American Cinematographer - February 2021 - 40

NEW NATURALISM

" The images need to give you a sense
of Fern's inner world. "

Nomadland is the third feature on which Zhao
and Richards have collaborated.

also that feeling of being part of something much bigger than ourselves.
Looking at a rock, a desert, a landscape - things that have been here
way before us and will be here long after we're gone. It's the dirt underneath our feet; that's where we come from, and that's where we'll end up.
Sometimes we forget that these days, [as we sit at] our computers. When
you're standing in that landscape, nothing else defines you except that
you're part of it. Nothing matters because you're part of this cycle of life,
it comes and goes, everything is decided. It's a very humbling feeling,
and I think that's something we all need [to feel] as a species.
How is the experience working as partners and collaborators?
Zhao: To be honest, it's not always a sunny sky. [Laughs.] I know that
the stronger the collaboration is, the more friction there will be. When
you get comfortable with someone, it gives you the space to push yourself. Josh and I really pushed each other on the three films we did together. The most important thing is: Do you agree on how you want to
conduct yourself in the world as a human being? Josh and I have always
been on the same page regarding how we present ourselves when we go
into people's lives, making films this way.
With respect for the dignity of the people you shoot?
Zhao: Yeah, because when you have that, it shines through in how
you film them. I think an operator should have that kind of empathy for
a person when their light shines. That's how they can see this individual
even in the darkest times. Josh has that empathy, and that's what makes
him a great cinematographer.
Richards: Chloé and I have formed a really close bond both personally and through the experience of making these films. We're on an exploration together. I really trust Chloé. I'm not sure I trust myself, but I do
trust her. [Laughs.] She is digging a little deeper than other directors. The
images need to give you a sense of Fern's inner world, but you also have
to make the images sing. All of Chloé's films are really about identity.
Who are you when you lose your town and all these things that society
says are 'you'? When it's just you and the four walls of a van, you really
find out who you are.
What size crew did you have, and how do you approach the work on
set?
Richards: On The Rider, we were six. With Nomadland, we had about
25 key people. Chloé is very careful; we cast the crew in the same way she
casts the actors. I would like to mention my AC, Charles Bae; my gaffer,
Matthew Attwood; and our art director, Elizabeth Godar. 
Chloé does a broad shot-list, so there's a pretty solid plan at the beginning of every scene. We both know what she needs in the edit. Sometimes I don't even cut the camera, I just move quickly to get the moments
Chloé wants. We're constantly looking at each other. It's unspoken - I
kind of know [what she'll want].
There's a lot of natural light in Nomadland.
Richards: We used available light as much as possible and practicals
inside. We stuck to that for 90 percent of the film. It was really fun to take
the audience from those hundreds of miles of Badlands in either direction into the cocoon of Vanguard and the little paper lamp.
40 / FEBRUARY 2021



American Cinematographer - February 2021

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