One DP recently earned his third Film Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Cinematography–the latest coming for his lensing of All Is Lost starring Robert Redford.
Another cinematographer shot the acclaimed Frances Ha, which was nominated for Best Feature at this year’s Spirit Awards.
And a third has taken over season two of Netflix’s lauded House of Cards.
Here’s a look at cinematographers Frankie DeMarco, Sam Levy and Igor Martinovic.
Frankie DeMarco
Director J.C. Chandor’s All Is Lost earned Frankie De Marco his third Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Cinematography. The first came in 1998 for director Larry Fesenden’s Habit, followed by a nomination in 2002 for Hedwig & The Angry Inch directed by John Cameron Mitchell.
All Is Lost features a tour de force performance by Robert Redford as a man at sea. He sails the Indian Ocean alone and suddenly finds himself in desperate survival mode when his boat becomes damaged and heads into a violent storm. On display are his ingenuity and resilience as well as his inner spirit as he faces the prospects of his own mortality. With limited spoken words, Redford’s acting chops are on display. He was lauded for his performance when All Is Lost made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival back in May 2013.
With music composed by Alex Ebert and an audio team that created ambitious sound design, a key driving force in the story, All Is Lost is hardly a silent film. Yet silent film sensibilities figured prominently in DP DeMarco’s approach to the film. “You’re shooting a guy on a boat alone with absolute minimal, if no dialogue,” related DeMarco. “He reads a letter over a title sequence and cusses once, I think. For me, it was like shooting a silent film, getting to use the camera and this excellent actor to convey what’s in his mind so that the audience can think what he’s thinking. I’ve watched silent films my whole life. I’m a big fan of Chaplin, Arbuckle, Lloyd. I’m pretty familiar with this mode of silent filmmaking.”
Also helpful to DeMarco on All Is Lost was his experience shooting commercials. “Some of the best commercials are actions, looks, thoughts–not necessarily words. There’s an economy of words in 30 seconds so it’s a great discipline for conveying a lot that’s unspoken. It was great schooling for working with J.C. on All Is Lost.”
DeMarco deployed the ARRI Alexa on All Is Lost. He worked with underwater specialist DP Peter Zuccarini who created underwater housings for the Alexa and lensed select shots. “ARRIFLEX has been making cameras for camera people for almost a century now,” said DeMarco. “They listen to you, hear your needs. Ideally I wanted to shoot film outside and Alexa inside but we had to go digital primarily so we could keep the camera running for a lengthy period of time. Alexa was the best digital choice for what we had to do.”
Most of All Is Lost was shot on the ocean. There was also lensing at Baja Studios in Rosarita, Mexico, a water tank stage complex built by Fox for Titanic.
All Is Lost is Chandor’s second feature film; the first being Margin Call which was also shot by DeMarco.
The two movies are distinctly different. Margin Call featured an ensemble cast (Kevin Spacey, Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, Paul Bettany, Jeremy Irons, Penn Badgley, Simon Baker, Demi Moore) and smart dialogue as part of an Oscar-nominated screenplay (written by Chandor). By sharp contrast, All Is Lost has a cast of one–Robert Redford–and dialogue is virtually non-existent.
Margin Call–which won Best First Feature and the Robert Altman Award at the 2012 Spirit Awards–marked the first collaboration between Chandor and DeMarco. “We met through the kindness of others who recommended me to J.C.,” recalled DeMarco. “I think J.C. liked Hedwig & The Angry Inch, we met and he offered me the job. But the money fell through so nothing happened at first. Suddenly, some funding came in and I got a call from him asking me what my schedule looked like starting at lunch time that same day. We originally had 10 days of prep and 17 days of shooting–then we had some reshoot days when more money came in. I refer to Margin Call as my ‘jazz session’ in filmmaking. It’s like you drive downtown, stop at the Village Vanguard and start jamming. That’s how we shot–with very little prep.”
Clearly, Chandor and DeMarco established a productive rapport as evidenced by their again teaming on All Is Lost, a feature which meant something extra special to the DP. “I got to work with Robert Redford who’s an icon and I had the chance to tell him that without Sundance I might still be trying to get into the feature film business,” said DeMarco.
Back in 1999, Michelle Satter, founding director of the Sundance Institute’s Feature Film Program, asked DeMarco if he wanted to get involved in the Sundance Lab. “We talked for a half hour on the phone,” recollected DeMarco. “I was walking down 6th Avenue in Manhattan and she was chatting with me, getting an idea of who I was so she could pair me up with a director at the Lab. She decided I would get along with John Cameron Mitchell. She’s quite a matchmaker.”
This translated into DeMarco shooting Hedwig & The Angry Inch, which wound up winning the Audience Award and Best Director honors at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. Then in 2002, Hedwig earned multiple nominations at the Independent Spirit Awards, including for Best Feature as well as Cinematography. Years later, DeMarco shot the Mitchell-directed Rabbit Hole which was an official section for the 2010 Toronto Film Festival and earned Nicole Kidman a Best Lead Actress Oscar nomination in 2011. The relationship with Mitchell also extends to short form. DeMarco, who’s active in commercials, recently lensed a Revlon campaign directed by Mitchell and featuring actresses Emma Stone, Halle Berry and Olivia Wilde.
