One DP continues her longstanding collaborative relationship with a director she met in film school, their latest teaming yielding a much anticipated musical.
Another came together with a director for the first time as they embraced a feature approach for an ambitious streaming platform series.
And our third cinematographer took on a substantive nature documentary which turned out to have even greater meaning in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here are insights from Alice Brooks on In the Heights (Warner Bros.), Autumn Durald Arkapaw on Loki (Disney+) and Alan Jacobsen on The Loneliest Whale: The Search For 52.
Alice Brooks
Collaborative ties and a friendship that go back some 20 years, a shared love of music and dance, and Brooks’ acumen and artistry as a cinematographer were among the factors that led director Jon M. Chu to gravitate to her for In the Heights, a feature film based on the stage musical of the same name by Quiara Alegría Hudes and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Brooks and Chu share a deep bond. In fact Chu–widely known for helming the global box office hit and pop culture phenomenon Crazy Rich Asians–called Brooks in a 2020 SHOOT Chat Room interview “one of my favorite people in the world,” citing their lineage going back to when they were classmates at USC film school. Brooks lensed Chu’s thesis film, When the Kids Are Away.
After going their separate ways for a stretch after cinema school, Chu and Brooks reunited for The Legion of Extraordinary Dancers (The LXD), a breakthrough web reality series in which dance becomes a battleground between good and evil. Brooks likened the experience on The LXD to being in “a lab which focused on telling different stories through dance and music. Each episode was a different length or style, a place to experiment with the narrative power of dance.”
Brooks was well suited for The LXD given not only her rapport with Chu but her lifelong love of musicals. Her next project with Chu also had a rich undercurrent of music as they adapted the 1980s animated series Jem and the Holograms for the big screen.
The live-action feature centered on a small-town singer/songwriter, Jerrica Benson, who makes it big but at a personal cost. She and her three sisters are made over, coached and managed into stardom as a band that gets global attention. Their real identities remain secret as the strain of celebrity sets in and adversely impacts their family bond.
Later Brooks and Chu collaborated on Home Before Dark for Apple TV+. This foray into television for Chu was the focus of SHOOT’s aforementioned Chat Room interview with him. Chu directed the first two episodes of Home Before Dark and served as an exec producer on the series. Brooks lensed select installments of the show, including the pair helmed by Chu. Home Before Dark was based on the real-life story of child journalist Hilde Lysiak. Brooklynn Prince, acclaimed for her performance in director Sean Baker’s 2017 feature The Florida Project, portrays the young reporter (under the name Hilde Lisko). Home Before Dark centers on Hilde’s relationship with her dad, a former investigative journalist in NY who loses his job, causing him to uproot his wife and kids, and return to his hometown of Erie Harbor. There Matt’s family secrets come to be revealed as a cold case murder mystery and a recent homicide unfold with intrepid reporter Hilde on the case.
The Apple TV+ drama marked a departure from music and dance for Brooks and Chu–but it didn’t last long. While prepping the pilot for Home Before Dark, Chu asked Brooks to shoot In the Heights, which the DP described as having been her “dream job” for several years–so much so that during that time span she maintained and added to a computer file of images that might be applicable to the project despite “no expectation that I would be hired.”
In the Heights posed myriad challenges, including 17 musical numbers that had to be staged, choreographed and properly captured. But whatever the tasks at hand, Brooks felt they could be met thanks in part to the “real partnership” she enjoys with Chu based on mutual trust and respect. “Both of us are really good listeners and observers, and we think very similarly,” she said, recalling an example from Home Before Dark. “Jon didn’t want to show me his workbooks,” noted Brooks. “He wanted me to present my ideas to the showrunner and producers. So I put together my own workbook. A couple of weeks later we shared our workbooks with each other. We had 10 or so of the same images. It’s nice to have such an easy shorthand with someone, to understand what the other likes.” At the same time, she continued, “Ideas can come from anywhere and we are both open to something that differs from what we initially thought or envisioned.”
