Written and directed by Zach Braff, A Good Person tells the story of Allison (Florence Pugh), who unexpectedly befriends an elder gentleman named Daniel (Morgan Freeman) during a time of deep remorse and grief following her involvement in a tragic accident. To make the movie and infuse it with an emotional heft that would outweigh its indie-sized budget, Braff enlisted a team of close collaborators that included cinematographer Mauro Fiore, ASC.
Braff and Fiore turned to Panavision New York for their camera package, which included Panavised Alexa LF and Mini LF cameras and Panaspeed large-format optics. Here, the collaborators detail their approach to crafting the movie's visual language.
Panavision: How did the two of you come to collaborate on this project?
Mauro Fiore, ASC: Zach and I had done a short film, In the Time it Takes to Get There, with the production company RSA, and Florence was in that as well. We had a really nice time working together, so when he offered me A Good Person, I accepted right away, and we headed off to New Jersey to make the movie.
Everybody was completely realistic about the goals and the approach. It was a lower-budget independent project, but that wasn't going to hold us back from telling a great story. I remember something my father told me once: A real master only needs a few tools.' That always stuck in my mind. It was a great collaborative experience, and it was an important story to tell. It was really fun for me to do this film.
How would you describe the look of A Good Person?
Zach Braff: This film is way more still than anything I've ever directed before. I love moving the camera in unique and interesting ways. Directing Scrubs was very fun because the camera itself was such a character in the show each episodes director was trying to come up with more and more wacky ways to move the lens and transition the shots. But this is the first thing I've made where I chose to be very restrained and let the incredible actors and their fascinating faces just be. Of course there are some moves, but I left many of them on the cutting room floor. I liked the stillness.
Fiore: We went really classic with it. It's a dramatic film about anxiety and trauma and addiction, but we wanted to keep an optimistic tone with what could be really tough subject matter and still have beauty in this tragedy. Specifically, we looked for as much color as we could get, filming in the fall so we could take advantage of the East Coast's autumn beauty.
Our aesthetic concept for the film was to start out with romantic backlight and very classical photography and then slowly descend into darkness until we finally come out of it with Florence's character. As you see her developing and finding the light, it was important to have sunlight that was always there as part of the frame. The sunlight would give us some hope, suggesting the possibility that she could move on after her traumatic experience.
Were there any particular visual references you looked at for inspiration?
Braff: Mauro and I talked about the loneliness in many of Edward Hopper's paintings, and we shared all types of images back and forth. But, for me, the most helpful thing was working with concept artist Joanna Bush. This is something that has really helped me on projects of all sizes. I know that most often filmmakers use concept art for large-scale films, but Joanna captured the tone of what I wanted so perfectly with a handful of keyframes. It was very helpful in conveying that tone to all the members of the creative team and to the folks at MGM.
Fiore: We would also reflect on the locations and develop ideas around them. For example, there's a scene in the park where Morgan Freeman's character and his son finally reunite, and it looked like a Seurat painting so we said, Let's make it look even more like a Seurat painting. Let's develop that feeling.'
What brought you to Panavision for this project?
Braff: When I was going to film school at Northwestern, I loved looking at behind-the-scenes pictures of my favorite films, and the filmmakers always had that beautiful, giant Panavision film magazine. Then, when I was PA'ing in NYC in the mid to late '90s, I'd be on these low-budget music videos and commercials, driving in a s----y cube truck, and we'd pass the big, red Panavision camera trucks. I remember thinking, One day I'll be on a big, cool job with a Panavision camera truck.'
It wasn't until I made Garden State with Larry Sher [ASC] that I finally got to shoot Super 35 with Panavision cameras and lenses. That was the only chance I got to shoot one of my films on film. After the industrys move to digital, I fell in love with the look of Panavision anamorphic lenses. I just love how unique each lens is. I love the flares and all the imperfections. I don't like lenses that are too perfect,' without some character.
Fiore: Im really familiar with Panavision. Their service department and their lens department are just the best to work with, and [Panavision marketing executive] Lori Killam is a great representative for me. I knew they would be able to support me in this venture.
I specifically wanted to shoot large format. I had just worked with Panavision on Spider-Man: No Way Home, and I had shot with the Alexa LF and Panaspeed lenses. I really loved that combination and wanted to bring that same sort of feel to this film. We experimented with anamorphic, but ultimately I decided to shoot with Panaspeeds and frame for the 2.39:1 aspect ratio so we could get even more out of the sensor.
What characteristics did you see in the Panaspeeds that made them the right match for A Good Person?
Fiore: One of the things that Zach and I are really interested in is contrast, and those lenses offer such great contras
Most recent headlines
06/10/2025
France T l visions, France's leading broadcaster, has received the 2025 EBU ...
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
07/08/2025
July 8 2025, 22:30 (PDT) Tata Motors & Dolby Bring Dolby Atmos to Harrier.ev, R...
12/07/2025
As the death toll continues to mount, with at least 120 killed and more than 170 people still missing on July 10 from devastating Texas floods, a number of broa...
12/07/2025
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., and MIAMI -DirecTV and TelevisaUnivision have signed a deal that will make the ad-supported premium subscription tier of ViX, ViX Premium wi...
