
Just wrapping its freshman season, HBO's Barry is a dark comedy about a Midwestern hitman (played by Bill Hader), who travels to Los Angeles to kill someone. He stumbles into a community acting class, led by the quirky Gene Cousineau (Henry Winkler). What made 'Barry' interesting to me was the combination of dark humor, his tragic innocence and how hard all the characters were trying to excel in their lives, not always with much success, says Barry cinematographer Paula Huidobro. I love that Barry lived a double life, and how sometimes the behavior of the criminals mirrors that of his classmates in the acting school. Sometimes the acting students would seem more ruthless than the criminals. The characters are all very well developed and they grow on you, the more you learn about them. They all seem to be on a mission and it's incredibly funny to see them fail but keep on trying.
Producer Aida Rogers brought Huidobro on the project after looking at her reel and recommending her to Barry co-creators Hader and Alec Berg. I interviewed and immediately connected with both of them, talking about the material and their vision for the style of the project, says Huidobro who previously shot a string of independent features and TV projects. Bill wanted the camera to be composed and disciplined. He wanted to preserve the studio mode in which the pilot had been shot, and spend the time blocking it and rehearsing for full takes where the actors and the camera would dance together. She added that the creators didn't want to glorify violence, which is why she didn't over-cover those sequences or stylize them with multiple angles and shots that would remove the audience from the violence. With regard to references, Hader is a big fan of Billy Wilder, particularly The Apartment, and the Coen brothers' movies, especially Burg After Reading, were also a great source of inspiration for the show's visual style.
Huidobro and her team used three ARRI ALEXAs, one ALEXA Mini, and Optimo Zooms from rental house Otto Nemenz. During pre-production, they blocked scenes and created shot lists. Once the actors were on set, we would adjust their marks or I would suggest some changes so we could carry the shot for a longer period of time, she says. We also tried to find comedy in the frames.
Bill Hader, Sarah Goldberg; Photo: Jordin Althaus, courtesy of HBO
In one of Huidobro's favorite scenes in Episode 7, a small airplane carrying a gang leader lands, just as Barry and his crew drive up - and chaotic violence ensues. It's a scene that would typically be told with frenetic camerawork and lots of cuts, to enhance the violence. Instead, the shot starts on the plane in the sky, following it gently and peacefully as it lands. Then you see a small car approaching from a distance, says Huidobro. When the gangsters, who are waiting for their boss to arrive, see Barry's SUV appearing on the horizon, they decide there is no choice but to shoot at it, making it turn over and explode. Instead of feeling dangerous, the camera work was very composed, careful, almost traditional, she says. The juxtaposition of the slow pace and how composed the characters are and how formal the frames are, is completely opposite to what one would expect in this heightened, dangerous situation. That's what makes it, for me, even more funny, and what seems to be the style of 'Barry' as a whole.
In Episode 8 she worked closely with Berg, who directed the episode. In this episode, she noted, Barry punches his one-time ally Fuches in the face, spurring Fuches to flip and offer information about him to their mutual enemy Goran. All the characters are unraveling and allegiances shift, she says. I thought the lighting, framing, blocking and camera movements were all completely in synch. We shot-listed our sequences and we enjoyed capturing the dark humor of the situation in the way we framed the characters, and the group shots that really show the power dynamics. Her efforts on the episode garnered Huidobro an Emmy nomination for best cinematography.
Director Alec Berg with DP Paula Huidobro. Photo: John P. Johnson, courtesy of HBO
Lighting also played an important role in conveying the visual look the creative team was after. I wanted the light to be as soft as possible, which allowed us to work relatively quickly and consistently, she says. My gaffer Paul McIlvine and I decided to go with a more old school approach, using Fresnels, booklights and Chinese lanterns instead of LED technology, which has become the norm. For day exteriors, they used the ARRI M18, ARRIMAXes and SkyPanels. I like the versatility of the SkyPanels and I like the color of the ARRI HMIs and how consistent they are, she says. These were great tools to have.
We wanted the lighting to be real, she continues. I was obsessed with not having shadows that would take you away from the faces or the comedy, but still have some contrast. We wanted to keep the light shaped in an interesting way. I didn't ever want to drift into flat comedic lighting, but I also avoided hard lighting for the most part. They also used a lot of practicals, both on location and fixtures built into the sets. I always diffused and controlled them when they were off camera, she says. A key to success in making our days was that we were able to build in a lot of lighting solutions into our sets.
Anthony Carrigan, Glenn Fleshler. Photo: Jordin Althaus, courtesy of HBO
That included rigging a beautiful soft box into one of the main shooting sets, the actor's theater, which Huidobro says was invaluable. Her key grip Paul Perkins was, totally prepared to cut and diffuse everything on location. I'm sure I drove him crazy with all the requests, but he really had my back and we overcame a lot of tricky si
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...
22/09/2026
From Malaysia to Mexico and from DR Congo to Ukraine, this year's 12 finalists for the 2026 Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year award tell extra...
