Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Cinematographer Rachel Morrison, ASC on the feature Seberg

06/09/2024

Cinema, the most voyeuristic of mediums, is uniquely placed to convey both the act of surveillance and the psychology of the surveilled. In Seberg, director Benedict Andrews and cinematographer Rachel Morrison, ASC draw upon the great conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s for an unconventional biopic that examines the disturbing, real-life experience of actress and activist Jean Seberg.

This narrative begged to be shot on celluloid, Morrison explains. It is the story of a Hollywood starlet and the dark undercurrent of government, and the invasion of privacy. I think there are lots of parallels between what happened to Jean and what is happening now which made this film both exciting and relevant.

In the late 1960s, having made her name as the star of A Bout De Souffle, Seberg (played by Kristen Stewart) moved to Los Angeles and became involved with the Black Panther movement bringing her to the attention of the FBI. Andrews' film weaves together facts and historical incidents into a kind of speculative fiction that explores her subjective experience.

Andrews drew on references from stills by photographers including Stephen Shore, William Eggleston and George Rodriguez, as well as inspiration from the political thrillers of the era like The Parallax View and Klute.

Choosing 35mm inherently calls back to those films, Morrison says.

The film's relatively low budget worked in their favor. When every other film is digital and pushing resolution, the use of analogue stands out, the DP espouses. The feel of it binds you emotionally to the story, plus its appearance is inherently of a certain time period, so I felt it could be an asset especially when we don't have the budget to populate the picture with cars and others detail that might otherwise be used to sell the period.

Morrison chose the Panavision Millennium XL2, a decision reverse engineered from her first choice of C Series anamorphic lenses.

I fell in love with Panavision's C Series on Mudbound (for which Morrison was Oscar nominated). I love their organic nature, the quality of the fall off, the fact that no two lenses are the same, and that some of the focal lengths flare warm. I have tested every other anamorphic lens and can't find any I like as much, especially for a period film.

Part of the reason I love film in general and anamorphic in particular are the inherent imperfections, Morrison continues. Life is imperfect and unpredictable. So, the lenses came first, and since we were going to shoot a lot of this film handheld, the XL2 was the right choice because it is ergonomic and light.

For Seberg, Morrison explains she liked the erratic nature to the light as captured though the lens, especially the flaring on the corner of the lens which questions the sanity of her perspective.

She adds, The softness around the edges helps to focus the viewer's eye on the subject in moments when she senses she is being spied on. The fact that we were using older glass with tiny nicks on the back or front elements only added to the irregularities and the overall aesthetic.

With the C Series in high demand, she and first AC Simon England worked with Panavision to pull together a set of lenses, including some PVZ and SP Primes, which were customized under the supervision of Panavision's lens guru Dan Sasaki to match the C Series.

We are a C Series film, so the customization of glass was just to blend in, rather than look entirely different, Morrison notes. All the glass performed incredibly well.

Morrison also took a set of spherical lenses, mainly as a safety net for night sequences. For some sequences we were exposing 500 ASA or 320 ASA and lighting by streetlight. It's not the kind of movie that could afford to change out every single LED streetlight and replace with old cobra heads, so I switched to spherical at these points. I'd mixed both spherical and anamorphic on Mudbound and felt comfortable with combining formats seamlessly.

The main Los Angeles action, with production design by Jahmin Assa, is depicted as an idyll of sparkling light. Morrison's camera plays with the glass of Seberg's stylish Coldwater Canyon home, and the aquamarine water of its swimming pool.

The first half of the film is very aspirational, she says. It's the look of old Hollywood beautiful and magical. We leaned into saturated colors and sun-kissed highlights. It's vibrant and warm. As the narrative twists and Jean becomes trapped in her own reality, she starts to question the world around her and the colors start to drain away. We're not making a sharp transition to black and white; the tonal shift is made in subtle ways to more muted palettes. The light, which was once soft and aspirational, becomes harsh and mysterious.

Morrison's look design and lens choice also spoke to the contrast between subjective and objective reality and what it's like to experience the world versus observe someone else's experience.

I chose close and wide shots and opted for longer takes when we were in sync with Jean's perspective as opposed to longer lenses and more fragmented coverage when Jack [an FBI agent played by Jack O'Connell] is watching her. It helps blur the lines between reality and perception.

