Pair a British-born songwriter-director who's collaborated with musicians like Jay-Z with a Romanian cinematographer known for shooting intense dramas, and what kind of movie might you get? An American western, of course. But not just any American western. The Netflix feature The Harder They Fall, directed by Jeymes Samuel and photographed by Mihai M laimare Jr., is a table-turning, race-bending, music-rich western where Black actors play the cowboys (and villains) while the white actors populate the background. This depiction of the American West is one seldom seen on the silver screen, but one that nevertheless existed, as the film notes on its title card.
The Harder They Fall may be the first western M laimare has shot, but the cinematographer is no stranger to the genre, having grown up watching them on Romanian TV. I love westerns and feel that all filmmakers deep inside want to do a western at one point, he says. When I read the script, I got hooked to it right away. Music is such a big part of the process for Jeymes, and the script had so many music notes in it that it showed it would be a different type of western while still paying tribute to the genre itself. It had all the right ingredients to be special.
Samuel had a specific aesthetic in mind for the film and brought paintings by the African-American artist Kadir Nelson to his first meeting with M laimare. Nelson's work is vibrant, illustrative, and full of color, and Samuel desired to capture a similar style for the film's visuals. He wanted the look of the film to be a photograph printed on high-gloss paper, M laimare says. He wanted that saturation and high contrast and glossiness.
M laimare, in turn, found inspiration in Dutch photographer Pieter Henket's 2018 book Congo Tales, which featured large-format stills of the Congolese re-enacting popular folktales. Henket employed colored lights to achieve a similar kind of saturation and contrast found in Nelson's paintings. During the shoot, digital-imaging technician Eli Berg loaded images of both artists' work into his system as reference points. Thats how we got a lot of ideas like going deep blue in the shadows, M laimare says. Sometimes the inspiration might just be framing, but the whole idea of tweaking coloring in that way was pretty great.
After M laimare came aboard the project, plans were made in earnest to commence production, but then the coronavirus pandemic put the world on hold prior to the start of principal photography. We all thought it would be a few weeks only, but it turned out to be much longer, the cinematographer recalls. But then, three or four months after, I got a call from Jeymes. He was like, Okay, were going, are you ready?' I couldnt believe it. In a week I had to drive to Santa Fe!
Covid precautions forced the filmmakers to rethink all their traditional shooting methods. We all tried to figure out how to make a movie in the middle of a pandemic while being safe and dealing with all the extra gear, M laimare says. But it went incredibly fast. With all the restrictions, we had to learn to do things in a different way. We did only 10-hour days. It was hard to find time to have lunch, but on the other hand, you could feel that the crew was well rested. We never did crazy Fraturdays' or anything like that. When you have a rested crew, everything goes much smoother.
Samuel and M laimare decided that since they were making a western, it was a no-brainer to go widescreen and anamorphic. M laimare immediately approached Panavision, with whom he's had a long-standing relationship. The cinematographer is also a self-confessed fan of Panavision's Millennium DXL2 camera system. I remember trying it the first time when it came out, and one thing that blew me away was the [Primo electronic] viewfinder, he shares. I think its by far the best viewfinder on the market. I started on film, where you have your eye in the viewfinder the whole time. I cannot function otherwise. I operate and have a hard time looking at a monitor. I really need a good viewfinder, and the whole combination with the color science made it an absolutely perfect tool.
He also appreciates how DXL2 holds highlights. You know that you have at least three stops where you have recoverable image in the highlights, he says. It paid off well for us because the ground in New Mexico is so reflective. The fact that everybody was wearing cowboy hats made the perfect combination. We didn't need to fly silks, and we could shoot in the middle of the day in the harshest sun, and everybody would look great.
For 2018s The Hate U Give, M laimare had shot on DXL2 with a set of Auto Panatar anamorphic primes, which have a 1.3x squeeze ratio. For The Harder They Fall, the cinematographer says, I really wanted to find something similar to the Auto Panatars. My main concern was the loss of resolution when going to 2x anamorphic.
After an initial conversation with Dan Sasaki, Panavision's senior vice president of optical engineering, Dan asked me to come over, and he showed me a set of T Series modified to a 1.85 squeeze factor, M laimare continues. The 1.85x squeeze allowed the cinematographer to capture 5604x4320 images with DXL2, as compared to 5184x4320 when 2x anamorphic is paired with the camera. That extra resolution put my mind at ease. They were also a little softer and ended up having these amazing swirly bokeh there are so many interesting things about them. Dan showed me only two lenses, and I was sold on them right away.
We started shooting in the forest with the Nat Love Gang, and the way that swirly bokeh looked was quite amazing, he adds. A 12mm H Series spherical [lens] would have given a wider field of view, but looking at the widest T Series and what it was doing to those trees and the falloff and
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/07/2026
Zixi, a leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) today announced a strategic new integration to deliver ...
16/07/2026
Blackmagic Design Cameras Capture Immersive Flight for New Cirrus App
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Leader in Personal Aviation taps URSA Cin...
