Poolside Gossip
20/05/2024
Panavision: Were there any particular visual references you looked at for inspiration?
David Lanzenberg: From the beginning, [executive producers and directors] Abe Sylvia and Tate Taylor had very specific references they wanted Todd and me to follow. The idea was really about following the tone and feeling and opulence of the amazing photography of Slim Aarons, which had a very Kodak Ektrachrome feel from the '60s and '70s, with vivid primary colors.
Todd McMullen: Slim was a World War II Army photographer who, after returning from the war, turned his lens towards attractive people, doing attractive things, in attractive places.' Slim was a master at composing frames that were inclusive, stylish, bold, and included the landscape and architecture of the changing time period.
How would you describe the look of Palm Royale?
McMullen: Visually, the show presents a retro style that is aspirational, inviting, and center-punches a bold new color palette that was blooming in the '60s. We dig into the patterns, the fabrics and the daring styles that were emerging. America was coming out of the black-and-white, monotone flavor of the '50s and starting to bleed color. And because the story is set in Palm Beach, Florida, it felt appropriate to keep our world warm and sunny and welcoming.
Lanzenberg: I remember in my first meeting with Tate Taylor, I said, Im really interested in telling the story with one camera. Every show is different, but for Palm Royale, to set that tone and look in the first two episodes, having only one camera really helped. There are some scenes by the pool where the positioning of where everything was placed in the background was very calculated with the operator. There was a certain symmetry. The attention to detail within the set dressing, within the staging, when we would go to a close-up, when we wouldnt everything was very important. It was great to be able to do that.
What brought you to Panavision for this project?
Lanzenberg: Todd was on another show when I started prep on the first two episodes of Palm Royale, but this show was a great opportunity to come back to Panavision and achieve something special. Panavision is a very familiar environment no matter where you are in the world, be it Canada, New York, L.A., Paris. There is very much a close-knit community.
McMullen: Panavision is the first collaboration call for me on any project. The reasons are lengthy, but the service, selection of tools, and the experience in crafting those tools is paramount and accessible. Also, the Panavision team is unwavering they will help you find your solutions without hesitation. And the number of locations they have around the world to access equipment is a sigh of relief.
What led to your choice of Panaspeed lenses and the Millennium DXL2 camera?
McMullen: As David said, I was on another show when Palm Royale started, so David and 1st AC Chad Rivetti had the fun of landing the right equipment for the look, and the Panaspeeds fit the bill. They were brilliant in their speed, look and imperfections' for framing the colorful world of the '60s. Also, the DXL2 is such a workhorse and has the large-format capabilities and a sensor that I feel is natural and smooth.
Lanzenberg: I'd appreciated working with that camera in the past because it has a certain print' quality that's achievable with its Monstro sensor. To me, it's reminiscent texture-wise of some of the films of the '70s that I grew up with and really appreciate. One of the things with shooting digitally sometimes is that youre losing that texture that you were able to manipulate with film. As a cinematographer, you still want to be able to have that input, and one of the things with the DXL2 is that it does allow you to have that. One shoe doesnt fit all, and different cameras will definitely give you different options, but this one added a print quality that I appreciate.
What optical characteristics did you see in the Panaspeeds that made them the right match for Palm Royale?
Lanzenberg: On a previous show, I had tested Panaspeeds and really liked them. Theres a certain gentleness within the image, and there's a three-dimensionality that I would normally get with anamorphic lenses. When the opportunity came to work on Palm Royale, we did quite a few tests with other lenses that Panavision provided, but those were always in the back of my mind. It was great to have them, and we used them with these anamorphic flare attachments that Dan Sasaki has come up with, so we were able to create this very subtle tone to the image that had slight aberrations to the background or the edges and how the focus would react in certain parts of the distance. With that combination, we had the best of all worlds.
How does this project differ from others in your career?
McMullen: Palm Royale was a wonderful project to pivot from the darker and moodier tones I'm normally associated with in storytelling. I felt it was certainly a comedy, but the story emotionally had an edge and layers of underlyin
LINK: | https://www.panavision.com/highlights/highlights-detail/poolside-gossi... |
See more stories from panavision |
More from Panavision France
11/07/2024
A Collaboration With Panavision: Shelly Johnson, ASC
What I love most is telling stories, shares Shelly Johnson, ASC. The esteemed cinematographer has been collaborating with Panavision since the late 1980s, on p...
09/07/2024
Tim Belcher joins Light Iron as new Managing Director
LOS ANGELES (July 9, 2024) Light Iron, the post-production creative-services division of Panavision, has named industry veteran Tim Belcher the company's ...
01/07/2024
Shooting and Directing an Ultra-Stylish Promo
Films created for advertising purposes have long served as a test bed where talented filmmakers can hone their craft and stretch their creative muscles. With th...
