
Renowned cinematographer Tristan Nyby tells Robert Shepherd about his approach to lighting and capturing the highly anticipated horror sequel, The Nun II
By Contributor
Published: September 11, 2023 Updated: September 12, 2023
Renowned cinematographer Tristan Nyby tells Robert Shepherd about his approach to lighting and capturing the highly anticipated horror sequel, The Nun II
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
Tristan Nyby boasts an impressive horror legacy, having previously worked on notable films like The Dark and the Wicked and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It. Therefore, it made sense when Australian filmmaker James Wan and director Michael Chaves enlisted him as the cinematographer for the eagerly-awaited The Nun II.
This gothic supernatural horror not only carries forward the storyline that was introduced by its 2018 predecessor, The Nun (stylised as HE NU ), but it's also the ninth instalment in The Conjuring Universe franchise.
The films offer a theatrical portrayal of the actual experiences of Ed and Lorraine Warren, renowned paranormal investigators and authors linked to well-documented, albeit contentious, instances of supernatural phenomena.
The Nun II film showcases the return of familiar faces such as Taissa Farmiga, Jonas Bloquet, and Bonnie Aarons, reprising their roles from the first instalment.
Taissa Farmiga as Sister Irene. All photos by Bruno Calvo. Taking place four years after the events of its predecessor, the film delves into the journey of Sister Irene as she encounters the malevolent entity Valak, also known as the Nun, once more. On this occasion, the unsettling confrontation occurs within the confines of a boarding school located in France.
When it came to lighting the film, Nyby aimed for an unfiltered horror experience, free from excessive gimmicks. His practical lighting choices contributed to the movie's grounded and visceral essence, intensifying psychological and emotional terrors with raw authenticity.
I knew I wanted to keep a natural feel to keep the audience grounded in reality, he explains. The more realistic the lighting and more familiar the world is, you can build tension through what you don't see and the scares have a strong impact.
Whenever possible, Nyby would motivate light through windows or use practicals and the team utilised a wide assortment of fixtures. Large HMIs and tungsten units pushed light through windows and smaller led fixtures augmented light from practicals. For night exteriors on the city streets, I often only used sodium vapour practicals and embraced the darkness in between, he continues. We tried to light actors' faces with Tungsten units rather than LED, wherever we could.
To keep the film visually cohesive, it was a modus operandi they adhered to throughout. Our aim was that through the entire film, the lighting should feel natural, he adds. When supernatural forces were at play, we used a slightly more elevated and stylised lighting but still grounded in reality. It felt really important to ensure we didn't go too far with any stylised lighting, so that it didn't feel forced. Just a slight change when the supernatural elements show themselves to enhance the moment.
The Sony Venice 2 was Nyby's choice of camera for the production, primarily because of the low light sensitivity it offers. What's more, he says the kit stood out from the rest because of its great colour rendition with natural skin tones. I often shot at 3200 ISO and was able to rely on low light practicals even candle light which lends itself to the naturalistic feel we aimed for from the start, he adds.
Nyby shot with a mix of Panavision anamorphic lenses, because he and Chaves both love the nostalgic movie feel that anamorphic lenses create as well as the widescreen format. We used G and E series primes and T-series zoom lenses and most of these lenses were fairly sharp but still have a depth of character, he says.
When it came to VFX, Nyby says he felt it was important that it blended in as seamlessly as possible. There are a number of supernatural fire effects throughout the film, he explains. These were done by shooting separate fire elements and compositing them into the scenes. My gaffer Michel Mitch' Bouquerel built a few different fire rigs to simulate a fire effect on our practical sets.
Forging an unsettling atmosphere stands as the very bedrock of any formidable horror production. Nyby divulges that he and Chaves orchestrated protracted, tension-laden sequences throughout moments imbued with the supernatural and spine-chilling elements.
Slow pans and intentional camera movements were used to create a feeling of unease, he continues. In some ways it is like the camera is its own character. In the school, there are a few scenes that take place in a stairway that is four stories tall. The key grip Michel Strasser built a rig that enabled the camera to move vertically through the entire staircase. He used a series of ropes hung from the ceiling to move the camera on a Ronin 2.
There were also key considerations that went into selecting the colour grading for the film, to enhance the story and relationship between Sister Irene and Valak.
We did the colour grading with colourist Alastor Arnold at Fotokem and we tried to stick to the same naturalistic feel that we aimed for when shooting, Nyby continues. We didn't drastically change the colour from what we originally shot. We only used the Sony LUT while shooting and tried to keep the colour grade in line with that.
