Written and directed by Miles Warren, the feature Bruiser takes an unflinching look at the role that hand-to-hand combat plays in a boys maturation into manhood. The movie, available to stream on Hulu, follows 14-year-old Darious (Jalyn Hall), who struggles to reconcile the non-violent values of his upbringing with the painful reality of recurring bullying at school. Darious suddenly finds himself on solid ground after building a bond with Porter (Trevante Rhodes), a maligned newcomer to town who's working through his own history with violence.
Cinematographer Justin Derrys intimate understanding of Bruiser's visual storytelling stems from his collaboration with Warren on the story's first iteration as a short film, which premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival (and which Panavision featured here). Derry credits Marni Zimmeran at Panavision New York and Steve Krul at Panavision New Orleans for helping to see Bruisers visual refinement from prep on the short through the wrap of the feature. From his love for vintage Panavision optics, Gordon Parks' photography and the collaborative process, Derry retells the making of Bruiser through the lens of inspiration.
We wanted to embrace the different and opposing character traits between the two father figures in Darious' life by allowing our camera to embody their personalities, Derry explains. For Porter, we used Steadicam and a loose tripod head when operating his scenes with Darious so that they would feel fluid and relaxed and in contrast to the scenes with Darious' father, Malcolm [Shamier Anderson]. Malcolm was framed with very static and rigid compositions and only subtle dolly moves, but as he begins to unwind, the camera becomes frantic and loose.
Thanks to having served as cinematographer and executive producer of the short version of the movie, Derry was able to help Warren build the look of Bruiser from a formidable visual framework. We wanted to take the blueprint we established in the short film we shot two years prior, Derry says, but with the texture and warmth of the rural South ingrained throughout.
We mixed a lot of color temperatures and utilized green fluorescents as well as sodium-vapor and mercury-vapor streetlights, Derry continues. Sometimes I would choose a cooler streetlight look to make the audience feel lost and alone, or I would use warm sodium-vapor streetlights to evoke a sense of aggression and violence. I like using color to portray emotion, but it always has to be grounded in the reality of the environment.
The filmmakers also found visual inspiration in a considered selection of films and photographs. Some of our key references were Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, Cold War, George Washington and The Place Beyond the Pines, Derry says, but we also spent a lot of time looking at Gordon Parks' photography of the rural South. Parks often isolated his subjects in a way that made them feel like they are the sole individual in an expansive world. You can feel a gravity in his images that draws you in and makes you feel like nothing outside of this intimate moment matters.
I love to look at many references throughout the prep process, Derry adds. The more references I take in, the more I develop instincts that don't necessarily directly copy anything specific, but instead form a subtle alchemy that defines our look.
For the short version of Bruiser, the filmmakers had worked out of Panavision New York, but for the feature, they went south to source their package from Panavision New Orleans. I've worked with Marni Zimmerman at Panavision New York for almost 10 years now, and she's always supported my vision, the cinematographer says. On this film, she connected me with Steve Krul out of Panavision New Orleans. Our prep was very rushed because we lost some time due to the pandemic, but Steve was very supportive and set up a last-minute camera test for me that was instrumental in discovering the look of the film.
Panavision is always my first call when I'm starting to prep a film, Derry continues. I love that over the years, I've developed a relationship with Panavision that feels like family. They support filmmakers and prioritize the creative choices we make when choosing equipment for a film.
Derry's lens package for the feature included Panavision's vintage Super Speed and Ultra Speed optics, which, he shares, are probably my favorite spherical lenses of all time! They have the perfect blend of soft, bloomy highlights and beautiful flares while maintaining decent contrast and sharpness. They're also very fast, so I can make a lot of creative choices about depth of field. For me, they also go back to Gordon Parks, reflecting the character in his photographs. If you look at a lot of his photography, there's a soft creaminess to the highlights and shadows and often a very shallow, creamy depth of field.
Reflecting on the years he spent working on Bruiser across the story's short and feature-length versions, Derry notes, This is the first feature I've shot where my collaboration with the director was developed over several years of working together. I've shot all of Miles' short films. We know what stories inspire each other, so discussing the look felt organic. It's always my goal to support the director's vision, so I usually react and adapt my style to create a look that I'm excited about while also reflecting what the director envisions for the film. With Miles, I know that we always share the same vision, so it was just a seamless, fluid way of working.
All images courtesy of the filmmakers.
Learn more about Justin Derry's work on the short-film version of Bruiser in this article: A Question of Strength
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
21/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
21/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
21/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
21/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Pinterest
Bluesky
Email...
20/01/2026
SVG Sit-Down: BitFire's Jim Akimchuk on the Future of Cloud, Remote, Softwar...
20/01/2026
From architecture to reality: What CBC's Milano Cortina 2026 workflows tell ...
20/01/2026
Milano Cortina 2026: Making the Winter Olympics and Paralympics workflow work fo...
