Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Cinematographer Stephan Pehrsson, BSC on the series Utopia

29/08/2024

The comic book Dystopia tells the story of Jessica Hyde, a young girl on the run from the evil Mr. Rabbit, who holds Jessica's scientist father captive and forces him to create unthinkable biological horrors. Written and illustrated by an anonymous artist, Dystopia has earned legions of fans, some of whom have found far deeper meaning in its pages and believe clues to real-world viruses and pandemics are layered into its artwork.

One such group of obsessives, who have only known each other through their online interactions, come together and finally meet in person for Fringe Con, where an unwitting couple has plans to auction the recently discovered original artwork for Utopia, Dystopia's unpublished and never-before-seen sequel. Desperate to unlock Utopia's secrets, these friends are instead thrust into the heart of a vast conspiracy and forced to run for their lives alongside none other than Jessica Hyde who is in fact a real, living person, with a backstory that exactly matches the one told on the printed page.

So begins the eight-episode series Utopia, developed by showrunner Gillian Flynn and now streaming on Amazon Prime Video. As cinematographer Stephan Pehrsson, BSC says of the story's happenings, Everything is calculated, and there are dark forces controlling all of it.

When Panavision spoke with Pehrsson in mid-September, he was in London, nine weeks into production on another series. Despite Utopia's subject matter, the cinematographer says the series' release comes at a time the filmmakers never could have imagined during production, as the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic. Hopefully people will see it as a piece of entertainment, he offers, and not a handbook for how to live life.

Pehrsson was brought onto Utopia by director Toby Haynes, who would ultimately direct Episodes 1, 2, 3 and 8. Pehrsson shot each of Haynes' episodes as well as Episode 6, and cinematographer Shawn Kim came aboard to shoot Episodes 4, 5 and 7. Kim joined the production after Pehrsson but still very early on, Pehrsson notes. We sent references back and forth, and he brought a lot of visual ideas. It was great to have him as a collaborator and be able to pick his brain.

Toby and I go way back, Pehrsson adds, noting that he and the director attended the U.K.'s National Film and Television School together. We have a shorthand. We know what the other person is thinking before he says it. Their professional collaborations have included the Emmy winning Black Mirror episode U.S.S. Callister, and it was in part thanks to that project's success, Pehrsson says, that Toby was invited over to the U.S. to direct Utopia, and he brought me along. We've done it before where we set up a show in a different country with a new crew, so we were confident we could make it work.

The series was shot in and around Flynn's hometown of Chicago, Ill. Pehrsson began his prep in February 2019, with production starting in May and lasting into October.

Flynn's story was inspired by and adapted from the British series of the same name, which aired for two seasons. I was in awe of the original, Pehrsson says of the show, which was created by Dennis Kelly and photographed by BSC members Ole Bratt Birkeland and Lol Crawley. It was super-strong, incredible television, with a distinct style. It's very controlled, with stark frames that are all about the graphic nature of the surroundings. But Gillian had her own take, so when we started, we took it our own way.

Given the central conceit of its storyline, that a graphic novel contains world-shaking secrets, we knew we wanted to merge comic books and conspiracy thrillers, Pehrsson reflects. We looked at classic conspiracy thrillers like The Parallax View, Three Days of the Condor and The Icpress File, and we talked about pushing the colors and not being afraid of making it bold in that way.

Gillian was very hands-on and very clear, but Toby was also given the freedom to be creative and put his own vision and ideas into it, Pehrsson continues. He loves handheld and the sense of immediacy of being with the characters. Jessica Hyde [portrayed by Sasha Lane] has been on the run since she was a small child, and she has this crazy energy; it felt appropriate to follow her energy and be a bit wild and handheld with the camera in her scenes.

The filmmakers did follow the lead of the original Utopia with their choice of the 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Where the original had been captured spherically, however, Pehrsson and his collaborators made the choice to shoot anamorphic. During prep, the cinematographer shares, We were blown away by the qualities of Panavision's anamorphic lenses, especially the T Series. There was nothing we could find elsewhere that could beat the look or the technical benefits. Normally with anamorphics, it's a 4-foot minimum focus, a T-stop of 4 all those things you have to compensate for when shooting. But with the T Series, it had all the right visual qualities, the anamorphic flare, but with a 2-foot close focus, and you can shoot them wide open [at T2.3 for every focal length up to and including 135mm]. That made a huge difference. This was the first chance I had to shoot with proper Panavision lenses, which was very exciting, and the T Series was great.

