Using lighting and location to enrich style and storytelling.
Documentarian Mark Bone interviews Stefano Ferrari about his distinctive cinematography style in documentaries such as American Nightmare, Don’t F*ck With Cats, Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare, and Surviving Black Hawk Down:
Broad Strokes
Stefano applies the “light spaces, not faces” approach to cinematography, motivating his lighting from outside the space:
Tenting
In order to maintain a consistent natural light look throughout shoots that can last up to seven hours, Stefano explains how he “tents” light sources, such as windows, by replacing the unpredictable sunlight with an entirely artificial lighting setup:
Location As Character Story
Stefano and directors Sam Hobkinson and Jack Macinnes choose locations which inform, or are informed by, the interview subject and the story they share:
Further Viewing
From commercial to Netflix looks, a roundup of documentary interview cinematography style breakdowns from Mark Bone and others:
Tips on how to get the best moments from your interview subject: