Having photographed episodes of the Showtime horror drama Penny Dreadful's second and third seasons, John Conroy, ISC was eager to reteam with showrunner John Logan to help create its new spin-off, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. Described by Logan as a spiritual descendant' of Penny Dreadful's original incarnation, City of Angels sought to preserve the series' visual panache while exchanging Victorian-era London for 1938 Los Angeles, a time and place deeply infused with social and political tension.
Production itself switched locales from Dublin to the Melody Ranch Studio in Santa Clarita Valley, Calif., as well as locations in and around L.A. As preproduction got underway, Conroy turned to Panavision and Light Iron to service the show from acquisition through final color.
I'd just come off shooting [Season 2 of the AMC horror series] The Terror in Vancouver, where I'd used the [Millennium] DXL2 and Primo Artistes, and I was keen to work with Panavision again, he says. My experience with Panavision goes way back to the time I actually worked for the team in London when I was a teenager. I love working with them, so as soon as I got the chance, I rang [Panavision U.K. director] Hugh Whittaker, and he put me in touch with [sales and marketing executive] Mike Carter in L.A.
Set against the backdrop of Los Angeles' rich history, the series stars Natalie Dormer and Daniel Zovatto, and revolves around a Latino family and their increasingly destructive interactions with the forces of Nazi espionage, white supremacy and supernatural power. Given the setting and period, the obvious thought was to treat it like a classic film noir, but we quickly discarded the notion, Conroy says. This had to be more nuanced than using dark, hard shadows and backlit smoke. The story had to be more grounded in reality.
And so, the 1974 neo-noir Chinatown, shot by John A. Alonzo, ASC, became a key reference, inspiring a look that would emphasize the baking Californian sun. In early conversations with John [Logan], Conroy remembers, we agreed we wanted it to feel as if every day was 100-degree heat interiors as well as exteriors.
As he had done for his earlier work on Penny Dreadful, Conroy employed a two-camera setup for City of Angels in this case a pair of Arri Alexa Minis, which the cinematographer chose to partner with Cooke Panchro primes. I went back to my roots, Conroy explains. My father [Jack Conroy] shot My Left Foot on the Panchros, and I shot my first TV film on them. I went to Panavision, and they laid out all their Panchro glass, from which I picked two sets. I loved that some of the glass was nearly as old as the period we were going to emulate.
I love the chromatic aberration in the Panchros, which make the image a little soft at the edges, Conroy continues. But for some shots, where we show intimate detail and huge scale, I wanted to know we could use the extreme edges of the frame. For such wide shots, which have become a hallmark of the series, the production also carried a set of Cooke S4 primes. The complete camera and lens package came out of Panavision's Woodland Hills headquarters.
Camera movement, the cinematographer explains, was designed for continuity with the previous series: There's no handheld. Even in the most visceral and frantic moments, the camera has to be as smooth and elegant as possible. We wanted to let the energy from the action and the actors burst onto the screen without the camera trying to force it.
Conroy shared cinematography duties on City of Angels with Pedro Luque. I had a look book,' which I ran by John, and then I talked the ideas through with Pedro, Conroy explains. Both cinematographers, he adds, worked very closely with [Light Iron supervising colorist] Jeremy Sawyer, first in tests, then in post.
During preproduction, Sawyer explains, We played around with still photographs that John Conroy took of the sets before they started shooting. It was clear from the beginning that production wanted the wardrobe, sets and photography to drive the period nature of the show's look. They wanted to make sure we didn't go in a desaturated or sepia direction.
Out of those initial tests, Sawyer was able to provide a series of show LUTs for use in different locations. In essence, Conroy wanted a period look with a twist. The base is Kodachrome-ish, the cinematographer elaborates. It had to look of the period without being overly desaturated. The colors, particularly the reds and blues, had to have a voice. So we played around with costume, hair and makeup in our testing, and we built a look around that so nothing was too washed out.
The Kodachrome influence, Sawyer adds, is accurate for the period and it allows for rich colors; we went in that direction in terms of blue skies and general richness. Honestly, though, I'm just trying to do justice to the photography and the lighting that's really the driving force behind the actual look.'
Author Raymond Chandler famously described Los Angeles as a city with all the personality of a paper cup, but it was precisely the city's swathes of concrete that Conroy felt gave City of Angels its visual character. Conventionally you'd tone down the ground in the grade to draw people's attention to the actors, he says, but we found that by popping the concrete it really helped to highlight the feeling of heat.
The first day of shooting down on L.A.'s dry riverbed was iconic for me, Conroy reflects. This is the location for movies I've watched over and over again. I had a chance to reflect on how I a kid from County Kildare, Ireland got here.