Helping on both the simpatico as well as being receptive to different ideas fronts was In the Heights choreographer Christopher Scott, who had worked on The LXD and Jem and the Holograms with Chu and Brooks. Their close-knit collaboration was integral to successfully meeting varied challenges.
Also key, observed Brooks, was Chu’s general approach to cinematography. “He talks to me as if the camera were an actor,” related Brooks. “He gives the camera an intention. Having an intention to share with my crew is really important. It helps put us on the same page for storytelling.”
The page occasionally shifted, though, in some respects. For example, originally the plan was to shoot partially on location and then complete the lion’s share of the scenes on sets built on a soundstage. But that changed towards the end of scheduled prep when an apartment was found at the intersection of 175th Street and Audubon in New York where the fictional narrative takes place. Though the space was cramped, it inherently had an ideal feel for the home of Usnavi (portrayed by Anthony Ramos) and community matriarch Abuela Claudia (Olga Merediz). A window provided a picture-perfect view of the entire Washington Heights intersection, the heart of the community. Chu, Brooks and Scott embraced the three-room apartment, revised plans and brought three musical numbers to fruition within that setting.
Brooks shared that the environment helped to further define the characters, offsetting any logistical challenges presented by the apartment’s limited space. “It felt like a place people could go to in reality. The community could come to her (Abuela Claudia) and she could lift them up, give them advice. It was special that we shot in that neighborhood. It sparked some amazing things.”
Brooks–who deployed the Panavision DXL2 camera and Panavision Anamorphic G-series lenses to capture intimate yet epic images with scope and scale–added that what resonated for her in particular from the In the Heights experience was the dedication of a cast and crew that had “so much love” for the work. “People personally connected to the project on all different levels. Filmmaking is a team effort and when it works, it’s magnificent. Making In the Heights felt magnificent. There was not a single person on the job who did not fall in love with the experience. It was hard to make but we could always push through. It really taught me a lot about patience and faith. Every morning I’d go to work and there were things we had to be patient with, particularly when filming most of this movie on location. We had faith. We knew we were making something special.”
In the Heights made its world premiere as the opening night film at the Tribeca Film Festival in June. It has since been released theatrically and is streaming on HBO Max.
Also released recently was the Brooks-lensed Queen Bees, a feature directed by Michael Lembeck and starring Ellen Burstyn and James Caan.
As for what’s next, Brooks at press time had just wrapped a couple of extra shooting days on Miranda’s feature directorial debut, tick, tick…Boom!, which is based on the semi-autobiographical musical of the same title by the late actor, musician and composer Jonathan Larson. The film is being produced by Ron Howard and Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment for Netflix.
Autumn Durald Arkapaw
Though she hadn’t worked with director Kate Herron before, the prospect of doing so on Loki (Disney+) carried some allure for cinematographer Durald Arkapaw–at least enough to take a meeting with Herron and executive producer Kevin R. Wright when they expressed an interest in her.
For one, Durald Arkapaw was drawn to the approach of treating the TV series as if it were a feature film. While delivering six hours of TV at a high cinematic level is equivalent to realizing three theatrical movies, that daunting proposition is offset by what Durald Arkapaw regards as a golden opportunity to craft story and characters with an auteur orientation. Durald Arkapaw very much liked the fact that if she got the gig, she would be the sole DP on the series with Herron also directing all the episodes. And the continuity of having a lone production designer in Kasra Farahani and costume designer in Christine Wada, along with other key solo artisans, only served to advance a collective auteurship akin to that of a feature film. Artists could put their stamp on the show as storytellers.
Furthermore, Durald Arkapaw was drawn to the Marvel Cinematic Universe modus operandi of looking to create TV that is filmic. She took note, for example, that a cinematographer she highly respects, Jess Hall, embraced the chance to work on WandaVision, another Marvel/Disney+ project which like Loki delved into the aftermath of the feature Avengers: Endgame. Thus Durald Arkapaw reasoned that it would be prudent to take an interview that would explore her suitability for Loki and vice versa.
