We Hunt Together: Shot on Sony VENICE with ZEISS Supreme Primes
UKTV’s new crime drama “We Hunt Together” premiered on Wednesday 27 May. Shot by cinematographers Oli Russell (Nina Forever, Sex Education, Gap Year) and Michael Wood (Let Me Go, Woman in Gold, Rush), and gaffered by Sam Madden, the show tells a gripping story of a pair of conflicted coppers tracking down a deadly duo. We had the opportunity to interview DOP Oli Russell on his recent work on the show, discussing his approach and choice of camera and lighting equipment from Pixipixel.
The cinematography of We Hunt Together beautifully honours the dark side of the story. We see a lot of luminous colours – blues with bright reds and pinks. Tell us about your approach.
When I went for my meeting with Carl Tibbetts the director of the first three episodes of We Hunt Together, to pitch for the job, I had put together quite a lot of images and material in the form of a mood board. Having read only the first episode at that point, it just jumped off the page as to how graphic it was. I just imagined London and the side of its dark underbelly. The truth is that London at night generally isn’t all neon and multicoloured, it’s more sodium and LED street lights. But this story felt so heightened and I immediately felt like we had the opportunity to do something a little more unusual, not so much with composition or even the shape of the lighting but more with the colour. We could really push the boundaries of reality without it being questioned, particularly in Freddie (Hermione Corfield) and Baba’s (Dipo Ola) world. So right from the beginning in that first meeting, that was my approach. I was using references from True Romance, Fight Club, Seven, Spring Breakers to name a few, and also references of urban photography at night from a few photographers whose work I really admire. Carl Tibbetts seemed to like my references and ideas in the meeting, and I was then offered the job. Once I was on board, we very quickly moved it up a level and started to discuss how heightened the show could be. It became clear that Carl really wanted to push the look, which was music to my ears. I then met Jamie Lapsley the production designer and started to look at her ideas and mood boards which were coming from a very similar place. We talked a lot about colour pallet and light and motivation for light and how we could conceivably get unusual coloured light into scenes without it feeling forced. The challenge was to achieve the feeling of this in the daylight scenes. Where we could we wanted to leave a residue of the feeling of the night scenes. This is quite prevalent in one of the early scenes in Ep1 when Lola Franks (Eve Myles) and Jackson Mendy (Babou Ceesay) go to investigate a murder. The majority of all the coloured light throughout the first three episodes of We Hunt Together was created using ARRI S360 Sky panels and a combination of Astera Titan and Helios tubes.
What was the biggest challenge in creating the look?
The biggest challenge in creating the look was to try and not let the scenes set in daylight feel too bright and normal. We didn’t want to move the audience away from the heightened magical world that hopefully we created for the scenes staged at night. Carl and I also felt very strongly about the aspect ratio. We shot in an aspect of 2:39:1 and the decision for this was very much about how we would place characters in the frame to tell the story. After all there are four main characters, two duos, the two cops and the two perpetrators. There are almost two stories running side by side so inevitably you end up with a lot of two handers. We wanted the ability to let scenes play out with the actors to move around the frame without us moving the camera all the time or having to intercut a lot and we knew that the aspect ratio of 2:39:1 would allow us to do that. Shooting in this aspect ratio raised some financial issues which we needed to navigate. Initially there was some resistance to us shooting 2:39:1 but we knew it would be quite pivotal to the look and feel of the show. Luckily, we managed to convince everyone that it would be the right look and I believe that it is one of the main tools that helped to shape the overall look.
What equipment did you use and why did you choose this kit combo for the project?
The equipment used for this project was the Sony Venice with Supreme Primes. I chose the Sony Venice as I have used it quite a lot on previous projects. Firstly, on Sex Education season 1 - Netflix, Breeders season 1 - FX & Sky, Flesh & Blood ITV. I have been really impressed with the images, particularly the information in the low lights. It handles shooting in contrast-y situations really well and I knew we would have a lot of those. I’ve also been very impressed with how darker skin tones look on the Venice, and I knew that with Dipo Ola and Babou Ceesay we would have a lot of scenes at night with not a lot of light sometimes and the Sony Venice would compliment this. In terms of lenses I chose the Zeiss Supreme primes, I hadn’t used them before, and I chose them mainly because of the close focus that they have, and I had used Zeiss Master primes a lot in the past which aren’t too dissimilar. I had originally discussed with Carl about doing some really close focus kind of distorted shots on Dipo Ola’s character Baba for the moments when he’s having flash backs. It worked well but we both felt that it needed to be a little more impactful, so we agreed to employ some tilt shift lenses of which I pulled focus on while operating to give us a much more distorted feel.
Tell us about the testing process.
The testing process for this project was actually quite short as there wasn’t a lot of time. We were so busy in pre-production finding locations and prepping other areas of the production that I only had an afternoon in Pixipixel. I knew what camera I wanted to use so it was just a matter of choosing the lenses. I think I tested about five or six sets of lenses and settled on the Supreme primes. A lot of people I know say that they find Master primes and Supreme primes too sharp, but I tend to use diffusion in front of the lens quite a bit so they work for me. I would have liked to have done more camera lighting and make up testing with the actors but in the end a combination of time and availability just wouldn’t allow it.
How many cameras were you shooting with on the show? What lenses did you use most?
We primarily shot single camera apart from a few days where we had a higher number of cast in scenes and a higher page count. Our hero lens was the 29mm which we pretty much lived on. We also used the 21mm quite a bit too.
Like the duos in the storyline, you were a duo of DPs. Was that intentional?
No initially I actually wanted to shoot the entire show, however it became apparent early on that it wouldn’t be possible. In hindsight I’m sure that was the correct decision as Jon Jones (director block2) and Michael Wood (DoP block2) did a fantastic job.
What’s your best memory from behind the scenes of We Hunt Together?
I don’t really have one outstanding memory from behind the scenes. We just had a lot of fun making the show, working with an incredible cast who we laughed and joked with every day and supported by a wonderful crew who provided plenty of banter day to day. All departments were a joy and helped to make what was a tough shoot very enjoyable.
How is your experience working with Pixipixel’s team?
Working with the team at Pixi Pixel was great! From testing through prep and in to shooting everything ran smoothly and was a really good experience.
What’s your favourite piece of kit?
I don’t really have a favourite piece of kit. We f I had to choose something it would be the 29mm Supreme Prime.
What’s lined-up next for you after the COVID-19 lockdown is lifted?
I had actually started to prep Season 2 of Breeders for FX and Sky before lockdown. I shot Block 1 of season 1 at the beginning of last year so the plan is to carry on prepping that and hopefully shoot it before the end of the year all being well.
Follow and connect with DOP Oli Russel on Instagram at @olirusselldop.
