
Conceived and presented by the climate activist and filmmaker Jack Harries, Seat at the Table is a 12-part YouTube series produced by Studio Silverback. Giving voice to people worldwide who stand to lose most to climate change, it incorporates segments filmed in many different countries, and yet was produced in the most sustainable manner possible. Cinematographer Josua St bler speaks here about why he chose the ALEXA Mini LF, what benefits large format brought, and how the complex, pandemic-hit production unfolded.
Could you describe how the project came about and how you got involved?
Back in early 2021, Jack Harries and Studio Silverback came up with the idea of a film that gives the people on the front lines of climate change a voice. The project was commissioned by YouTube and I was approached to be the director of photography. Originally the plan was to travel the globe for six months, finding these people and telling their stories, but then another wave of Covid-19 hit and the whole project had to be rethought. They came up with the idea of shooting for three months only in the UK and collaborating with local crews in 11 different countries to tell the international stories. It was my job to develop a visual style for the project and to brief the international crews on that visual style.
DP Josua St bler operating the ALEXA Mini LF handheld on the UK coast.
What led you to large format, and to the ALEXA Mini LF?
As a DP, around 70% of my work is commercials and 30% is documentaries, and for commercials I shoot on ALEXA exclusively when Im not shooting analog. I really like what the ALEXA does with colors; I know how to work with ALEXA and how to expose the sensor, so for me that choice was clear from the start.
For this project we wanted to have 4K and to be as close to the characters as Covid rules allowed, shooting handheld with wide-angle lenses for a sense of physical intimacy. This led us to large format and to the ALEXA Mini LF. Usually we used lenses between 24 mm and 35 mm, and the LF sensor looks really cool at those focal lengths because of the shallow depth field. When we shot huge landscapes, the LF sensor somehow made them even more epic.
How did you handle the international crews having different camera equipment?
Of course, not every local crew had the opportunity to source an ALEXA in their country. Quite early on I did a test with my colorist in Germany where we compared the ALEXA Mini LF to Canon and Sony large-format cameras, and we came up with a show LUT and a system to convert the Sony and Canon images into our color space. The final grade was done at another post house in Bristol, in the UK, but they were able to make use of the work I had done with my colorist to conform footage from all the cameras to match the look of our show LUT.
Presenter Jack Harries behind ALEXA Mini LF with mirror rig for socially-distanced eye contact interviews.
What else was in your brief to the international crews?
The most obvious and detailed thing was how to set up, frame, and light the interviews. Throughout the show, we interviewed people in front of a black backdrop, so it was important that the backdrop and lighting were the same for everyone, whether they were a scientist with 30 years of climate experience or a farmer who realized two years ago that his crop isn't growing anymore. I did detailed tests and was very specific in my briefing about light sources, distances, exposure, and contrast ratios.
For the overall look of the show, my briefing contained stuff like shooting B-roll in slow motion for a cinematic feel; always shooting wide open for shallow depth of field and to take advantage of the large-format sensor; using gimbals for certain types of shot, or long lenses and tripods for other kinds of shots. But I also encouraged the local filmmakers to come up with their own creative ideas, and I was really happy with what we got back. It was great to see how many talented filmmakers are working around the world, even in places like the Maldives and Cambodia, where there are no big film schools.
Setting up the black background for one of the interviews.
Did you go to as many different kinds of environment within the UK as you could?
Yes, we went everywhere from the Isles of Scilly in the far south to the Orkney Islands, which are almost the most northern tip of the UK. We had a really diverse experience of British landscapes, with some places that looked like the Caribbean to me, and others that were incredibly rough and wild, with harsh winds. Finally in November we ended up in Glasgow for COP26, the UN climate conference, where we shot our final two episodes.
The wildness of some of the locations was one of the reasons why I chose the ALEXA Mini LF, because I knew I could trust it. We were trying to travel carbon neutral, so we were always on different vehicles, like tiny sail boats in rough seas, with the camera bumping against everything. We shot in rainy forests in the middle of Scotland; we hiked up mountains chasing sunsets. On the Isle of Skye, we had to cross a river with the camera on my shoulder, so it was really tested, and it didn't let us down.
DP Josua St bler (left) and presenter Jack Harries at COP26 in Glasgow.
You did a lot of operating yourself, but what crew did you have?
I had a camera assistant, but he was also a production assistant. We were such a small crew that he had to help with other stuff. Focus wise, I was managing the camera on my own. He helped me with batteries and changing lenses, but in terms of the camera setup, I needed to be self-reliant. The ARRI Master Grips came in handy; I had a cforce motor on the lenses and I used the Master Grips to control focus and dial-in the iris. Thats also why I chose Canon EF lenses, because theyre quite small and I can carry two or three in my backpack.
It was easy t
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
20/11/2025
Graduate Spotlight: Krysta Mirsik DePuy The educator from Hackettstown, New Jersey, shares how it took her 11 years to find the right graduate program for her...
20/11/2025
LONDON The winners of the Rise Awards 2025, which recognize women and companies whose achievements have stood out in the media technology industry, have been an...
20/11/2025
SANTA MONICA & NEW YORK Lionsgate's Worldwide Television Distribution Group and Debmar-Mercury have launched MovieSphere Gold in more than 30 million homes....
20/11/2025
ALAMEDA, Calif. Clear-Com has introduced its four-channel HelixNet beltpack, a next-generation advancement of its widely used two-channel model, and anticipates...
20/11/2025
NEW PROVIDENCE, N.J. Streaming technology and services provider Kiswe has launched Kiswe Core, a next-generation cloud-based platform designed to simplify the s...
20/11/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Dolby Laboratories has signed on as an official signature partner of the Bay Area Host Committee (BAHC) for the 2026 Super Bowl and the we...