Both points-of-view can be seen on the screen in Seberg currently in theaters. Cinema, the most voyeuristic of mediums, is uniquely placed to convey both the act of surveillance and the psychology of the surveilled. In Seberg, director Benedict Andrews and cinematographer Rachel Morrison, ASC draw upon the great conspiracy thrillers of the 1970s for an unconventional biopic that examines the disturbing, real-life experience of actress and activist Jean Seberg.
LINK: https://www.panavision.com/highlights/highlights-detail/visualizing-tw...
See more stories from panavision

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

29/09/2026

First Baptist Nashville Drastically Upgrades Production Communications with...

eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......

29/09/2026

Fubo TV Launches My Local Sports'

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

ARRI Targets Content Creators with New HONOR Smartphone

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

Asian News International Enhances Workflow with Grass Valley AMPP, FramelightX

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

SABC Chooses Ikegami UHK-X600 Cameras to Support IP Studio Transition

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

SABC Upgrades to IP-Based Production with Ikegami UHK-X60...

Ikegami announces that the South African Broadcasting Corporation, SABC, has chosen Ikegami UHK-X600 camera systems as part of an advance to IP-based operation ...

29/09/2026

Blendkit Offers 20% Discount to Celebrate Crossing 150K Asset Milestone

Blendkit Offers 20% Discount to Celebrate Crossing 150K Asset Milestone Brie Clayton September 29, 2026 0 Comments Blendkit, the largest 3D asset libr...

29/09/2026

Ease Live Reports over 75 Million Interactive Sessions Du...

Interactive streaming specialist Ease Live supported more than 76.5 million fan sessions across three major European media operators during this summers FIFA Wo...

29/09/2026

Ease Live to monetise key moments in live sports

Ease Live has added support for VAST (Video Ad Serving Template) to its graphical overlay technology, opening up new ways for broadcasters, streamers and rights...

29/09/2026

Rise AV launches awards celebrating the women advocates a...

Rise AV has announced the launch of the inaugural Rise AV Awards, a new global awards programme celebrating the women, advocates and organisations across the AV...

29/09/2026

Netflix Deploys Advanced Sony PTZ Cameras For Wonka's The Golden Ticket' Production

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

Massachusetts Broadcasters Association Names Gene Lavanchy 2026 Broadcaster of the Year

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

ESPN Reports Its Most-Watched WNBA Regular Season

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

Scripps Taps Digital News Veteran Sean McGarvy to Lead News Strategy

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

Gray Raises Political Ad Revenue Estimates

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

Edward Czarnecki Uses Game Theory to Assess ATSC 3.0 Transition Policies

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/09/2026

First Baptist Nashville Drastically Upgrades Production C...

Clear-Com announced that First Baptist Nashville has upgraded its production communications with a Clear-Com intercom solution as part of a comprehensive sanct...

29/09/2026

Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Captured Action Shots for Sketch

Blackmagic Cinema Camera 6K Captured Action Shots for Sketch Brie Clayton September 28, 2026 0 Comments Camera's portable design and dynamic range...

29/09/2026

Kean Production Services Deploys AJA ColorBox to Deliver Consistent, Accurate Color Across In-venue Displays at Live Events

Kean Production Services Deploys AJA ColorBox to Deliver Consistent, Accurate Co...

29/09/2026

Berklee Alumni and Faculty Nominated for the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards

Berklee Alumni and Faculty Nominated for the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards A total of 28 Berklee alumni and faculty earned nominations across 20 categories this ye...

29/09/2026

Berklee's K-Pop & Beyond Explores Connections Between K-Pop and Hip-Hop

Berklee's K-Pop & Beyond Explores Connections Between K-Pop and Hip-Hop Now in its fifth year, the series brings together artists, industry leaders, and s...

29/09/2026

Apple releases new guide to help families build healthy digital habits - UPDATE - Posted on 29 September 2026

Today, in partnership with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), Apple relea...

29/09/2026

Final Cut Camera now supports variable aperture on iPhone\u00A018\u00A0Pro - UPDATE - Posted on 29 September 2026

Final Cut Camera, the professional filming app for iPhone, receives a major upda...

29/09/2026

RT lyric fm launch the hunt for Choirs for Christmas

RT lyric fm is proud to announce the annual Choirs for Christmas competition callout. Warm up those vocal chords and join us on RT lyric fm for a celebration ...

28/09/2026

NHL Names Adobe as an Official Creative, Marketing and AI Partner

The NHL has announced Adobe as an Official Creative, Marketing and AI Partner beginning with the 2026-27 season. The partnership will provide the league and its...