Sleep tight.
The Nun II was released in cinemas across Europe on 8th September.
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...
02/05/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
06/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
06/04/2026
From high school sports all the way up to the major leagues, building high-quali...
06/04/2026
Quickplay, an AI company for the media and entertainment industry, has been accepted into the Advanced tier of the TwelveLabs Ecosystem Partner Program. Quickpl...
06/04/2026
Grass Valley has announced the Future Playmakers Program, a global initiative to...
06/04/2026
El l der de operaciones impulsa la producci n en estudio mientras encuentra insp...
06/04/2026
The ops leader helps lead the charge in studio for the Spanish-language broadcas...
06/04/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
06/04/2026
The National Hockey League (NHL), in partnership with Verizon and the New Jersey Devils, today announced the opening of the NHL Innovation Lab powered by Verizo...
06/04/2026
Rock League, a new professional curling league, has announced that ESPN+ will stream its inaugural 2026 season for fans in the United States. The first Rock Lea...
06/04/2026
Advanced Systems Group has announced the appointment of Andrea (Andy) Cummis as Vice President of Systems Design and Engineering. In this role, she will lead de...
06/04/2026
Backed by Bolt Ventures, the venture brings Bryson DeChambeau, Grant Horvat, and...
06/04/2026
With this environment we can start that collaboration even earlier because we ca...
06/04/2026
Like the immortal lives of vampires, some stories never really end. That's t...
06/04/2026
As podcasting continues to evolve, growth increasingly means building beyond aud...
06/04/2026
Multiband dynamics plug-in enhanced
California-based developer FSK Audio have released a significant update for their innovative multiband dynamics processo...
06/04/2026
Share official & user-created full-rig presets
IK Multimedia's latest TONEX update makes it possible for users of the popular amp and effects modelling ...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/04/2026
Dalet Showcases Dalia Agentic AI and End-to-End Media Workflows at NAB Show 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Dalet, a leading technology and...
06/04/2026
OpenDrives Shows Off Sports Expertise in Sports Business Hub located in NAB Show...
06/04/2026
Proton to Demonstrate 3D Application at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Yet further creative potential unleashed through innovation in ...
06/04/2026
Autoscript Highlights Voice-Driven Prompting and PTZ Solutions at NAB 2026
Brie Clayton April 6, 2026
0 Comments
Experience Autoscript Voice, PTZ prom...
06/04/2026
Mediaproxy Highlights Significant Enhancements to its LogServer suite at NAB Sho...
06/04/2026
Wayne, N.J., April 6th, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the release of PCC 4...
06/04/2026
April 6th, 2026
TRIBECA STUDIOS AND LILLY ANNOUNCE WINNERS OF INAUGURAL VITAL...
06/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Expands Kids Entertainment Lineup With Playground App ...
05/04/2026
Tackles all reported bugs!
SoundBridge have just announced the launch of a new update that introduces a couple of minor changes to their remote collaboratio...
04/04/2026
The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...
04/04/2026
1080p HDR arrives, a new generation of storytelling tools takes center stage, an...
04/04/2026
Michigan legends bring a new voice to the broadcast as TNT Sports and CBS Sports...
04/04/2026
Faster, cleaner and more intuitive than ever
The control software for Flock Audio's digitally controlled patchbay systems has just been treated to an up...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/04/2026
DHD Introduces AI-Based Audio Noise Reduction to XD3 IP Core
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
The accompanying image shows the rear panel of the ...
04/04/2026
Macnica Redefines ST 2110 Flexibility with Two Speeds on One Card
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
New for NAB Show 2026, MEP100 SmartNIC now sup...
04/04/2026
Unified Media Workflows for Story-Centric Production
Brie Clayton April 3, 2026
0 Comments
Framelight X unifies field capture, editing and publishing ...
03/04/2026
Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...
03/04/2026
Avid will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (April 18-22, Booth N2226, Las Vegas Convention Center), demonstrating its Content Core platform and new AI-driven workflow c...
03/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has announced the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer.
The announcement follows MRMC's transition fro...
03/04/2026
Interra Systems has announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its BATON file-based QC solution for media workflows. Elite Media Technologies speciali...
03/04/2026
Ateme has announced that Moldtelecom has deployed Ateme technologies across its streaming workflow, covering encoding, delivery, operations, and analytics.
Mol...
03/04/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate Framelight X, its content management platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform connects capture, ingest, editing, and publishing in...
03/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have announced a cloud-native Master Control ...