Filming Action Underwater - Award-winning DP IAN SEABROOK on Batman v Superman, Jungle Cruise, Deadpool 2 - Highlights

Filming Action Underwater - Award-winning DP IAN SEABROOK on Batman v Superman, Jungle Cruise, Deadpool 2 - Highlights

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Award-Winning Underwater Director of Photography

It’s about leaving the planet in a better condition than it is currently. What you’re witnessing is years of neglect. It’s the humans who have screwed it all up, and the warming of the earth is no different. The oceans are changing. The topography is changing. Mussels are being fried when the tides recede. This is all unnatural. Or maybe it’s natural. I think it’s Mother Nature just being pissed off and saying, “This is what you get.” And so it’s up to everyone to change their ways. Their shopping habits, their eating habits, how much gas they use. All that stuff which people think “that can’t affect anything.” Well, you’re seeing the result of it now

IAN SEABROOK - Underwater Cinematographer of Batman v Superman, Deadpool 2, & Jungle Cruise starring Dwayne Johnson

IAN SEABROOK - Underwater Cinematographer of Batman v Superman, Deadpool 2, & Jungle Cruise starring Dwayne Johnson

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Award-Winning Underwater Director of Photography

It’s about leaving the planet in a better condition than it is currently. What you’re witnessing is years of neglect. It’s the humans who have screwed it all up, and the warming of the earth is no different. The oceans are changing. The topography is changing. Mussels are being fried when the tides recede. This is all unnatural. Or maybe it’s natural. I think it’s Mother Nature just being pissed off and saying, “This is what you get.” And so it’s up to everyone to change their ways. Their shopping habits, their eating habits, how much gas they use. All that stuff which people think “that can’t affect anything.” Well, you’re seeing the result of it now

Alice Brooks - Cinematographer of In The Heights, Tick, Tick…Boom!…- Highlights

Alice Brooks - Cinematographer of In The Heights, Tick, Tick…Boom!…- Highlights

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Award-winning Cinematographer
In The Heights, Tick, Tick…Boom!

There’s this children’s book called Miss Rumphius, and I’ve carried it around with me my entire life. It’s about a woman who grandfather tells her three things, and the last one is the most difficult thing of all and that’s to fill the world with beauty. And I give this book to every one of my friends who are having babies, I have a copy with me almost at all times, and I’m reminded of that feeling that Jonathan Larson had in Tick, Tick…Boom! Of how much time do we have to do something great.

ALICE BROOKS - Cinematographer of In The Heights, Tick, Tick…Boom!…

ALICE BROOKS - Cinematographer of In The Heights, Tick, Tick…Boom!…

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Award-winning Cinematographer
In The Heights, Tick, Tick…Boom!

There’s this children’s book called Miss Rumphius, and I’ve carried it around with me my entire life. It’s about a woman who grandfather tells her three things, and the last one is the most difficult thing of all and that’s to fill the world with beauty. And I give this book to every one of my friends who are having babies, I have a copy with me almost at all times, and I’m reminded of that feeling that Jonathan Larson had in Tick, Tick…Boom! Of how much time do we have to do something great.

Behind the Scenes: From 'Get Out' to 'The Luminaries' w/ Australian Cinematographer of the Year DENSON BAKER - Highlights

Behind the Scenes: From 'Get Out' to 'The Luminaries' w/ Australian Cinematographer of the Year DENSON BAKER - Highlights

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Australian Cinematographer of the Year (ACS), Denson Baker’s credits include the feature film Ophelia starring Daisy Ridley & Naomi Watts, Measure of a Man with Donald Sutherland, Judy Greer and Luke Wilson, The Luminaries with Eva Green and Eve Hewson, and Domina with Kasia Smutniak and Isabella Rossellini, and the opening and final scenes of Jordan Peele's Academy Award winning Get Out.

Behind the Scenes at The Luminaries courtesy of Denson Baker

DENSON BAKER

One of the first things that we did when we did when we arrived in New Zealand to start pre-production was to travel to some of the actual locations where the story is set. One of them is Hokitika on the West Coast of the south island of New Zealand. And we discovered there’s an absolutely fantastic very small but a little museum that was full of so much incredible archival photography that you could not find searching the internet and the imagery just inspired so many thoughts and ideas and design. What was really interesting is it’s so unique to New Zealand.