28/09/2026

MultiDyne to Showcase Expanded Portfolio Including MRMC Robotics at CABSAT 2026

MultiDyne will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (October 5-7, Dubai Exhibition Centre), showcasing an expanded technology portfolio following its June 2026 acquisition of...

28/09/2026

ARRI and HONOR Launch Co-Branded HONOR Magic9 Pro Max

ARRI and HONOR have announced the HONOR Magic9 Pro Max, a flagship smartphone carrying ARRI branding on the device and packaging as the first product-level expr...

28/09/2026

Net Insight Adds Nimbra 1020G to Pan-Asian Live Media Trial Network

Net Insight has added the Nimbra 1020G to its pan-Asian live media trial network, giving customers and partners in the region a way to evaluate ST 2110 and JPEG...

28/09/2026

Vindral Named Recipient of 2026 Technology and Engineering Emmy Award

Vindral has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology and Engineering Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences in the category of We...

28/09/2026

Interra Systems to Demonstrate QC and Monitoring Portfolio at CABSAT 2026

Interra Systems will exhibit at CABSAT 2026 (Stand B2-37, Dubai Exhibition Centre, October 5-7), demonstrating its BATON QC platform, ORION monitoring solutions...

28/09/2026

PGA TOUR's Michael Raimondo on Agentic Production, ShotLink Automation, and the Evolution of PGA TOUR Studios

Two years into its new production facility, the TOUR is expanding centralized wo...

28/09/2026

Game Creek Videos Epic Building Run Continues With ESPNs Countdown Unit, Upgrades to Four Others

In addition to rolling out a new mobile unit for ESPN's Monday Night Countd...

28/09/2026

Bleacher Report and WWE Reach Multi-Year Global Content Partnership

Bleacher Report and WWE have announced a multi-year content partnership giving Bleacher Report global highlight rights across WWE's programming slate, inclu...

28/09/2026

Behind The Mic: NBC Sports Shares MLB Wild Card Series Announcing Booth; ESPN Reveals NHL 26-27 Season Talent

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

28/09/2026

Fubo Adds Four NHL Regional Sports Networks for 2026-27 Season

FuboTV has announced a multi-year distribution agreement with the NHL to carry four regional sports networks covering the Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jac...

28/09/2026

Program Productions Names Alan Ostfield President and CEO

Program Productions (PPI) has announced the appointment of Alan Ostfield as President and Chief Executive Officer, effective September 28, 2026. Ostfield succee...

28/09/2026

Ha-chan, Shake Your Booty! Encourages Us to Keep Dancing

Director Josef Kubota Wladyka attends the premiere of Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! with the film's cast and crew at Eccles Theatre on January 22, 2026, in P...

28/09/2026

Scaler Music introduce Scaler EQ Pro

EQ plug-in can now be played via MIDI Scaler Music have recently released a new and improved version of their patented musical EQ plug-in, kitting it out wi...

28/09/2026

The Asura from Animal Factory Amps

New synth developed in collaboration with philterSoup Boutique effects pedal and Eurorack manufacturer Animal Factory Amps have announced that the new compa...

28/09/2026

Rohde & Schwarz adds an integrated multi-channel pulse analysis option to its FSWX signal and spectrum analyzer

Rohde & Schwarz adds an integrated multi-channel pulse analysis option to its FS...

28/09/2026

SBE Announces 2026 Ennes Scholarship Recipients

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/09/2026

Spectrum to Demo AI Computing at the Network's Edge at SCTE TechExpo 26

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/09/2026

Autoscript launches new Voice Controller prompting soluti...

Autoscript, the leading global provider of professional teleprompting solutions, today announced Voice Controller for WinPlus-IP, a new voice-controlled prompti...

28/09/2026

IBC 2026 Technical Conference Highlights

IBC 2026 Technical Conference Highlights David Kirk September 28, 2026 0 Comments Hero image courtesy Deposit Photos David Kirk reports from the 11-1...

28/09/2026

First Baptist Nashville Taps Clear-Com for Production Coms

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/09/2026

IEEE Announces Award for Leadership in Developing HEVC/H.265

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

28/09/2026

Nakadi Introduces Live to Theater Service Powered by Pate...

Nakadi, a global streaming technology innovator dedicated to engineering a new era of digital media delivery, today announced its Live to Theater service based ...