PRODUCTION SOCIETY OF THE SNOW
THAT SEVENTIES LOOK The finished product has a patina of grain, lending a retro feel
But at the same time, there would be a second unit that was doing stunts and they’d need two or three cameras, and we ourselves would need a couple of cameras for whatever we were doing, so we used them all.” They also used Botlink’s Octocopter drone – which struggled in the altitude but ultimately delivered – breaking a record for flying a drone in the Andes in the process. On the lighting front, Luque says he was on a mission to find the harshest lights he could. “I wanted the shadows as sharp as possible; when you are in the mountains, there’s less oxygen – less air between you and space – and the light is harder. You don’t get dust in the atmosphere that diffuses the light. We tested several solutions but opted for LED fresnels for the effect we wanted.” For the interior shots of the cramped fuselage, Luque felt a more realistic look was achieved by lighting through the windows. “It ended up being a matter of how to block an actor so he got a nice bit of backlight or chiaroscuro – we tested an LED roof but it looked super fake. The
IT WAS A BIG LEAP OF FAITH FOR ME, BUT I’m so proud of it ”
on the festival circuit and earned itself Spain’s nomination for best international feature film at the upcoming Academy Awards. Luque feels his biggest achievement has been communicating the story so authentically and capturing the emotions of the actors on screen. “It was a big leap of faith for me, but I’m so proud of it – especially the ending. “I’m so proud of the crew, too. They put so much of themselves into the work. We did a screening for all of the survivors and their families. In their words, they said they all finally understood what happened. It was healing for them.” Society of the Snow is available to stream on Netflix from 4 January
same thing happened outside on the mountains; we brought out lighting and some little inserts and stuff, but in general, it was about not touching it. “It was about finding a good angle,” he continues. “Adding some negative fill here and there to get contrast. The cinematography had to be imperfect to make it feel more real. I understand we must have a certain standard, but when I see something too perfect, I disconnect from a story. Audiences feel the same.”
A HEALING JOURNEY The meticulous work paid off, resulting in a stunning film that’s already wowed
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