FPV cinematography what ARRI’s ALEXA Mini did for heavy-lift drones. For an 8K cinema camera, the V-RAPTOR is remarkably compact, making it ideal for FPV drones. We fly it with the DJI RS 3 Pro on a compact FPV drone, allowing incredible agility, which unlocks huge creative possibilities. With this set-up, the drone can dart and weave through trees at high speeds with a 90mm cinema lens, complete with lens control. That’s how we captured the broomstick chase sequence for Wicked . With this same set-up, we also shot a tracking sequence alongside racehorses at full speed on a 130mm lens. It’s a game-changing combination that has completely transformed how we approach shot planning for FPV.

Emma Boswell Co-founder and CEO, The Helicopter Girls

Will Banks Camera pilot, Aerial Film Company

Jeremy Braben Founder, CEO and aerial DOP at Helicopter Film Services Ltd

TAKE TO THE SKY Some sweeping landscapes and high-speed chases can only be captured from the air – The Aerial Film Company has this covered

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ROUND TABLE

WILL BANKS: Hybrid FPV drones, blending stabilised, steerable shots with FPV agility, have given filmmakers a new visual language, merging the smoothness of a traditional gimballed drone set-up with dynamic movement. Drones dominate the conversation, but high-speed aerial cinematography in the world of manned aviation is often irreplaceable. At The Aerial Film Company, we’ve embraced this evolution of drone tech, figuring out how it can complement what we’re doing in manned aviation. Our latest investment is the upgrade of our SHOTOVER F1 to the F1 RUSH system. In combination with our Pilatus PC-9, the F1 RUSH allows for stable, high-speed filming at up to 350 knots and 3.5G high-speed turboprop. This tech enables breathtaking high-speed tracking shots of jets, aerobatic aircraft, race cars – sequences that drones simply can’t sustain over long distances. While automation and drone tech continue to reshape the industry, we think the magic of aerial cinematography still lies in human expertise, whether that’s in manned or unmanned aviation. OLLY SUGARS: The miniaturisation and advancement of electronics have transformed aerial filmmaking. This has made equipment more efficient, capable and lighter. Key improvements in flight controllers, electronic speed controllers (ESCs), camera sensors, processing chips and algorithmic software have enhanced stability, precision and image quality. These have led to the rise of FPV and hybrid gimballed FPV systems. All the while, cinema cameras have become more compact and powerful, allowing high-end filmmaking equipment to be flown around without compromise. JOHN MARZANO: Advanced three-axis gimbals – from DJI and Freefly for drones and PV Labs and SHOTOVER for larger

systems and full-sized aircraft – give us ultra-smooth footage, even in turbulent conditions. The stabilisation has made it much easier for the VFX departments to track plate shots for compositing. DJI’s record move functionality (available in its new Inspire 3 drone) incorporates differential GPS accuracy, which allows the drone team to record a repeatable 3D move that, while not frame-exact, is astoundingly accurate. High-resolution, lightweight cameras like the RED KOMODO and V-RAPTOR, ARRI ALEXA Mini LF and 35, Sony VENICE 2 and, most recently, the Zenmuse X9- 8K for the DJI Inspire 3, have facilitated cinema-grade images from drones and compact full-sized aircraft systems. FPV drones capable of carrying cinema grade cameras have revolutionised dynamic aerial shots, enabling high- speed, immersive filming that was previously virtually impossible. With the advancement of AI-aided intelligent flight systems, complex aerial shots are becoming easier and safer. Battery tech has also made significant strides, providing longer flight times, which are vital when hovering in position waiting for all departments to be ready for the single explosion or high-speed stunt. LiDAR and 3D mapping have also made huge advancements in high-res scanning and photogrammetry, providing filmmakers with super-accurate 3D maps for better previsualisation and VFX integration. DEF: WHAT ARE THE KEY CHALLENGES IN YOUR FIELD AND HOW DO YOU ADDRESS THEM? JB: Operating aerial vehicles means adhering to strict aviation regulations, including airspace restrictions and safety protocols. This includes staying updated with local and international aviation laws, obtaining the necessary permits and certifications and ensuring all crew

members are trained in compliance procedures. The risk of accidents like collisions or equipment malfunctions poses significant safety hazards and we do our best to mitigate these with continual training and maintenance. It’s essential to conduct thorough pre-flight checks, regularly maintain equipment and provide ongoing training for crews and operators. WB: Aerial filming with manned aircraft presents unique challenges, from navigating congested airspace and flying low level through complex terrain to keeping up with ever-changing aviation regulations. Use of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft requires detailed permits, enhanced low-level approvals and close coordination with aviation authorities – all within the notoriously tight timelines of film production. We tackle this with a dedicated operations team led by Abi Hensby, ensuring seamless compliance while maximising creative flexibility. Directors and DOPs can dream big knowing our team is hard at work securing the necessary permissions without delays or last-minute restrictions. Many underestimate the importance of adherence to aviation regulations, but it’s the backbone of delivering our services to productions across the world. EB: We believe in staying ahead of the curve, listening to what our clients want and being nimble and solution-finding. This means we’re continually reinvesting time and money into development, and have established a phenomenal in-house team with the skill set to design and manufacture. In doing so, we adapt quickly to clients’ needs and maintain our 36-strong fleet of heavy-lift, super- heavy-lift, FPV and Inspire 3 drones. Regulations become increasingly challenging as they evolve, both in

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