Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Cinematographer Hillary Spera on Run and The Craft: Legacy

06/09/2024

The recent features and bear a number of similarities. Chief among them: Both were shot by cinematographer Hillary Spera. Each story also exists in the realm of horror-thrillers, and each involves a mother-daughter relationship that turns out to be something other than what's originally believed. In both cases, I would say it's a very strong bond between the mother and daughter, Spera notes. In both movies, they really love each other and are working to define their relationship.

Directed by Aneesh Chaganty, Run focuses on Chloe (Kiera Allen), a bright, tenacious teenager, on the cusp of going to college, who for as long as she can remember has suffered from a number of serious ailments and has been paralyzed from the waist down. As she eagerly awaits a response to her college application, Chloe becomes increasingly convinced that her doting single mother, Diane (Sarah Paulson), is harboring a dark and terrible secret.

The Craft: Legacy, meanwhile, follows the spirit of Andrew Fleming's 1996 feature The Craft, presenting a new generation of four young women bonding with one another as they develop their magical abilities. Written and directed by Zoe Lister-Jones, Legacy begins with Lily (Cailee Spaeny) and her mother, Helen (Michelle Monaghan), moving in with the latter's boyfriend, Adam (David Duchovny), and his three sons. After befriending Lourdes (Zoey Luna), Frankie (Gideon Adlon) and Tabby (Lovie Simone) at her new school, Lily awakens to her powers and potential.

Of the two features, Run was shot first, during the fall of 2018 in Winnipeg, and The Craft: Legacy was shot the following year, in fall 2019, primarily in Toronto. For both projects, Spera turned to her longtime partners at Panavision. They're always my go-to, she says. I love that relationship of working with Panavision. One of the most important things for me is their support. It's always a yes'; they're always gung-ho to help find solutions, and they're always there to have my back. And their network is so vast. The fact that I could call [marketing executive] Rik DeLisle at Panavision Hollywood and he connected me with [rentals and services manager] Jerry Papernick at Panavision Toronto is really fantastic. It makes things so much easier and more streamlined as I work in so many different locations.

Hillary Spera and director Aneesh Chaganty.

Spera collaborated with Papernick for both Run and The Craft: Legacy. And then, she adds, when we moved to L.A. at the end of Craft, Jerry and Rik shared information and worked together. I'm so grateful to both of them. They truly moved mountains for us to make it work.

Spera's path toward cinematography began with an interest in still photography, which she decided to pursue in college. There, her focus began to shift from stills to motion pictures. I started shooting everything I could, she reflects. I moved to New York the minute I graduated, and I took every opportunity that came my way. I made a rule for myself that I was never going to say no.' I learned by being on set, making a lot of mistakes, and following a deep passion for visual storytelling.

In the years since, she's built a r sum that includes such feature credits as Black Rock, Submission, Dude, Alex Strangelove and Duck Butter, the latter of which partnered her for the first time with producer Natalie Qasabian. When Qasabian began working on Run, she reached out to Spera and introduced her to Chaganty, who had written the script with writer-producer Sev Ohanian. Spera recalls that when she met with Chaganty, We hit it off right off the bat. We had a lot of shared references and were thinking about the movie in a similar way. He really impressed me with his preparedness and the way he was conceiving the movie, but also his openness to collaborate. Sev and Aneesh wrote the script with a lot of room to build visually, so I was excited about the potential of where it could go from a visual standpoint.

During preproduction, Qasabian, Chaganty and Spera formed a tight-knit group that came to their creative decisions together. Everything was up for discussion, the cinematographer recalls. For example, I pitched the idea of shooting anamorphic, and we collectively discussed why I thought it would work. It was a fun exercise to make sure the group all believed in the decisions we were making. I think the film is stronger because of that trust and support.

Regarding the choice of anamorphic, she explains, The rooms in the house had frames within themselves that I thought anamorphic could complement, adding a more textured, almost 3D quality to some of the images. It was a good challenge, because we shot in such small spaces. I'm grateful to 1st AC Doug Lavender for being up for the challenge, even though we lived on diopters, often close to wide open. He mounted a retractable pointer onto the matte box for some of our macro close-ups where there was such a shallow depth of field, and he would use that to show Kiera how far she could lean in, so she would have a physical reference of what she could and couldn't do. I thought that was brilliant.

After testing a number of options, Spera opted for Panavision's E Series anamorphic lenses, which she supplemented with a few wider-angle T Series focal lengths, including 35mm, to preserve the architectural lines inside the house. I fell in love with the E Series right away because they're older and have a beautiful vintage-glass quality, she explains. Aneesh and I talked about making the film feel a little timeless and not necessarily modern and sharp, and the Es have a softer quality that really helped to elevate the images and complement our style.

