Directed by H l na Klotz, La V nus dargent (aka Spirit of Ecstasy) presents the tale of Jeanne Francoeur (played by Claire Pommet), a young woman striving to escape the circumstances of her birth by morphing into a silent predator in the world of investment banking. Working with Panavision Paris, cinematographer Victor Seguin, AFC employed PVintage and Primo 70 lenses and a Panavised Venice camera to help visualize Jeanne's contrasting environments. Here, Seguin shares his experiences collaborating with Klotz and finding a unique look for each of Jeannes worlds.
Panavision: How did you become involved in this project?
Victor Seguin, AFC: I met H l na Klotz in 2011, when she was making her medium-length film Atomic Age. I was leaving school and came to lend a hand as an electrician to see how her cinematographer H l ne Louvart [AFC] worked. I found her again in 2021, when she was looking for a cinematographer for her short film Amour Oc an. It was a sort of preamble to La V nus dargent. H l na was looking for a team who could follow her on her feature film project, and she had heard of me and appreciated my work. This first collaboration turned out to be very pleasant and creative, and I was very happy to be able to continue with it.
How would you describe the movie's look?
Seguin: La V nus dargent juxtaposes two worlds, that of Jeanne's family, where she's a young woman who lives in a police barracks, and that of high finance, in which she tries to find her place as a trader. In this latter universe, Jeanne appears cold and determined, ambitious, hidden behind a mask of mathematical logic. In the barracks, nature catches up with her, between the attentive tenderness of her family and the emotion caused by the return of an upsetting first love.
We wanted to visually characterize these two lives of Jeanne by using freer framing in the barracks and more strict and composed framing in the financial world, and with warmer or colder lights and the use of two series of lenses from Panavision. On the one hand, the Super 35 PVintage series, with its softness, beautiful bokeh and interesting aberrations which we increased by using a sensor area larger than Super 35 on the Venice, gives an organic aspect to the living space in the barracks. On the other hand, the large-format Primo 70 series are more modern, defined and without aberrations, and we used those to accompany Jeannes mask of rigor, her bankers shell.' She passes from one universe to another as in a waking dream, lulled by the wonderful music of composer Ulysse Klotz, H l nas brother.
Were there any visual references that helped inspire your approach to the movie's visual language?
Seguin: As the daughter of filmmakers, H l na told me she grew up with Bresson rather than with Spielberg productions. But today she also willingly embraces her taste for the very visual worlds of major American film or series productions. And these two types of references coexisted throughout our preparation as we sought the rigor or freedom of a frame, the generous use of colors or shooting techniques, here or there.
What brought you to Panavision for this project?
Seguin: I have been working with Panavision for a long time. I love the unique visual universe that their optics offer. I know that I can find this consistency in Panavision's choice of optics and at the same time a variety of tools that can support all projects.
What inspired you to become a cinematographer, and what inspires you today?
Seguin: My desire to become a cinematographer comes from a practice in the visual arts and a taste for manufacturing as much as for design. The variety of tools available today for filming and post production and their simplicity allows cinematographers a more artisanal approach, which I like. I find the visual richness of films and series today exciting.
Photos by Carole Bethuel and Nicolas Sanchez. All images courtesy of Les Films du B lier.
Europe Stories
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
28/01/2026
Music discovery should feel intuitive and personal. That's why we're continuing to give you more control, so you can ask for what you want, shape what y...
28/01/2026
Today, Charlie Hellman, Spotify's Head of Music, shared the following note on the Spotify for Artists blog that the company paid out more than $11 billion t...
28/01/2026
As demand for more complex live sports coverage grows, Balkan broadcast specialist MVP has upgraded its flagship HD1 progressive OB truck with the installation ...
28/01/2026
Luxembourg, January 26, 2026 - SES S.A. ( SES or the Company ), a leading space solutions company, acknowledges the credit rating action announced by Fitch to...
28/01/2026
28 Jan 2026
VEON Notes Kyivstar Group Publication of Selected Full Year 2025 Fi...
28/01/2026
Rohde & Schwarz to host 2026 edition of its online event Demystifying EMC Rohde & Schwarz invites the global EMC community to join a crucial discussion on pre...
28/01/2026
Stadtwerke Wolfhagen Modernize Customer Management with AEP.energysuite from Arv...
27/01/2026
Click for Japanese version
Tokyo, Japan - January 27, 2026 - Akamai Technolo...
27/01/2026
Today, Spotify is proud to support our partner Backline, an industry-leading men...
27/01/2026
With nearly 29 million monthly listeners and clear momentum on Spotify, Net n Ve...
27/01/2026
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
27/01/2026
New agreement for uninterrupted UHF connectivity for Australian Defence Force through 2033, With Options Extending to 2041
Luxembourg, January 13, 2026 - Satel...
