From Doctor Sleep to Crawl: The Cinematography Behind 8 of 2019’s Most Eye-Popping Horror Films

Maxime Alexandre on Crawl

The Approach: Vastness slowly becoming monochrome

How They Did It: The exciting part of my approach on Crawl was that, for once, darkness was not the primary source of tension. In Crawl, danger and tension come from both underwater and the surface, so I focused on giving the audience the most significant depth of field possible. Alligators could be anywhere, and we increased the suspense by showing the audience a lot of the storm that takes place in the film outdoors. A big part of the story happens in a dark basement, but the conception of the exterior illumination was key to the high-contrast lighting shapes that defined the depth down there.

Water, Water Everywhere: We had several soundstages: the largest one for the exterior house and neighborhood, another for the house exterior and interiors, first and second floor—also used for underwater filming—and a third stage for the basement and roof scenes. All of them had to be shot in every way, be it in simple rain or fully submerged. We had tons of technical difficulties, and not only because of the water. The best solution to properly lighting the enormous stages and the bluescreens around them on the budget we had was to use lighting balloons. But then we had
to face the power of the wind machines. With the steam, the Technocrane on floating platforms, huge power lines all around stages full of water, a basement set less than five feet high, heat, fatigue, wind and rain again and again, it was probably the most difficult movie I’ve shot thus far. I have to admit, though: Even when we were exhausted, we’d still have smiles on our faces watching Kaya Scodelario desperately trying to escape a stuntman swimming behind her to simulate an alligator’s water shape!

Also Read: Get Out, Annabelle: Creation, and the Secrets Behind 7 More Films With the Most Chilling Cinematography of 2017

The Takeaway: Do something different every time and step outside the rules if needed. Keep daring, keep dreaming, and never, ever stop because of technical issues. Cameras, lenses, and lights are all tools that help you achieve what you’ve never done before.

Tech Box

Shooting time: Seven and a half weeks. Cameras: ARRI Alexa SXT, ARRI Alexa Mini. Lenses: Leica Summilux-C, Alura lightweight zooms
Lighting: Cloud Balloons 9×1.2 kW HMI,
Arri Compact, ARRI SkyPanels, HydroFlex Lighting Systems. Picture post/DI: Walter Volpatto

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