Cinematographer Ari Wegner, ACS is no stranger to dramatic filming locations. For the 2013 feature Ruin, she worked in the Cambodian jungle; the remote landscapes of the 2018 drama Stray were captured in New Zealand; and the 2019 biopic True History of the Kelly Gang features several spectacular filming spots around the Australian countryside.
Her most recent project, director Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog, is no exception. Shot on what Wegner describes as New Zealand's devastatingly beautiful South Island, the feature is set on a cattle ranch in 1920s Montana. It tells the story of two brothers very much set in their ways; when one of them gets married and brings his new wife and son to live on the ranch, it upsets their dynamic and sets the stage for an emotion-filled Western drama.
Since receiving the Silver Lion for Best Director upon its premiere at the 2021 Venice International Film Festival, The Power of the Dog has garnered a bevy of accolades, including Oscar, BAFTA and ASC nominations for Wegner's cinematography. Wegner recently sat down with Panavision to discuss her approach to the feature, for which she sourced her camera and lens package including Panavision Ultra Panatar large-format anamorphic primes that she paired with Alexa LF and LF Mini cameras through Panavision's Auckland, New Zealand, office.
Panavision: How did you and Jane begin to define the look for the movie?
Ari Wegner, ACS: We worked together for about a year before we started shooting, so we had a lot of time to develop the look. That idea of having a long prep and not having to make rush decisions at any point along the way was exciting for both of us. During our prep, we went to a little house not far from where we were going to be shooting, and we spent about a month or a month and a half just shot-listing one-on-one. We'd discuss what we wanted to do visually with a scene, and then we'd each do a drawing and compare what we were thinking.
When we finally got on set, we were able to discover things knowing that we'd done our homework and had such a strong foundation. Jane's always ready to find something better. She's never going to settle, which is such an inspiration. She's always willing to ask, Even if that's what we planned, does it work? Is it good?' It was a real pleasure to work in that way.
How would you describe the look of the movie?
Wegner: I would say it's quite restrained, very deliberate. I don't know if you'd call it classical,' but there's a real respect for traditional filmmaking and crafted lighting. The word unadorned' kept coming up. If there was something we could get rid of, we would. If the shot would work without movement, then why move? If it would work with less light, why add more?
It was important to us that we avoid the camera becoming too emotionally manipulative. We didn't want the camera or the photography to convince the audience that a character is good or bad. As part of that, we always designed a frame knowing how long it might hold in the edit. We were hoping to make a film with as few cuts as possible, so some of those shots really last. If you're going to hold on a shot for a minute, it can be a very different shot than one that might only be 10 seconds.
Were there any visual references that inspired you during your prep?
Wegner: We looked at a lot of references over that year, and they were as much visual as they were about getting to know the world of 1920s Montana ranch life. We weren't terribly interested in watching other films I think we were hoping to make something quite singular. So we stuck to a lot of photography of the period, and painters like Andrew Wyeth or Lucian Freud for minimalism and a restrained color palette. We also discovered the photographer Evelyn Cameron, who was British but actually lived and worked on a Montana ranch around the time the film's set. It was amazing to see her outsider's eye looking at this world of ranch life.
What brought you to Panavision for this project?
Wegner: I've worked with Panavision quite a bit in the past, since film school. They're always my first point of call. I love that whatever city you're in, you can find support from Panavision. It gives you safety and strength to know you're never going to be left in the lurch. And glass is always a big factor. Choosing lenses is such a big part of the process, and it's really important to have options. Working with Panavision, there's the whole range from contemporary to vintage and technically correct to what I'd call funky.' We shot with Ultra Panatar 1.3x anamorphic, and obviously that's not something you're going to find anywhere else.
How did you decide to use the Ultra Panatars?
Wegner: We'd initially decided to shoot in the 1.85:1 aspect ratio, but when we started drawing, we found our drawings were going off the edges, and the film was telling us it wanted to be widescreen. At the same time, we both knew we weren't being drawn towards 2x anamorphic. It felt like too strong of a look for what we wanted. When I mentioned the 1.3x anamorphic to Jane, that was really exciting for us, because it was a bit of the best of both worlds, spherical and anamorphic. Plus, a vintage lens is always a lovely thing to have on a period movie.