27/01/2026
Tuesday 27 January 2026
SNL UK creative team expands as Pauli Lovejoy, Annie Ha...
27/01/2026
RT Supporting the Arts is delighted to support a dynamic programme of cultural events taking place across Ireland this February. From visual art, film, music, ...
26/01/2026
Music videos play a huge part in how fans connect with their favorite songs, but...
26/01/2026
Wuppertal January 26, 2026
Riedel and Media Tailor Deliver Unified Broadcast a...
26/01/2026
26 Jan 2026
VEON Unveils the New Beeline Uzbekistan Network Operations Center, ...
26/01/2026
Bookish is created by and stars Mark Gatiss
Images available HERE
Following th...
26/01/2026
Monday 26 January 2026
New Sky Original Series explores Entertainment Juggernaut, The X Factor
Sky today confirmed it has greenlit a premium, definitive docum...
26/01/2026
Monday 26 January 2026
Sky confirms major investment to transform Livingston ca...
26/01/2026
Software for Stable Data Management and Lasting Business Success in Uncertain Ti...
26/01/2026
RT is today publishing a statistical summary of the Register of External Activities for the third quarter of 2025.
The RT Register of External Activities com...
24/01/2026
RT and Virgin Media Television kick off comprehensive free-to-air coverage of t...
23/01/2026
Staines-upon-Thames, UK, 29 July, 2025 - Yospace, the global leader in Dynamic A...
23/01/2026
Spotify's annual Best New Artist celebration honors the rising stars whose talent, creativity, and dedication have propelled them to the music industry'...
23/01/2026
Paramount is transforming its operations by unifying the media supply chains of their top brands into a scalable global pipeline.
This transformation enhances ...
23/01/2026
Every delay costs. When a subtitle fails QC, even the smallest issue can mean missed deadlines, extra vendor costs, or frustrated teams. The new Accurate.Video ...
23/01/2026
Find out where Sare and Suze are now on RT One and RT Player Thursday 29 January at 10.15pm
Hit drama SisterS, created by, written by and starring real-life ...
23/01/2026
Friday 23 January 2026
Sky appoints Lisa Clark as Commissioning Executive for SNL UK
Lisa Clark headshot
PNG (468KB)
Lisa Clark joins Sky as Commissioning E...
23/01/2026
RT is delighted to announce that the RT and F s ireann / Screen Ireland supported short film Retirement Plan has been nominated for Best Animated Short at th...
22/01/2026
Last November, Ed Sheeran returned to his musical roots for an intimate, one-nig...
22/01/2026
Every delay costs. When a subtitle fails QC, even the smallest issue can mean missed deadlines, extra vendor costs, or frustrated teams. The new Accurate.Video ...
22/01/2026
Thursday 29 January 9:35pm on RT 2 and RT Player
The dating show returns with something old, something new and a dater you may already know
Thursday evenings...
22/01/2026
Rohde & Schwarz, Qualcomm, and Motorola demonstrate successful 5G Broadcast comp...
22/01/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
21/01/2026
Wednesday 21 January 2026
Backing Britain on the global stage: Sky becomes an o...
21/01/2026
Fox Corporation Executives to Discuss Second Quarter Fiscal 2026 Financial Resul...
21/01/2026
Baselight v7 brings colourists and post-houses smarter mattes, faster workflows and deeper control
FilmLight, known for its detailed colour toolset and longsta...
21/01/2026
RT News is pleased to announce the appointment of Jackie Fox as its new Washington Correspondent. Jackie is a multimedia journalist with RT News and has repor...
19/01/2026
Monday 19 January 2026
Sky News reinvents News at Ten for the modern audience with The Wrap
Sky News today announces The Wrap, a bold evolution of its 10pm ou...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones is striking a new chord in piano miking with the debut of its DPK2015 Piano Stereo Kit, an out-of-the-box, plug-and-play miking solution that ta...
19/01/2026
DPA Microphones will present its 4099 CORE Instrument Microphone and redesigned...
19/01/2026
Trianel relies on Arvato Systems for future-proof data center operations
Moving to the cloud: Arvato Systems implements extensive IT migration project
Migrat...
19/01/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
Irish Album of the Year 2025 - Shortlist Announce...
18/01/2026
January 18 2026, 21:30 (PST) Dolby Cinema Arrives in Bengaluru: Dolby Laborator...
Directed by H l na Klotz, La V nus dargent (aka Spirit of Ecstasy) presents the tale of Jeanne Francoeur (played by Claire Pommet), a young woman striving to escape the circumstances of her birth by morphing into a silent predator in the world of investment banking. Working with Panavision Paris, cinematographer Victor Seguin, AFC employed PVintage and Primo 70 lenses and a Panavised Venice camera to help visualize Jeanne's contrasting environments. Here, Seguin shares his experiences collaborating with Klotz and finding a unique look for each of Jeannes worlds.
