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VERA FEATURE
“ Vera has a long history with Provision in Leeds so it was always going to be the camera provider for the series and was very supportive on this. I’m a big fan of the ALEXA Mini, its compact size is useful but the main reason I chose it over the full size ALEXA is simply the internal ND filters, which are a big time save on set. I chose the Master Primes and Fujinon zooms just because it’s a combination of lenses I wouldn’t normally use and I wanted to step outside my comfort zone a little bit and try something a bit different for me. I thought they’d make a good combination with the style of light and filtration I was planning on using and I was very pleased with the end result.”
or set on an existing show and bring something of your own tastes to it without deviating too far from the previous seasons,” admits Stephen. “You walk in the footsteps of all the great DOPs who have shot that set before you! For the well-established police station at the core of the narrative I kept my ‘Scandi-Noir’ approach in mind and again kept most of the lighting package off the set; large sources outside, letting the light fall off naturally inside. This time I reserved the use of practicals for night scenes only, keeping them switched off during the day, which helped me keep the day scenes moodier too, and gave me an excuse to have a very different look for the night interiors.
larger lamps outside the windows. By working in this ‘light the room, not the shot’ way then it frees up the floor a little bit too which helps the cast and helps us work a little quicker too. “Because I use large soft sources a lot I’ve come to rely heavily on the DOP Choice series of eggcrates and snapgrids to help me efficiently control any spill. They’re an essential part of how I work now.” FINDING YOUR VERA Vera is also known as a proving ground for the brightest cinematography talent but the task is to always find a way of making it your own. “It’s always a challenge trying to shoot a well-established location
ABOVE The abbatoir was one of the challenging locations Stephen had to deal with.
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JULY 2018 DEFINITION
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