Definition December 2021 - Web

PRODUC T I ON . NIGHT TEETH

N ight Teeth is the third project for the British duo of DOP Eben Bolter and director Adam Randall, following Level Up (2016) and iBoy (2017). Bolter describes this as the third iteration of fish-out-of-water stories, for which they’ve cultivated a strong visual style. The film chronicles a single night for our hero Benny (Jorge Lendeborg Jr), as he covers for his chauffeur brother. After picking up clients, Blaire (Debby Ryan) and Zoe (Lucy Fry), he quickly becomes embroiled in a high-octane, vampiric

turf-war enveloping the length and breadth of Los Angeles. We follow college student Benny, as he carts the undead henchwomen from party to party, and witnesses more action and violence than he’s seen in his short life. The team’s approach to Night Teeth is rooted in a deep love and understanding for cinema – references are numerous – which left room for experimentation on- set. Bolter explains that the director’s high standards and creativity kept him on top of his game during production. The aim was to elevate the narrative with striking visuals, always avoiding the boring or obvious. This often meant taking a seemingly unusual route through the challenges they encountered. Bolter – a dedicated fan of Arri cameras – opted to shoot with the Alexa Mini LF, after deciding the Alexa 65 was too cumbersome for the job. This way, they could opt for large format, while also being able to perform agile camera work. “I’ve always shot Alexa, basically, for pretty much the past ten years. It has the best dynamic range and colour reproduction, and is the most cinematic digital camera. If I can’t shoot film, I’m going to shoot Alexa, full stop.” To achieve an overtly photographic look throughout the movie – and a style that references his inspirations as a DOP – using anamorphic lenses was a

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