The path toward lensing great films is even more varied than the platforms that distribute them. In the case of Netflix's Blonde, an artful balance between director Andrew Dominik and cinematographer Chayse Irvin, ASC, CSC, created an opportunity for viewers to rediscover the familiar story of Marilyn Monroe under a brand-new light. In developing a visual parlance to support the project's ambition to recontextualize Monroe's historic legacy, Irvin worked within a flow that some might consider more befitting of a jazz musician than a cinematographer.
Based on the fact-and-fiction-blending Joyce Carole Oates novel of the same name, Blonde stands out from other biopics as a particularly pliant playground for visual interpretation. The movie's kaleidoscopic nature masterfully skews the worlds between Marylin Monroe, the studio-system box-office juggernaut, and Norma Jeane, the betrayed little girl who never gives up on her father.
Working with Panavision Woodland Hills to secure a package that included a Panavised Sony Venice and PVintage optics, Irvin used a mix of aspect ratios, formats, color, and a host of optical aberrations to breathe a life into the film that echoes what Oates achieved in her book. Panavision recently reconnected with the cinematographer to explore his creative approach to Blonde and the journey that's brought him to this point in his career.
Panavision: Where did your affection for cinematography come from?
Chayse Irvin, ASC, CSC: My grandfather had aspirations of fulfilling his life through photography. However, the situation in America at the time limited his aspirations and he worked as a bus driver in Detroit. My father is a mathematician and was the top math student in Michigan. He lived in northern British Columbia after immigrating to Canada, where he led a very interesting life as the postmaster general in a small town amongst a rich Native American population. He had sled dogs and made pool tables for the local bar until he decided to study medicine at UBC. Now he's a retired high school teacher of 30 years who spends his days in the garden. My mother is a musician, a jazz vocalist specifically.
Sounds like you were led by legacy.
Irvin: I was gifted the opportunity to observe my mothers creative endeavors and her sincere obsession with continuously rehearsing songs in the music room. She was part of a community of jazz players she spent time with in the studio or doing a set while still finding time to be a painter as well. It means a lot to me to know that on both sides of my family I had very creative people, one photographic and one musical.
Which recalls the striking images you've created at that very intersection, with music videos you've shot for artist like Leon Bridges, FKA Twigs and Beyonc to name a few. How has music influenced your approach toward the craft of cinematography?
Irvin: Coming from a jazz musician, the discipline is a little bit skewed. Its an art form that uses intuition and spontaneity to articulate on artistic whim, which often comes from acting in the moment of inspiration. Most things are really difficult to do in that realm. It's done constantly in sports a player gets the ball and they react to other players spontaneously so they can essentially coerce elements of the game with their play. There's less thought involved because by the time you think about something, its already too late. It's about achieving a certain level of conditioning through practice so that when youre in the game, you perform how you want opposed to how you can. On a cinematographic level, those are the aspects that Ive really latched onto and that I'm hoping to harness even further as I grow.
What is that conditioning for a cinematographer? What keeps you in shape?
Irvin: I learned a lot from others. Not through necessarily observing them on set and working, but through binge-watching films. At some point in my early 20s, it was three movies a day, and I would write down the dynamic of emotions that I felt and save the clip of the film that I was feeling. Then I would read about the cinematographer or directors aesthetic view or approach, because they all basically have certain philosophies.
The ability for individuals like Henri Cartier-Bresson or Alex Webb, amongst other photographers, to use composition with geometric shapes, silhouettes, and positive and negative space while also doing whats called capturing at the decisive moment' is something I've always admired. They can sense something is about to happen, and they pull the trigger just as that moments coming to fruition. Its completely lacking any type of thought and always intuitive
It's different from traditional filmmaking because a lot of filmmaking is about preconception, like architecture you figure out a visual structure and you stick to it rigorously. On things I've been working on, I've taken that idea and I've flipped it, making it less rigor and almost more whimsical. When Im inspired, I need to act on it. Theres a meaning there, and I may not know what it is, but I can sense it. Maybe it will tell me later, but right now it's speaking to me, and that's something I try to stay in tune with.
How do you maintain that tune as you collaborate with different directors and departments?
Irvin: I was 12 or 13 when my parents converted to Taoism and I learned of the Eastern philosophy of Wu Wei. It essentially translates into inaction or non-action but in the sense of flow state. Ive worked with certain directors who have helped me harness a flow state, which to me is the apex of my creativity, a state where the cinematography in the film is almost shooting itself and I don't impose anything. Everything is going to get done as long as you absorb it and let it happen. It's the metaphor of a
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
25/08/2026
Auction Part 3 running until 9 September 2026
Soundgas have announced that the latest stage of their John Paul Jones Gear Auction is now live, and that bids...
25/08/2026
Over 60 award-winning artists, songwriters, producers, engineers
The MONO Music Conference (formerly Music Expo SF), San Francisco's premier event for m...
25/08/2026
All three versions receive firmware upgrade
Groove Synthesis have just launched a free firmware update that kits the 3rd Wave out with two major new feature...
