When I think of blockbuster films I usually think of action, explosions, stars and big
set pieces. Far away from the world of personal films with contained storytelling. Hoyte Van
Hoytema is able to tread the delicate line between the two: producing intimate, naturalistic
cinematography which simultaneously tells big blockbuster stories.
Today I’ll be looking at the cinematography of Hoyte Van Hoytema by analysing his style
based on his cinematic philosophy and the technical gear he uses to achieve his look.
Van Hoytme is a Dutch-Sweedish cinematographer. After growing up in the Netherlands and studying
at the National Film School In Lodz he began living and working as a cinematographer in
Sweden.
He progressed to shooting larger and larger movies for a collection of well known directors
such as Thomas Alfredson, David O. Russel, Spike Jonze, Christopher Nolan, Sam Mendes
and James Gray.
At its core, Van Hoytema’s cinematography is based around enhanced naturalism. He creates
epic images full of dynamism, character and texture which are still based in reality.
A good example of this is his approach to shooting VFX work. Whenever possible he prefers
to capture things in camera without too much VFX in order to maintain as much naturalism
and original texture from the negative as possible. At times, such as a car chase scene
on the moon in sci-fi space epic Ad Astra, where plenty of VFX was required, he still
found a way to shoot as much of the effects in camera as possible.
“Doing it all in CGI would have been boring, and usually doesn’t look convincing enough
in a film that is effectively shot mostly on real film. We wanted to maintain the quality,
feel, and texture.”
Therefore he used a 3D rig with 2 cameras that were both able to capture the same image
simultaneously. 1 35mm camera and 1 modified infrared Arri Alexa. Overlaying the 2 images,
they used the infrared image from the Alexa, which rendered the sky and its reflections
black, and used the colour elements for the rest of the scene from the 35mm negative.
Shooting this large budget chase scene as practically as possible gives it a more naturalistic
look rather than just shooting elements against a green screen and building the entire scene
with VFX.
His lighting is also naturalistic. It’s motivated by realism and softened to give
it a sense of heightened reality. He likes side lighting characters, where half their
face is lit and half in shadow, this motivates where the direction of light is coming from
and gives close ups more depth.
His camera movement is fairly traditional and as such provides the audience with engaging,
familiar camerawork that is not alienating or takes viewers out of the story. A large
part of Van Hoytema’s approach to photography is creating images that are as immersive as
possible.
The gear that he uses informs how he is able to create such immersive engaging cinematography.
He has an affinity for shooting on film over digital, although he has shot digital on his
commercial work and on some films such as Her. He likes the cinematic texture that shooting
on film gives him.
Van Hoytema also loves shooting large format film when possible for the visceral perspective
it provides, a love he shares with collaborator Christopher Nolan. He’s shot Imax with Nolan
on Interstellar, Dunkirk and the upcoming Tenet. On shooting Imax on Interstellar Van
Hoytema mentioned: “The Imax image is 1.43:1, so it’s more of a square. Because of the
size, the experience is more visceral than observational, so you end up composing much
more in the center of the frame. You can stay wider while getting the same effect as a close-up”
Over the years he’s shot large format with cameras such as the Imax camera which shoots
15-perf 65mm, providing an enormous camera negative. For 35mm work he’s used the Panaflex
Millenium XL. And digitally he likes to shoot Arri, using different variations of the Alexa
such as the Mini or the Classic.
“To a certain extent, I am always trying to come up with something new in my own eyes,
but work methods are like tics,”One gravitates towards what feels safe”
This approach applies to his choice of lenses. He’s shot on a variety of lenses over the
years which includes standard as well as customised cinema lenses. Most of his lens choices however
are rooted in a specific look: older glass with a level of vintage softness and beautiful
out of focus fall off around the edges of the image.
He enjoys shooting anamorphic or spherical depending on the project and has used lenses,
such as a variety of Panavision anamorphic glass, such as C-series, D-series and E-series
anamorphics some of which were specifically tuned by Panavision for warmer flares. He
uses converted Hassleblad still lenses for his Imax work as they are able to cover the
full negative without vignetting the image. Other spherical lenses include Zeiss super
speeds, or vintage Cooke Speed Panchros with the coating removed which softens up the image
and increases flares.
He loves handheld and has shot in this style over his career to create a more subjective,
engaging experience. On his work with Nolan he has even managed to shoot handheld with
the enormous and heavy Imax camera, which was previously unheard of.
Another type of grip rig that he likes to use that provides a visceral perspective are
hard mounted rigs. This is where a camera is rigged in a locked off shot to a moving
vehicle such as a car or a plane or even an actor. He mentions how doing this on Interstellar,
created a kind of Imax Go Pro effect.
“It let us [capture] visceral angles that are normally only possible with a GoPro camera,
but in 15-perf 65mm!”
A lot of his naturalistic lighting style is created by pushing large sources through diffusion.
For example he likes to light through windows, supplementing the natural light and creating
light that will stay continuous throughout a scene regardless of what the sun does during
a take. He likes to use large HMIs such as 18Ks, pushing them through half or full grid
textiles to soften the light. To get them to a warmer daylight colour temperature he
likes to add a ½ or ⅛ CTO gel as well as a ¼ Plus Green gel “to emulate the bounce
that natural light gets from all the plants or trees”
He is a fan of using colour in his lighting when it can be motivated. Such as on films
such as Her or Ad Astra. As long as the coloured lighting is believable and motivated by practical
light sources such as in a space ship.
Through all of these practical techniques, Hoyte van Hoytema creates cinematography that
is epic, yet immersive and grounded in reality. He notes that at times his images can even
be seen as ‘unromatic’, his technique is “not always the prettiest or most polished
way of doing things,”“but it gets us closer to the truth.”
And that’s the key of keeping his style consistent over time. He may shoot large movies
with huge set pieces but that doesn’t mean his photography is ever wild or out of control.
Through prioritising truth and naturalism over being showy, the films he shoots, no
matter what their scale, remain classic, intimate and immersive experiences.