In particular, the cinematographer notes, The 28mm rarely left the camera. The whole show was pretty much shot on the 28mm and the 35mm. We wanted to shoot wide, close to the actors, and put them in the center of the frame. The actors were often looking at a tape mark on the matte box because we were so close!

Sourcing their package through Panavision Chicago, the filmmakers paired the T Series optics with Panavision's Millennium DXL2 camera, capturing 5K with a 2:1 anamorphic squeeze. We l
LINK: https://www.panavision.com/highlights/highlights-detail/the-color-of-p...
See more stories from panavision

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 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...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

30/04/2026

Ocean Blue Software Launches ATSC 3.0 Inspector for Smart TVs

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

Digital Azul positions Lisbon as a remote production hub...

Scalable broadcast-grade production over public internet, replacing traditional OB workflows...

30/04/2026

V Nova Brings DTV Deployment LCEVC Ecosystem Progress and...

Live demonstrations highlight LCEVC ecosystem momentum, AI-powered video pipelines, and expansion across broadcast, streaming, and social media. DTV (TV 3.0) ...

30/04/2026

Student Spotlight: Matthew Leon

Student Spotlight: Matthew Leon The dual major shares his path from community college to Berklee, and how his heritage influences his work. April 29, 2026 B...

30/04/2026

Berklee Artists to Perform at Major Global Music Festivals

Berklee Artists to Perform at Major Global Music Festivals As part of the Berklee Popular Music Institute, students will perform at Lollapalooza, Governors Ba...

30/04/2026

Study: Rokus Low-Cost, Ad-Free Howdy Streamer Hits 1 Million Subs

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

MLS Innovation Lab Selects AI Partners

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

NRB Files FCC Complaint Over Jimmy Kimmel Live!' Monologue

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

D.C. Court Denies Emergency Stay of Nexstar/Tegna Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

NAB Criticizes FCC for Ordering Early Renewal of ABC-Owned Stations

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

FCC Approves Station Swaps Between Scripps and Gray Media

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

30/04/2026

Telestream Introduces Pulse - a Software-Defined Test an...

A flexible monitoring platform designed to simplify ST 2110 operations, consolidate vendor tools, and support modern live production environments. See it at NAB...

30/04/2026

Langlev Takes Run Amok to Sundance with Zeiss Supreme Pri...

Sundance-premiering Run Amok is an expressive, unconventional take on today's teen experience, replete with musical numbers. When cinematographer Shachar ...

30/04/2026

Studio Technologies Elevates Jacksonville State Universit...

JACKSONVILLE, AL, APRIL 29, 2026 Jacksonville State University, known as Jax State and a proud NCAA Division I member of Conference USA, has transformed its a...

30/04/2026

Knowledge Network selects ThinkAnalytics to launch AI-pow...

Transforming viewer and content data into real-time intelligence to deliver relevant streaming experiences at scale ThinkAnalytics, the global leader in AI-pow...

30/04/2026

Sports Production, Delivery is Big Biz at NAB

Sports Production, Delivery is Big Biz at NAB Andy Marken April 29, 2026 0 Comments Hero image source: NAB One of the neat things about trade shows i...

30/04/2026

Former Kerry footballer and broadcaster Dara Cinnide investigates the century-old murder of a Kerry man in new RT documentary

Rian na Fola airs on RT One and RT Player on Monday May 4 Rian na Fola is a o...

30/04/2026

It's Gonna Be May: 16 Games Hit the Cloud This Month, With More NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Power

It's gonna be May - and the cloud's in full festival mode. 16 games ar...

30/04/2026

April 29, 2026

Scripps Research ranks third in 2026 Cure Innovation Index April 29, 2026 LA JOLLA, CA Scripps Research ranked third in the inaugural 2026 Cure Innovation In...

29/04/2026

Churchill Downs Racetrack Lifts Curtain on New Big Board Ahead of Kentucky Derby Week

It was a delicate job in a 150-year-old venue laden with traditions. Begun at th...

29/04/2026

How the MLS Innovation Lab Enhances Everything From Athlete Performance to Production to Ticket Sales

In annual event, the league gives startup companies the opportunity to prove the...

29/04/2026

Save the Date: SVG Venues & Teams Summit Travels South to Miamis Kaseya Center on Aug. 12

Panel discussions, networking, and a facility tour will take place in the renova...

