
Created by Tony Basgallop and executive-produced by M. Night Shyamalan, the horror series Servant has delivered 40 episodes of psychological torment across four seasons as it tells the story of a young couple coping with the loss of their 13-week-old son. The series consistently takes viewers to unexpected places both narratively and visually; in the fourth and final season, those destinations were reached with the help of cinematographers Lowell A. Meyer; Gabriel Lobos; Marshall Adams, ASC; Greta Zozula; Pete Konczal, ASC; and Michael Gioulakis, ASC. Meyer, who also photographed three episodes of Season 3, recently shared his perspective on maintaining the series' signature style of camerawork.
Cinematographer Lowell A. Meyer (right).
Panavision: How would you describe the look of the series?
Lowell A. Meyer: This show is all about tension. Why are people doing what they're doing? Why aren't they doing another thing that could save them? What is outside the frame? What is that person eating?! It's about the parceling of information at the exact right time and withholding whenever you can.
This translates to the photography by way of holding shots as long as possible and letting the suspense, drama and even comedy play out in real time. It also usually means a lack of coverage, so we're not giving ourselves or the audience a way out of that tension. It means seeing far down hallways and keeping the lighting moody, with lots of shadows and corners to hide in. Our camera is almost a character in and of itself, in every nook and cranny of the house, peering and moving to keep pace with the action. But it's also a matter of contrast the camera can seamlessly go anywhere it wants until it suddenly can't and is locked off.
Everything was meticulously storyboarded in advance, so there was very little improvisation on the day. Our shots could be incredibly complex and sometimes required the camera to go in a very odd space in the house under a door, in a garbage disposal, etc. Having the resources and team at Panavision New York so readily and closely available was a necessity to ensure the creative success of the season. We knew their cameras, lenses, and gear could handle the crazy shots and tasks that we were asking of the equipment and our crew every day.
Were there any particular visual references you looked at for inspiration?
Meyer: Being Season 4, the show's look was so established that there was little more needed than the source material itself. The directors and I were always mining earlier episodes and shots to see how we could one-up them or do something unique in sets we'd seen so many times before, all while staying grounded and keeping every creative decision in the perspective of the characters and the emotions of the scenes.
That being said, Fincher, Hitchcock, Bong and Shyamalan were all names that the directors and I looked to for additional inspiration when stuck or presented with something unique for the show. Rosemary's Baby and Parasite were big references for me since they deal with status and relationship dynamics within the confines of elevated and subterranean spaces.
What optical characteristics did you see in the Primo 70 lenses that made them the right match for Servant?
Meyer: The Primo 70s were an established lens set on the show, and for good reason: They're fast, lightweight, relatively small, and they come in a wide variety of focal lengths. These practical advantages allowed them to be employed with our Mini LF on a Ronin 2, which we used for nearly every shot on the show, even with the Primo 70 zooms.
They're really gorgeous lenses, with a sharpness across the frame yet a softness to the focus roll-off. Paired with a subtle softening filter, these lenses shine as full-frame beauties and give the show its melancholy and modern look.
More than anything, we used very wide focal lengths on the show. The 27mm and 29mm were the hero lenses by far, but it was important to have the wiggle room of a variety of wide focal lengths that held up in their sharpness and lack of distortion. Even though we were on a set where we could remove walls and built-ins to get any achievable angle, we tried to stay true to what would be possible in the physical confinements of a real house. Having smaller lenses and a variety of focal lengths helped us not break that creative limitation we imposed upon ourselves.
How does this project differ from others in your career?
Meyer: Servant was wholly a beast of its own, constantly reinventing what's possible to do with a camera and how complicated a shot can get. I can't count how many oners we did that were long takes, full of compound movements, pans and tilts that were tack sharp and needed to hit a critical mark with a critically tight depth of field. The crew was always chomping at the bit to tackle these big shots. It's a powerful sight to behold when you see an entire crew working in sync to get a complicated idea on its feet and then accomplished on time and on budget that's an art in and of itself! There's truly no better feeling to me than to be on a set that is running smoothly and producing scenes that make the whole crew proud to contribute their pieces of the puzzle.