Can you share more about the language of the camera in this movie? What would motivate you to keep the camera static or to add some movement?
Wegner: We wanted to be deliberate and have a good reason whenever we did want to move the camera. So it was most often about finding where the camera should be and then leaving it there for each shot. Then, when you do move the camera, it becomes very memorable.
There are times when the camera moves with a character, but it do
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
30/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
The An Evening with Emerson, Lake and Palmer tour brings one of rock's most iconic bands back to the stage. These performances seamlessly blend live foota...
30/09/2026
Schibsted Media, one of Norways largest and most influential digital media publishers and content producers, has invested in mixers and digital signal processor...
30/09/2026
Big Blue Marble announces the addition of live multiview channels to Cloud Video Kit, its broadcast-grade video processing platform. The feature is powered by A...
30/09/2026
Leading video software provider Synamedia today announced that Telekom Slovenije, Slovenia's largest provider of telecommunications and TV services, is open...
30/09/2026
PODCAST EXPO 2026 Recorded Using Blackmagic Design Workflow
Brie Clayton September 29, 2026
0 Comments
Conference featuring 24 sessions over two days ...
30/09/2026
IBC2026 Show Report
David Kirk September 29, 2026
0 Comments
The International Broadcasting Convention has long been Europe's equivalent of the US...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
30/09/2026
Mavis has launched Mavis Camera 8.2, the latest release of its professional camera app for the iPhone and iPad. This update brings support for iPhone 18 Pro and...
30/09/2026
New Solution Expands Harmonic's Network Intelligence Portfolio and Brings Comcast-Developed Fiber Monitoring Technology to Broadband Operators, Providing Re...
30/09/2026
Thank you to Film-TV Video for the original article - you can view it here
It was early 1983. I had just turned 21 when I joined Hitachi Denshi's European...
30/09/2026
How to Shop Well Now starts Monday at 9.35pm
on RT One and RT Player
On the...
30/09/2026
Building on nearly a decade of co-engineering, CoreWeave has built NVIDIA compute, networking and software into a cloud purpose-built for AI that's still re...
29/09/2026
Oak View Group (OVG) has announced Cisco as an Official Technology Partner, with plans to standardize infrastructure across its venue network on Cisco solutions...
29/09/2026
SportsNet Pittsburgh (SNP) won three honors at the 2026 Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
Program awards went to Bucs BP in the Sports Program Live category (produced ...
29/09/2026
The Professional Women's Hockey League has announced home openers for all 12 teams for the 2026-27 season, along with a broadcast partnership with CBC under...
29/09/2026
Manifold technologies has been recognized as a contributor to the Media eXchange...
29/09/2026
FuboTV has announced My Local Sports, allowing subscribers in select markets to add their local regional sports network (RSN) as an add-on to a Fubo Sports subs...
29/09/2026
Asian News International (ANI), a wire agency and video news provider based in India, has deployed Grass Valley's AMPP Media Operating System and Framelight...
29/09/2026
South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) has deployed Ikegami UHK-X600 cameras as part of an upgrade to IP-based production infrastructure. The deployment ...
29/09/2026
REMI, REMCO models will drive the bulk of the broadcaster's NHL productions ...
29/09/2026
Three years in, the facility is supporting more centralized race production, com...
29/09/2026
NBC, Peacock, and NBSN are carrying all four Wild Card series with a production ...
29/09/2026
19 Nonfiction Projects Across All Stages of Production to Receive More Than $1 million in Support as Documentary Film Program Approaches 25th Anniversary
LOS ...
29/09/2026
Two new plug-ins launch alongside updated bundles
Zynaptiq have just announced the launch of two new plug-ins, alongside new and improved versions of two of...
29/09/2026
All-in-one bus processor revealed
Wes Audio's ng product range has come a long way since it was first introduced, and now includes a tasty selection of ...
29/09/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
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
Brie Clayton September 29, 2026
0 Comments
Blendkit, the largest 3D asset libr...
29/09/2026
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 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 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
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
29/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
Cinematographer Ari Wegner, ACS is no stranger to dramatic filming locations. For the 2013 feature Ruin, she worked in the Cambodian jungle; the remote landscapes of the 2018 drama Stray were captured in New Zealand; and the 2019 biopic True History of the Kelly Gang features several spectacular filming spots around the Australian countryside.
