Based on the true story of two best friends, Jane (Yara Shahidi) and Corinne (Odessa A'zion), Sitting in Bars With Cake depicts a harrowing journey of maturity as Jane's weekly resolution to bake a new cake to bring into a different bar takes on deeper meaning after Corinne receives a life-threatening cancer diagnosis. Director Trish Sie and cinematographer Matthew Clark, ASC balanced the story's comedy and drama across a nuanced visual arc they defined in prep, shaped on set while shooting with Panavision VA primes, and polished in post in collaboration with Light Iron supervising colorist Corinne Bogdanowicz. Here, Clark and Bogdanowicz each reflect on the project, which is now streaming on Prime Video.
Panavision: How would you describe the movie?
Matthew Clark, ASC: Sitting in Bars With Cake is a funny drama. It starts off being a comedy, but then it gets really serious pretty quick. When we make that turn, I really wanted this portrait of these two women to have this different look. The idea was to show their relationship and how it changes over time. Once Yaras character becomes more emboldened, shes able to take care of her friend, and thats part of what allows her to become her own person. Its a really good story about the relationship between these two people.
This is the third movie Ive done with the director, Trish Sie. The first two were really sort of straight-up comedies, and this one had more meat to it. We looked at a lot of photographs. Philip-Lorca diCorcia was one of our references; a lot of his work is staged, but it's very practical lighting-wise. William Eggleston was another photographer we looked at, for his thoughtful naturalism and a lot of wide-angle inspiration, which also took me to a movie called St. Vincent. That movie has a lot of graphic elements that are super-simple but tell the story very well and allow Bill Murray to be Bill Murray. Manuel lvarez Bravo is another photographer we looked at for his ability tell a story with one frame.
We had so many different bars, and when I worked with Dave Elwell, my gaffer, we tried really hard not to have the same color in every bar. For this bar well do a lavender and yellow. For that bar well go with a blue-green kind of palette. This ones supernatural but not too over the top, just a lot of harsh light in the backgrounds. It was fun to play around with that.
Corinne, how did Matt and Trish describe the desired look for the project?
Corinne Bogdanowicz: They wanted this movie to feel grounded and not too poppy and happy. We used a lot of coolness in the shadow areas to create beautiful images that played with light and dark. The movie has a lot of colorful locations in bars, contrasted with less colorful locations like hospitals that we let play more natural and cooler.
Clark: Trish and I wanted to make sure that we didnt go back into Trish's commercial look but walked the line of it. There were times we could have been a little more dramatic or a little more comedic in the shooting of it, but we got it to a nice place. My favorite quote is what Conrad Hall, ASC said: You cant have sugar in every shot.' I believe that tremendously.
What led to the decision to shoot with VA primes?
Clark: Dan [Sasaki, Panavision's senior vice president of optical engineering and lens strategy] suggested the VAs because I wanted a large format for the job. With the VAs, there are so many different things you can do to make them less pristine. Dan was able to really work with the lenses to give me the tone I wanted. Its so great to be able to work with someone who has the ability to see the finer points and make them happen physically in a lens. You dont get that anywhere else.
One of the things Trish and I wanted to do was to go for a very naturalistic look, something that allowed the characters to breathe and find the spaces. Thats one of the reasons I wanted those lenses, because I felt like they provided a natural proscenium for them to play in, with aberrations on the edges. It provided them a place to move and still have some quality that wasn't just a wide shot.
What brought you to Light Iron for this project?
Clark: Ive worked with Corinne a lot. Shes my go-to person. Its always nice to have someone that you've developed a second language with. I usually develop a visual book that I'll send her, and we talk about the style the blue tones, the warm tones, the colors, and how we want to relate that to the texture and the contrast. We talk a lot beforehand, which allows us the time to switch things up and riff on whatevers happening. Working with her and Light Iron allows me to be more creative on set because you can just go with the flow and know that someones got your back.
How has your collaboration evolved over the projects you've done together?
Clark: At first, Corinne was trying to feel out my style, while I try not to have a style. I'm looking to find a true fit for the story that's my style. I look to be versatile. And she can do comedy, she can do drama, she can do grit, she can do all these things, which is a testament to her abilities.
What were the main areas of focus during the grade?
Bogdanowicz: We added grain for filmic texture and kept the palette a bit muted. We kept the skin tones natural so the audience can really connect with the characters.
Clark: One of the things that Corinne and I worked very hard on was to keep the visual arc going and allow it to be a little gritty in the beginning and a little more naturalistic into the end, where youre not brought down by the look of it. Part of that was having grain, having blue in the shadow detail, having little desaturated looks every once in a while, not so much over-the-top comedy things going on. It was just a matter of rounding off the edges.
Bogdanowicz: We did the HDR grade as the pr
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
09/10/2026
nxtedition will exhibit for the first time at Asias Broadcasting & Infotainment Show (A.B.I.S) in Mumbai, bringing its integrated production platform and latest...
