Based on the series of novels by Eoin Colfer, the feature Artemis Fowl finds its namesake a precocious, hyperintelligent 12-year-old boy (played by Ferdia Shaw) just after his father (Colin Farrell) has gone missing from their estate in Ireland. Young Artemis soon finds the first in a trail of clues that, in leading him back to his father, will also unlock a magical world populated by fairies, trolls and other creatures the young boy had thought to be merely the stuff of legend and myth.
Artemis Fowl was cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos, BSC, GSC's sixth feature collaboration with director Kenneth Branagh; their seventh, Death on the Nile, is slated for release later this year. Over the course of their collaboration, Zambarloukos notes, There's a trust that's built up, an understanding, a similar love of storytelling, certain social views that you want to share in filmmaking and that then enrich a professional friendship. That's what it's become: a very rewarding professional friendship. We push each other and encourage each other very well.
As prep got underway on Artemis Fowl, Branagh and Zambarloukos looked at a wide range of visual references, including a certain type of entertaining storytelling in the vein of Spielberg and Indiana Jones, where things have a breadth and happen quickly, the cinematographer says. Inspired by the same Irish mythology from which Artemis Fowl draws, the filmmakers also looked to nature itself. The documentary series Blue Planet II became a really big influence and provided our references for [the subterranean] Haven City. We were going to the natural world to get something extremely fictional and that was always the case with Irish mythology, which had its roots in a love of the Earth, in a natural beauty that blends into a more magical beauty.
The filmmakers considered shooting on 65mm film but ultimately opted for anamorphic 35mm, working primarily with Primo anamorphic primes. Ken was talking about a fast-paced camera, and [the Millennium XL2 35mm camera system allowed for] a few more tricks up our sleeve, Zambarloukos shares. But we still wanted the extreme high fidelity and immersion that you have from 65mm, and we found a middle ground between traditional 35mm and 65mm by using Primo anamorphics and, as much as we could, lower ASA film, Kodak's 200T [Vision3 5213, for day interiors] and 50D [5203, for day exteriors], and we only went to 500T [5219] when we needed it.
Zambarloukos sourced his camera and lens package with the help of Panavision's Hugh Whittaker and Charlie Todman. Supplementing the Primo anamorphics, the production carried G Series primes primarily for Steadicam shots, operated by Stamos Triantafyllos and select other optics. In picking his lens package, the cinematographer followed what he calls his standard procedure. He explains, Charlie Todman, 1st AC Dean Thompson and I will sit in the lens-projection room at [Panavision's facility in] Greenford and project as many lenses as we can to pick our sets. Despite going Primo, I still look for a teeny bit of falloff on the edges, and the extreme sharpness in the middle.
On set, the cinematographer predominantly used focal lengths in the 35mm to 75mm range, he says. We definitely went wider, but that midrange is where you spend most of your time, especially with kids. That's where the human eye sits, really.
Principal photography on Artemis Fowl took place in 2018, with the majority of the shooting done at Longcross Studios in Chertsey, England. There, the production built Fowl Manor the mansion home to the film's eponymous hero as a self-contained location, with a fully realized interior and exterior that allowed the camera to roam from inside to outside and back in continuous shots, Zambarloukos explains.
It took a lot of planning to give Haris and Ken full rein to shoot where they wanted to at any time, says gaffer Julian White, whose collaboration with Zambarloukos traces back to the 2004 feature Spivs. HMIs were positioned on cranes outside to push hard daylight into the house interior, while bi-color LED banks were rigged to provide an aggressive soft light through the huge windows, White notes. Inside, he adds, Rigging gaffer Dan Lowe and his team installed a steel rig in the ceiling very much like you would have on a traditional stage, which meant that electric hoists could be added and repositioned quickly. The whole set was installed with a full electrical three-phase system and Wi-Fi control.
