Among the DPs profiled in this issue’s Cinematographers & Cameras Series is Eigil Bryld who shot the first 11 episodes of House of Cards. Bryld’s work on the pilot earned him a primetime Emmy nomination in the Outstanding Cinematography For A Single-Camera Series category. House of Cards garnered a total of nine Emmy nominations, the others for Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Directing For A Drama Series (David Fincher), Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing For A Drama Series (Kirk Baxter, ACE), Casting, Music Composition, Original Main Title Theme Music, Lead Actor and Lead Actress In A Drama Series.
From this week’s Cinematographers & Cameras feature story as well as this year’s ongoing The Road To Emmy coverage, the collaborative nature of filmmaking and the pivotal contributions of the cinematographer are crystal clear.
Discussing what Bryld brought to Netflix’s breakthrough House of Cards, showrunner/executive producer/writer-creator Beau Willimon–who works closely on the series with executive producer David Fincher (director of the pilot and the second episode)–observed that the DP took “a very classicist approach. No pans. No unmotivated moves of the camera. No long lenses. No Steadicams. A very specific color palette. Puts the acting first and foremost–doesn’t try to ‘create’ energy with the camera. Let’s the action dictate the motion.”
Willimon added that Bryld “mostly worked with the directors using a visual language he created with Fincher that was consistent throughout the series. Our interaction was about discussing the feeling of given scenes, and sometimes practical problem-solving if we were short on time or had to switch a location unexpectedly. Or talking about ways to shoot a recurring location or set differently to keep it fresh.”
In terms of Bryld’s impact on him as a writer, Willimon said, “At a certain point you start to see the way Eigil would light it and shoot it as you write. You get a sense of his frame, his mood. It informs the writing because you start to think cinematically…Eigil has a deep, expert sense of craft but more importantly, he brings a creative vision to it that elevates the drama. He is nimble and adaptable when necessary. He never thought of this as a ‘TV show.’ He thought about it in terms of cinema.”
Directing and Editing “Conclave”; Insights From Edward Berger and Nick Emerson
It’s been a bruising election year but this time we’re referring to a ballot box struggle that’s more adult than the one you’d typically first think of in 2024. Rather, on the industry awards front, the election being cited is that of the Pope which takes front and center stage in director Edward Berger’s Conclave (Focus Features), based on the 2016 novel of the same title by Robert Harris. Adapted by screenwriter Peter Straugham, Conclave stars Ralph Fiennes as the cardinal leading the conclave that has convened to select the next Pope. While part political thriller, full of backstabbing and behind-closed-door machinations, Conclave also registers as a thoughtful adult drama dealing with themes such as a crisis of faith, weighing the greater good, and engaging in a struggle that’s as much about spirituality as the attainment of power.
Conclave is Berger’s first feature after his heralded All Quiet on the Western Front, winner of four Oscars in 2023, including for Best International Feature Film. And while Conclave would on the surface seem to be quite a departure from that World War I drama, there’s a shared bond of humanity which courses through both films.
For Berger, the heightened awareness of humanity hit home for him by virtue of where he was--in Rome, primarily at the famed Cinecittà studio--to shoot Conclave, sans any involvement from the Vatican. He recalled waking up in Rome to “soak up” the city. While having his morning espresso, Berger recollected looking out a window and seeing a priest walking about with a cigarette in his mouth, a nun having a cup of coffee, an archbishop carrying a briefcase. It dawned on Berger that these were just people going to... Read More