The meeting with Herron and Wright left the DP enthused about Loki. Durald Arkapaw recalled that she felt simpatico with the “tastemakers” in the room. Durald Arkapaw cited Herron’s affinity for “creating tension with light, shadow and framing,” in addition to the director being a fan of noir cinematography. “Kate and I hit it off from the start,” said Durald Arkapaw, adding that she also had a strong rapport with Wright.
People and personalities are among the prime factors for Durald Arkapaw when it comes to choosing projects. “I don’t always necessarily work back to back,” she said, preferring to be selective about future collaborators, their taste level and visual sensibilities.
Durald Arkapaw was similarly impressed with production designer Farahani whom she worked with for the first time. Farahani’s pitch presentation had, said Durald Arkapaw, some “amazing architectural influences…His sensibilities aligned with mine.” She noted that Farahani also exhibited a meticulous attention to detail, reflected in how he incorporated light into the sets to help further the cinematography.
Durald Arkapaw had collaborated previously on commercials with costume designer Wada. The DP pointed to Wada’s “great style and taste” as well as her “eye for creating texture within frames.”
Durald Arkapaw assessed that the ensemble of talent–including Herron, Farahani and Wada–made the process of shaping and defining the visual look of Loki gratifying, doing full justice to the story and characters.
Reprising his Marvel film role, Tom Hiddleston portrays the mercurial villain Loki (aka the Good of Mischief) in the TV series that takes place after the events of Avengers: Endgame. There’s a buddy comedy element as Loki–who in many respects is created from scratch for the Disney+ show following an adjusted timeline from Avengers: Endgame–is paired with a brand new character, a celestial time control agent named Mobius (Owen Wilson). There’s a mix of absurdity, charm, action-adventure and serious overtones to what unfolds, making for a unique brand of story with a different, distinctive visual palette to match. The cast also includes Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Eugene Cordero, Tara Strong, Sophia Di Martino, Sasha Lane, Jack Veal, DeObia Oparei, and Richard E. Grant.
Durald Arkapaw went with the Sony VENICE for Loki. She was introduced to the digital camera on a commercial and came to appreciate its attributes, including the ability to capture a filmic feel. She coupled the VENICE with Panavision anamorphic T Series lenses that included modifications by Panavision glass guru Dan Sasaki.
Durald Arkapaw shared that her biggest takeaway from the Loki experience was an affirmation of how important trust is among collaborators. “When you’re in a group of filmmakers who trust you to do your job, entrust your ideas, and allow you to have creative input and introduce new ideas to them, don’t put you in a box, it’s really rewarding.” She added that the Marvel studio was open to this progressive way of working and instrumental in helping to put together a great team, creatively exploring and taking Loki in new directions.
Loki adds to a body of work for Durald Arkapaw which as of late includes the Spike Jonze-directed feature documentary Beastie Boys Story and Aziz Ansari: Right Now TV special, as well as director Gia Coppola’s narrative feature Mainstream starring Andrew Garfield and Maya Hawke. The latter continued a relationship with Coppola which included Durald Arkapaw shooting Palo Alto, a film that made its world premiere at the 2013 Biennale di Venezia, and later screened at Telluride. Durald Arkapaw also lensed director Max Minghella’s debut feature Teen Spirit which was rolled out at the 2018 Toronto International Film Festival.
Alan Jacobsen
Cinematographer Jacobsen’s work entails a search for truth, authenticity and discovery which often requires navigating through an obstacle course fraught with uncertainty, ambiguity and even a measure of fear. That certainly was the case with the Yance Ford-directed Strong Island, for which SHOOT first interviewed the DP. Nominated for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar in 2018, Strong Island delved into the killing of Ford’s Brother, William, back in 1992 in Central Islip, NY. A 22-year-old Black man, William Ford, was shot and killed by a 19-year-old white man, a mechanic named Mark Reilly, after a verbal altercation. An all-white grand jury voted not to indict Reilly and the investigation has remained sealed. The story of loss, grief, bias and injustice wasn’t so much an investigative piece of what went wrong but rather why it happened and the systemic problems behind what went down that night.