25/08/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
25/08/2026
Siena Kelly, Connor Swindells and Sophie Wilde join Boyle in the eight-part series from Working Title Television and Story Films, directed by Emmy and BAFTA nom...
25/08/2026
The critically acclaimed thriller will return to Sky in NovemberTuesday 25 Augus...
25/08/2026
Wuppertal August 25, 2026
Scottish Rugby Expands Managed Coach Communications Partnership With RiedelRiedel Communications today announced the continued expan...
25/08/2026
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today debuted M6 in the new Mac mini and M5 Ultra in...
25/08/2026
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced the new Mac mini with the all-new M6...
25/08/2026
CUPERTINO, CALIFORNIA Apple today announced the new Mac Studio, featuring M5 Max...
25/08/2026
The new series begins Tuesday 1 September at 7pm on RT One and RT Player
The search for Ireland's hidden housing gems is back as Cheap Irish Homes return...
24/08/2026
Human-played drum fills on demand
Sample library developers Yurt Rock have announced the launch of a new plug-in that's dedicated to creating drum fill...
24/08/2026
Debut plug-in in new Professional Series
Black Rooster Audio's latest plug-in delivers an all-in-one vocal-processing tool, and is the debut release in ...
24/08/2026
Rohde & Schwarz addresses operational efficiency and infrastructure resilience a...
24/08/2026
The Handel Scandal and Dangerous Debussy will both air on Sky Arts this AutumnMo...
24/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, w...
24/08/2026
Arvato Systems Becomes a Service Partner of HANDELSVERBAND.swiss
Zurich - Arvato Systems Switzerland has been a service partner of HANDELSVERBAND.swiss since ...
24/08/2026
We Only Want the Earth: The Life & Ideas of James Connolly airs
Wednesday 26 August on RT One and RT Player at 9.35pm
RT is to air the compelling documenta...
23/08/2026
Offers up to 10 bands of compression
Parish Audio's latest release allows users to place individual compressors anywhere in the frequency range, but tak...
21/08/2026
Hardware-style timing shifts for software instruments
Following on from the release of Omniclock, Rapid Flow have launched a new sequencer plug-in that can ...
21/08/2026
Highly anticipated synthesizer ships in October 2026
Iceland-based Love Synthesizers have announced that their highly anticipated synthesizer is now availab...
21/08/2026
Masterpiece PBS The Forsytes has expanded its cast as its begins production in ...
21/08/2026
The BBC has unveiled first-look pictures from The Witch Farm, a new ghost story and mystery set in the Welsh countryside, coming soon to BBC iPlayer and BBC One...
21/08/2026
The BBC and BritBox have revealed the first look of Edward Bluemel as Hercule Poirot in the forthcoming six-part series Hercule from Mammoth Screen and Agatha C...
21/08/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
21/08/2026
** MEDIA ALERT **
VIZ Media Takes Over Anime NYC with BLEACH, BLACK TORCH, M...
21/08/2026
Tell us a little bit about your job I'm a Marketing Manager and work across a mix of clients and projects. No two days are ever quite the same, which defini...
21/08/2026
Beat The Lotto dives into the plot behind the 1980s National Lottery scandal
24 August 2026 at 9:35pm on RT One and RT Player
Beat The Lotto is the story o...
21/08/2026
The countdown to the most wonderful night of the year has officially begun!
Host Patrick Kielty is gearing up for another unforgettable Late Late Toy Show nig...
21/08/2026
Meet puppet duo Bellie and Whizz, who are about to explore all the big feelings ...
20/08/2026
Set up your own private remote collaboration infrastructure
SoundBridge have recently put together a tutorial video that provides users with a step-by-step ...
20/08/2026
New V-Control Pro features restore basic functionality
Neyrinck's V-Control software has long been keeping older Avid control surfaces compatible with n...
20/08/2026
TV, BritBox and Mammoth Screen have announced that filming is now underway on th...
20/08/2026
Thursday 20 August 2026
Nina Sosanya, Rizzle Kicks, Roman Kemp and Paul Whiteho...
20/08/2026
Wuppertal August 20, 2026
Transformation Church Elevates Production Communicat...
20/08/2026
The music between the notes Coming together In the middle of 2026, as conversations around artificial intelligence continue to raise questions about how musi...
20/08/2026
Arvato Systems Brings Together Digital Transformation Leaders in the Manufacturi...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head back into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
Company launch with stereo-imaging tool
Panoramic is the debut release from Panorama Labs, a new company formed by mastering engineer Nicholas Di Lorenzo. C...
18/08/2026
Control software now available for older interfaces
Focusrite have just announced the launch of an update that extends Control 2 software support for their ...
The path toward lensing great films is even more varied than the platforms that distribute them. In the case of Netflix's Blonde, an artful balance between director Andrew Dominik and cinematographer Chayse Irvin, ASC, CSC, created an opportunity for viewers to rediscover the familiar story of Marilyn Monroe under a brand-new light. In developing a visual parlance to support the project's ambition to recontextualize Monroe's historic legacy, Irvin worked within a flow that some might consider more befitting of a jazz musician than a cinematographer.
