American Cinematographer - May 2016 - 59

Bloodline photos by Saeed Adyani, courtesy of Netflix. Hap and Leonard photos by Hilary Gayle, courtesy of Sundance Film Holdings LLC.
Containment photos by Bob Mahoney and Tina Rowden, courtesy of The CW.

Butz) - who own and operate a beachside inn in the Florida Keys. A fourth
sibling, eldest son and black sheep
Danny (Ben Mendelsohn), sets the
story in motion when he returns to the
island after being away for several years.
Danny's presence unsettles everybody,
dredging up long-suppressed memories
that threaten to strip away the veneer of
propriety and stability that make the
Rayburns one of the leading lights in
the community.
Director of photography Jaime
Reynoso, AMC says that working on
Bloodline has significantly altered how
he approaches his craft. "Everybody is
conditioned to strive for perfection, but
now I look for imperfection," he tells AC,
speaking by phone from the Florida
Keys shortly after wrapping season two.
"I want things to feel unrehearsed - to
get viewers out of their comfort zone by
focusing where they least expect it."
Reynoso credits show creators
Todd A. Kessler, Glenn Kessler and
Daniel Zelman - who collectively
head KZK Productions - along with
the pilot episode's respective director
and cinematographer, Johan Renck and
Darren Lew, with laying the foundation
for the series' visual aesthetic. Building
on the pilot's visuals, Reynoso embraced
a mix of hyper-realism and "tropical
noir" captured with an observational
camera, wide-open lenses and naturalistic lighting, while adding his own ideas
about framing, focus and the portrayal
of the Keys.
"Focus is normally used to guide
the viewer, to say, 'Here is where you
should look,'" the cinematographer
notes. "On Bloodline, we try to go
against that to the extent that we often
intentionally keep the important stuff
out of focus." He admits that not all
directors are happy with this. "As a rule,
directors want to keep the focus on the
faces talking - and to light those faces.
Rather than light the actors, however,
we light areas. If the characters get lit
incidentally, great; if they don't, even
better, because in this show, everybody is
lying; everybody is hiding something. If
audiences can see faces easily, it makes

Opposite, clockwise from left: Scenes from Bloodline, Hap and Leonard and Containment. This
page, top: When Danny Rayburn (Ben Mendelsohn) returns home, his presence dredges up
memories that threaten to tear his family apart in the dramatic series Bloodline. Bottom:
Director Michael Morris (left) and cinematographer Jaime Reynoso, AMC line up a shot.

them sit back and relax. If they have to
squint a little to see the expression on
someone's face because the lighting or
framing is a bit off, it keeps them on the
edge of their seats."
When the camera shifts from
one actor to another in close-up, the
focus rack might be a fraction late,
which is exactly what Reynoso wants. "I
encourage the operators, and especially
the focus pullers, not to watch rehearsals
so they don't know what the actors are
planning to do. And we never rehearse
with cameras. This forces the crew to
simply react to what is happening
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before their eyes."
After considering different
cameras for the pilot, Renck and Lew
chose Sony's PMW-F55 CineAlta,
shooting raw 4K and recording onto
AXSM memory cards. A longtime user
of Sony cameras, Reynoso was
delighted; he already owned an F55,
which now sees service on Bloodline
with B-camera operator Brian
Nordheim. "I like its sensitivity and
dynamic range," affirms Reynoso. "It's
less assistant-friendly than the Alexa,
but I think the sensor is superior."
Bloodline is a two-camera show, but the
May 2016

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Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - May 2016