Fast forward to today and we find Jacobsen has wrapped a different kind of expedition–one on the high seas with the quest being for a creature not human–but still with emotional resonance and a sense of exploration and discovery which leads to insights about our humanity. The nature documentary is The Loneliest Whale: The Search for 52 (Bleecker Street), as director Joshua Zeman seeks the “52 Hertz Whale,” which scientists believe has spent its entire life in solitude calling out at a frequency different from any other whale. Originally discovered in 1989, over the last three decades “52” has become a global sensation capturing the hearts and minds of people worldwide.
Zeman had seen an early cut of Strong Island, which caused him to gravitate to Jacobsen for The Loneliest Whale, intrigued by the DP’s penchant for filming bigger ideas that are not easily conveyed. The two first met some 20-plus years ago on the indie feature front back when Zeman was a location manager and Jacobsen was a gaffer. Jacobsen thus knew Zeman from that experience and socially. The Loneliest Whale would be their first collaboration as director and cinematographer.
Jacobsen was attracted to the story of “52” from the outset, even though he didn’t know if they would be able to find the whale or for that matter even get the chance to go on the high seas to search for the creature. “I love the idea of cinematography being used to try to illuminate big ideas that we don’t necessarily have footage for.”
A grass-roots crowdfunding campaign made an expedition with leading marine scientists possible. Thus the opportunity emerged for Jacobsen’s lensing to be a little more experiential and verite, not having to rely as much on abstract visual work. “Like all good documentaries, you don’t quite know what you’re making before you start making it. I really love that. Cinematography has to evolve with that.”
Part of the approach, continued Jacobsen, was “to lean into the adventure aesthetic with cameras close by, handheld and visceral. By the time we got on the boat, we wanted the cameras to be there for the audience–for the audience to be on the boat.”
Ultimately the film told a story centered on the very human desire to discover and uncover the mysteries of our world. “We wanted the cameras there for our viewers to make those discoveries.”
Jacobsen shot on Canon C300mk1 and FX305 cameras with Canon lenses aboard multiple watercraft, underwater and from the sky. Drone cinematography was utilized to accurately position and measure surfacing humpback whales. GoPros and helmet cameras (on marine scientists) were also deployed.
Jacobsen’s observation about not knowing what you’re making before you make it has taken on an added dimension in The Loneliest Whale as audiences in theaters and on streaming platforms have a perspective unimaginable a year-plus ago–that of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now so many of us can empathize with the loneliness and isolation of the whale. The pandemic isolated people like never before–during an era in which we often feel divided anyway.
“It’s spooky how prescient this documentary became,” observed Jacobsen. “Josh had talked about the paradox. Today we are more connected than we have ever been technologically. You can get in touch audibly and visually with people all over the planet. We’re hooked up. At the same time this pandemic brought up issues of mental health, loneliness and isolation.”
Indeed we are more connected–yet disconnected–than ever. Thus the story of “52” resonates. Jacobsen cited today’s profoundly divisive political discourse, underscoring that for society to advance, “We are not meant to be swimming alone in a huge ocean. We need to be more like those fish who are in a school.”
Jacobsen liked being in school with Zeman, describing the director as “a passionate guy who brings a lot of fearlessness to his work, I love working with directors who are fearless in the sense that they see something and they want to go for it. That means I can suggest an idea that may seem far out but if it’s worthwhile, it can be supported. This was like an adventure movie. There was a lot of real action in this documentary.”
Executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio and Adrian Grenier, among others, The Loneliest Whale: The Search For 52 adds to a filmography for Jacobsen which includes not only Strong Island but also director Marshall Curry’s Racing Dreams and Point and Shoot–each received the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival, in 2009 and 2014, respectively. Jacobsen’s breakout narrative feature, Toe To Toe, was nominated for the Grand Jury Award at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Jacobsen also shot The Auteur which premiered at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival.
Jacobsen additionally enjoyed a return engagement with director Zeman. They recently teamed on Murder Mountain (Netflix), a six-part series about the outlaw culture of cannabis in Northern California. The show, said Jacobsen, was shot as a documentary Western, “using a lot of evocative imagery to embrace the landscapes, as well as the subtext of resilience, danger, risk and reward of an underground trade coming into the light.”