Spera and Chaganty storyboarded the entire movie during preproduction, and the cinematographer notes that the final shots matc
LINK: https://www.panavision.com/highlights/highlights-detail/the-witching-h...
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 ...

09/10/2026

Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026

September 10 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Dolby Expands Dolby OptiView Platform with New Capabilities at IBC 2026 New Sports Intelligence helps providers better unders...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

23/09/2026

AFP, Dalet To Collaborate On News Video Provenance, Authenticity

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/09/2026

Spectrum News NECN Launches Across New England

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/09/2026

COW Jobs: Blender on Windows - Generalist - Remote

COW Jobs: Blender on Windows - Generalist - Remote Brie Clayton September 23, 2026 0 Comments Application Users - Blender on Windows - Generalist Se...

23/09/2026

Bitfocus wins IBC2026 Best of Show Award for latest Butto...

Version 1.8 recognised for new workflow tools, boosted control panel flexibility and ease of integration into IP networks...

23/09/2026

Hiltron Reports a Successful IBC2026

Hiltron Communications reports a successful 2026 International Broadcasting Convention, held at the RAI Amsterdam. Exhibiting on stand A37 in Hall 1, Hiltron ex...

23/09/2026

LiveU Showcases AI Driven Production Alongside Resilient...

Reinforcing its long-term commitment to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) broadcast market, LiveU is presenting the Q Era at CABSAT 2026, on Stand H1-D35 ...

23/09/2026

AFP and Dalet Partner to Strengthen the Provenance and Au...

Agence France-Presse (AFP), a global news agency, and Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced a partnersh...

23/09/2026

Berklee Connect Unlocks the Power of a Global Network

Berklee Connect Unlocks the Power of a Global Network Katie Vitolins BM '04 knows firsthand what Berklee's alumni community can make possible. Now she...

23/09/2026

Study: Renewals for Streaming Shows Continue to Decline

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/09/2026

Study: More Than 4 in 10 U.S. Adults Own or Are Interested in Smart Glasses

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/09/2026

Television Critics Association Revises Bylaws to Address AI

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/09/2026

eX Celebrates Completion of Holland Mich. FTTP Network

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/09/2026

Gray Media Renews Ohio Valley Conference Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

23/09/2026

QuickLink StudioPro Powers Next Generation Student Media...

Westminster Schools, a K through 12 school in Atlanta, Georgia with approximately 2,000 students, has transformed its student broadcast and digital storytelling...

23/09/2026

UK Pavilion Brings Leading British Technology to CABSAT a...

The 2026 edition of CABSAT and SATExpo may have a new home and dates in the diary, but it still retains a strong presence from UK companies in the GREAT Britain...

23/09/2026

Glensound marks 60 years with new audio developments at C...

Glensound will return to CABSAT with new developments in professional monitoring and Dante interfacing, alongside its established commentary, esports and parlia...

23/09/2026

SES Appoints Michel Scholer to Board of Directors

Luxembourg, 23 September 2026 - SES today announced the appointment of Mr. Michel Scholer, Secretary General of the Luxembourg Government and Chief of Staff to ...

23/09/2026

New RT series Ceol le Chile amplifies the multicultural voices of Ireland today

RT One and RT Player, Friday 25 September Ceol le Ch ile, a new series that follows Irish artists as they collaborate with musicians from diverse background...

23/09/2026

RT true crime podcast Unsolved reveals significant new evidence in the case of missing person Philip Cairns

Available now on RT Listen New information has come to light in the case of mi...

23/09/2026

Sakeena Fiza Helps NVIDIA Hardware Succeed at Scale

When Sakeena Fiza describes her work as a validation engineer at NVIDIA, she does so in terms more befitting a detective story than a world-class engineering la...

22/09/2026

Young Journalist Award 2026: Meet the Final 12

From Malaysia to Mexico and from DR Congo to Ukraine, this year's 12 finalists for the 2026 Thomson Foundation Young Journalist of the Year award tell extra...

22/09/2026

ESPN, Precision Lasers Light Up NHL Player Media Tour in Las Vegas

The annual preseason content-gathering event brought 36 NHL players to Las Vegas, where ESPN used 2.5 kilowatts of laser power and a motion-control camera syste...

22/09/2026

Neumann Introduces KK 104 A and KK 105 A Wireless Capsule Heads

Neumann has introduced the KK 104 A (cardioid) and KK 105 A (supercardioid) wireless capsule heads, succeeding the KK 204 and KK 205. The new capsules are compa...

