
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
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
04/07/2025
The Summer Reading Challenge has inspired children across the U.K. to embrace a ...
04/07/2025
Friday 4 July 2025
Watch the trailer here https://youtu.be/Od5WpvWmDr8
Further...
04/07/2025
The Pitch comes to RT Radio 1 airwaves this Sunday at 7pm. The Pitch is a brand...
03/07/2025
For our Vario-Jib, as well as for a repertoire of weights, we now have carts that make transport easier...
03/07/2025
One of our latest innovations: Slider Drive Unit!
Our Vario Slider not only comes with improvements and new features, but also with its own drive unit!
Our i...
03/07/2025
The 360 EVO lives up to its name: 360-degree rotation not only on the pan axis, but also on the roll axis, enables filmmakers to take their creative visions eve...
03/07/2025
What a buzzing few days at BSCExpo in London!
We were thrilled to connect with so many talented professionals from the world of cinematography.
A huge thank ...
03/07/2025
ADOLESCENCE - Shot with Panther Tower"The whole rig had to be detachable mid-episode
Netflix limited drama series Adolescence has been gaining attentio...
03/07/2025
** MEDIA ALERT ** Shonen Jump Store Hosting Los Angeles Pop-up During Anime Exp...
03/07/2025
Thursday 3 July 2025
David Harewood and Matthew Broome in Mozart: Genius for Hi...
03/07/2025
The Sky WNT Fund supports Womens National Team players with a 30,000 bursaryThursday 3 July 2025
Sky Ireland has announced the four recipients of the 2025 Sky...
02/07/2025
Calrec expands ecosystem at NAB 2025 giving broadcasters access to dynamic workflows and ultimate flexibility Helping broadcasters meet the shifting needs of me...
02/07/2025
02 Jul 2025
VEON Raises USD 200 Million in Private Bond Placement Dubai, July 1, 2025: VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), a global digital operator ( VEON ), announces ...
02/07/2025
Brand new factual series follows mechanic and self-taught engineer Dom Chinea as he makes the move of his life to the far west of Cornwall
UKTV today announces...
02/07/2025
Rohde & Schwarz acquires ZES ZIMMER Electronic Systems GmbH and expands its T&M ...
02/07/2025
Wuppertal July 2, 2025
Riedel Communications Launches RefSuite Ecosystem for S...
02/07/2025
Andrew will serve as Chair of ABC alongside his role at NED, APL Media, where he supports the executive team with strategic insight and global expansion plans. ...
01/07/2025
The launch of Code of Silence, coupled with the Britains Got Talent semi final, gave ITV its best Sunday night of 2025.
The first episode of the new crime dr...
01/07/2025
ITV and Mammoth Screen have announced the start of filming for Betrayal, a gripp...
01/07/2025
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
01/07/2025
Vocal-processing plug-in joins NOIZ Hub series
Launched in 2024, KIT Plugins' NOIZ Hub series was created with the aim of providing a range of professio...
01/07/2025
New self-paced learning programme announced
Mastering.com have announced the availability of a new online course designed to cover the fundamentals of maste...
01/07/2025
The Traitors are coming: Get your first taste of the global hit as Season 1 of T...
01/07/2025
cetecom advanced certifies Rohde & Schwarz test solution for the verification of...
01/07/2025
RT has announced that Teresa Smith has been appointed Commissioning Editor with responsibility for Factual Entertainment following a public competition. This s...
01/07/2025
This July, RT is delighted to support Galway International Arts Festival, Earagail Arts Festival in Donegal, Belfast TradFest and 23 other arts and cultural ev...
30/06/2025
There's nothing quite like the magic of finding music that feels made just f...
30/06/2025
When it comes to new music, Spotify's team of editors across North America is always on the hunt for songs that make them feel, think, and move. They're...
30/06/2025
Star Studded Ensemble Cast Are Joined by Richard Rankin as Filming Begins on the Second Season
[June 12, 2025 - Boston, MA]: The Forsytes, Debbie Horsfield...
30/06/2025
Eurorack sequencer module reimagined
California-based modular synth innovators Qu-Bit have announced the launch of a new module that offers a fresh new take...
30/06/2025
Improved dynamic behaviour, improved audio quality & more
Techivation have announced the release of an upgraded edition of their very first premium plug-in,...
30/06/2025
German premiere with live flight demonstration: German industry team showcases e...
30/06/2025
The Focusrite Summer Sale is now on Don't miss unbeatable deals on Scarlett, Vocaster, and more.
Whether you're an artist, a producer, or a podcaste...
30/06/2025
All 8 episodes of Season 1 of 1923 will be available on RT Player from Tuesday ...
30/06/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
52% report AI security spending is displacing tr...
30/06/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Cannes, June 30th, 2025 - Thales Alenia Space, t...
29/06/2025
Handpan-inspired instrument announced
Roland have announced the launch of the Mood Pan, a unique electronic hand percussion instrument that has been designe...
28/06/2025
Music theory plug-in updated
Three months on from the release of the latest version of their renowned music theory plug in, Scaler Music have launched an up...
27/06/2025
K-Pop remains one of the biggest genres globally, and many fans just can't get enough of it. That's why Spotify has launched a new series of K-Pop perf...
27/06/2025
In our latest blog post, Rafael Rivera highlights the rising threat of online scams, and the important role cybersecurity plays in protecting families across ge...
27/06/2025
From grounded realism to bending, impossible geometries
Klevgrand have announced the release of a new algorithmic reverb plug-in which they say deconstruct...
27/06/2025
Learn to use REW for room analysis
Acoustic treatment is one of the most important factors in any studio, and with the extensive range of products available...
27/06/2025
Second edition of parallel clipper plug-in announced
Soundtheory have announced the launch of Kraftur Focus, a new edition of their parallel clipper plug-in...
27/06/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Thales, a global high-tech leader, and Kongsberg...
27/06/2025
Friday 27 June 2025
Combination of RTL Deutschland and Sky Deutschland (Germany, Austria, Switzerland) to create a unique proposition in entertainment, sports ...
26/06/2025
Bilbao Linz, June 26th 2025 - AgileTV, a European leader in TV and video technology solutions, has signed an agreement this week with the Austrian telco LIWES...
26/06/2025
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has resolved, based on the decisions ma...
26/06/2025
Three new entry-level models introduced
Catering to everything from casual listening to professional content creation, KRK's new Kreate Series monitors ...