One cinematographer recently made history when her work was honored by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts.
Another DP’s historic accomplishment still stands as she is currently the only woman to be a member of both the American Society of Cinematographers and the British Society of Cinematographers.
And our third lenser is an Oscar and ASC Award winner whose latest feature release marks his first collaboration with director J.D. Dillard. Meanwhile this DP continues to enjoy an ongoing collaborative relationship with David Fincher and recently teamed on a feature with Michael Mann.
Here are insights from Mandy Walker, ASC, ACS on Elvis (Warner Bros. Pictures), Polly Morgan, ASC, BSC on The Woman King (Sony’s TriStar Productions), and Erik Messerschmidt, ASC on Devotion (Sony Pictures Entertainment, Black Label Media) . Additionally, some light is shed on another of Morgan’s recent lensing endeavors, Where the Crawdads Sing (Sony Pictures).
Mandy Walker, ASC, ACS
Last month Walker became the first woman to win the Best Cinematography feature film honor from the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA). The award came for her lensing of Elvis, a biographical and musical story which earlier garnered Walker the Camerimage Audience Award. Additionally she and director Baz Luhrmann received a Golden Frog nomination at Camerimage on the strength of Elvis.
Walker enjoys a deep collaborative bond with Luhrmann which spans some 20 years, their first project having been a Chanel No. 5 commercial. That led to Luhrmann and Walker teaming on the sprawling epic feature Australia, followed by another Chanel No 5 spot, and then Elvis.
While covering Elvis Presley’s life from cradle to grave, the film–which features a transcendent performance by Austin Butler in the title role from age 17 on–is hardly a conventional biopic. Luhrmann navigates a journey that unfolds in a sweeping, evocative fashion, diving into the contradictions, myths, truths, memories and headlines of Presley’s life. Tom Hanks portrays Colonel Tom Parker, who managed and promoted Presley’s career but not necessarily with the entertainer’s best interests at heart. The film’s story is actually first framed from the perspective of Parker who is dying in a hospital room overlooking the Las Vegas strip. He looks back on Presley, who died a couple of decades earlier. Through Parker and other providers of context, we get to go on a ride through Presley’s life and career, marked by a sense of excitement and extravaganza for which Luhrmann is known as a storyteller.
“Overall one of the things that Baz said to me super early on was that the camera has to ‘dance’ with Elvis,” related Walker who in turn got her team to become familiar with Presley’s songs. “When Austin was doing his rehearsals, we would be there learning the choreography, finding our camera positions. My cameras would know what he was doing and Austin knew where our cameras were gong to be.”
It’s this involvement from the get-go that characterizes the nature of Walker’s collaborations with Luhrmann. The director brings her into the process very early on. In fact, Walker recalled being present for Butler’s first audition some six months before pre-pro began. She also conducted some test shooting, being in on the ground floor of costumes, fabrics, textures, colors, art department proceedings, and the coming together of sets spanning different eras in the movie. She got to spend time discovering what each scene of the movie should look like, dovetailing with Butler, and of course conducting detailed research into the historical periods and locations.
Classic concerts were re-created including the “comeback” event which was an NBC special in 1968. “Baz wanted to reproduce those concerts exactly–the lighting, the shots,” said Walker who noted that the drama of the film also had to be integrated with those concerts. During a concert, for example, she recalled a scene where Parker was in the audience writing a contract that will tie down Presley for the next five years. The meshing of drama with a dynamic, authentic concert feel was a prime objective laid out by Luhrmann.
Initially there was some discussion about shooting Elvis on film but Walker said the ultimate decision was that would be too restrictive. Walker opted for the ARRI Alexa 65, drawn to the large format and the scope and depth it afforded her. The first half of the film, covering the 1950s into the ‘60s, was shot spherical with Panavision Sphero 65 lenses deployed. As the story got deeper into the ‘60s and Vegas, Walker shot anamorphic, going for T-Series lenses which Walker worked with Panavision tech guru Dan Sasaki to adapt. For the ‘68 NBC special, an Alexa 65 was placed within the housing of an old television camera so the proper angle and perspective could be replicated from the original TV shoot.
Walker said it was a pleasure to lens Butler in concert and in dialogue scenes. “He was amazing. You felt like you were working with a star. I enjoyed being caught up in the music. The music was a big influence on the photography. The camera dances with the performance.”
Asked to reflect on what it means for her to be the first woman whose cinematography was honored by the AACTA, Walker shared, “Elvis was my 20th feature film. I’ve been shooting for a long time. The award makes people aware that this was the first time a woman won the award. A lot of people came up to me and said they weren’t really aware that no woman had been recognized in this way. Now I’m hoping that it opens doors for other women, enabling them to be seen and making more people aware of their work. I’ve always strived to get more women into my field–mentees, trainees. I’m conscious of the makeup of my crew which I try to make as diverse as I can. Winning this award hopefully shines a light on the fact that women are here and we’re forging ahead.”
