International News

SHOOTING THE NATURAL BEAUTY AND HORROR OF SWEETHEART WITH COOKE S4/I PRIMES

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Producing a feeling of dread in one of the most beautiful locations on earth — the Fiji Islands — was the task of cinematographer, Stefan Duscio for J.D. Dillard’s horror/thriller, Sweetheart. After being stranded on a deserted island and left to survive on her own, a young woman (played by Kiersey Clemons) realises that she is sharing the island with something that starts to hunt her, thus beginning her battle for survival.

With 25 shoot days on a remote island in Fiji during May/June 2017, the crew enjoyed the microclimate of the island with very little rain. This compared to the mainland, a 30- minute boat ride away, where it rained every second day in the afternoon. “We wanted this absolute feeling of dread in this beautiful picture postcard location, where every day Kiersey’s character wakes up and has to survive the day and another night,” explained Duscio. “We had this natural beauty that couldn’t bring any calming effect to our lead. I relied on very slow camera movements whenever possible and holding shots a little longer than might be comfortable.

To make this possible, Duscio shot on an ARRI ALEXA Mini in open gate mode with a nine lens Cooke S4/i prime kit consisting of an 18mm, 25mm, 32mm, 40mm, 50mm, 65mm, 75mm, 100mm and 135mm. As a very natural look was important to the film, Duscio relied on the ALEXA Mini and Cooke S4/i combination to deliver a look that would not be harsh. “I didn’t want to artificially affect the image as much as anamorphic would, but also didn’t want anything too modern or too vintage. The S4/i primes gave me a great classic look that rendered the colours of our location and Kiersey’s beautiful skin tones very naturally.”