Working: How Lovecraft Country’s Cinematographer Guides the Viewer’s Eye

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Music, Tv & Film, Arts

4.2 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 22 November 2020

⏱️ 49 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, host Isaac Butler talks to cinematographer Michael Watson about what it was like to work on the HBO sci-fi series Lovecraft Country. In the interview, Michael talks about the unique challenges of shooting a period drama that features gigantic monsters. He also discusses how he was able to guide the viewer’s attention during crucial moments and bring his own unique style to the scenes he shot. After the interview, Isaac and co-host Rumaan Alam offer advice to a listener who’s curious about the role random chance can play in creativity. In the exclusive Slate Plus segment, Isaac and Rumaan talk about the camera techniques they love to see in movies and on TV. Send your questions about creativity and any other feedback to working@slate.com or give us a call at (304) 933-WORK. That’s (304) 933-9675. If you enjoy this show, please consider signing up for Slate Plus. Slate Plus members get benefits like zero ads on any Slate podcast, bonus episodes of shows like Slow Burn and Dear Prudence—and you’ll be supporting the work we do here on Working. It’s only $35 for the first year, and you can get a free two-week trial. Sign up now to help support our work. This episode was sponsored by the Remote Works podcast. You can listen here: https://www.citrix.com/fieldwork/flexible-work/racing-into-a-new-world-of-work.html Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You hear that? That's the sound of your energy use going in reverse.
0:07.0	Rewinding, reducing.
0:14.0	We're Ovo, an energy company that wants you to use less energy.
0:19.0	Some may see that is a bit backwards.
0:23.6	But we like to see things differently.
0:26.0	Join us and see energy from a different angle.
0:29.6	Ove.
0:30.1	Ove. Even when you have two cinematographers on a show, you do want to kind of bring in your own flavor as much as you can, but at the same time you
0:46.8	owe it to the content to be consistent.
0:50.9	You both really want to be on the same page to hold that consistency from start to finish.
1:00.0	Welcome back to working. I'm your host, Raman Alam. And I'm your other host, Isaac Butler.
1:06.0	Isaac, it is that time of year.
1:08.0	Boy, ain't it? It's dark at 3.45. It's really too cold for outdoor dining at the handful of the New York
1:16.4	establishments that are trying to offer that. The holidays, by which I mean days
1:21.6	without school, are looming.
1:24.9	So what are we going to do besides watch movies and television shows?
1:28.8	It just feels like the perfect time to talk to your guest this week. Can you tell me a little bit about Michael Watson?
1:35.4	Yeah, absolutely. So Michael is a cinematographer for film and television. As we
1:41.9	talk about in the interview itself,
1:44.1	he began in the camera department and worked his way up.
1:47.4	And I was interested in talking to him
1:51.0	because he was essentially the co-director of photography on Lovecraft Country, which is on a visual level a really fascinating show that offers a lot of different creative challenges.
	...

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