DeMarco’s spot filmography spans such brands over the years as Lady Dior (featuring Marion Cotillard), Rimmel Cosmetics (featuring Kate Moss), Time Warner, Comcast, Virginia Lottery and Comedy Central.
DeMarco’s penchant for the ad biz also extends to his TV work which includes a pair of episodes in season one of Mad Men, including an installment directed by Lesli Linka Glatter. The DP said that his Mad Men gig was a great experience, particularly getting to work with such stellar actors as Jon Hamm, John Slattery and Elizabeth Moss.
Additionally, DeMarco has lensed assorted music videos for such artists as One Night Only, Bright Eyes and Scissor Sisters.
DeMarco quipped that he has a penchant for directors with the initials J.C.–not only J.C. Chandor and John Cameron Mitchell but also Jay Chandrasekhar (for whom the DP shot Beerfest and The Babymakers). The cinematographer’s other credits include a pair of 2009 Sundance Film Festival selections: Peter And Vandy, directed by Jay DiPietro, and Winning Season which was helmed by (yet another J.C.) James C. Strouse.
Sam Levy
The first breakthrough feature for cinematographer Sam Levy was the Kelly Reichardt-directed Wendy And Lucy, which was nominated for Best Picture at the 2008 Independent Spirit Awards. Fast forward to today and Levy recently saw Frances Ha–which he shot for director Noam Baumbach–nominated for the same Spirit honor.
Greta Gerwig, who co-wrote Frances Ha with Baumbach, stars in the title role as a 27-year-old apprentice dancer trying to get her life together, a life which is in a state of constant flux geographically and otherwise. Yet she perseveres, proving to be enduring and somehow endearing in the process. The film premiered at the Telluride Film Festival in 2012, followed by a screening at the Toronto Film Fest. Frances Ha got a wide theatrical release in May 2013, receiving assorted plaudits.
“From the outset,” shared Levy, “Noah wanted to shoot this film in black and white while keeping the group small behind and in front of the camera. Everyone believed in the story, particularly in the character of Frances. We all had a love for the idea and the approach.”
Levy said he found “taking reality and translating it into black and white as being an amazing experience. Even though we photographed the movie digitally and you can sort of preview what you’re getting, you still had to hang onto the belief in the transformative alchemy of black and white. It was like going on an exotic trip and not knowing what would happen in a given moment. We ended up both surprised and fulfilled.”
Levy and Baumbach sifted through various lensing options–shooting 35mm film, 16mm film, perhaps going with the Alexa camera. But ultimately both the director and DP leaned on their experiences shooting with the Canon 5D. “We shot some tests with the 5D and were pleased with the results,” related Levy. “We were patient and deliberated carefully over what the 5D could contribute and what it might take away from the process. The final decision was to go with the 5D. We photographed in color to hold a wider dynamic range in the imagery, then processed it for black and white in post during the color grade. Representing a reality in silvery black and white enhanced the storytelling.”
Frances Ha was Levy’s first collaboration with Baumbach. They have since worked together a second time, on the feature While We’re Young for which principal photography was wrapped last November. At press time, Baumbach was working on the edit.
Levy values his collaborative relationship with Baumbach. “There’s an ease in working with Noah that I enjoyed and continue to enjoy,” said Levy. “He makes for a wonderful creative process–fulfilling, transformative and fun.”
Levy was recommended to Baumbach by legendary cinematographer Harris Savides, ASC who shot several films for the director (Margot at the Wedding, Greenberg). Not too long after Levy was into principal photography on Frances Ha, Harris Savides passed away. Levy described Savides as a beloved mentor who proved pivotal in his career.
Levy began as an intern at commercial production house Epoch Films. He later became a camera assistant and met Savides working on spots. Levy went on to serve as Savides’ Photoshop tech and an apprentice on The Yards, a movie directed by James Gray. “I watched a master at work,” Levy said of Savides. I learned from him, particularly about color grading working on The Yards. Being in the presence of one of the greatest cinematographers ever was inspiring. He had a big and generous personality, was a brilliant alchemist. He could create wonder out of seemingly nothing with a great lightness and ease. Harris had a complete mastery of the technical side of cinematography which he could then discard and go on to take risks, finding pockets in which he could create transcendent work.”
Seeing Savides work first hand prompted Levy to go all out for a career as a cinematographer. After The Yards, Levy shot three spec commercials. “I showed them to anyone who would watch,” he recalled. And eventually they led to opportunities, initially in the music video arena during a time when clips were prominent on TV and represented fertile creative ground for talent. Levy wound up shooting videos for such performers as Beck, Garbage, White Stripes, Sonic Youth, and They Might Be Giants.
