French cinematographer Yorick Le Saux, whose gorgeous work includes Personal Shopper, The Only Lovers Left Alive, Little Women and the new World War II epic Blitz, doesn’t like fuss.
He believes that what he sees and feels is much more important than his equipment. When he was approached about Blitz, the main concern he expressed to director Steve McQueen was that the film might need too many VFX shots. McQueen assured him that he and production designer Adam Stockhausen would use real locations and keep things as practical as possible.
Blitz tells tells a story from the Blitzkrieg, or “lightning war,” that the Nazis inflicted on London in World War II. The film follows George (Elliott Heffernan) as he tries to return to his mother, Rita (Saoirse Ronan). It looks spectacular in every sense, thanks to the collaboration of McQueen, Stockhausen, Le Saux, and many more.
For our latest edition of What’s In Your Kit — in which we ask the industry’s greatest cinematographers about their must-have items — Le Saux spoke to us while scouting locations for Olivier Assayas’ new Vladimir Putin film The Wizard of the Kremlin, starring Jude Law. He stressed the importance of keeping things simple, and taking time in his hotel room to reflect on the day’s work.
Also Read: ‘War Through a Child’s Eyes’ — Steve McQueen on Blitz
Le Saux, who shot Blitz on an Alexa 35, with Panavision C Series lenses, likes to keep his kit pared down, as he explained when we asked him about his favorite tools of the trade. Here are his pictures of the item in his kit, and his descriptions of why they’re essential to his process.—M.M.
Yorick Le Saux on His Blitz Tools of the Trade
Biometix Vitamin C
I take three gels every morning.
Nike Sneakers
My Nikes are really tired.
Hats
I wear hats because I’m bald, and I’m worried about the sun, but also because I’m 6’5 — I touch the ceiling all the time. I’m protected by my hats. I may wear a cap, a cowboy hat, a beret…
iPhone 14 Plus
I work a lot with my iPhone, for still pictures, then I can grade them a bit. And for video, I can figure out the rhythm of the camera and navigate through a location — what are the good angles and how do they match? I watch them afterward in the hotel room.
Lumos Sun and Moon Tracker App
For every location, I need to know, where will the sun be? For example, for Blitz, we were scouting in August, and I knew that we would shoot in December or January. So the feeling would be completely different. Three months from now, will the sun be behind a building?
Nikon FE2
I have had it since I was a teenager, when it was given to me by my father. I use only black and white film, because, to quote Sam Fuller, “life is in color but black and white is more realistic.”
Kytta Wärme Balsam
To warm and decontract muscles after a day of handheld filming.
JBL Speaker
In my hotel room I listen to a lot of music very loud with my boomer. Music is really, really important — it helps me think and dream.
Main image: Yorick Le Saux, center, with director Steve McQueen, right, on the set of Blitz. Photo courtesy of Apple.
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