20/11/2025
STUTTGART, Germany 3 Screen Solutions (3SS) has announced that the Canadian multiservice operator Telus has launched its Telus TV+ entertainment platform on Sam...
20/11/2025
Major League Baseball has announced deals with ESPN, NBCUniversal and Netflix covering 2026-2028 that make ESPN the exclusive rightsholder of MLB.TV, see regula...
20/11/2025
Berklee Presents Holiday Extravaganza: Duke Ellingtons The Nutcracker Suite and ...
20/11/2025
It's the Late Late Toy Show BIG BIG Ticket Giveaway day!
It's the Late ...
20/11/2025
Editor's note: This post is part of Into the Omniverse, a series focused on how developers, 3D practitioners and enterprises can transform their workflows u...
20/11/2025
The How To Gael pocast gals, comedian Chris Kent and quizzer Darragh Ennis drop by for the fifth episode of The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In
In the penultimat...
20/11/2025
Tonight on RT Prime Time, Marie Crowe on how a Reading School changed her son...
20/11/2025
The NVIDIA Blackwell RTX upgrade is nearing the finish line, letting GeForce NOW Ultimate members across the globe experience true next-generation cloud gaming ...
20/11/2025
Tanya Berger-Wolf's first computational biology project started as a bet wit...
19/11/2025
Sphere Sound Kicks Up Its Heels at Radio City Music HallUltra-immersive system from the singular Las Vegas venue is also ready for sportsBy Dan Daley, Audio Edi...
19/11/2025
The Future of Stadium and Arena Video Control Rooms: Tech Leaders Talk 4K, IP, a...
19/11/2025
One Year at Intuit Dome: Walking Through the Stunning Arena's Advanced Video...
19/11/2025
SVG Sit-Down: IMG's Francois Westcombe Goes Inside IMG's Annual Digital ...
19/11/2025
Inside Brighton & Hove Albion's fan-first media machine By George Bevir
Tuesday, November 18, 2025 - 10:10
Print This Story
Brighton & Hove Albion'...
19/11/2025
Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 1: Kansas Athletics Brings New Production Power to Rebu...
19/11/2025
Rock Chalk Rebuild, Part 2: A Pro's Guide to Kansas Athletics' New Video...
19/11/2025
MLB Media Rights Shakeup: NBC Inks Three-Year Deal for Sunday Night Baseball, Pe...
19/11/2025
Rohan Parashuram Kanawade attends the premiere of Sabar Bonda (Cactus Pears) at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival at Egyptian Theatre on January 26, 2025, in Pa...
19/11/2025
Awards season is heating up, and the International Documentary Association just ...
19/11/2025
Aerojet Rocketdyne President Ken Bedingfield and Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders were joined by state and local officials to celebrate the groundbreaking o...
19/11/2025
L3Harris and PentenAmio formalise their teaming agreement at MilCIS 2025, streng...
19/11/2025
Calrec gives Phoenix Broadcast Solutions its full support in strategic multi-year enterprise partnership New Singapore OB company invests in Calrec technology f...
19/11/2025
October brings a larger audience in front of TV screens. The cooler autumn weather and the continuation of new programming schedules brought increases in both t...
19/11/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group and Tegna filed applications on Nov. 18 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking its consent to transfer broad...
19/11/2025
Vitec has acquired Datapath, a developer of real-time video processing for large-scale video walls, AVoIP content distribution and KVM control in mission-critic...
19/11/2025
NEVADA CITY, Calif. Telestream has introduced ARGUS Version 2.3, which introduces Live Look, a feature that lets operators inspect live and on-demand streams vi...
19/11/2025
STAMFORD, Conn. and NEW YORK Charter Communications, Inc. has announced a major deal with Amazon Web Services (AWS) that establishes AWS as one of Charters stra...
19/11/2025
TOKYO Atomos has announced a major firmware update that brings integrated camera control to the Ninja TX GO and Ninja TX its new CFexpress-based monitor-recor...
19/11/2025
Berklee's Signature Series Reimagines the Musical and Visual Artistry of Col...
19/11/2025
PlayBox Neo departed the NAB Show New York 2025 on a high note. The company's all-new PlayBox Neo Suite made a splash on the show floor, drawing strong inte...
19/11/2025
AAVBR (American Audio Visual Baton Rouge), a leading full-service event production company serving Louisiana and the Gulf Coast region, has enhanced its product...
19/11/2025
In its mission to deliver live event services combining advanced engineering with a creative approach to captivating live sports and entertainment experiences, ...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK Short-form vertical video has exploded across platforms like TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, but a new survey commissioned by Media.net, a provider of c...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK YES Network, the regional sports network home of the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Nets, and CAMB.AI have struck a partnership they said will leverage ...
19/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has issued detailed guidance on filings that were disrupted by the government shutdown. While many of those fil...
19/11/2025
NEW YORK The popularity of NFL games is largely responsible for continued seasonal momentum in TV viewership into October (measured Sept. 29-Oct. 26), according...
19/11/2025
DirecTV has announced that its MyFree DirecTV streaming service has added seven new channels. Those include four sports services, NBA FAST, Red Bull TV, DAZN Ri...
19/11/2025
SURREY, U.K. Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has launched Flair Bridge, a compact device that transforms how operators control the company's motion-contr...
19/11/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission, which is continuing to rapidly ramp up its operations after the end of the federal government shutdown, has se...
19/11/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group and Tegna filed applications on Nov. 18 with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seeking its consent to transfer broad...
19/11/2025
Martin Freeman, Jessie Buckley, Wu-Tang Clan's Raekwon, Eddie the Eagle and ...
19/11/2025
Rohde & Schwarz collaborates with Broadcom to enable testing and validation of n...