PRODUCTION I LOVE BOOSTERS
SPEAK YOUR MIND Keke Palmer (pictured) stars as Corvette, a shoplifter and member of the Velvet Gang, a reflection of Boots Riley’s (below right) political ethos
“I’m always attracted to directors who are bold, brave and have a strong visual identity,” begins Braier. “I’m already kind of edgy and experimental, but I like people who push me even further out of my comfort zone. It’s also important that the content of what we’re telling aligns with my values, so finding somebody like Boots I was jumping up and down with happiness when I read the script.” KEEPING IT REAL Braier has shot her fair share of music videos, and she’s no stranger to visual maximalism. “Music videos allow you to experiment with new techniques without being tied to a story,” she says, seeing them ‘more like poetry’ than films, which might be beholden to a plot. With I Love Boosters , “even though it’s a visual feast, everything is rooted and grounded in the emotions, characters and ideas in each scene. If you don’t engage emotionally, then you don’t engage with the ideas.” The film takes a stab at late-stage capitalism and overconsumption, as well as surveillance, propaganda and labour strikes. The Velvet Gang – Corvette, Mariah and Sade – team up with Metro Designers factory worker Jianhu and retail employee Violeta to take down the unethical fashion empire. “For me, the big challenge was to materialise this through cinematography that is visually stunning but rooted in emotion,” shares Braier. The film is simply bursting with colour, from hair and makeup to the costumes
Riley and Braier worked to find a look that would mimic analogue stock as closely as possible. “I usually go to anamorphic lenses as the first layer of treatment because they’re softer and have the fall-off,” she says. “But a lot of what we wanted is hard to find on anamorphic lenses, like very close focus. This is tricky, especially on old glass.” Braier tapped Panavision’s resident lens guru, senior vice president of optical engineering Dan Sasaki, who created a special set of anamorphic lenses specifically for I Love Boosters . “I started to build, along with Dan, all the qualities I wanted to have. I wanted softness in the skin, the close focus. I wanted to be able to shoot wide open because
and production design. Sometimes they coordinate and sometimes they contrast, but vibrant hues are always at the fore. Braier says ‘everything had to be heightened’ to reflect Corvette’s internal state, while maintaining a sense of reality. “In some scenes, the set or costume design defies reality. My job was to keep it all grounded. I didn’t want to lose the audience; it still has to be real for them.” Braier used LED lighting for its flexibility, as they often shot multiple scenes in one day and hardly had time to prepare. “I had to adapt,” she admits, which is often the case with indie films. “I had to work with what was in front of the camera.” As they couldn’t afford to shoot on film (instead opting for an ARRI ALEXA 35),
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