Cinematographer Aaron McLisky, ACS, Goes All In to bring the Cooke Look to Russell Crowe's Poker Face
Brie Clayton November 30, 2022
0 Comments
McLisky lenses the intimacy of relationships and the tension of truth with an ensemble cast in this upcoming film
For award-winning cinematographer Aaron McLisky, ACS, and for Academy Award winning director, co-writer and leading actor Russell Crowe, shooting the psychological thriller Poker Face came down to two things: achieving a modern look that maintained a painterly quality as well as choosing the right aspect ratio that captured the ensemble cast in a single frame, so they went with Cooke Optics Anamorphic FF, according to McLisky.
Aaron had come to the project late in its development as director Russell had also just come on board and was in the process of amending the screenplay. The original director had family health issues, so had to leave the project. From the moment of agreeing to lead the project, Russell himself was only given five short weeks before cameras would roll. Originally set in Miami, Russell was working to reimagine the story in his home town Sydney, Australia. After a brief chat with Russell, Mclisky began working on a look book to reimagine the film with Russell's vision in mind. Russell referenced a lot of historical Australian painters such as the atmosphere of Clarice Beckett to the modern abstraction of Ben Quilty.
I wanted an image that wouldn't look too clean but softer and atmospheric, said McLisky. I looked at a lot of different anamorphics, and at the time the Cooke anamorphic full frame was relatively new in Australia, but becoming more readily available.
As someone who started on the Cooke S4s early in his career, I really appreciated the Cooke Look plus its pleasant skin tone and build quality. It just so happened that Warren Day and Video Australia (VA Hire) in Sydney had a set of the anamorphic full frame lenses that I could test. I took them to our main Poker Room set at Fox Studios Australia for some in-depth testing. When Mclisky projected the tests in a theatre with Russell, they both could see the qualities they desired. The way the sharpness, contrast and falloff made it feel very painterly instantly connected with Russell and myself. We had to go with Cooke.
In Poker Face, Crowe plays a billionaire gambler who offers his best friends the chance to win more money than they have ever dreamed of. However, in return, they will have to give up the secrets they have spent their lives protecting and will learn the true nature of what is at stake.
Video Australia (VA Hire) would provide McLisky with three ARRI Alexa Mini LF cameras (shooting 2.39 at 4.5K open gate for 4K DCI distribution) and three sets of Cooke lenses, including every Cooke Anamorphic/i FF available from VA: An A camera set consisting of the Cooke Anamorphic/i FF 40mm, 50mm, 75mm, 85mm MACRO, 100mm and 135mm. The B camera set with the 40mm, 50mm, 75mm and 100mm. Plus a C camera set with a Cooke 35-140mm Anamorphic/i Zoom and Cooke S7/i FF sphericals for pick-ups, shot by Jules O'Loughlin, ACS, ASC.
That 85 macro is just fantastic and became the lens of the shoot, said McLisky, who utilised the lens as a macro and straight 85mm prime. As we came in for a close up, Russell would say big head, bigger head,' he wanted the camera close. Being able to move from 5 feet to an eyeball Russell loved that. Being able to use the lens in that way meant we could get a lot of those intimate shots very quickly. The 85mm as well as the 135mm were the primary lenses, and I also loved the 50mm and 75mm for the wider dialog sequences.
With all of these anamorphic lenses, it begs the question Why the Cooke S7/i FF spherical lenses for the C camera? As McLisky explains: The C camera was mainly on the 35-140mm Cooke anamorphic zoom for principal photography, but for pickups, Jules used the S7s. That, of course, brings up the issue of matching the sphericals to the anamorphics.
You can't tell, said McLisky. That's why everything was Cooke and it made me incredibly happy, although I was a bit nervous when putting the lens package together. But instinct told me that the Cookes would all match with the Cooke Look and how each lens would react to the production design. When it came to the grading, it was very easy to create a consistency between the cameras. They married together perfectly.
The production design, as well as the LUTs created with colourist Jamie Hediger, were all based on conversations with Crowe, according to McLisky. Russell wanted a deep red and black theme throughout the film referencing the playing cards and his private art collection - a lot of the art in the film is Russell's personal art. Jamie looked at Russell's art to inspire the LUTs.
One challenge on the set was having a director who was also the leading actor. Russell is an intelligent and seasoned filmmaker who's worked with the best of the best, said McLisky. But for anyone this would be a difficult challenge, with script amendments, location changes and design changes it's a lot, not to mention COVID. Russell drew on his wealth of knowledge and experience to steer the course. He constantly challenged the cast to find a truth in the film, to make the performance personal. We spent a lot of time talking about his relationships with his friends and what his level of success meant to him. That served as an emotional entry point to understanding Russell's connection to the characters. Working with Russell was inspiring, as he is very articulate and clear about what he wants. For example, Russell was adamant about us using three cameras. His experience with multicam films gave him a sense of comfort - to be capturing the scene as a stage play and to allow for flexibility of performance and safety i
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
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...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
18 May 2026
Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...
Cinematographer Aaron McLisky, ACS, Goes All In to bring the Cooke Look to Russell Crowe's Poker Face 