29/04/2026

The Cast and Crew of Conbody VS Everybody Have Each Other's Backs for Life

(L-R) Derek Drescher, Coss Marte, and Syretta Wright have each other's backs. (Micheal Hurcomb/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival) By Veronika Lee Cla...

29/04/2026

Free Tilt EQ plug-in from Techivation

Combines EQ and harmonic distortion Techivation's latest release is a simple EQ designed to offer quick control over a source's overall tonal balanc...

29/04/2026

Expressive E launch the Osmose CE

Two new MPE controllers announced Expressive E caused quite a stir when they released the Osmose, making the sort of expression that was once reserved for p...

29/04/2026

iZotope RX 12 is here

New modules & enhanced machine-learning The latest version of iZotope's flagship restoration suite is now available, and now offers over 50 tools design...

29/04/2026

Surgeon Dr Jasmina Kevric wins 2026 Les Murray Award

Surgeon Dr Jasmina Kevric wins 2026 Les Murray Award 29 April, 2026 Media releases Australia for UNHCR and SBS are proud to announce that Dr Jasmina Kevric...

29/04/2026

YEP Spotlight: Julissa Padilla

Some people stumble into their passion. Julissa Padilla walked straight into a film vault. For her, entertainment was never just about the movies themselves. It...

29/04/2026

Clear-Com Promotes Brian Grahn, Ben Turnwell to Expanded Roles

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/04/2026

The CW Unveils Major Streaming Deals with ESPN and Roku

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/04/2026

Clear-Com Announces New Roles for Brian Grahn and Ben Tur...

Clear-Com has appointed Brian Grahn as Market Outreach Manager of the Americas and Ben Turnwell as Business Development Manager for EMEA live, expanding their ...

29/04/2026

Reduce Workflow Complexity with nxtedition at MPTS 2026

nxtedition is bringing its range of consolidated production tools to MPTS 2026, with new developments spanning transcription, editing, graphics and AI-assisted ...

29/04/2026

Telxius taps Synamedia to unlock seamless global multi-CD...

Quortex Switch to boost the streaming experience for Telxius customers, reaching millions of viewers worldwide Synamedia and Telxius, the leading global connec...

29/04/2026

freispace and Projective Announce Joint Showcase of Integ...

freispace, the leading ERP-as-a-Service platform for media and entertainment production, and Projective, a leading provider of post-production collaboration tec...

29/04/2026

DHD Celebrates 30th Anniversary at 2026 NAB Show

DHD reports strong interest in its broadcast audio product range, exhibited at the April 19th-22nd NAB Show in Las Vegas. The event attracted a claimed 58,000 a...

29/04/2026

Student Spotlight: Alan Catz

Student Spotlight: Alan Catz The Argentine film and game composer talks about working on League of Legends, receiving Berklee's BMI Award, and the lifelon...

29/04/2026

Jay Jennings Builds the Worlds You Hear on Screen

Jay Jennings Builds the Worlds You Hear on Screen The supervising sound designer behind A Minecraft Movie, The Meg, Letters from Iwo Jima, and dozens of other...

29/04/2026

Paramount Will be 49.5% Foreign Owned After WBD Merger

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/04/2026

NAB Show 2026: AI, Vertical and BPS Dominate Broadcasters' Discussions

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/04/2026

IAB Tech Lab Announces New OpenRTB Attributes

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

29/04/2026

Meet the eight finalists for RT Today's TV Home Cook competition

Voting opens at 4pm today RT 's Today show have announced the eight finalists for their TV Home Cook competition. Amateur cooks from Cork, Dublin, Galway ...

29/04/2026

VEON and Kyivstar Fulfill Commitment to Invest USD 1 Billion in Ukraine over 2023-2027 Ahead of Schedule

29 Apr 2026 VEON and Kyivstar Fulfill Commitment to Invest USD 1 Billion in Ukr...

29/04/2026

U challenges stars and their dogs to compete for Wagging Rights

Rhod Gilbert, Harriet Kemsley, Kae Kurd, Sara Pascoe and Vicki Pattison to take part in brand new series on free streaming service U London, 29th April 2026: F...

29/04/2026

Katie Price: Nothing to Hide, a Sky Original documentary series from BAFTA-winning Mindhouse, coming this summer

Wednesday 29 April 2026 Katie Price: Nothing to Hide, a Sky Original documentar...