THE CONFESS ION TAPES | SHOOT STORY
LEFT Some of the source material for episode 4, which presents the case of Karen Boes, convicted of murdering her daughter. FAR LEFT & BELOW Filming interviews with those involved in the original trials found DOP Meena Singh dealing with challenging lighting.
and reporters, to ex-jurors, witnesses and, perhaps most chillingly, the convicted, usually speaking from jail many decades after the trial – all the convicts still claim their innocence. One story features someone who took a plea deal for time served, so even though he’s speaking from his home, confessing his wrongful conviction and disgust at the US legal system, you could say he was still in his own type of prison. Part of the reconstruction is footage of visits to the murder scenes mixed with newsreel from the time. To construct this type of subject matter into a slick, gripping documentary isn’t easy. You’re relying on a huge amount of research which hopefully unveils some original material whether it’s photography, video or, of course, some kind of confessional aspect. Kelly Loudenberg is the creator, director and executive producer of the series. She spent at least a year researching the subject of false confessions and turned up the six subjects of the seven-episode Netflix programme (episodes one and two cover just one case). She brought in Meena Singh, a DOP who shoots across
DOP Meena Singh chose to work with the Canon EOS C300 Mark II to meet Netflix’s requirement for 4K footage. It also fulfilled her need for an adaptable camera that she could operate in confined spaces, without intimidating the interviewees. SHOOTING 4K FOR NETFLIX
the disciplines. Not just a documentary specialist, Meena had worked with Kelly before. “The two different kinds of filming, documentaries and features, fulfil me in different ways,” she tells us. “I love shooting a movie because you have all this time to prepare and decide what the aesthetic of the film is going to be and how you’re going to tell the story. When I go in to filming a documentary it’s kind of rolling into it without any prep, you’re just finding the story as you’re filming.” DARKNESS MY OLD FRIEND Having said there is a little prep for this kind of documentary, the preparation is really detailing the case as much as you can and then deciding what shots you need. “First I start by reading the case document that the producers have all put together,” says Meena. “I basically familiarise myself with the case. There are so many details;
Powered by FlippingBook