The AACTA honor adds to Walker’s awards pedigree. For the John Curran-directed Tracks, Walker won an Australian Cinematographers Society’s Gold Award and a Film Critics Circle of Australia Award while also earning a Best Cinematography nomination for an Australian Film Institute Award. For director Luhrmann’s Australia, Walker won a Satellite Award, the Hollywood Cinematographer of the Year Award, and the Women in Film, Kodak Vision Award in 2008. Earlier in her career, Walker garnered a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Cinematography on the strength of director Billy Ray’s Shattered Glass (2003). Walker also garnered an Australian Cinematographers Society Award for director Ray Lawrence’s Lantana (2002). Prior to that, her lensing of director Kathryn Millard’s Parklands (1996) won the Best Cinematography in a Non-Feature Film honor from the Australian Film Institute.
Walker’s filmography also includes Hidden Figures directed by Theodore Melfi, Mulan helmed by Niki Caro, and Truth from director James Vanderbilt.
As for what’s next, Walker at press time had wrapped lensing of Disney’s live-action Snow White directed by Marc Webb.
Polly Morgan, ASC, BSC
Morgan is another history-making cinematographer. She is currently the only female member of both the American Society of Cinematographers and the British Society of Cinematographers. “I hope that will change soon,” she shared, noting that as an ASC member she has the opportunity to sponsor other members and she is keenly aware of some incredible British female cinematographers. Morgan works with the ASC diversity committee to help bring deserving talent from underrepresented backgrounds, such as women and people of color, into the Society fold. When she joined the ASC rank and file in 2018, Morgan was the Society’s youngest member. Two years later she garnered an ASC Award nomination in the category of Best Cinematography in Television for her work on Legion.
Morgan now finds herself again in the awards discussion for her lensing of The Woman King for director Gina Prince-Bythewood. The historical epic centers on a group of women warriors responsible for protecting the kingdom of Dahomey in 19th century West Africa. The Woman King chronicles the real-life adventures of General Nanisca (portrayed by Viola Davis) who trains her fellow fighters to go up against invading slave traders.
This marked Morgan’s first collaboration with Prince-Bythewood, a filmmaker she’s long admired. That admiration only grew when she got the chance to work with the director. “She brings artists together in a very family-type environment, collaborating and working together as a team,” said Morgan of Prince-Bythewood. “She gives people a lot of freedom to do their jobs and trusts them. At the same time she clearly defines what’s ultimately a strong central message so that we all understand what she is trying to communicate through her work.”
Morgan was drawn to the script, which was sent to her while she was on location in Louisiana for Where the Crawdads Sing. Morgan recalled being moved by The Woman King script, its scope, and the beautifully written relationships among the women characters. The story touched Morgan on varied levels.
Upon deciding that a digital camera would be the way to go, Morgan ultimately selected the ARRI Alexa Mini LF. The camera’s small lightweight body gave her a measure of flexibility and maneuverability which she greatly valued. Morgan added that they needed a camera system very pleasing in its color gamut, offering a naturalistic palette. Morgan said she veers towards ARRI Alexa cameras for that, citing a vast gamma curve and a dynamic range conducive to capturing the subtleties of different ranges of shadows and highlights. The large format version of the camera helped do justice to the scope of Africa.
That scope is far reaching and the director sought an “intimately epic” feel to reflect that. The West African nation is rich, lush, full of color and beauty.
Also essential was showing the beauty of the women protagonists–a beauty stemming from their vulnerability and a physical appearance highlighted by gorgeous black skin.
Morgan affirmed that The Woman King was “a very special experience for me. As a white woman, I was drawn into this very unique part of Black history, brought into a family of Black filmmakers. I was honored to be invited to tell this story with them and to share this part of history with the world. For all who were involved, there was so much passion, desire and excitement to not only be telling this story but to do justice to the legacy of these incredible women. To shoot in Africa was important from the outset. There was an energy on set. It was very emotional at times–seeing the power of the Black community staying together and fighting slavery. It brought me to tears, gave me goosebumps. This is an important and powerful story made by people who care about it deeply. I learned a lot in great detail about the history. I got to experience it and bring it to life.
In addition to The Woman King and Where the Crawdads Sing, Morgan’s most recent credits include A Quiet Place Part II. She is next slated to lens Back to Black, a biopic about singer Amy Winehouse that is being directed by Sam Taylor-Wood.
Where the Crawdads Sing marked Morgan’s first collaboration with director Olivia Newman. The movie is part coming-of-age tale, part murder mystery, part love story, part homage to nature’s beauty, part tribute to the human spirit, resiliency and the will to survive. The mix of genres is rooted in Delia Owen’s novel of the same title, adapted for the big screen by Lucy Alibar, the Oscar-nominated writer of Beasts of the Southern Wild.
Where the Crawdads Sing stars Daisy Edgar Jones as Kya, a girl abandoned by her family, having to raise herself in the marshes of North Carolina. We follow Kya from her childhood in the 1950s through to adulthood. She forms a deep connection to the land and its beauty while disconnected from townspeople who ostracize her. She bonds, though, with a young suitor named Tate from whom she learns about romance and how to read. But she is abandoned by him as well. Another suitor, Chase, emerges but he is found dead in the wilderness. She’s charged with his murder, is jailed and then put on trial, further intensifying the alienation and isolation she feels from a community that has always misjudged and dismissed her–a rare exception being her defense attorney. Throughout her ongoing ordeal, Kya perseveres and manages to find her own path and a life with purpose.
