When cinematographer Zach Kuperstein got the job to shoot writer-director Zach Cregger's horror feature Barbarian, one of the first things he did was reach out to Light Iron senior colorist Sam Daley. The two had previously worked together on a short and three independent features The Eyes of My Mother, The Vigil and Paper Spiders but their collaborations began during post, not during preproduction. For Barbarian, Kuperstein was able to shoot tests and then work with Daley from the start to create a shooting LUT that would match Cregger's vision for this mind-bending story of a girl (played by Georgina Campbell) who arrives at a house she's booked for the night only to discover a young man (Bill Skarsg rd) has also rented it.
To give Daley an idea of what he and Cregger wanted, Kuperstein assembled a short look book of photographic references that defined the movie's tone and mood. The book included stills from the features Prisoners, Gone Girl and Sicario for night interiors, It Comes at Night for flashlight scenes, and American Beauty and Pleasantville for a 1980s flashback sequence. Texturally we tried to keep it limited, the cinematographer explains. It wasn't too built-out or complicated. I find it best to keep the references really tight because otherwise it's hard to articulate exactly what it is about each image that is related to the color.
Barbarian is set in Detroit but was shot in Bulgaria, where infrastructure limitations made it difficult to reliably share footage from set with Daley in New York. So, Daley explains, Zach came up with a lo-fi way for us to exchange images and LUTs. He would shoot a test, and instead of sending me terabytes of files to look at, he would send me high-quality DPX still frames, which he could easily email or put up on WeTransfer or Dropbox.
Kuperstein was grateful for Daley's partnership throughout this testing phase. It was great to get Sam's eyes on the footage and his guidance on where we could or where we shouldn't push the camera, he says. We shot with the Sony Venice, which I hadn't used before, so I was like, Can I go to 5,000 ISO? Can I go to 10,000 ISO?' And Sam said, Don't go to 10,000 ISO, but go to 5,000 if you need it.' His guidance was super-helpful, and paired with the test footage, it made for a robust LUT that we could use to shoot everything.
The shooting LUT Daley provided was set for a color temperature of 4300 Kelvin, approximately halfway between tungsten and daylight, giving Kuperstein the ability to use the LUT in any type of lighting situation. It was just something to get in the ballpark while Zach was on location in Bulgaria and working really quickly, Daley says. When we circled back after the edit to do the final color, I came up with another series of looks, and it was ultimately Zach Cregger, the director, who decided which of the looks he preferred.
Kuperstein and Daley kept their lines of communication open throughout principal photography. I usually don't work with a DIT on set, or somebody live-grading, or somebody else judging exposure with me, the cinematographer says. Having Sam to bounce that off of throughout the production was really helpful. He helped me make sure the exposure was giving us a lot more depth in the shadows, which I'm glad we had.
Both on set and in the final grade, Kuperstein always strove to keep the lighting tethered to reality. My approach is very much about motivated lighting, he says. I try to find whatever sources are in the room or in the space that make sense for the scene. At times those could be sodium-vapor streetlights outside, tungsten or fluorescent lights inside, or a mix. From a lighting perspective, it's often about keeping something bright in the background so you can make the rest of the image dark you can get away with it being darker if there are highlights in the image. Then, in the grade, you're making sure you aren't losing those highlights and are bringing out that contrast wherever possible.
Similar to what Zach says about motivating light sources, that's what I always do, Daley says of his process. It's got to feel real so that somebody is going to watch and be engaged in the story. Then I flavor it with whatever's going on and create mood with contrast or a slight hue change to help tell the story through color and contrast choices.
For the color grade, Kuperstein and Daley worked together in person at Light Iron New York while Cregger split his time between Light Iron's New York and Los Angeles locations. Based on the locked picture in combination with Kuperstein and Cregger's notes, Daley began by offering a range of looks for the filmmakers' consideration. One option offered a grainy, bleach-bypass, cross-processed look; another was much more subdued and classical in style, with a Kodak film feel. The opportunity to see the opposing looks helped Kuperstein and Cregger make their choice. I'm glad we got to see the extreme look even if it wasn't the direction we went with, the cinematographer reflects. It was good to test the waters with that and see how Zach responded to it. He reminded us that we weren't trying to tip our hand too early and that we needed to play it more neutral. When we saw the Kodak look that Sam put on it, the colors just popped into life and the whole film felt fresh.
With the film look they landed on in the final grade, Daley adds, We did deviate a little bit from what we had in the testing. But it wasn't a very assertive film look. It was more subtle.
The overall palette for the interior of the house tended toward the warmer range of the spectrum. I like to look at the color palette of the production design and see what I can lean into, shares Daley, who graded the project wi
Most recent headlines
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...
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...
12/05/2026
Beyond the Hype: A Strategic Post-Hoc Analysis of NAB 2026 If NAB Show 2026 had an underlying theme, it was a quiet, industry-wide pivot from the high-energy sp...
12/05/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D), a Panoptec Technologies Group company, and CT Square, led by Chandresh Shah, have announced a joint venture to distribute G&D and V...
12/05/2026
With 30 days until the start of the FIFA World Cup 2026, Telemundo, the exclusive Spanish-language home of the tournament in the United States, has announced th...
12/05/2026
The NHL has announced the return of Stanley Pup for its third consecutive year, a 90-minute special featuring adoptable rescue dogs competing on a miniature rin...
