American Cinematographer - December 2019 - 84

Return of the Kingpin

TECH SPECS

Digital Capture
1.78:1

Red Helium

Arri/Zeiss Ultra Primes,
Angénieux Optimo zooms

The production lines up a shot with spiritual rivals Adam Clayton Powell Jr. (Giancarlo Esposito, left)
and Malcolm X (Nigél Thatch).

Gordon Parks. For the noir, gangster
references, I looked at The Third Man
and The Night of the Hunter, and tried to
bring that approach to lighting the
world of color.
What was your principal interest in taking on this series?
Navarro: I'd worked with series
creators Chris [Brancato] and Paul
[Eckstein] before, on Narcos, and
wanted to work with them again - but
also, I found the story fascinating. This
is recent American history, a thing that
happened in my lifetime.
How long did it take to prepare
the pilot?
Navarro: We had weeks to
prepare, not months. It used to be that
a pilot was a big production, with more
resources and time - you create a
world, then production stops while
things are assessed and changed, and
then if it's picked up, the series starts.
The pilot now is really just the first
episode of the series; you finish the

pilot, and then Episode 2 immediately
starts. We [did have] more days of
shooting - about three weeks - but in
this case, there was still a lot to do.
What was the regular series
schedule like?
Donnelly: It was a block schedule. We shot two episodes together, so
you don't have to go back and forth to
the same sets. Each block gets two
weeks prep, and took 17 days plus a
tandem day to shoot. Episode 10 was
shot by itself and took 10 days.
Navarro: Television is very
demanding; there's not a lot of time for
reflection. When one shot is in motion,
you're already planning the next one.
Do you get to rehearse?
Navarro: You can rehearse until
the scene becomes a scene, but that's
often a luxury. Most of the time when
you arrive on set or at a location, the
equipment will be pre-rigged because
you already have an idea of how the
scene will go and you can jump right

American Cinematographer: Did certain techniques that you developed
during the pilot - framing, lighting, camera movement - apply to the rest of the
season?
Guillermo Navarro, ASC: The pilot is a reference. When they proved themselves to be correct, the techniques we used in the pilot could be followed, but not
in the sense that they became the rule. The other cinematographers have a big
canvas to paint on, and will make decisions in their own episodes that were never
part of the pilot. They'll shoot on the same sets, but even those may change. It's an
opportunity to make things better.
84

December 2019

ASC 100th Anniversary

into it. The time and effort has already
been spent.
What kinds of considerations
are necessary when you know you're
going to be sharing a series with other
cinematographers?
Navarro: My key pilot crew
[camera operators David Knox and
Chris Moone, 1st ACs Jerome Williams
and Cory Stambler, gaffer James Dolan,
and key grip Richard Guinness Jr.] did
the whole series, so they were helpful in
passing along what we started. It also
helped that I directed the block of
episodes right after 2 and 3, so I was
present for all of that.
Donnelly: It helped that directing
producer Joe Chappelle and I filmed
additional scenes for Guillermo on the
pilot, so we were able to see how he got
things done.
What did your camera and lens
package consist of?
Navarro: We used the Red
Helium at 8K with 9:1 compression,
[Arri/Zeiss] Ultra Primes, and
Angénieux Optimo zooms, rented from
TCS in Manhattan.
What kinds of filtration did you
use?
Donnelly: No special filtration,
just NDs and polarizers. Occasionally I
would use a Schneider Classic Soft on a
close-up.
Why did you choose to work
with these tools?
Navarro: I want to start by saying
that I'm not at the service of the equipment - the equipment serves me. A lot
of people seem to believe it's the camera
that does the work, when it's really the

American Cinematographer - December 2019

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