Levy then diversified into spots, made his first major feature splash with Wendy and Lucy, and shot a breakthrough piece of branded content–the Oasis Dig Out Your Soul In The Streets mini-documentary, part of a guerilla marketing campaign from BBH New York that earned major accolades on the industry awards show circuit (a GRANDY at the International ANDY Award, an AICP Next Integrated Campaign honor). Directed by The Malloys (Brendan and Emmett) via HSI Productions, the documentary captured New York street musicians and vocalists who were entrusted with songs from Oasis’ then-yet-to-be released album from Warner Bros. Records. The street artists interpreted the songs and performed them one day in different venues scattered throughout New York City–the first public exposure for the Oasis tunes, helping to generate a grass-roots buzz for the new CD while also promoting tourism for New York and BBH client NYC & Co. The film–globally distributed through MySpace–was part of an extensive viral/PR-driven campaign spanning Oasis fan sites, the NYC website and consumer media outlets.
Further adding to Levy’s body of work were the Galt Niederhoffer-directed indie feature The Romantics (which debuted at the 2010 Sundance Festival) and seasons 1-3 of the Sundance Channel TV series Green Porno directed by Isabella Rossellini. That opportunity evolved from his earlier shooting of Sundance Channel promos. “I got to meet Isabella as a result. She was commissioned by Robert Redford to do a series of films. I hit it off with her. She is a wonderful person to work with.”
Levy continues to be active in commercials. After wrapping Frances Ha, he connected with director Stacy Wall of production house Imperial Woodpecker. Their latest collaboration, a Hotels.com spot titled “Captain Obvious” for Crispin Porter+Bogusky, aired during this month’s Academy Awards telecast on ABC.
Igor Martinovic
Dabbling in directing so that he could be a better cinematographer, Igor Martinovic made his foray into helming with an adidas spec spot, “Dream,” which helped earn him a slot in SHOOT’s 2011 New Directors Showcase. “It was good to see, to experience what it is to direct,” he said. “It helped me to better understand what directors face. But my focus has always been on cinematography.”
That focus has translated into Martinovic’s latest career coup, being chosen by executive producer/director David Fincher to serve as cinematographer on the recently released season two of Netflix’s House of Cards. There was a lot to live up to as Eigil Bryld won the primetime Emmy Award last year in the category Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series on the strength of House of Cards, “Chapter 1.”
But Fincher made it easier for Martinovic to step in and put his imprint on the series. “David told me simply, ‘Take it. Own it. It’s yours,’ recalled Martinovic. “He gave me space to do whatever was needed for season two. That was the beauty of the project. Also there was no interference from Netflix or any executives, not a single call about the look for this season. Directors were given absolute freedom as well. All this is unusual in the television landscape. We all felt blessed being able to do what we felt was right. Netflix was very smart. They employ creative people and they give them the freedom to do what they do best. They trust them to come up with something worthwhile.”
Martinovic observed that the cinematography for season one of House of Cards was “already pretty well established in terms of framing, camera movement and approach. This was orchestrated by David. For the second season, we decided to change the lighting. The first season ended on more of a film noir-ish style with a crime element. That made it feel appropriate to go with a darker look this season–shadows, silhouettes and so on. The overall challenge, though, remained the same–to successfully go with a feature film approach on a television schedule. We took on the show like it was a long feature film.”
The Red Epic was the camera of choice for House of Cards, stemming in part from Fincher’s positive experience with it on varied projects. Martinovic liked what the Red Epic offered, yet added that ultimately, “It’s not about the camera. It’s about defining the look.”
And Martinovic got valuable feedback on that look from Fincher who didn’t direct an episode in season two but as exec producer “watched every frame and was very hands-on,” according to the DP. “He would comment on every take on the dailies which made it very interesting for me to get his perspective. All the dailies were posted for him to see. David would watch and comment on everything, not just the cinematography. He’d address all aspects of filmmaking. It was great to see his takes on things.”
Martinovic is originally from Croatia and went to film school there. He came to the U.S. and broke in as a documentary shooter in the 1990s, the most notable film being director James Marsh’s Man On Wire, winner of the Best Feature Documentary Oscar in 2009. Martinovic and Sean Kirby were DPs on The Tillman Story, director Amir Bar-Lev’s film which won a News and Documentary Emmy Award for Outstanding Informational Long-Form Programming.
Martinovic has additionally showed his mettle on the narrative feature filmmaking front, lensing among other movies director Christopher Zalla’s Sangra de mi sangra (originally Padre Nuestro) which won a Dramatic Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival and garnered nominations for Zalla at the Film Independent Spirit Awards for Best First Feature and Best Screenplay.
Commercials also figure in the mix for Martinovic. “Any script that speaks to me or my experience, the way I see the world, captures my interest–it doesn’t matter if it’s a feature, a TV show, a commercial, a short. It all comes down to if it’s something I can relate to. If it is, I want to shoot it and do full justice to the story.”