01/07/2024
Cinematographer Adam Stone on The Bikeriders
Writer-director Jeff Nichols and cinematographer Adam Stone, the critically acclaimed duo behind such celebrated films as Loving, Midnight Special and Mud, reun...
25/06/2024
A Collaboration With Panavision: Phedon Papamichael, ASC, GSC
I've always thought of myself not so specifically as a cinematographer, says Phedon Papamichael, ASC, GSC. Indeed, the renowned director of photography has...
20/06/2024
Inside the Color Grade of Percy Jackson and the Olympians
The first season of the Disney+ series Percy Jackson and the Olympians meticulously builds a world that makes fantasy feel real. Based on the book series by Ric...
18/06/2024
Shaun Seneviratne Syncs With Keith Jenson on Ben and Suzanne
The first feature film from writer-director Shaun Seneviratne, Ben and Suzanne: A Reunion in 4 Parts depicts the struggle between love and duty as Ben (Sathya S...
18/06/2024
Ole Bratt Birkeland, BSC and Chris Dowling on Good Grief
Now streaming on Netflix, Good Grief marks the feature-film directorial debut of Daniel Levy, well known as the co-creator and costar of the series Schitt's...
18/06/2024
David Lanzenberg and Todd McMullen Dive Into Palm Royale
Created by showrunner Abe Sylvia, the Apple TV+ comedic drama Palm Royale navigates the tale of one womans ambitious journey to make it amongst the upper crust,...
18/06/2024
Robert Elswit, ASC: The Cinematography of Ripley
Based on Patricia Highsmith's bestselling Tom Ripley novels, Netflix's eight-episode limited series Ripley stars Andrew Scott as the eponymous antihero,...
16/06/2024
Creating a Mystical Landscape With LEE Filters
I'm a big believer in getting the shot right in camera, says LEE Filters ambassador Jordan Banks. In this video, he guides viewers through his process as h...
06/06/2024
Michele Channer Appointed Managing Director of Panalux
LONDON, U.K. (4 June, 2024) Panalux, a leading rental provider of lighting and power solutions for the motion-picture industry and part of Panavision's en...
04/06/2024
Lucie Baudinaud, AFC discusses Bis Repetita
An apathetic Latin teacher makes a misguided deal with her students, resulting in her ill-prepared class entering a prestigious competition in Naples. This is t...
03/06/2024
Armando Salas, ASC and Ian Vertovec on Griselda
Set in 1970s-'80s Miami, the Netflix limited series Griselda is a fictionalized dramatization inspired by the life Griselda Blanco (Sof a Vergara), who crea...
21/05/2024
Capturing Cityscapes With LEE Filters
Part of being a photographer is adapting to situations, says photographer Verity Milligan. In this video, Milligan takes her camera to the Gas Street Basin nei...
20/05/2024
Poolside Gossip
Created by showrunner Abe Sylvia, the Apple TV+ comedic drama Palm Royale navigates the tale of one womans ambitious journey to make it amongst the upper crust,...
14/05/2024
The Making of The Fall Guy
The feature film The Fall Guy marks the latest collaboration between director David Leitch and cinematographer Jonathan Sela, ASC. Sela describes the movie as ...
06/05/2024
Lighting a Day-Interior Caf With LEE Filters
In this video, cinematographer Simon Rowling welcomes viewers behind the scenes as he lights a daytime-interior scene inside a coffee shop. Shooting on Panavisi...
02/05/2024
The Making of All of Us Strangers
I always like to base my lighting choices in reality, says cinematographer Jamie D. Ramsay, SASC. For his recent collaboration with writer-director Andrew Haig...
30/04/2024
lodie Ichter Joins Light Iron as Senior Colorist
LOS ANGELES (April 30, 2024) Light Iron, the post-production creative-services division of Panavision, is excited to announce that lodie Ichter has joined th...
30/04/2024
Breadth of Support
Now streaming on Netflix, Good Grief marks the feature-film directorial debut of Daniel Levy, well known as the co-creator and costar of the series Schitt's...
24/04/2024
Authentic Perspectives
The first feature film from writer-director Shaun Seneviratne, Ben and Suzanne: A Reunion in 4 Parts depicts the struggle between love and duty as Ben (Sathya S...
24/04/2024
Melanie Georgieva Joins Panalux as Long Form Sales Director
LONDON, England (24 April 2024) Panalux, a leading rental provider of lighting and power solutions for the motion-picture industry and part of Panavision'...
22/04/2024
Adapting to Landscapes With LEE Filters
In this video, LEE Filters ambassador Jordan Banks ventures into Snowdonia National Park in Wales. Faced with less-than-ideal weather conditions, he adapts his ...