20/01/2026
Countdown to Milano Cortina 2026: SVG Launches SportsTechLive Blog in Lead-up to...
20/01/2026
Grand finale: Rally Saudi Arabia pushes WRC to make the most of cameras and dron...
20/01/2026
State of Change: What's Happening in the Remote-Production Business?NEP Group, Game Creek Video, Dome Productions, Mobile TV Group, Program Productions exec...
20/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: A Look Back at SVG's Complete CoverageGo behind the scenes with ESPN, Game Creek Video, Van Wagner, and the champion Indiana...
20/01/2026
The Gotham, Film Independent, and Creators Coalition on AI Join Alliance
by Michelle Satter, Founding Senior Director, Sundance Institute's Artist Programs...
20/01/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sp...
20/01/2026
December, the first month of winter and the holiday season, has traditionally encouraged families to spend time together in front of the television. During this...
20/01/2026
During December, streaming's share of TV viewing in Mexico settled at 24.3%, an increase of 0.1 share points from the previous month.
Disclaimer: YUMI TV,...
20/01/2026
Christmas Day is Most-Streamed Day Ever with 55 Billion Viewing Minutes, led by...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Disguise and ASB GlassFloor today announced a strategic partnership that turns the arena floor into a fully customizable interactive digital surface. This will ...
20/01/2026
Last summer, ITV celebrated the tenth anniversary of its popular reality dating show, Love Island. To ramp up the excitement of series 12 (launched in the UK on...
20/01/2026
Berklee's Mark Ethier Named One of SPIN's Most Influential People in Mus...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
20/01/2026
Emergent, a provider of AI-powered media production solutions, today announced its presence at ISE 2026 in Barcelona, taking place February 3 6, where it will u...
20/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery Amend Agreement to All-Cash Transaction
Business
20 January 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
All-C...
20/01/2026
Back to All News
Now You Can Play a Role in Our Live Events With Real-Time Voting
Elmar Nubbemeyer
VP, Member Product
Product
20 January 2026
Global
Link...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Indiana Football's Digital Crew Generate Hyp...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Van Wagner Relies on Experience for Indiana-Miam...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: Game Creek Video Fields Premiere IP Compound for...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: For a Slew of Studio Shows, ESPN Turns Hard Rock...
19/01/2026
CFP National Championship 2026: ESPN's Sweeping Live Game Production Leverag...
19/01/2026
The new L3Harris NOVA binocular system is the every-soldier goggle' - and the beginning of a new era for night-vison capability....
19/01/2026
The Majority of Those Surveyed Prefer to Buy Brands Who Advertise in Content Tha...
19/01/2026
Back to All News
Straight to Hell' Sets April 27 Premiere: Teaser Trailer,...
19/01/2026
New Workflow Enhancements for All Broadcast Pix Systems, Plus 4-Channel ISO Recording for Hybrid and Roadie Tyngsboro, Mass. - January 2025 - Broadcast Pix ann...
19/01/2026
Monday 19 January 2026
Sky News reinvents News at Ten for the modern audience with The Wrap
Sky News today announces The Wrap, a bold evolution of its 10pm ou...
19/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces the Series Nights & Days, Directed by Kamila...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones is striking a new chord in piano miking with the debut of its DPK2015 Piano Stereo Kit, an out-of-the-box, plug-and-play miking solution that ta...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones will present its 4099 CORE Instrument Microphone and redesigned...
19/01/2026
Trianel relies on Arvato Systems for future-proof data center operations
Moving to the cloud: Arvato Systems implements extensive IT migration project
Migrat...
19/01/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
Irish Album of the Year 2025 - Shortlist Announce...
18/01/2026
January 18 2026, 21:30 (PST) Dolby Cinema Arrives in Bengaluru: Dolby Laborator...
17/01/2026
Lightware, an industry leader in signal management, is helping to elevate the Google Meet experience with the introduction of an integration with Taurus UCX. Th...
17/01/2026
Clear-Com announced a strategic partnership with NETGEAR AV to offer four high-performance networking switches as original equipment manufacturer (OEM) solutio...
17/01/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, today announced a new U.S. distribution partnership wit...
17/01/2026
NUGEN Audio announces the latest evolution of MasterCheck, its industry-trusted optimization plug-in for cross-platform mastering and loudness verification. Des...
Written and directed by Miles Warren, the feature Bruiser takes an unflinching look at the role that hand-to-hand combat plays in a boys maturation into manhood. The movie, available to stream on Hulu, follows 14-year-old Darious (Jalyn Hall), who struggles to reconcile the non-violent values of his upbringing with the painful reality of recurring bullying at school. Darious suddenly finds himself on solid ground after building a bond with Porter (Trevante Rhodes), a maligned newcomer to town who's working through his own history with violence.
