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 ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
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...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
18 May 2026
Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...
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.