We were nearly always single-camera filming, with the second camera preparing for the next scene. That helped us get ahead of these complicated setups. Working on a TV schedule, we often didn't have a lot of prep time, so instead we would leap-frog the camera teams, going from Steadicam on A to dolly on B, then to Ronin on A, then a rigged mount on B, etc. We were always trying to stay one step ahead to make our days full of these bespoke rigs and shots.
Servant is also unique in my career in that it's a TV show that really is director- and DP-driven. The directors
More from Panavision France
28/11/2023
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 matur...
16/11/2023
Set in 1950s France, The Deep Dark (Gueules noires) follows a group of coal miners who are commissioned to escort a professor through dangerous depths to retrie...
11/11/2023
Writer-director Le Chau was born in Vietnam, moved to the United States when she was 22, and graduated from the UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television in 2...
08/11/2023
Like the spoken word, visual language is a gift passed down from previous generations and capable of robust growth through shared use and collaboration. For cin...
08/11/2023
The story of a shy photographer who breaks out of his shell after attending a succession of drag shows, Three Nights a Week offers an honest look behind the vei...
31/10/2023
An expert in the exacting craft of commercial cinematography, Alexis Zab , ASC, AMC is equally adept at lending visuals of distinct humanity to long-form projec...
16/10/2023
The Hollywood Professional Association has announced the nominations for the 2023 HPA Awards, which will be presented on November 9. Light Iron senior colorist ...
13/10/2023
Director Charl ne Favier's feature La fille quon appelle focuses on Laura Le Corre (Alba Ga a Bellugi), a young woman placed in a vulnerable position after ...
06/10/2023
This video takes viewers inside the manufacturing department at Panavision's headquarters in Woodland Hills, California. Follow along from blueprint to CNC ...
06/10/2023
Before going on to serve as cinematographer on such varied and beloved features as Witness, Rain Man, Dead Poet's Society, The English Patient, The Perfect ...
29/09/2023
Now streaming on Disney+, Launchpad Season 2 comprises six original live-action short films from underrepresented filmmakers whose unique voices bring new persp...
20/09/2023
It's one of the most powerful mediums of art, I believe, that we have, David Procter, BSC says of motion pictures. Having gotten his start in documentaries...
19/09/2023
ANDOVER, England (19th September, 2023) LEE Filters, a leading manufacturer of high-quality lighting gels and photographic filters and a member of the Panavis...
11/09/2023
Boots Riley writer, director and acclaimed vocalist of the hip-hop group The Coup is the definition of a colorful and exacting thinker. Some five years afte...
05/09/2023
Created by Annie Weisman, the 1980s-set Apple TV+ series Physical focuses on Sheila Rubin (Rose Byrne) as she navigates a path toward self-discovery after unloc...
02/09/2023
My first day on set, I thought, This is what I want to do,' reflects Ben Davis, BSC, whose credits range from dramas like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing,...
28/08/2023
The Hollywood Professional Association recently announced the latest recipients of its League Honors. This year's honorees include Panavision President and ...
25/08/2023
Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty is back for its second season on HBO, pushing deeper into the 1980s as it continues to recount the on- and off-cour...
22/08/2023
Created by Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck and directed by David Mandel, the five-part miniseries White House Plumbers shines a fresh light on the real-life comedy...
14/08/2023
I was a kid who liked to play, and cinematography is like playing, shares Stephen H. Burum, ASC, the recipient of the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award from the C...
08/08/2023
The new feature Haunted Mansion delivers spooky fun inspired by the famed Disney theme park attraction. Telling the story of single-mom Gabbie (Rosario Dawson) ...
28/07/2023
Director Yuval Adler's Sympathy for the Devil is a road movie designed to subvert expectations. The story depicts one extremely long night for one sorely un...
21/07/2023
Ben Smithard, BSC's credits include the features The Father and The Son, both with director Florian Zeller. In this video, the cinematographer retraces his ...
12/07/2023
Since childhood, I had a photo camera, reflects acclaimed Polish cinematographer Piotr liskowski, PSC. In this exclusive video, he recalls preparing for entra...
