American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 55
Unit photography by Michael Gibson, courtesy of FX Networks. Visual-effects sequences courtesy of Mr. X Inc. Lighting diagram courtesy of Checco Varese, ASC.
BSC; and Colin Hoult - joined executive producer Del Toro to help infuse the
first season's 13 episodes with eerie,
cinematic flair. "My hope is that if you're
scanning your TV and you see this show,
you'll say, 'Oh my God - what is this?'"
says Varese, who, sitting alongside chief
lighting technician Scotti Phillips, spoke
with AC in a Toronto restaurant the day
after wrapping principal photography.
"It's very dark and different from what
you see every day."
Varese was initially set to alternate
episodes with Toronto-based cinematographer Baszak, but after he
finished work on the pilot, Varese was
called away to shoot the feature The 33
for a director he couldn't refuse: his wife,
Patricia Riggen. Baszak then logged five
episodes, and Beristain handled four.
Hoult, who frequently tackled 2nd-unit
cinematography duties when an
episode's 1st-unit director of photography was unable to shoot that material
himself, also photographed one episode
before Varese returned to Toronto to
shoot episodes 11 and 13.
Varese - whose credits also
include pilots for the series The Unit,
Life, True Blood, Melrose Place (2009)
and Reign - notes that he got the job in
part because Del Toro liked his work in
the American crime drama Night at the
Golden Eagle and the Argentine thriller
The Aura. Hailing from Lima, Peru, the
cinematographer launched his career in
the early '80s as a camera assistant on
National Geographic documentaries
before working as a CNN cameraman
and war correspondent for various
broadcasters in some of the world's
deadliest locales. After transitioning into
Steadicam operating, his collaborators
included Del Toro's frequent cinematographer Guillermo Navarro, ASC.
Varese provided additional photography
for Navarro and Del Toro on Pacific Rim
(AC Aug. '13), which also shot in
Toronto, and he jumped at the chance to
work on The Strain with Del Toro and
showrunner Carlton Cuse.
Varese began prepping the pilot in
mid-August 2013. Principal photography for the first episode began in late
Opposite: Dr.
Nora Martinez
(Mía Maestro,
left) combats a
parasitic form of
vampirism in
The Strain. This
page, from top:
Cinematographers
Checco Varese,
ASC (left, with
gaffer Scotti
Phillips); Gabriel
Beristain, ASC,
BSC (second from
left); Miroslaw
Baszak (right);
and Colin Hoult
(far left).
www.theasc.com
August 2014
55
http://www.theasc.com
American Cinematographer - August 2014
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - August 2014
Contents
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - Cover1
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 1
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 2
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - Contents
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 4
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 5
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 6
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 7
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 8
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 9
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 10
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 11
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 12
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 13
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 14
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 15
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 16
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 17
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 18
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 19
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 20
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 21
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 22
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 23
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 24
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 25
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 26
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 27
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 28
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 29
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 30
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 31
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 32
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 33
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 34
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 35
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 36
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 37
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 38
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 39
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 40
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 41
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 42
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 43
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 44
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 45
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 46
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 47
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 48
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 49
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 50
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 51
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 52
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 53
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 54
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 55
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 56
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 57
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 58
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 59
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 60
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 61
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 62
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 63
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 64
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 65
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 66
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 67
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 68
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 69
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 70
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 71
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 72
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 73
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American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 76
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 77
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 78
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - 79
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American Cinematographer - August 2014 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - August 2014 - Cover4
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