12/05/2026
NBCUniversal presented its 2026 Upfront to advertisers at Radio City Music Hall, detailing upcoming programming across NBC, Peacock, Bravo, and Versant properti...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced funding for the Fandom and Social Connection Initiative at Harvard Kennedy School's Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Publ...
12/05/2026
TNDV and Live Media, both divisions of Live Media Group, supported live broadcast coverage around NCAA Final Four weekend in Indianapolis, including the March M...
12/05/2026
The European Football Alliance (EFA) has announced a content distribution agreement with Fubo Sports Network, the free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) channel ...
12/05/2026
For the first time, Spanish-speaking fans in the U.S. will have two separate tel...
12/05/2026
CP Communications led a comprehensive spectrum management initiative on behalf of Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week, coordinating RF assets across the ...
12/05/2026
LiveU has announced a strategic partnership with DRONERESPONDERS, a 501(c)3 non-...
12/05/2026
Open Broadcast Systems has announced that BMC TV, a specialist in IP transport of broadcast content, has selected the Open Broadcast Systems 5G Flyaway solution...
12/05/2026
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, has announced it will deliver broadcast solutions...
12/05/2026
Grass Valley has announced continued collaboration with Ravensbourne University ...
12/05/2026
Stats Perform has announced the launch of Opta Pulse, an AI-assisted video creation and distribution platform for leagues, rights holders, and broadcasters. The...
12/05/2026
FOX Sports has announced a collaboration with Sesame Workshop to integrate Sesame Street characters into FOX Sports' FIFA World Cup 2026 programming. Conten...
12/05/2026
To date, NHL Productions has produced 19 broadcasts with commentary in American Sign Language
NHL in ASL (American Sign Language) may be just one show, but the...
12/05/2026
Google's Brian Albert: creators, athletes, highlights, nostalgia, second-scr...
12/05/2026
A still from Past Lives by Celine Song, an official selection of the Premieres program at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of Sundance Institute | p...
12/05/2026
Spotify is where fans and artists come together, turning discovery into somethin...
12/05/2026
Features patented Marco-MMC clocking technology
Black Lion Audio's latest release combines the company's expertise in clocking with their renowned p...
12/05/2026
New Track Panel, sequencer upgrades & more
Following their recent public beta release, Reason Studios have announced the full release of Reason 14. With the...
12/05/2026
One month to go! SBS reveals expansive FIFA World Cup 2026 lineup beyond the pi...
12/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz presents its advanced solutions for power electronics testing at...
12/05/2026
aconnic AG (ISIN: DE000A0LBKW6), Munich, has developed a modified fund raising p...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Tyrell Corporation, specialists in high-end live sports and entertainment broadcasts, was tasked with delivering compelling broadcast coverage of premier equest...
12/05/2026
Registration is now open for IBC2026 as the global media, entertainment and technology community prepares to converge on the RAI Amsterdam from 11 14 September ...
12/05/2026
Ross Video, a global leader in live video production technology, will present its latest innovations and integrated production workflows at BroadcastAsia 2026, ...
12/05/2026
500 selected leaders from around the world across start-ups, corporates, and venture capital. Over 50bn in assets under management among attending investors, a...
12/05/2026
CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, has appointed Randy Koeman as Sales Manager, Netherlands, marking anot...
12/05/2026
Taiwan Television has expanded its HD content ingest workflow capabilities by investing in the PlayBox Neo Suite - a leading multi-channel multi-server UHD/HD/S...
12/05/2026
Jigsaw24 is strengthening its media team with the appointment of Tom Laker as Client Director and Ashish Chauhan as Project Manager. These strategic hires bring...
12/05/2026
Broadcast playout leader showcases hybrid IP infrastructure and workflow automation with Videoland deployment as regional benchmark...
12/05/2026
dzjinius, the all-in-one production management platform for the media and entertainment industry, will showcase its centralised approach to production workflows...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/05/2026
NUGEN Audio will debut Version 1.1 of DialogCheck, its intelligent dialog intelligibility and compliance tool, at the 2026 Media Production & Technology Show (S...
12/05/2026
The reactive visuals can adapt to any stage or screen setup and comprise 50 layers of Notch content
Today, Disguise announced that its high performance GX 3 m...
12/05/2026
Snapgrid , Snapbag & Airglow Expand Creative Control for the ARRI Modular LED BarFollowing the launch of the ARRI Omnibar, DoPchoice introduces a dedicated li...
12/05/2026
May 12th, 2026 Press Materials Available Here
TRIBECA FESTIVAL UNVEILS 2026 GAMES PROGRAM
Tribeca Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary With World Premieres and Pl...
12/05/2026
May 12th, 2026 Press Materials Available Here
MADONNA BRINGS THE WORLD PREMIERE OF CONFESSIONS II TO 2026 TRIBECA FESTIVAL
The Global Icon Will Unveil a Cine...
12/05/2026
Customer demand for data continues to grow in the first quarter of 2026 at Magya...
When cinematographer Zach Kuperstein got the job to shoot writer-director Zach Cregger's horror feature Barbarian, one of the first things he did was reach out to Light Iron senior colorist Sam Daley. The two had previously worked together on a short and three independent features The Eyes of My Mother, The Vigil and Paper Spiders but their collaborations began during post, not during preproduction. For Barbarian, Kuperstein was able to shoot tests and then work with Daley from the start to create a shooting LUT that would match Cregger's vision for this mind-bending story of a girl (played by Georgina Campbell) who arrives at a house she's booked for the night only to discover a young man (Bill Skarsg rd) has also rented it.
