Cinematographer Ari Wegner, ACS on shooting The Power of the Dog, working with director Jane Campion

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 156: Cinematographer Ari Wegner Ari Wegner, ACS became a fan of director Jane Campion after seeing her short films in high school. Seeing those films opened Ari's eyes to the possibilities of choosing filmmaking as a career. Several years later, she had an opportunity to work with Campion on a commercial in Sydney, Australia and found they shared a similar working aesthetic. Campion contacted her next about shooting The Power of the Dog, and wanted to work closely with Ari on prepping the film over the course of a year. Most DPs only have a few weeks to meet with the director, location scout, and prep the film. They began with location scouting in New Zealand, Campion's home country, searching for the right mountains as the backdrop. The Power of the Dog takes place in 1920's Montana, so finding the right location to build an entire ranch set was also important. Ari and Campion agreed that the colors in the film should reflect the natural environment of cattle, sun, dust, golden grass, and brown leather. The color palette was key to unifying the look of the film, from the costumes to even the color of the cows. Ari and Campion spent the last month before the shoot storyboarding every scene, in a cabin closer to the set. As the set was being built, they would go to the location and walk through it to figure out if the shots were going to work. The ranch house exterior was built on location, while the interiors were built on a stage. The script also required knowing exactly where the actor's eyelines would be as the characters stalk and spy on each other, so Ari needed to know the layout of the house very well so that the shots lined up just right. Campion always uses storyboards as plan A, and is open to things changing once the actors physically embody the characters and find their own unique moments and flow. Ari often filmed handheld in order to move in on the actor's faces to capture the quiet moments, expressions and unsaid private thoughts of each character. Ari's work on The Power of the Dog was just nominated for an ASC Award. Find Ari Wegner Instagram: @ariwegner You can see The Power of the Dog on Netflix. Close Focus: The Sundance Film Festival is currently going on completely virtually again this year. Should film festivals change it up and do hybrid festivals from now on? Ben's short end: Guillermo del Toro is making a stop-motion Pinocchio for Netflix. Illya's short end: Ozark Season Four is now available on Netflix. Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras Sponsored by Assemble: Sign up for Assemble's production management software and get one month FREE! Use code “cinepod” to take advantage of this offer. Be sure to watch our YouTube video of Nate Watkin showing how Assemble works! Sponsored by Aputure: The Aputure LS1200d is their brightest LED light yet, with a 1200W Daylight COB chipset to compete on the same level as industry-standard HMI Lights. You can pre-order it at Hot Rod Cameras. LIKE AND FOLLOW US, send fan mail or suggestions! Facebook:@cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod