《The Body》(The Body) The photographer wanted the camera to bring unease

When he received the script for The Body, director of photography Isiah Donté Lee was only a few hours away from meeting the team.He read it quickly and communicated with the creator with the freshness he felt when he just finished reading it.

The series, which is already available on Netflix, was created, written and directed some episodes by Quinn Shepard.A group of Catholic school girls begin to see prophetic visions after an incident at the dance team's induction ceremony, eventually triggering a collective panic that sweeps the town.Inspired by movies such as Mean Girls, Carrie, and Jennifer’s Body, the work relies on a dark, depressing and ominous atmosphere to gradually penetrate the audience’s feelings, rather than relying on large-scale action scenes.In an interview with What’s on Netflix, Lee talked in detail about how this image was formed.

What initially attracted him were the characters and the text.He found the characters interesting, the script compact and clever, and much of the content worth trying to express visually.Shepard also prepared a concept clip to illustrate the ethos of the show.After the series was completed and he looked back at the short film, Lee found that the final film almost accurately continued the tone of the time.“She already had a very strong idea of ​​what she wanted to create.”He said that was Shepard's own perspective.

The story took place in 2004, which also allowed him to re-understand period drama“.When people think of period works, they often first think of the 1950s, 1960s or 1970s; but 2004 has been more than 20 years ago.He had just entered high school at the time and was very familiar with the popular culture at that stage.Now that I have to return to that world, I realize that my youth has become a historical period that needs to be reconstructed.

Photographic opportunities are equally important.Lee likes to play with light and shadow, and in his previous career experience, he has not had the opportunity to fully enter the horror genre.He felt that his intuition about images was just right for the mood the show wanted.

Talking about several reference movies, he said that he recombined these influences, hoping to make the picture rougher, closer to reality, and more sharp.In his opinion, the visual treatment of many of these films would keep the audience comfortable while watching the characters interact, but he wanted to try to make the photography itself uncomfortable.

As for the ratio between youth life, supernatural phenomena and humor, Lee said that they first discussed what the scene wanted to convey and how they wanted the audience to feel, and then decided how to use lighting and cameras.He doesn't label a moment as ”horror or “comedy and lets the emotion of the moment dictate how it's handled.

This also gives the team a lot of technical freedom.He described that everyone has tried almost all the tools and shooting techniques that are available to them. It is a kind of liberation to know that they can try various methods.What keeps these attempts from falling apart is Sheppard's keen judgment of the mood of the scene: she has a very accurate feeling in her heart about whether an approach is appropriate.This judgment became the basis for them to test different plans.

The really tough part of filming started in the first week of filming.The entire ”Devil's House% scene in the first episode was the first thing the crew filmed.I basically spent that week shooting at this location, working night shifts, being cold, and being pressed for time. But I had to get to know the main characters and complete key turning points in these scenes.Generally, when shooting begins, people always hope to find the rhythm first before entering the difficult part; but - the body - they regard this section as the starting point.Lee had never worked with Shepard before, and the two worked through complex scenes while getting to know each other: what she liked, what he was good at, and how to blend their approaches.The tacit understanding between the director and the director of photography is already very important for filming, but this time it had to be established as soon as possible during important scenes and tight deadlines.

Lee was responsible for the cinematography of episodes 1, 2, 6, and 8, all four episodes directed by Shepard.The remaining episodes also involve two other directors and two directors of photography.How to let different photographers work together to complete the visual style of a drama, he said that he is still exploring.His approach was to bring other DPs into the discussion early on so that they could understand the ideas that had been formed and put forward their own opinions.

He wants everyone to be truly involved, but collaboration is not without its difficulties: each photographer has his or her own habits of viewing and execution, and when difficulties arise on set, instincts tend to be more pronounced and opinions may not merge easily.

The good thing this time was that Shepard had a very clear understanding of the work as a whole.Not only the photography department, but also when other artistic creators join in, they all know what the entire show wants to achieve.Once everyone has a common direction, we can work on this basis.

Finally, talking about the director herself, Lee admires her most about her ability to invest emotions in every moment.He's not sure if it had something to do with Sheppard's past acting experience, but she was always truly in the middle of what was being filmed and let that guide the team.Sometimes this can be frustrating - a method doesn't work and you can't explain why - but he still believes that only by honestly acknowledging this feeling can you find where you want to go creatively.For him, that means remaining attentive and empathetic to the people and events being represented on screen.