The first day set the tone for the whole show in terms of framing and look, he adds. You could feel the heat coming off the concrete. We had to hit the ground
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
13/11/2026
The UIM E1 Series wraps its third season this week with the Bombay Sapphire E1 Miami GP, Nov. 11-14, on Biscayne Bay at the Miami Seaplane Base on Watson Island...
13/11/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
13/11/2026
Singer-songwriter Benson Boone will headline entertainment for the Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Utah Mammoth and Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles St...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone, a 7th order ambisonic microphone array that captures spatial audio for immersive video prod...
13/11/2026
SMPTE has announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infrastructure and communications technology for the Solutions Hub at t...
13/11/2026
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) has announced the theme and program focus for the 2027 HPA Tech Retreat, which takes place Feb. 14-18, 2027, in La ...
13/11/2026
Football Manager 27 Touch is available on Apple Arcade starting today. The game ...
13/11/2026
MotoGP has announced a two-year media rights agreement with ESPN covering the Un...
13/11/2026
Apple Sports, the free iPhone app, has added the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to its lineup of supported sports, in time for Saturday's UFC 334. The...
13/11/2026
The NBA and Fanatics Studios, the joint venture between Fanatics and entertainme...
13/11/2026
ESPN held its annual EDGE Innovation Conference last night and offered up an ove...
13/11/2026
Regional sports network gives Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland students a platform to thrive
One of the biggest games in Division III college football will be pla...
13/11/2026
Studer-inspired 500-series PWM compressor unveiled
The HLabs range already includes a couple of Studer-inspired offerings in the form of the PRE169 and EQ16...
13/11/2026
Download Now!
To view the white paper, please enter the following details:
--
First Name* First Name
Company*
Country* Please select your countryA...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Blue Lucy, the workflow orchestration and integration platform for broadcasters, rights owners and localisation companies, today announced an integration with c...
13/11/2026
Krotos announces Black Friday offers on Studio Pro and Studio Max
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
First-year annual plans start at US$195.99...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
New 7th order ambisonic microphone with 108 MEMS...
13/11/2026
Meet the Berklee Student Setting Planetary Motion to Music With his compositional platform SoniKosmos, Javier Roqueni aims to make the universe the ultimate i...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud company, today announced a partnership with Golden Times Media Technology (stock code 920021.BJ), a Beijing-based media and tech...
13/11/2026
CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB), one of the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world, together with its Malaysian partner, Cedar ...
13/11/2026
SMPTE, the home for media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infra...
13/11/2026
iWedia, a global leader in connected TV software solutions, will present its software-first approach to DRAM optimization at Android TV APAC Summit 2026 in Bang...
13/11/2026
Beginning today, November 13, Apple HomeView is available for purchase at Apple Store locations, on the Apple Store online, and in the Apple Store app in select...
13/11/2026
From pediatric research to smart hospitals, AI is helping care teams spend less time on routine tasks and more time with patients.
Health systems and startups...
12/11/2026
Industry leaders examine how Dynamic Media Facility, Media eXchange Layer, and c...
12/11/2026
The junior Tar Heel is embracing the technical and creative challenges of live production while emerging as a leader and mentor in the control room...
12/11/2026
Gracenote, Nielsen's content intelligence business, has released its fifth a...
12/11/2026
RTL Deutschland will bring the NHL to free-to-air TV in Germany starting Nov. 30...
12/11/2026
Clear-Com supported On Air 2026, a 24-hour student-led broadcast connecting 45 u...
12/11/2026
uniqFEED has opened a Remote Operations Center (ROC) in Madrid, Spain. It is already operational, delivering virtual advertising for LaLiga matches. The ROC is ...
12/11/2026
Disney, ESPN and the NBA will present Dunk the Halls, the third real-time animated NBA game using Sony's Beyond Sports data visualization technology, on Chr...
12/11/2026
Van Wagner has launched Van Wagner RELAY, a digital platform for official athlet...
12/11/2026
Deal brings together two of the industry's most established graphics brands and significantly expands Vizrt's footprint in U.S. sports and regional broa...
12/11/2026
Euro TV Production GmbH of Austria has upgraded its outside broadcast vehicle with Lawo technology. The mc 36 Classic console in service since 2019 was replaced...
12/11/2026
Tagboard has launched Spark Resize, an AI-assisted tool now in beta that takes an existing graphic and produces a new version for a different aspect ratio or sc...
Having photographed episodes of the Showtime horror drama Penny Dreadful's second and third seasons, John Conroy, ISC was eager to reteam with showrunner John Logan to help create its new spin-off, Penny Dreadful: City of Angels. Described by Logan as a spiritual descendant' of Penny Dreadful's original incarnation, City of Angels sought to preserve the series' visual panache while exchanging Victorian-era London for 1938 Los Angeles, a time and place deeply infused with social and political tension.