11/07/2023
In writer-director Leo Milano's debut feature, The Crusades, three friends find their school year thrown into turmoil by the possibility that their all-boys...
27/06/2023
Eva Longorias feature directorial debut, Flamin' Hot, tells the story of how America fell in love with the Flamin Hot Cheeto. Longorias inspired direction c...
21/06/2023
The story of the friendship between Aristotle Mendoza and Dante Quintana has captured the hearts of teenaged readers and the adults who care for them since Benj...
21/06/2023
Cinematographer Camilo Monsalve, ADFC understands the language of cinema as well as he knows his hometown of Medell n, Colombia. When presented with the opportu...
14/06/2023
I suppose you've got two sides to your lighting, says chief lighting technician Harry Wiggins. One is what you're going to rig, and the second thing i...
13/06/2023
LONDON, England (13th June, 2023) LEE Filters, a leading manufacturer of high-quality lighting gels and photographic filters and a member of the Panavision fa...
12/06/2023
My first idea was not to be a cinematographer, says director of photography scar Faura, AEC. I wanted to be an editor. In this exclusive video, Faura discus...
05/06/2023
Written and directed by Miles Warren, the feature Bruiser takes an unflinching look at the role that hand-to-hand combat plays in a boys maturation into manhood...
31/05/2023
The Silent Twins tells the story of identical twins June and Jennifer Gibbons, who grow up only communicating with each other. The movie which was serviced by...
23/05/2023
The BBC drama series Blue Lights tells the story of three rookie cops on the police force in Northern Ireland's capital, Belfast. Directed by Gilles Bannier...
16/05/2023
Director David Cronenberg's 1988 horror film Dead Ringers, about twin OBGYNs whose penchant for tricking others threatens to shatter their own psyches, has ...
16/05/2023
Chief lighting technician Julian White's credits include features such as Locke and Murder on the Orient Express with Haris Zambarloukos, BSC, GSC; Control ...
09/05/2023
The four-episode HBO Max limited series Landscapers focuses on an ordinary couple, played by Olivia Colman and David Thewlis, who become entangled in an extraor...
03/05/2023
Created by Tony Basgallop and executive-produced by M. Night Shyamalan, the horror series Servant has delivered 40 episodes of psychological torment across four...
21/04/2023
Cinematographer Pawel Pogorzelski and writer-director Ari Aster began their long-running collaboration when they were both students at the American Film Institu...
18/04/2023
My celestial ride with Star Trek: Picard began when I was shooting Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 in Toronto. Thank you to Olatunde Osunsanmi, who gave me that c...
18/04/2023
Viewed over 19-million times, Tourism Australia's G'day, the short film has set a new bar for tourism videos. The short follows two talking toys, one a ...
18/04/2023
Cinematographer Erik Henriksson knows how to deliver a well-curated visual aesthetic the expertly blends experimentation, experience and craft. Having worked wi...
12/04/2023
LOS ANGELES (April 12, 2023) LEE Filters, a leading manufacturer of high-quality lighting gels and photographic filters and a member of the Panavision family ...
12/04/2023
The CW original series Kung Fu follows the life-changing decision of Chinese American college student Nicky Shen (Olivia Liang) to trade her life as a student f...
12/04/2023
For the Apple TV+ limited series Black Bird, cinematographer Natalie Kingston worked with Panavision New Orleans to assemble a camera and lens package that incl...
05/04/2023
Cinematographer Sebastien Pfaffenbichler, AAC has been behind the camera on commercials for such well-known brands as Adidas, Toyota, American Express, Samsung,...
05/04/2023
As the storied fast-food chain's recent U.K. ad campaign makes clear, Fancy a McDonald's? is a question best asked and answered with a raise of th...
05/04/2023
For director Ryan Coogler's feature Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw, ASC worked with Panavision's Woodland Hills a...
29/03/2023
TORONTO, Can. (March 29, 2023) Panavision, the entertainment industry's leading designer, manufacturer and rental provider of high precision optics and ca...
29/03/2023
The feature Soft follows three adolescent queer friends as they navigate the pardons and perils of summer break in the streets of Toronto. Written and directed ...