22/09/2026

NFL and TMRW Sports Announce Pro Flag Showcase During Super Bowl LXI Week

The NFL and TMRW Sports have announced a new annual Pro Flag Showcase to be held during Super Bowl LXI week in Los Angeles. The event will feature top flag foot...

22/09/2026

Washington State University Unveils New Daktronics Video Board and Audio System at Gesa Field

Washington State University has unveiled a new end zone video display and audio ...

22/09/2026

SVG Sit-Down: Disney's Dave Johnson on ESPN's New 4K HDR Distribution Pipeline and What It Means for Super Bowl LXI and Beyond

Disney's SVP of Live Operations and Engineering details the technology behin...

22/09/2026

Cosm Promotes Mazen Alawar to SVP of Marketing, Alexis Scalice to VP of Cosm Studios

Cosm has announced two senior promotions. Mazen Alawar has been promoted to SVP,...

22/09/2026

Mississippi State University Extends Camera Relationship with KOKUSAI DENKI

Mississippi State University's University Television Center has purchased four KOKUSAI DENKI SK-UHD7000-S2 cameras since 2024, with plans to add two more, a...

22/09/2026

Net Insight Appoints Christine Kjellvard as Interim CFO

Net Insight has announced that Christine Kjellvard will assume the role of interim Chief Financial Officer on November 1, 2026. Kjellvard has previously held in...

22/09/2026

Net Insight Launches Zyntai TimeNode Access PTP Grandmaster for Edge Sites

Net Insight has announced Zyntai TimeNode Access, a compact PTP Grandmaster designed for distributed edge sites. The product carries secure, precise time across...

22/09/2026

The Weight Explores the High Cost of Freedom in the Depression Era

Sam Hazeldine, Austin Amelio, Padraic McKinley, Julia Jones, and Ethan Hawke attend the premiere of The Weight at The Ray Theatre on January 26, 2026, in Park...

22/09/2026

Avalanche Tones introduce Noise Suite

Second high-gain tone plug-in released Following on from their debut release, Chainsaw Suite, Avalanche Tones have announced the launch of their second plug...

22/09/2026

LW6 wireless headphones from Lewitt Audio

Uncompressed audio with below 6ms of latency Lewitt's have just introduced their first pair of headphones which, despite being aimed primarily at studio...

22/09/2026

Neumann launch the KK 104 A & KK 105 A

Two new capsule heads for Sennheiser wireless systems Neumann have announced the upcoming launch of the KK 104 A and KK 105 A, a pair of new premium condens...

22/09/2026

Apogee Plugins Are Moving to Plugin Alliance

Apogee Plugins Are Moving to Plugin Alliance We're excited to share an important update about the future of Apogee plugins. Apogee plugins are moving to Pl...

22/09/2026

SipRadius honored with a Technology And Engineering Emmy...

Parkland, Florida, US, September 22, 2026: SipRadius, widely recognized for making content processing and connectivity secure and seamless, has been honored wit...

22/09/2026

VanityFilter 3.1.5 adds project files and adjustable protection around lips, brows and ears

VanityFilter 3.1.5 adds project files and adjustable protection around lips, bro...

22/09/2026

Chile's TV+ Modernizes Broadcast Operations with Blackmagic Design

Chile's TV Modernizes Broadcast Operations with Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton September 22, 2026 0 Comments URSA Broadcast G2 brings versatility...

22/09/2026

OWC Shares Sneak Peek at Amazon Prime Big Deal Days Pricing

OWC Shares Sneak Peek at Amazon Prime Big Deal Days Pricing Brie Clayton September 22, 2026 0 Comments Image courtesy of Deposit Photos Business and ...

22/09/2026

Berklee's First Homecoming Block Party Brings Alumni Home for Global Music Festival

Berklee's First Homecoming Block Party Brings Alumni Home for Global Music F...

22/09/2026

New TVU Pocket Offers Broadcast Features In Phone-Sized Unit

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

Operative Launches Unified Platform for Advertising and Broadcast Management

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

Element Launches New TiVo-Powered Smart TVs in the U.S.

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

NOAA Taps Tomorrow.io for Improved U.S. Weather Forecasts

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

Gray Media Promotes Tim Maloney to GM and Director of Sales at WBKO

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

Reports: Paramount Reaches Settlement with State AGs in Antitrust Suit

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

22/09/2026

New Research Lays Out Streaming Services Best Defense Against Churn

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...