On top of all that, Zambarloukos says, practical lighting was done hand in hand with Jim Clay, our production designer. So Julian White, Dan Lowe and practical electrician Joe McGee made a plan and fitted out the house [with bi-color LEDs] so everything was DMX-able, everything had temperature control, and everything went back to the same [lighting console]. The overall approach to Fowl Manor allowed Zambarloukos to shoot inside with the 200 ASA stock at his preferred stop of T4.
The production's lighting package was sourced through Panalux. With Ken, we do these really intricate, difficult sets and studio pictures that require you to rethink everything every time, the cinematographer says. It's so bespoke; there's no set way of doing this. No one's built a house like that for a set, three stories high, inside and out, all functioning, all lit. So when we go to Panalux and we say, Can we do this?' we all start together. And there's a fantastic sense that, Of course we can,' and please come and test.' It's a team effort.
We spent a lot of time testing and sourcing the right materials, White adds. Rob Garvie, Paul Dooley and the Panalux team were fantastic in their support from prep through to finish. The movie was never straightforward in its
Europe Stories
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...
02/06/2026
Musically intelligent soft synth gets upgraded
Scaler Music will be probably be best known to many for their music theory tools, but their product range al...
02/06/2026
Powerful new vocal-production tool announced
Described as a vocal performance station , Klevgrand's latest plug-in combines pitch-correction with harmo...
02/06/2026
Launched alongside Go Green sale extension
McDSP have just released the latest addition to their APB line-up, DC-2 Dual Compressor, and have also announced ...
02/06/2026
Create custom tools for Ableton Live 12 Suite
Ableton have just introduced a new open JavaScript toolkit that allows anyone to create their own custom tools...
02/06/2026
Now features full H90 algorithm library
Eventide have announced the upcoming launch of the H9 Harmonizer Gen 2, a new and improved version of their hugely p...
02/06/2026
Plus UAD Half Yearly Sale now live
The latest arrival to the Universal Audio range delivers a new native pitch-correction plug-in that's capable of deli...
02/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to present comprehensive performance, conformance and spectrum-m...
02/06/2026
BTL Laboratory becomes Taiwan's first test house with a CTIA Certification c...
02/06/2026
If you've kept up with this article series, you know by now where to start w...
02/06/2026
With new DSP configurations and flexible licensing options, Calrec is removing the barriers to virtualised audio, giving broadcasters the freedom to scale produ...
02/06/2026
02 Jun 2026
VEON Closes USD 1.4 Billion Bond Offering, Refinancing 2027 Notes A...
02/06/2026
Praise for series three:
The Times - sun-dappled pleasure
The Daily Mail - The Homes Counties' Charlie's Angels
The Sun - 4* this [is an] enjoya...
02/06/2026
Wuppertal June 2, 2026
Gudrun Scharler Appointed CEO of Riedel Networks The Riedel Group today announced the appointment of Gudrun Scharler as CEO of Riedel N...
02/06/2026
Trust has become a commercial issue With global advertising spend forecast to exceed US$1 trillion this year*, the commercial consequences of weak governance co...
02/06/2026
June sees Ireland's cultural calendar in full bloom, as RT Supporting the Arts showcases a vibrant and wide-ranging programme spanning music, theatre, visu...
02/06/2026
After The Traitors Ireland launched in 2025, Irish audiences proved to have a taste for the global hit reality show. This Bank Holiday Monday fans can indulge e...
01/06/2026
Category line-up & sponsors announced
Photo: Paul Clarke
The Production Music Awards (PMA) have announced that submissions are now officially open ahead of...
01/06/2026
New hybrid sample/synthesis instrument revealed
Excite Audio have just released the latest instalment in their Evolve series, which has been developed in co...
01/06/2026
Latest TONEX expansion captures three rare vintage amps
The newest addition to IK Multimedia's ever-growing TONEX line-up introduces a set of three incr...
01/06/2026
Musically intelligent soft synth gets upgraded
Scaler Music will be probably be best known to many for their music theory tools, but their product range al...
01/06/2026
Rohde & Schwarz Satellite Industry Days 2026 guided by the motto From Earth to ...
