Cinematographer Jas Shelton discusses his work on season 2 of Homeland (Amazon Prime), which brought him together again with director/showrunner Kyle Patrick Alvarez. The two had previously teamed on the feature films C.O.G. and The Stanford Prison Experiment.
Like he did for those two feature collaborations, Shelton created a “visual language” specific to the story and characters–in the case of Homecoming, the nonlinear narrative of Jackie (Janelle Monรกe), a woman whose impaired memory is the fulcrum of the plot.
Shelton relied on wider, more deliberate angles and longer takes in early episodes as we unravel the mystery of what happened to Jackie, and tighter, more frenetic hand-held shots in the later episodes. He also played with POV–essentially, going from an objective to subjective standpoint that was super character-driven. As Shelton puts it: “With Janelle, we used a probing and slowly moving camera style to get inside her head as she goes on her journey of discovery. The idea was to never let the camera settle until she comes face to face with Audrey Temple (Hong Chau) at the end of the second episode.” He also made effective use of negative space in the frame, a counterpoint to the split screens the editors deployed later in post.
Alvarez also appears in this video, casting further light on the cinematography and storytelling in Homecoming.
Shelton is nominated in the Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (Half-Hour) on the strength of his work on the “Giant” episode of Homecoming.
CreditsHomecoming (Amazon Prime); Kyle Alvarez, director/showrunner (season 2); Jas Shelton, cinematographer (season two).
Top Spot of the Week: Samsung, BBH Singapore, Director Rhys Thomas Get Fit For A Surf Holiday
Samsungโs new global campaign from BBH Singapore, featuring Samsung Health and Galaxy AI, tells the story of a young professional couple who compete to get fit for a surf holiday.
Titled โA Samsung Health Story: Racing to Fiji,โ this film taps into Gen Zโs wellness dilemma and the fact that they can often find health information overwhelming; in particular, BBH Singapore took inspiration from young people who reference their โquarter life crisisโ on social media. This film tells the story of Stacey and Steve who decide to go surfing in Fiji, something they did five years ago but havenโt done since they started their jobs. However, thereโs one problem: they need to get fitter first.
Featuring a range of Galaxy products powered by Galaxy AI, they rebuild their fitness to prepare for the trip, competing playfully to spur each other on. We see them comparing their Energy Scores (a new feature on the Samsung Health app), recording their runs and swims on their Samsung Galaxy Watches, trying and failing to get fit at work and on their commutes and striving to improve in the run up to the trip. When they get there, however, thereโs a fun twist, and the film ends on a cliffhanger.
The ad is expected to be the first in a series, which will develop the characters and their โworldโ in future episodes. This longform (two-and-a-half-minute) version of the spot delves deeper into the storytelling, in a fresh approach for Samsungโs product campaigns, while the shorter edits focus on driving exposure to specific features.
BBH Singapore also leaned into the entertainment aspect of the spot; it was directed by comedic specialist Rhys Thomas at Stink Films, who has a major TV background. Best known for his work on Saturday Night... Read More