This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this podcast was Anja Westhues. Digital Media Coordinator is Hannah Story Brown. 

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Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process.

Australian Cinematographer of the Year DENSON BAKER on Creating Visual Narratives

Australian Cinematographer of the Year DENSON BAKER on Creating Visual Narratives

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Australian Cinematographer of the Year (ACS), Denson Baker’s credits include the feature film Ophelia starring Daisy Ridley & Naomi Watts, Measure of a Man with Donald Sutherland, Judy Greer and Luke Wilson, The Luminaries with Eva Green and Eve Hewson, and Domina with Kasia Smutniak and Isabella Rossellini, and the opening and final scenes of Jordan Peele's Academy Award winning Get Out.

Behind the Scenes at The Luminaries courtesy of Denson Baker

DENSON BAKER

One of the first things that we did when we did when we arrived in New Zealand to start pre-production was to travel to some of the actual locations where the story is set. One of them is Hokitika on the West Coast of the south island of New Zealand. And we discovered there’s an absolutely fantastic very small but a little museum that was full of so much incredible archival photography that you could not find searching the internet and the imagery just inspired so many thoughts and ideas and design. What was really interesting is it’s so unique to New Zealand.

This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this podcast was Anja Westhues. Digital Media Coordinator is Hannah Story Brown. 

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Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process.

Behind the Lens: JONATHAN FURMANSKI on Filming Search Party, Good Boys, Inside Amy Schumer - Highlights

Behind the Lens: JONATHAN FURMANSKI on Filming Search Party, Good Boys, Inside Amy Schumer - Highlights

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Cinematographer Jonathan Furmanski’s credits include the film Good Boys. For TV, he’s lensed the cult crime comedy Search Party, Inside Amy Schumer, and The Detour. He’s shot on massive glaciers, active volcanos, and in international combat zones. His documentary feature films include The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling, May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers, 30 for 30: Doc & Darryl, Big Men and The Family Business: Trump and Taxes.

JONATHAN FURMANSKI

Directing is its own art form, so I have great respect and appreciation for directing and all the directors that I’ve had an opportunity to work with, but I just know that’s not me. So I’m happy that cinematography found me or I found it. I appreciate what you said about how cinematography, obviously is its own art form and can function as a character in a project and in the audience’s experience of watching that project. I think cinematography can–I don’t want to say make or break a project–because I think ultimately the writing and the performances are the foundation of any good project, but I think that cinematography can either elevate or undermine both the writing or the performances, depending on how it’s treated and how it’s executed. So, to me, it’s a fundamental part of the process.

This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this podcast was Leni Sperry-Fromm. Digital Media Coordinator is Yu Young Lee. 

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Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process. 

The Art of Cinematography: JONATHAN FURMANSKI From Search Party to The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling

The Art of Cinematography: JONATHAN FURMANSKI From Search Party to The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling

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Cinematographer Jonathan Furmanski’s credits include the film Good Boys. For TV, he’s lensed the cult crime comedy Search Party, Inside Amy Schumer, and The Detour. He’s shot on massive glaciers, active volcanos, and in international combat zones. His documentary feature films include The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling, May It Last: A Portrait of the Avett Brothers, 30 for 30: Doc & Darryl, Big Men and The Family Business: Trump and Taxes.

JONATHAN FURMANSKI

Directing is its own art form, so I have great respect and appreciation for directing and all the directors that I’ve had an opportunity to work with, but I just know that’s not me. So I’m happy that cinematography found me or I found it. I appreciate what you said about how cinematography, obviously is its own art form and can function as a character in a project and in the audience’s experience of watching that project. I think cinematography can–I don’t want to say make or break a project–because I think ultimately the writing and the performances are the foundation of any good project, but I think that cinematography can either elevate or undermine both the writing or the performances, depending on how it’s treated and how it’s executed. So, to me, it’s a fundamental part of the process.

This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this podcast was Leni Sperry-Fromm. Digital Media Coordinator is Yu Young Lee. 



mia-funk-painting-the-creative-process-abstract-david-hollander copy.jpg

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process. 