16/07/2026
XenData Announces LTO Archive Appliances with both File and S3 Object Storage In...
15/07/2026
The 2026 FIFA World Cup is a big deal for DAZN, which has distribution rights in three markets: Italy, Spain, and Japan. Each requires a different editorial app...
15/07/2026
As sports-media organizations manage rapidly growing content libraries and incre...
15/07/2026
HBS director of digital Johannes Franken talks SVG Europe through the operation built to serve FIFA World Cup 2026 rights holders remotely from Stratford, east ...
15/07/2026
IBC has unveiled the conference program for IBC2026, with this year's event ...
15/07/2026
Software-defined wideband RF platform supports 96-kHz monitoring, streamlined fr...
15/07/2026
New AI-powered module enables broadcasters and content owners to extract dialogu...
15/07/2026
Weeklong gathering at EBU headquarters will test new IPMX capabilities and expand certified product ecosystem...
15/07/2026
Force Tech has announced the appointment of Bryan Adams, CTS, as Vice President of Integration. Adams will oversee AV and broadcast integration project delivery...
15/07/2026
USA Sports has announced an exclusive English-language agreement with the Bundes...
15/07/2026
ITV Sport's FIFA World Cup 2026 coverage has been produced from one of the m...
15/07/2026
Program will provide professional camera kits, training, and technical support to participating local newsrooms...
15/07/2026
San Francisco church becomes first U.S. deployment of the 2 M/E production switcher...
15/07/2026
Former ESPN and NFL Network executive to advise startup league on media, distribution, technology, and fan engagement...
15/07/2026
The Houston-based RSN is the live-game home of the Astros and Rockets...
15/07/2026
Launched alongside new FreqSoft installer
Designed to bridge the gap between hardware and software, Freqport's FreqInOut FO1 unit provides a simple way ...
15/07/2026
Save up to 55% on software until 23 July 2026
Expressive E have just launched their Summer Offer sale, with discounts of up to 55% now applied across their ...
15/07/2026
Real-time stem-separation tool updated
zplane have recently released a new and improved version of their real-time stem-separation plug-in which they say ma...
15/07/2026
A new benchmark in bass enhancement
Described as a new benchmark in bass enhancement , Baby Audio's latest release has been designed to augment the lo...
15/07/2026
DMC Production's AR 1 and AR 2 units reverse the conventional OB workflow, keeping all production-critical processing at the venue while operators work remo...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
GigaCloud, a leading Ukrainian cloud service provider, and Cubbit, the first geo-distributed cloud storage enabler, today announced a new Business Alliance Part...
15/07/2026
SMPTE, the global society for media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has announced the launch of the SMPTE 110th Anniversary Campaign, a fundraising...
15/07/2026
Studio Technologies, a leading manufacturer of high-quality audio, video, and fiber-optic solutions, unveils the new StudioComm Model 762 Stereo Level Control, ...
15/07/2026
COW Jobs: Producer, Virtual Events - Hybrid, Full Time, Salaried
Brie Clayton July 15, 2026
0 Comments
Producer, Virtual Events (Hybrid | Full-time | ...
15/07/2026
Brazilian media organization builds nationwide CDN with Broadpeak's high-performance software for low-latency streaming and new content distribution service...
15/07/2026
DHD announces a new utility designed to increase the efficiency of its audio mixing systems during initial installation and subsequent configuration.
Anyone w...
15/07/2026
BCNEXXT Brings Next-Generation Vipe to IBC2026, Breaking the 1:1 Channel-to-Server Ratio New innovations liberate broadcasters from legacy playout infrastructur...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/07/2026
General-purpose robots and autonomous machines are moving from research labs to ...
15/07/2026
Wednesday 15 July 2026
Screeners and press pack now available: Gomorrah: The Or...
15/07/2026
Trinity's Treasures features Ruth Negga, Eleanor McEvoy, and David Norris, a...
15/07/2026
Join geographer Dr Susan Hegarty, Engineer Tim Joyce and Architect Orla Murphy a...
15/07/2026
Home to leading manufacturers, robotics pioneers, infrastructure builders and iconic gaming companies, of course, Japan is one of the world's centers of AI ...
14/07/2026
South end zone videoboard, cloud-based control system will be ready for 2026 football season...
14/07/2026
Redesigned website, enhanced mobile app unify content, ticketing, and personalized fan engagement...
Pair a British-born songwriter-director who's collaborated with musicians like Jay-Z with a Romanian cinematographer known for shooting intense dramas, and what kind of movie might you get? An American western, of course. But not just any American western. The Netflix feature The Harder They Fall, directed by Jeymes Samuel and photographed by Mihai M laimare Jr., is a table-turning, race-bending, music-rich western where Black actors play the cowboys (and villains) while the white actors populate the background. This depiction of the American West is one seldom seen on the silver screen, but one that nevertheless existed, as the film notes on its title card.
