Daredevil: Born Again cinematographer Hillary Fyfe Spera delves into the dichotomies of the series
B eginning several years after the events of the original Daredevil series (2015-2018), Disney+’s Daredevil: Born Again sees blind lawyer Matt Murdock hanging up his vigilante mask to fight for justice as a lawyer, facing off against crime boss Wilson Fisk. For lead cinematographer Hillary Fyfe Spera, two of the show’s most compelling shots happen in the final sequence of the pilot episode. “We have a juxtaposition of Murdock moving through a crowd and stopping as red light pulses on his face, intercut with Fisk standing on the balcony of the building in a pulsing white light. The two images are parallel to one another, showing both characters wrestling with their respective alternate identities of Daredevil and Kingpin,” she explains. At this point in the story, both characters are attempting to ‘go straight’ and suppress their dark sides. Murdock has vowed to leave Daredevil behind after losing his best friend, Foggy Nelson, while Fisk has just been elected mayor of New York City. “And yet, the reality of their other selves is always with them,” teases Spera. The creative vision was to set up two scenarios representing the characters and story arcs of Fisk and Murdock as WORDS NICOLA FOLEY IMAGES MARVEL
they start to re-engage with their alter egos. “Both men are walking towards edges, alone – one on a balcony that overlooks the city and the other at the edge of a street looking out through the crowd – each finding themselves there.” Fisk’s scene was shot on the balcony of a Manhattan hotel penthouse using a jib from more than 40 storeys below, while Murdock’s was captured at street level with a 50ft Technocrane, moving through a crowd – all shot on location in New York. “Shooting in NYC is always an interesting challenge for logistics and access – and being privy to the elements – but both went extremely smoothly, all thanks to our incredible and dedicated crew,” remembers Spera. The team used ARRI ALEXA 35 cameras paired with Panavision G Series anamorphic primes, choosing a Libra head for the crane, and lighting played a key role in determining the look. Fisk’s frame is bathed in hard white light in a deliberate nod to Frank Miller’s iconic comic imagery: sharp contrast, stark angles and that unmistakable white suit. “Fisk steps into the klieg lights like he’s claiming the city,” Spera affirms. “Even though he’s mayor now, the Kingpin is always there, pulsing under the surface.”
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