11/07/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...
11/07/2025
If you've ever wondered what might be playing in Clark Kent's headphones...
11/07/2025
L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert and General Manager of L3Harris Waco facility Sean Ling held a ce...
11/07/2025
ARLINGTON, Va. WETA, the flagship public media station in the national capital area, has launched WETA+, a new streaming service tailored for the local Washingt...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission has emerged as one of the central players in the broadcast TV landscape in 2025, with its deregulatory policies sparking h...
11/07/2025
Calrec will introduce usability, customization and system enhancements across its entire range of Argo consoles during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterda...
11/07/2025
LONDON Encompass Digital Media said it will support live and on-demand viewing of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup across multiple global regions for sports enterta...
11/07/2025
Two-thirds of broadcast engineers reaped the benefits of a pay raise within the last year....
11/07/2025
CARY, N.C. SmallHD has launched the Quantum 27, a new 26.5-inch Quantum-Dot OLED monitor designed to deliver postproduction image quality in a compact, set-frie...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau and Tegna have entered into a consent decree that will settle an investigation into the accidenta...
11/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following news in early July that Paramount had settled President Donald Trump's lawsuit, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luj n (D-N...
11/07/2025
Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...
11/07/2025
Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...
11/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...
11/07/2025
2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...
11/07/2025
A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff
Friday, July 1...
11/07/2025
CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...
11/07/2025
Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Too Hot to Handle: Italy Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalItaly
Link copied to clipboard
July 11, 20...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Will Release Death Inc. Seasons 1, 2 and 3
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Season 1
Season 2
Se...
11/07/2025
AI and Multimedia Authenticity Standards Collaboration launches two papers to guide the future of AI integration, today at the AI for Good Global Summit
The...
11/07/2025
Ceramics - the humble mix of earth, fire and artistry - have been part of a global conversation for millennia.
From Tang Dynasty trade routes to Renaissance pa...
10/07/2025
The current holder of the prestigious Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year Award has been forced to stop reporting over fears for her safety in Afgha...
10/07/2025
Spotify is turning up the volume on Australian music with a multipronged initiative designed to highlight the dominance of Australian artists on the global stag...
10/07/2025
This is not a drill: Oasis is back on the road-marking its first live performanc...
10/07/2025
The music industry depends on fresh ideas, bold voices, and emerging talent. Yet across the U.K., too many young musicians lack the space to develop their craft...
10/07/2025
NEW YORK - July 10, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, today announced that it appointed Richard Pacheco as head of ...
10/07/2025
Local newscasts don't exist in a vacuum. News directors and station management constantly evaluate what's working, what isn't and perhaps most impor...
10/07/2025
Lawo has announced that Stuttgart Media University (Hochschule der Medien, HdM) has comprehensively modernized its central recording studio after selecting an I...
10/07/2025
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has opened early-bird registration for the Media Technology Summit, which will take place in a ne...
10/07/2025
NASHVILLE, Tenn. TNDV Television has launched Aspiration 35, a new version of its 40-foot Aspiration truck reimagined for cinematic multicamera productions....
10/07/2025
BURBANK, Calif. Key Code Education, a provider of instructor-led postproduction training, is growing its curriculum with new programs for beginner and intermedi...
10/07/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. Actus Digital will demonstrate how broadcasters can transform compliance monitoring from a necessary expense into a strategic revenue driver at...
10/07/2025
The Federal Register has published a summary of the Federal Communications Commission's Public Notice seeking comments on its ownership rules that lists a d...
10/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Presents the Official Trailer for SuperestarPlay Video
Play Video
Entertainment
10 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard...
10/07/2025
In the race to understand our planet's changing climate, speed and accuracy are everything. But today's most widely used climate simulators often strugg...
10/07/2025
As one of the world's largest emerging markets, Indonesia is making strides toward its Golden 2045 Vision - an initiative tapping digital technologies and...
10/07/2025
10 Jul 2025
VEON and Cohen Circle Secure Investor Commitments for Kyivstar Listing Kyiv, New York, Dubai, and Philadelphia - July 10, 2025 - VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq:...
10/07/2025
5G for all? What the DFL's use of Easy5G and RefCam could mean for events in...
10/07/2025
Save the Date: PGA TOUR Studios Welcomes SVG Remote Production Summit on Oct 14-...
10/07/2025
Cloud on the Road: How Remote-Production-Service Providers Are Adapting to a New...
10/07/2025
Seattle Kraken's Ryan Schaber on the NHL Team Taking Live Game Productions I...
10/07/2025
FOX Sports Reboots Small Control Room in Los Angeles as Hub for Vertical-First P...
10/07/2025
SVG Sit-Down: MSE's Zach Leonsis, ViewLift's Rick Allen Go Deep on Joint...
Written and directed by Zach Braff, A Good Person tells the story of Allison (Florence Pugh), who unexpectedly befriends an elder gentleman named Daniel (Morgan Freeman) during a time of deep remorse and grief following her involvement in a tragic accident. To make the movie and infuse it with an emotional heft that would outweigh its indie-sized budget, Braff enlisted a team of close collaborators that included cinematographer Mauro Fiore, ASC.