Director Newman said of her DP, “Polly has an exquisite eye. This was a film meant to be shown in wide format on the big screen. We needed viewers to feel immersed in these landscapes. Polly and I had the same references–directors like [Jane] Campion, [Terrence] Malick when it came to incorporating landscapes as a character in their films.”
Meanwhile on the television front, in addition to her ASC Award nomination for Legion, Morgan has done episodic work for director Dominic LeClerc on the BBC series From Darkness and Call The Midwife. The latter won two BAFTA TV Awards and was nominated for a BAFTA Audience Award. She also lensed Strange Angel for Scott Free Productions and CBS, collaborating with director David Lowery.
Erik Messerschmidt, ASC
An Oscar, ASC and BSC Award winner in 2021 for director David Fincher’s Mank, Messerschmidt this year further expanded his narrative feature reach with Devotion (Sony Pictures Entertainment), a true story which centers on the bond formed during the Korean War between Ensign Jesse Brown (portrayed by Jonathan Majors), the first African American to complete Navy flight training, and Lt. Tom Hudner (Glen Powell), a hotshot Navy aviator. Both became war heroes. Brown–who faced racism in various forms ranging from being hazed, bullied and forced to repeat Navy tests multiple times–persevered and went on to posthumously receive the Purple Heart, the Air Medal, and the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Based on the book of the same title by Adam Makos, Devotion was directed by J.D. Dillard. While there are ambitious and stunning aerial scenes–when the figurative bar for such work has been set high with this year’s release of Top Gun: Maverick–Messerschmidt found another aspect of Devotion ultimately even more alluring. At first, Messerschmidt acknowledged that he might have been a bit “seduced by the challenge of shooting the aerial sequences.” But beyond that grand air show, Messerschmidt continually reminded himself that Devotion at its core is a very human drama.
Although there are high action/adventure moments in Devotion that are fun and exciting, Messerschmidt noted that “the most pleasure” he got out of the film came when he was working with the actors. This reinforced for Messerschmidt the belief that one cannot “get caught up in the complexities of spectacle”–and that the priority should instead be to “try to tell human stories.”
Messerschmidt connected with director Dillard on that level. In fact, the DP recollected that their first conversation–over a two-hour Zoom call–was “about everything except the movie itself: cinema, art, politics, life.” The two bonded and shortly after that call, Dillard offered him the job.
Messerschmidt went primarily with the Panavision DXL2 for Devotion. Among the advantages that this digital camera afforded him were a versatile RED sensor, a large format facilitating IMAX release, and a portraiture effect in closeups that carried a soft, delicate quality. The camera was also well suited for capturing high octane action sequences, enabling Messerschmidt to avoid an excess of visual effects. “We didn’t want this to be a visual effects extravaganza. Obviously there are visual effects in the film but we tried to keep them to a minimum to make things look as real as possible–to keep as much work in-camera as possible.”
Messerschmidt shared that Devotion was shot in just 52 days. Part of that mix entailed some select deployment of a virtual stage with a LED video wall.
Fincher–alluded to in reference to Messerschmidt’s multiple high-profile awards wins for Mank–has played a prominent role in the DP’s career. It all started back in the day when Messerschmidt served as a gaffer for cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth, ASC, most notably on the Fincher-directed Gone Girl. During the course of that movie, Fincher had Messerschmidt do some promotional still work for Gone Girl and the two struck up a rapport. This eventually led to Messerschmidt becoming the DP on Fincher’s Mindhunter, the thriller series centered on an FBI agent’s quest to track down serial killers in the late 1970s. Messerschmidt in 2020 wound up garnering his first career Emmy nomination for his lensing of Mindhunter. He’s shot the lion’s share of Mindhunter episodes; the series represented his first major TV gig as his DP endeavors prior to that were primarily in commercials and other short-form fare. Fincher then further expanded Messerschmidt’s reach–this time into the feature realm with Mank. Messerschmidt then lensed Fincher’s The Killer which is currently in postproduction.
Messerschmidt most recently wrapped director Michael Mann’s feature, Ferrari. And in the offing for Messerschmidt is an undisclosed TV pilot directed by Ridley Scott. This will mark a return engagement for Messerschmidt with Scott. The DP had shot multiple episodes of Raised By Wolves, a series exec produced by Scott.
Before he became an iconic filmmaker, Scott first established himself in commercials. Messerschmidt noted that his own commercialmaking activities have informed his feature and TV endeavors. Among the directors he’s shot spots for is Joseph Kosinski, the filmmaker behind Top Gun: Maverick. Messerschmidt described commercials as a wonderful playground, affording cinematographers the opportunity to explore new techniques, pieces of equipment and innovative approaches. On the latter score, Messerschmidt observed that directors seem more inclined to take risks in commercials they can’t always opt for in narrative TV or feature work.