01/06/2026
Luxembourg, June 1, 2026 - SES, a leading space solutions company, and Viva, Mexico's ultra low-cost airline, launched fast and reliable multi-orbit satelli...
01/06/2026
Mardi 2 juin 14h00
FilmLight (ARRI), 10 rue Ren Boulanger, 75010 Paris
Rejoignez-nous pour d couvrir comment FLAPI (l'API FilmLight) peut transformer e...
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...
29/05/2026
The days are getting longer, the temperatures are rising, and playlists are filling up for the season. With summer around the corner, Spotify's global edito...
29/05/2026
New retro-inspired MPC announced
There are few devices that have gained the status held by Akai Pro's MPC range, and in recent years, the company have s...
29/05/2026
Save up to 30 on acclaimed titles
Following a successful launch at Superbooth 2026, Bjooks have revealed that they will be continuing the Kickstarter campa...
29/05/2026
Binaural monitoring application improved
Genelec have just released an update that brings some powerful new features to their HRTF-based binaural headphone ...
29/05/2026
6 June 2026 at SAE Institute, London, UK
IMSTA FESTA 2026 is almost upon us, with some of the biggest names in pro-audio set to descend upon SAE Institute i...
29/05/2026
cetecom advanced certifies Rohde & Schwarz test solution for hybrid and Next Gen...
29/05/2026
May 29 2026, 09:00 (PDT) Dolby and rednote Bring More Immersive Storytelling to...
29/05/2026
Youtube exclusive special drops today
Watch now
UKTV today announces another e...
29/05/2026
Genelec announces V2.1 for Aural ID binaural headphone monitoring application posted: 29/05/2026
Aural ID 2.1 enhances binaural monitoring for stereo and ...
29/05/2026
At just 20 years old, Sean Melia from Summerhill Co. Meath has been revealed as the winner of Super Garden 2026. Sean is the youngest ever contestant and winner...
28/05/2026
Thomsons Climate Crisis Toolkit is already being put to work, helping journalist...
28/05/2026
A little refresh can go a long way. We've been making behind-the-scenes upda...
28/05/2026
Since early last year, our quarterly Creator Milestone Awards have celebrated podcasts from around the world that hit major streaming milestones on Spotify. Tod...
28/05/2026
New software-based MIDI multi-clock announced
Rapid Flow have just announced the launch of a new MIDI utility plug-in that aims to solve one of the most per...
28/05/2026
Company introduce most affordable interface yet
SSL's range of audio interfaces has just gained its latest, and smallest member, the SSL 1. Designed to ...
28/05/2026
New compact drum machine & sampler announced
The latest instrument from Sonicware sees the company kick off an all-new Deconstruct series with a compact dru...
28/05/2026
Hellenic Civil Aviation Authority modernizes nationwide ATC voice communications...
28/05/2026
Comscore Announces Appointment of Matt McLaughlin as Chief Executive OfficerJon Carpenter to remain as Senior Advisor to the Board and CEO
Global business lead...
28/05/2026
Wuppertal May 28, 2026
Berliner Ensemble Upgrades Backstage Infrastructure With Riedel Stage SystemsRiedel Communications today announced that Berliner Ensemb...
28/05/2026
Harmonic's Software-Based XOS Advanced Media Processor Powers Cost-Efficient 24/7 Channel Origination and Direct-to-Consumer Delivery
SAN JOSE, Calif. - M...
28/05/2026
RT presents Wild Conamara, a two-part natural history documentary that brings a...
27/05/2026
Spotify already brings together listeners' favorite music, podcasts, and audiobooks in one place. Now, we're trialing a new format that expands the cont...
Based on the series of novels by Eoin Colfer, the feature Artemis Fowl finds its namesake a precocious, hyperintelligent 12-year-old boy (played by Ferdia Shaw) just after his father (Colin Farrell) has gone missing from their estate in Ireland. Young Artemis soon finds the first in a trail of clues that, in leading him back to his father, will also unlock a magical world populated by fairies, trolls and other creatures the young boy had thought to be merely the stuff of legend and myth.
