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Barton Cortright
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  • Film Interviews
  • Updated Biweekly

Conversations focused on narrative independent cinematography

  1. Jul 27

    Ep 19. Blue Heron with Maya Bankovic CSC

    Today I’m talking to Maya Bankovic CSC about her work on Blue Heron. A family of six settles into their new home on Vancouver Island as internal dynamics get revealed through the eyes of the youngest child. Blue Heron premiered at TIFF and just recently closed out a theatrical run and is currently on the Criterion Channel. I also saw recently Richard Brody listed it in his 3 top films of the year so far. Maya and I dive into how the director’s home movies inspired some of the cinematography styles, we discuss vintage zooms and how to evoke the 90s photographically without shooting on film or using filters.

    Ep 19. Blue Heron with Maya Bankovic CSC

  2. Jun 24

    Ep 18. Testament of Ann Lee with William Rexer ASC

    Today I am talking to William Rexer ASC about his work on The Testament of Ann Lee. Revered by her followers, Ann Lee preaches gender and social equality as the founder of the devotional sect the Shakers. This is a bit of a bigger film that I usually focus on but I really enjoyed hearing about Williams fairly extensive prep process and how they managed on a fairly modest budget for the scope of the project to shoot in 4 countries on 35mm. William had 6 different gaffers throughout the making of the film due to all the different areas they shot in and the limited budget. I really enjoyed hearing about how he creates a comfortable environment for actors as well as the level he went to pre-plan almost every shot and camera movement in the film.

    Ep 18. Testament of Ann Lee with William Rexer ASC

  3. Mar 31

    Ep 17. Revelations of Divine Love with Gabe Elder

    Today I am talking to Gabe Elder about his work on Revelations of Divine Love. Adapted from the 14th-century memoir of mystic and philosopher Julian of Norwich this account of religious ecstasy, plague, and revolt is the first book in English authored by a woman. This was a very micro budget film and Gabe and I talk about the challenges and joys that come out of this type of filmmaking. Gabe remarked during the episode that he didn’t even have a dedicated gaffer and as someone who occasionally doesn’t have a dedicated AC for features I thought this would be a fun movie to talk about. In addition to all that we also discuss the use of CUs, lighting for constructed sets and lighting continuity.

    Ep 17. Revelations of Divine Love with Gabe Elder

  4. Feb 19

    Ep 16. The Baltimorons with Jon Bregel

    Today I’m talking to Jon Bregel about his work on The Baltimorons. A newly sober man’s Christmas Eve dental emergency leads to an unexpected romance with his older dentist as they explore Baltimore together. The film is really funny and directed by Jay Duplass, it premiered at SXSW and was nominated for two indie spirit awards. This was actually Jon’s first narrative feature after working for many years as a commercial director and DP. We talk about the difficult choice of decided to shoot on an FX6 over a cinema camera as well as the ups and downs of shooting small budget features.

    Ep 16. The Baltimorons with Jon Bregel

  5. Feb 13

    Ep 15. By Design with Patrick Meade Jones

    Today I’m talking to Patrick Jones about his work on By Design. Camille is enchanted by a beautiful chair in a furniture store and magically swaps bodies with it, finding she’s better liked as an object than a person. By Design premiered at Sundance and opens in theaters today, please go see it. This is Patrick’s fifth feature with director Amanda Kramer. I really loved his work on their previous film together Please Baby Please. We discuss Patrick’s process as well as him trying to track down an HD VHS camera, digging through old Ikea magazines for inspiration and many other topics.

    Ep 15. By Design with Patrick Meade Jones

  6. Jan 13

    Ep 14. If I Had Legs I'd Kick You with Chris Messina

    Today I’m talking to Chris Messina about his work on if I Had Legs I’d Kick you. With her life crashing down around her, Linda tries to navigate her daughter’s mysterious illness, her absent husband, a missing person, and an increasingly hostile relationship with her therapist. The film premiered at Sundance and was released by A24. I really enjoyed Chris’ work on the film especially his lighting approach, we dive into that as well as how Chris shot film and digital and how they pulled off some of the hardest shots of the film.

    Ep 14. If I Had Legs I'd Kick You with Chris Messina

  7. 2025-10-14

    Ep 13. Bring Her Back with Aaron McLisky ACS

    Today I’m talking to Aaron Mclisky about his work in Bring Her Back. Bring Her Back is about a brother and sister who are forced to move in with a foster mother and quickly start to realize that something strange is taking place in their new home. This is the follow up film to Talk To Me by the same directors both of which were distributed by A24. I really enjoyed the conversation with Aaron, he dives into all sorts of ideas he developed with the directors in pre-production that result in really subtle visual ideas that they employed throughout the movie. We also chat about how they almost shot in academy ratio, using different lenses for each character’s perspective as well as shooting in the rain and improvising when plans change. We do dive into the film quite a bit so there are a lot of spoilers if you have not seen the film. The film is currently streaming on HBO Max so I recommend watching it before listening to this interview.

    Ep 13. Bring Her Back with Aaron McLisky ACS

  8. 2025-10-02

    Ep 12. Happyend with Bill Kirstein

    Today I’m talking to Bill Kirstein about his work on Happyend. Friends Yuta and Kou, about to graduate, sneak into school. They pull off a terrible prank and face unforeseen consequences as graduation approaches. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival and is playing in New York at Metrograph currently. The film features really well composed and thought out cinematography by Bill. Bill was recently selected as a Rising Star of Cinematography by American Cinematographer. In addition to shooting Happy End he recently shot the musical Mean Girls, we chat a bit about what that experience was liking transitioning form indie films to a studio movie. In addition to that we also discuss why Bill likes deep focus, shooting happy end from the perspective of the future and what it was like shooting a feature in Japan.

    Ep 12. Happyend with Bill Kirstein
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About

Conversations focused on narrative independent cinematography

Information

  • Creator
    Barton Cortright
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    19

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