The Midnight Sky & Collaborating with GEORGE CLOONEY - MARTIN RUHE on The Art of Cinematography - Highlights

The Midnight Sky & Collaborating with GEORGE CLOONEY - MARTIN RUHE on The Art of Cinematography - Highlights

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Martin Ruhe is the internationally-acclaimed German cinematographer behind the Netflix film The Midnight Sky directed by and starring George Clooney. Previously, Ruhe worked on Catch-22, also directed by Clooney, as well as the critically acclaimed Counterpart, Run All Night with Liam Neeson, and the British Independent film award winner Control. Ruhe photographed the dark spy thriller Page Eight for BBC Films, directed by David Hare. The film earned him an American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Motion Picture/Miniseries Television Award for his work on the film.

Working closely with director Anton Corbijn, Ruhe photographed The American. Starring Clooney as an aging assassin on an assignment to create a specialized weapon, Ruhe’s meticulously arranged shots helped to build the tone of The American, while reviews applauded the film’s beauty. Ruhe lensed Harry Brown, a Michael Caine-starring vigilante thriller which premiered at 2009’s Toronto International Film Festival. His photography on Harry Brown received critical acclaim; Joe Leydon of Variety saying, “The moody lensing by Martin Ruhe vividly conveys the no-hope squalor of a contemporary urban wasteland.” Combining the best cultural influences from the U.S. and Europe, Ruhe is fluent in English, German and Spanish. He loves stills photography and travel.

MARTIN RUHE

Early on in my career, I met a cameraman called Mike Southon. When I was working as a runner in London, on weekends I would try to go to shoots and see as many shoots as I could. Mike once told me our job would be. 10% is craft, 10% is talent, and 80% would be diplomacy. It’s actually interesting because quite often we caught in-between producers telling you, “Oh, you can’t have this.” Or, you have to do this. Or this is the framework. And then directors telling you, “I want to see the whole world at night.” And you go, “That’s a lot of money...” So, I think that’s one interesting thing I learned early on.

There are many people you meet along the way and you pick up things from them. I loved when I started working with Anton Corbijn. His photography is so…he mainly uses one lens. One camera. It’s not complicated, but he gets intimate with people in the way he is with them. That’s why his portrait photography is so stunning. Over the years, it’s relevant because he’s curious, he’s open, and he just allows things to happen. I love that. I love creative things.

Early on, I did some workshops with some of the great DPs like Robby Müller. And then you watch films, you read, you listen to what people have to say about them.


This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this podcast was Bret Young. Digital Media Coordinator is Yu Young Lee. 

mia-funk-artist-writer-smiling-Limage.jpg

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process.

Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Breaker, Castbox, TuneIn, Overcast, RadioPublic, Podtail, and Listen Notes, among others. 

From Berlin to Hollywood: MARTIN RUHE on The Midnight Sky, Catch-22, Harry Brown & Other Films

From Berlin to Hollywood: MARTIN RUHE on The Midnight Sky, Catch-22, Harry Brown & Other Films

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Martin Ruhe is the internationally-acclaimed German cinematographer behind the Netflix film The Midnight Sky directed by and starring George Clooney. Previously, Ruhe worked on Catch-22, also directed by Clooney, as well as the critically acclaimed Counterpart, Run All Night with Liam Neeson, and the British Independent film award winner Control. Ruhe photographed the dark spy thriller Page Eight for BBC Films, directed by David Hare. The film earned him an American Society of Cinematographers Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Motion Picture/Miniseries Television Award for his work on the film.

Working closely with director Anton Corbijn, Ruhe photographed The American. Starring Clooney as an aging assassin on an assignment to create a specialized weapon, Ruhe’s meticulously arranged shots helped to build the tone of The American, while reviews applauded the film’s beauty. Ruhe lensed Harry Brown, a Michael Caine-starring vigilante thriller which premiered at 2009’s Toronto International Film Festival. His photography on Harry Brown received critical acclaim; Joe Leydon of Variety saying, “The moody lensing by Martin Ruhe vividly conveys the no-hope squalor of a contemporary urban wasteland.” Combining the best cultural influences from the U.S. and Europe, Ruhe is fluent in English, German and Spanish. He loves stills photography and travel.