16/04/2024
A Spirit Between Worlds
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 es...
13/04/2024
Lighting a Horror Scene With LEE Filters
In this video, gaffer Elena Armellini takes viewers behind the scenes as she lights a horror scene. She and her crew black-out the locations windows to give the...
09/04/2024
For the Family
Co-written and directed by Thomas Cailley, The Animal Kingdom (Le r gne animal) follows a father and son's adventure to find their family's matriarch af...
08/04/2024
How to Light a Horror Scene using LEE Filters with Elena Armellini
In this video, Elena Armellini shows us how she uses LEE Filters to create the perfect lighting for a horror scene....
06/04/2024
Lighting a Night-Interior Bar Scene With LEE Filters
In this educational video from LEE Filters, cinematographer Simon Rowling welcomes viewers on set and discusses his creative and technical approach to lighting ...
29/03/2024
Women Making History, Part 5
In the final installment of Panavision's Women Making History interview series, Panavision President and CEO Kim Snyder focuses the conversation on the part...
26/03/2024
A Collaboration With Panavision: Pedro Luque, SCU
Cinematographer Pedro Luque, SCU's credits include the features Body Cam, Antebellum and director J.A. Bayona's Best International Feature Oscar-nominat...
21/03/2024
Women Making History, Part 4
In Part 4 of Panavision's Women Making History interview series, the conversation turns toward career highlights. Prompted by Panavision President and CEO K...
18/03/2024
Vintage Allure
Released this past January, the music video for Ariana Grande's yes, and? brings a modern approach to vintage allure. The video was directed by Christian ...
14/03/2024
Women Making History, Part 3
The Women Making History interview series continues, with Panavision President and CEO Kim Snyder steering the conversation toward mentorship. Here, the partici...
13/03/2024
The Making of Ferrari
I like to work with directors that have a real distinct sense for what they want out of their film, says Erik Messerschmidt, ASC. This was certainly the case w...
08/03/2024
Women Making History, Part 2
In this installment of Panavision's Women Making History interview series, the conversation turns to key advice that has helped guide the participants as th...
01/03/2024
Women Making History, Part 1
The month of March marks Women's History Month and, on the 8th, International Women's Day. These are important opportunities to focus on stories from wo...
27/02/2024
LEE Filters expands LEE Direct e-commerce platform to Canada
TORONTO (February 27, 2024) LEE Filters, a leading manufacturer of high-quality lighting gels and photographic filters and a member of the Panavision family o...
27/02/2024
The Making of The New Boy
ACS member Warwick Thornton wrote, directed and photographed the feature The New Boy, about a 9-year-old Aboriginal Australian orphan who arrives at a remote mo...
26/02/2024
Light Iron Colors Penelope in the Cloud
MovieLabs, the technology joint venture of the major Hollywood motion picture studios, recently announced that Light Iron is among the latest group of 10 partic...
25/02/2024
Look, Flow & Legacy
Directed and co-written by Nicholaus Goossen, Drugstore June follows the vigilante detective-work of a self-obsessed social-media influencer, the eponymous June...
22/02/2024
The Panavision Group at BSC Expo 2024
BSC Expo 2024 recently wrapped in London, and Panavision, Panalux and LEE Filters were all on hand to showcase products from across their range of innovative so...
21/02/2024
Vital History
With its fourth season, the National Geographic series Genius presents a dual portrait of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, inspirational leaders who paved ...
14/02/2024
The Making of Saltburn
I always want the film to tell me what it needs, says cinematographer Linus Sandgren, FSF, ASC. In the case of writer-director Emerald Fennell's feature Sa...
13/02/2024
Worthy Company
Cinematographer Ricardo Diaz joined the HBO series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty for Season 2's third episode, The Second Coming. Depicting...
08/02/2024
The Making of Killers of the Flower Moon and Barbie
2023 saw the release of two features photographed by Rodrigo Prieto, ASC, AMC: Barbie, directed by Greta Gerwig, and Killers of the Flower Moon, which reteamed ...
31/01/2024
Panalux welcomes Sandro Leone as Long Form Sales Director
LONDON, England (31 January, 2024) Panalux, a leading rental provider of lighting and power solutions for the motion-picture industry and part of Panavision...
29/01/2024
Family of Fighters
Written and directed by Sean Durkin, the feature film The Iron Claw shines a light on the tragedies and triumphs of the Von Erichs, a real-life family of profes...
23/01/2024
Panalux announces new London headquarters
LONDON, England (23rd January, 2024) Panalux, a leading rental provider of lighting and power solutions for the motion-picture industry and part of Panavision...
12/01/2024
The Making of The Crown
Over six seasons, the Netflix series The Crown has enthralled viewers with its simultaneously intimate and epic portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and the royal fam...