Colorist Alex Bickel is no stranger to working on some of A24’s biggest films, including collaborating with cinematographer James Laxton and director Barry Jenkins to create the bold color and contrast of “Moonlight,” and aiding cinematographer Sam Levy and director Greta Gerwig in giving “Lady Bird” the feel of a xeroxed zine. So it shouldn’t be a surprise he was also the behind-the-scenes secret weapon that helped The Daniels and cinematographer Larkin Seiple (this is Bickel’s third film with the DoP) delineate the distinct worlds of the “Everything Everywhere All at Once” multiverse, which appears poised to bring the studio its second Best Picture Oscar.
Like most of the colorist’s successful endeavors, the “Eeaao” collaboration started before the film went into production. “When I first read the screenplay, it was clear that there was a massive opportunity for the grade to play a huge role in...
Like most of the colorist’s successful endeavors, the “Eeaao” collaboration started before the film went into production. “When I first read the screenplay, it was clear that there was a massive opportunity for the grade to play a huge role in...
- 3/6/2023
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Traveling back in time allows cinematographers to celebrate the old while making something new.
“Fargo” (FX)
Nominated For Limited/Anthology Series Or Movie Cinematography For Season 4, Episode 9, “East/West”
“Fargo” showrunner Noah Hawley always meant for the ninth episode of Season 4, “East/West,” to be photographed in black and white.
Movie buffs will note the homage to “The Wizard of Oz” as the palette shifts from the established ‘50s Kodachrome color look after which the season had been fashioned, to black and white five minutes into the episode, and then shifts back at the end.
Another big influence, according to Dp Dana Gonzales, was Robert Frank’s photography book “The Americans.” “Not only was I interested in the look of the photographs, but also what Robert Frank captured in his images: the not-so-perfect, often-flawed America of the 1940s,” he says.
His biggest challenge was “creating a realistic period black and white look...
“Fargo” (FX)
Nominated For Limited/Anthology Series Or Movie Cinematography For Season 4, Episode 9, “East/West”
“Fargo” showrunner Noah Hawley always meant for the ninth episode of Season 4, “East/West,” to be photographed in black and white.
Movie buffs will note the homage to “The Wizard of Oz” as the palette shifts from the established ‘50s Kodachrome color look after which the season had been fashioned, to black and white five minutes into the episode, and then shifts back at the end.
Another big influence, according to Dp Dana Gonzales, was Robert Frank’s photography book “The Americans.” “Not only was I interested in the look of the photographs, but also what Robert Frank captured in his images: the not-so-perfect, often-flawed America of the 1940s,” he says.
His biggest challenge was “creating a realistic period black and white look...
- 8/4/2021
- by Jazz Tangcay
- Variety Film + TV
Curated by the IndieWire Crafts team, Craft Considerations is a platform for filmmakers to talk about recent work that we believe is worthy of awards consideration. In partnership with Amazon Studios for this inaugural edition, we are taking another look at the creation of “The Underground Railroad” with key members of the production team: cinematographer James Laxton, costume designer Caroline Eselin-Schaefer, and production designer Mark Friedberg talk about helping director Barry Jenkins adapt Colson Whitehead’s novel of the same name into a 10-part limited series. Watch the first installment, devoted to post-production, here.
“When working with Barry, what you get is this license to lean heavily into your craft,” said cinematographer James Laxton, who has worked with Jenkins since their film school days at Florida State University. “We’re only able to do that because he tells stories that need that from us. It’s one of my favorite parts about working with him.
“When working with Barry, what you get is this license to lean heavily into your craft,” said cinematographer James Laxton, who has worked with Jenkins since their film school days at Florida State University. “We’re only able to do that because he tells stories that need that from us. It’s one of my favorite parts about working with him.
- 5/26/2021
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
One of the things that’s often deceptive about an intimate coming-of-age movie like “Lady Bird” – built on nuanced performances, careful framing, and a subtle bittersweet tone – is the sense that it is somehow less cinematic, or less carefully crafted, than a bigger film with thrilling action scenes and bold camerawork.
For the look of “Lady Bird,” writer-director Greta Gerwig started working a year ahead of time with cinematographer Sam Levy (with whom she’d previously collaborated on “Frances Ha” and “Maggie’s Plan”) to figure out how to turn her somewhat abstract visual concept into a reality. Levy turned to his colorist Alex Bickel (“Moonlight”) during pre-production to develop an unique technical process that could carry Gerwig’s vision through to the finish line.
Gerwig, Levy, and Bickel sat down with IndieWire to talk about about their collaboration on “Lady Bird” and were willing to share before and after...