MARTIN RUHE

Early on in my career, I met a cameraman called Mike Southon. When I was working as a runner in London, on weekends I would try to go to shoots and see as many shoots as I could. Mike once told me our job would be. 10% is craft, 10% is talent, and 80% would be diplomacy. It’s actually interesting because quite often we caught in-between producers telling you, “Oh, you can’t have this.” Or, you have to do this. Or this is the framework. And then directors telling you, “I want to see the whole world at night.” And you go, “That’s a lot of money...” So, I think that’s one interesting thing I learned early on.

There are many people you meet along the way and you pick up things from them. I loved when I started working with Anton Corbijn. His photography is so…he mainly uses one lens. One camera. It’s not complicated, but he gets intimate with people in the way he is with them. That’s why his portrait photography is so stunning. Over the years, it’s relevant because he’s curious, he’s open, and he just allows things to happen. I love that. I love creative things.

Early on, I did some workshops with some of the great DPs like Robby Müller. And then you watch films, you read, you listen to what people have to say about them.


This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this podcast was Bret Young. Digital Media Coordinator is Yu Young Lee. 

mia-funk-artist-writer-smiling-Limage.jpg

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process.

Find us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, Breaker, Castbox, TuneIn, Overcast, RadioPublic, Podtail, and Listen Notes, among others. 

From Edward Scissorhands to The Addams Family - CAROLINE THOMPSON - Screenwriter & Novelist - Highlights

From Edward Scissorhands to The Addams Family - CAROLINE THOMPSON - Screenwriter & Novelist - Highlights

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Award-Winning Screenwriter & Novelist

Tim Burton had just Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. He was at some point in the making of Beetlejuice. Our agency didn’t know what to do with either of us with our off-kilter sensibility, so they introduced us, and we immediately felt a kinship and became friends. It was pretty clear from pretty early on that we wanted to work together. We threw out ideas. Among the ideas we talked about Tim mentioned to me a drawing he had made in high school of a character who had scissors instead of hands. And I said, ‘Stop right there!; First of all, this may surprise you, it was the stupidest thing I’d ever heard in my life, so I knew it was brilliant. It was so simple and so stupid and such an obvious metaphor, I knew that it had power beyond belief. I said, ‘Stop, I know exactly what to do with that!’

Horror, Fantasy & the Art of Screenwriting with CAROLINE THOMPSON

Horror, Fantasy & the Art of Screenwriting with CAROLINE THOMPSON

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Award-Winning Screenwriter & Novelist

Tim Burton had just Pee-wee’s Big Adventure. He was at some point in the making of Beetlejuice. Our agency didn’t know what to do with either of us with our off-kilter sensibility, so they introduced us, and we immediately felt a kinship and became friends. It was pretty clear from pretty early on that we wanted to work together. We threw out ideas. Among the ideas we talked about Tim mentioned to me a drawing he had made in high school of a character who had scissors instead of hands. And I said, ‘Stop right there!; First of all, this may surprise you, it was the stupidest thing I’d ever heard in my life, so I knew it was brilliant. It was so simple and so stupid and such an obvious metaphor, I knew that it had power beyond belief. I said, ‘Stop, I know exactly what to do with that!’

Oscar Nominee MATTHEW LIBATIQUE on A Star is Born, Black Swan & The Art of Cinematography - Highlights

Oscar Nominee MATTHEW LIBATIQUE on A Star is Born, Black Swan & The Art of Cinematography - Highlights

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Cinematographer

As a cinematographer what you're trying to do is portray the story in the proper way. Of course, there is going to be an aesthetic that you place based on your own taste and what you believe in, maybe some of the things you're attracted to, inspired by, but ultimately everything, all the decisions are made with the narrative in mind. And that entails doing deep dives into research with photographs and art and music and things that you see in life and things that you remember from your past that sort of inform the things that you choose to do.

