THE CREATOR PRODUCTION
I n the realm of speculative fiction, envisioning a future marked by conflict between humans and AI was an inevitable narrative, echoing contemporary concerns and aspirations tied to the technology’s growing influence and societal impact. Enter The Creator, the latest film from British director Gareth Edwards – and arguably the most eagerly awaited sci-fi film of the year. Starring John David Washington and Gemma Chan, it’s about a former special forces agent hunting down an AI-powered weapon to save humanity in a war-ravaged future. While Edwards is best known for directing Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and 2014’s Godzilla, he first gained acclaim with Monsters in 2010, where he wore multiple hats as writer, director, cinematographer and VFX artist.
The making of The Creator broke traditional norms by incorporating two cinematographers: Academy Award- winning Greig Fraser ( Dune ) and the prolific Oren Soffer, whose rich CV boasts works like Allswell and Fixation. Furthermore, the director’s dual role as both the creative vision behind the film and the camera operator added a distinctive and innovative dimension to the filmmaking process. “It was a very collaborative, and a very unique working practice for me,” Soffer explains. “We had two cinematographers: myself on set, and Grieg working remotely from London, plus a director who also operated the camera. Gareth was planning to operate the camera on this film – the same way he did on Monsters and parts of Rogue One. He and Grieg tested a bunch of different cameras, looking for the right combination of the image quality that we needed to support all the planned VFX but also giving Gareth a small, compact and lightweight camera that could be paired with a gimbal – in this case we used a DJI RS 2. Gareth likes to shoot extended takes, sometimes 30-40 minutes with the actors just exploring or reacting, being spontaneous and creating this playful environment where you can shoot 360° and move freely.” The film was shot on the Sony FX3 and 98% of it was captured on a
THREAT
HYBRID ROLE Gareth Edwards’ unique director-cum-camera-operator position required a novel approach to photography
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