09/10/2026
Today's AI Isn't the Answer
Andy Marken October 8, 2026
0 Comments
Let's say you're telling the truth, and this is all a dream. - Do...
09/10/2026
Ikegami to Introduce New UHK-X700VN Camera at NAB New York, Offering Advanced Cr...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
09/10/2026
Witness world firsts, new arrivals and the work that goes on behind the scenes a...
09/10/2026
September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026
New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...
08/10/2026
Modern venues have come a long way since the tinny, echoing audio of the mid 20t...
08/10/2026
ESPN's first Super Bowl production will stream in English and Spanish on Disney+, while the ESPN App carries the full slate of game, ManningCast, studio, an...
08/10/2026
From high-school videoboards to War Eagle Productions, the Opelika native is learning how to lead shows and capture big moments
The future of live sports produ...
08/10/2026
The Television Academy and Prime Video have announced a six-year agreement making Prime Video the exclusive global home of the Emmy Awards beginning with the 20...
08/10/2026
Techex will exhibit at NAB Show New York 2026 (Booth 623, Javits Center, October...
08/10/2026
X Games has announced the appointment of Steve Rogers as Chief Operating Officer. Rogers previously served as COO of World Supercross and spent nearly a decade ...
08/10/2026
Fonn Group has appointed Trevor Spielmann as Sales Director for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Spielmann joins from EVS, where he held sales and business de...
08/10/2026
The flagship program will originate from major PG events with a four-camera production, live distribution across PGTV, social platforms
Perfect Game is bringin...
08/10/2026
Innovation rarely happens in a vacuum. More often, it happens at the point of collision: when worlds that have run on separate tracks begin to converge. That is...
08/10/2026
For decades, the production and broadcast services business has run on a familia...
08/10/2026
Uplynk, Zixi, BroadView Software, and Grass Valley have published The IP Converg...
08/10/2026
The NFL has announced the return of the Big Data Bowl, the league's analytics competition, now in its ninth year and again powered by AWS. Registration is o...
08/10/2026
Eutelsat has renewed its partnership with T l diffusion d'Alg rie (TDA), Algeria's national broadcasting network operator, for continued distribution of...
08/10/2026
Disney will livestream Super Bowl LXI on February 14, 2027, alongside the game's broadcast on ESPN and ABC. All Disney subscribers in the United States wi...
08/10/2026
RHStv and Red House Streaming have announced an expansion of their partnership w...
08/10/2026
Gray Media has announced a distribution agreement with TEGNA and DAZN to simulca...
08/10/2026
SVG readers can save 10% on registration and receive a complimentary Solutions H...
08/10/2026
PROTON Camera Innovations GmbH has been named a recipient of a 2026 Technology a...
08/10/2026
Industry leaders discuss real-world cloud workflows for live game production, pl...
08/10/2026
The next-gen audio technology joins Dolby Vision as part of Apple TV's immersive F1 experience...
08/10/2026
David France, Jesse Short Bull, Mato Wayuhi, N. Bird Runningwater, Jodi Archambau, Jhane Myers, Paul McGuire, Amber Morning Star Byars, Holly Macarro, Nick Tils...
08/10/2026
Dynamic panning plug-ins get an upgrade
Sound Particles have just announced major updates for two of their popular dynamic panning plug-ins. Energy Panner 2...
08/10/2026
New expandable instrument boasts full DMNO engine
UDO Audio have just announced the upcoming release of a new, expandable synth that packs the power of the ...
08/10/2026
Two new subwoofers added to monitoring line-up
ADAM Audio's monitoring range has just been expanded with two new DSP-equipped subwoofers, the Sub8 PRO a...
08/10/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
08/10/2026
Calrec gives broadcasters freedom of choice at NAB Show New York We're looking forward to meeting up with you all at NAB New York on 21st-22nd October.
Cal...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Globecast, a leading provider of broadcast, media and entertainment managed services, will showcase its next generation of media orchestration services at NAB S...
08/10/2026
Clear-Com played a critical role in the production communications infrastructure for Rock in Rio 2026, one of the world's largest and most recognized music...
08/10/2026
Sohonet Launches ClearView Rush: A Leap Forward in Studio Review, Built for Crea...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/10/2026
Ikegami announces a major expansion to its range of broadcast-quality live production cameras. Scheduled for introduction on Ikegami booth 708 at NAB New York, ...
Based on the true story of two best friends, Jane (Yara Shahidi) and Corinne (Odessa A'zion), Sitting in Bars With Cake depicts a harrowing journey of maturity as Jane's weekly resolution to bake a new cake to bring into a different bar takes on deeper meaning after Corinne receives a life-threatening cancer diagnosis. Director Trish Sie and cinematographer Matthew Clark, ASC balanced the story's comedy and drama across a nuanced visual arc they defined in prep, shaped on set while shooting with Panavision VA primes, and polished in post in collaboration with Light Iron supervising colorist Corinne Bogdanowicz. Here, Clark and Bogdanowicz each reflect on the project, which is now streaming on Prime Video.