Visual Storytelling: MATTHEW LIBATIQUE on Collaborating w/ Bradley Cooper & Darren Aronofsky - Highlights

Visual Storytelling: MATTHEW LIBATIQUE on Collaborating w/ Bradley Cooper & Darren Aronofsky - Highlights

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Cinematographer

As a cinematographer what you're trying to do is portray the story in the proper way. Of course, there is going to be an aesthetic that you place based on your own taste and what you believe in, maybe some of the things you're attracted to, inspired by, but ultimately everything, all the decisions are made with the narrative in mind. And that entails doing deep dives into research with photographs and art and music and things that you see in life and things that you remember from your past that sort of inform the things that you choose to do.

Love, Loss & The Art of Writing with DELIA EPHRON - Highlights

Love, Loss & The Art of Writing with DELIA EPHRON - Highlights

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Author, Screenwriter and Producer

So the great thing about being a writer is you can take the pain of your life and make something out of it. And you can mix it up with the happier parts and make something even better out of it. I mean, it's kind of all these things end up being gifts when you're older.

From Siracusa to You've Got Mail with Author, Screenwriter, Producer DELIA EPHRON

From Siracusa to You've Got Mail with Author, Screenwriter, Producer DELIA EPHRON

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Author, Screenwriter and Producer

So the great thing about being a writer is you can take the pain of your life and make something out of it. And you can mix it up with the happier parts and make something even better out of it. I mean, it's kind of all these things end up being gifts when you're older.

From Broadway to Blue Bloods with Tony Award Winner GREGORY JBARA - Highlights

From Broadway to Blue Bloods with Tony Award Winner GREGORY JBARA - Highlights

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Gregory Jbara is a Tony award-winning stage actor with a impressive career spanning over four decades . On Broadway, Gregory has stared in renditions of Chicago, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Billy Elliot, which earned him the 2009 Tony award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Since departing from the stage, Gregory has spent ten seasons alongside Tom Selick in the CBS drama Blue Bloods.

GREGORY JBARA on Chicago, Billy Elliot, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels & the Acting Life

GREGORY JBARA on Chicago, Billy Elliot, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels & the Acting Life

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Gregory Jbara is a Tony award winning stage actor with a impressive career spanning over four decades . On Broadway, Gregory has stared in renditions of Chicago, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Billy Elliot, which earned him the 2009 Tony award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. Since departing from the stage, Gregory has spent ten seasons alongside Tom Selick in the CBS drama Blue Bloods.

JOSH PAIS - Actor, Writer, Producer & Committed Impulse Founder - Highlights

JOSH PAIS - Actor, Writer, Producer & Committed Impulse Founder - Highlights

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Joshua Pais has appeared in over a hundred movies and TV shows, including recurring roles in Ray Donovan, Mrs. Fletcher, The Good Wife, Maniac, The Sopranos, and Law and Order: SVU. His film work includes Motherless Brooklyn, Joker, Touchy Feely, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Music of the Heart, Assassination of a High School President, and I Saw the Light. The son of holocaust survivor and theoretical physicist Abraham Pais, Josh is the founder of Committed Impulse, a comprehensive acting technique which involves creating from the energetic (atomic) truth in the body.

This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this podcast was Emma Ryan. Digital Media Coordinator is Hannah Story Brown.

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process.

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Exploring Complex Characters: JOSHUA PAIS on His Journey from Ray Donovan to Motherless Brooklyn

Exploring Complex Characters: JOSHUA PAIS on His Journey from Ray Donovan to Motherless Brooklyn

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Joshua Pais has appeared in over a hundred movies and TV shows, including recurring roles in Ray Donovan, Mrs. Fletcher, The Good Wife, Maniac, The Sopranos, and Law and Order: SVU. His film work includes Motherless Brooklyn, Joker, Touchy Feely, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Music of the Heart, Assassination of a High School President, and I Saw the Light. The son of holocaust survivor and theoretical physicist Abraham Pais, Josh is the founder of Committed Impulse, a comprehensive acting technique which involves creating from the energetic (atomic) truth in the body.

This interview was conducted by Mia Funk with the participation of collaborating universities and students. Associate Interviews Producer on this podcast was Emma Ryan. Digital Media Coordinator is Hannah Story Brown.

Mia Funk is an artist, interviewer and founder of The Creative Process.