NIGHT TEETH PRODUC T I ON .
more stunning than the rest of the club. At first, Bolter sought to create a ceiling made purely of his beloved LED screens, but this quickly proved unviable. Not to be defeated, he chose a different route. “We ended up using two rear projection screens side by side, which made a 40x20ft ceiling that was like two cinema screens. Then, we had two projectors behind, and I essentially lit the room with just that.” But it wasn’t enough to create a flurry of floral above the cast, he continues. “We made the walls of the room a reflective material, and made sure the floor was almost like a mirror, as reflective as possible, so that every surface is undulating and moving.” This, again, is rooted in what one might find in a real VIP room, but the dancing colours have an ostensible dreamlike quality. It really gives the viewer the sense that Benny’s
neon sign outside. When inside, the DOP required creative ways to transform the space and, as stated, find environmental reasons for unnatural lights. “I didn’t want to use club lights only – I knew we needed something else to elevate it,” Bolter explains. “I love lighting with screens, and we decided that the club would have a kaleidoscopic flower theme. So, we basically made these screensavers that were moving flowers, and fundamentally all blue and purple. Suddenly, that’s a massive light source of those two central tones – and it’s all moving around.” The shoot had foundational goals – to push the boundaries of what could be done, and be bold and brave with light. One such opportunity presented itself when the crew needed to one-up themselves, and make the VIP room even
STEERING A COURSE With so much of the film set inside a car, Bolter and his team had to get creative to make the framing interesting – using reflections proved useful
concept of reality is being tested over the course of the night. DRIVING SUCCESS Due to the nature of the narrative, a daunting 30% of the script takes place in a car. Constraints such as these can often be a frustrating and debilitating challenge for DOPs. It limits options for camera angles, and restricts opportunities for dynamic, interesting visuals. Bolter and the team tried to liberate themselves from these limitations, elevate the narrative and, of course, have fun. “We broke it down into scenes we felt had to be done on location – so we could be outside of the car, using the world and the reflections,” he explains. “For scenes where we could be in the car, it would be more about interesting angles. We actually shot four days in LA, but on a sound stage using LED screens.” The irony is not lost on Bolter – spending time in LA, shooting a film set in LA, but tucked away in NLAB (Netflix’s own sound stage), rather than using its beautiful locations. “We ended up using two rear projection screens side by side, which made a 40x20ft ceiling”
DREAMING IN COLOUR A psychedelic palette begins to gain prominence, as Benny’s sense of reality is thrown into question
27. DECEMBER 2021
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