22/09/2026
The annual preseason content-gathering event brought 36 NHL players to Las Vegas, where ESPN used 2.5 kilowatts of laser power and a motion-control camera syste...
22/09/2026
Neumann has introduced the KK 104 A (cardioid) and KK 105 A (supercardioid) wireless capsule heads, succeeding the KK 204 and KK 205. The new capsules are compa...
22/09/2026
The NFL and TMRW Sports have announced a new annual Pro Flag Showcase to be held during Super Bowl LXI week in Los Angeles. The event will feature top flag foot...
22/09/2026
Washington State University has unveiled a new end zone video display and audio ...
22/09/2026
Disney's SVP of Live Operations and Engineering details the technology behin...
22/09/2026
Cosm has announced two senior promotions. Mazen Alawar has been promoted to SVP,...
22/09/2026
Mississippi State University's University Television Center has purchased four KOKUSAI DENKI SK-UHD7000-S2 cameras since 2024, with plans to add two more, a...
22/09/2026
Net Insight has announced that Christine Kjellvard will assume the role of interim Chief Financial Officer on November 1, 2026. Kjellvard has previously held in...
22/09/2026
Net Insight has announced Zyntai TimeNode Access, a compact PTP Grandmaster designed for distributed edge sites. The product carries secure, precise time across...
22/09/2026
Sam Hazeldine, Austin Amelio, Padraic McKinley, Julia Jones, and Ethan Hawke attend the premiere of The Weight at The Ray Theatre on January 26, 2026, in Park...
22/09/2026
Second high-gain tone plug-in released
Following on from their debut release, Chainsaw Suite, Avalanche Tones have announced the launch of their second plug...
22/09/2026
Uncompressed audio with below 6ms of latency
Lewitt's have just introduced their first pair of headphones which, despite being aimed primarily at studio...
22/09/2026
Two new capsule heads for Sennheiser wireless systems
Neumann have announced the upcoming launch of the KK 104 A and KK 105 A, a pair of new premium condens...
22/09/2026
Apogee Plugins Are Moving to Plugin Alliance We're excited to share an important update about the future of Apogee plugins.
Apogee plugins are moving to Pl...
22/09/2026
Parkland, Florida, US, September 22, 2026: SipRadius, widely recognized for making content processing and connectivity secure and seamless, has been honored wit...
22/09/2026
VanityFilter 3.1.5 adds project files and adjustable protection around lips, bro...
22/09/2026
Chile's TV Modernizes Broadcast Operations with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton September 22, 2026
0 Comments
URSA Broadcast G2 brings versatility...
22/09/2026
OWC Shares Sneak Peek at Amazon Prime Big Deal Days Pricing
Brie Clayton September 22, 2026
0 Comments
Image courtesy of Deposit Photos
Business and ...
22/09/2026
Berklee's First Homecoming Block Party Brings Alumni Home for Global Music F...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
22/09/2026
From Academy Award-winning Passion Pictures and BAFTA-winning director Marian Mo...
22/09/2026
Tuesday 22 September 2026
Portrait Artist of the Year returns to Sky Arts with ...
22/09/2026
Whether it be from the sun or from our phones and other devices, we are all exposed to electromagnetic radiation in some shape or form. With the dramatic growth...
22/09/2026
Comscore's latest AI Intelligence Report Shows Competition Intensifying as C...
22/09/2026
The Factory-X Project Sets Standards for Data Sovereignty in Industry
Arvato Systems Brings Digital Sovereignty to Industrial Practice
Factory-X Successfully...
22/09/2026
LONDON Apple today announced the opening of Apple Music Hall, a brand-new state-...
22/09/2026
RT , Creative Ireland and Shared Island Initiative ask young artists
to respon...
22/09/2026
To build and deploy sophisticated robotics applications that can perceive, reason and act in dynamic environments, developers need new physical AI models and to...
21/09/2026
Manifold Technologies, developer of software-defined, FPGA-accelerated infrastructure for live production, has named Ryhaan Williams as Chief Commercial Officer...
21/09/2026
Studio Network Solutions (SNS) has won Best Journal Article at the 2026 IAMT Impact Awards for What Video Editors Need When Everything Is Changing Around Them,...
21/09/2026
Major League Wrestling (MLW) has announced a streaming distribution agreement with Tubi for its weekly series MLW FUSION. Beginning September 17, new episodes w...
21/09/2026
Disney Entertainment has announced that Adam Smith has been named Chairman, Direct-to-Consumer, with responsibility for Disney and Hulu including product, engi...
21/09/2026
United Airlines and DISH have announced an agreement to bring live professional ...
21/09/2026
SES and JioStar have announced a multi-year agreement under which SES will provide satellite distribution services for JioStar's television channel portfoli...
21/09/2026
The Detroit Red Wings have announced details for their inaugural season on Detro...
21/09/2026
Manifold Technologies has appointed Ryhaan Williams as Chief Commercial Officer for North America, effective October 1, 2026. Based in Jacksonville, Florida, Wi...
21/09/2026
Angels Broadcast Television (ABTV), the local television home of the Los Angeles...