For the look of “Lady Bird,” writer-director Greta Gerwig started working a year ahead of time with cinematographer Sam Levy (with whom she’d previously collaborated on “Frances Ha” and “Maggie’s Plan”) to figure out how to turn her somewhat abstract visual concept into a reality. Levy turned to his colorist Alex Bickel (“Moonlight”) during pre-production to develop an unique technical process that could carry Gerwig’s vision through to the finish line.
Gerwig, Levy, and Bickel sat down with IndieWire to talk about about their collaboration on “Lady Bird” and were willing to share before and after...
- 12/13/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
As the A24 logo appears on screen the sound of ocean waves and Boris Gardiner’s soulful 1973 “Every N***r is a Star” comes on the soundtrack. The film then cuts to Juan (Mahershala Ali) pulling onto a quiet, brightly colored residential street in the hot mid-day sun. In a continuous shot, Juan gets out of his car to survey the drug corner he controls. As he converses with one of his dealers and an addict looking to score, the camera swirls around the three men, who fall in and out of frame.
From a narrative standpoint, we are grounded in Juan’s power and control over this patch of Miami, while seeing glimpses of his compassion that will make him the father figure to the film’s protagonist, Chiron. However, that use of sound, movement, light, and color also introduces us to the world of “Moonlight.” Sound and character ground us in the familiar,...
From a narrative standpoint, we are grounded in Juan’s power and control over this patch of Miami, while seeing glimpses of his compassion that will make him the father figure to the film’s protagonist, Chiron. However, that use of sound, movement, light, and color also introduces us to the world of “Moonlight.” Sound and character ground us in the familiar,...
- 2/9/2017
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
There’s an inherent visual tension in the look of Barry Jenkin’s “Moonlight.” Set in the harsh realities of Liberty City, an impoverished section of Miami where Jenkins and co-writer Tarell McCraney grew up, the sun-drenched neighborhood is filled with bright pastel colors and lush, tropical green trees and grass.
“Tarell calls Miami a ‘beautiful nightmare’ and I think what we’ve done is paint this nightmare in beautiful tones,” Jenkins told IndieWire in a recent podcast. “We wanted to embrace the tension of that beauty, juxtaposed with the very dark things that are happening to the characters in the story.”
Read More: Filmmaker Toolkit Podcast: ‘Moonlight’ Director Barry Jenkins Reveals the Unconventional Way He Cast His Three Leads (Episode 10)
Right from the start, Jenkins and cinematographer James Laxton discussed wanting to move away from a documentary, or realist look, that has come to be expected of American indies tackling social issues like “Moonlight.
“Tarell calls Miami a ‘beautiful nightmare’ and I think what we’ve done is paint this nightmare in beautiful tones,” Jenkins told IndieWire in a recent podcast. “We wanted to embrace the tension of that beauty, juxtaposed with the very dark things that are happening to the characters in the story.”
Read More: Filmmaker Toolkit Podcast: ‘Moonlight’ Director Barry Jenkins Reveals the Unconventional Way He Cast His Three Leads (Episode 10)
Right from the start, Jenkins and cinematographer James Laxton discussed wanting to move away from a documentary, or realist look, that has come to be expected of American indies tackling social issues like “Moonlight.
- 10/26/2016
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Editor’s Note: For his directorial debut, James Schamus chose to adapt Philip Roth’s “Indignation,” which tells the story of a Jewish boy who leaves home to go to college in Ohio during the Korean War. To help create the early 1950s period feel of the film, Schamus turned to cinematographer Christopher Blauvelt (“Night Moves” and “Low Down”). IndieWire recently asked Blauvelt to breakdown the process of how he created the film’s understated and elegant look. What he supplied was a detailed description of how he used today’s cutting edge digital technology to simulate the Kodachrome film stock that defined the era’s color photography.
Read More: ‘Indignation’ Review: James Schamus’ Philip Roth Adaptation, Starring Logan Lerman and Sarah Gadon, Resurrects the Focus Features Legacy
Reversal Film Stock
The starting point in conversations with James about the look of “Indignation” was Gordon Parks’ color photography from the ’40s and ’50s.
Read More: ‘Indignation’ Review: James Schamus’ Philip Roth Adaptation, Starring Logan Lerman and Sarah Gadon, Resurrects the Focus Features Legacy
Reversal Film Stock
The starting point in conversations with James about the look of “Indignation” was Gordon Parks’ color photography from the ’40s and ’50s.
- 8/31/2016
- by Chris O'Falt
- Indiewire
Color correction is often the least talked about, most overlooked portion of the post-production process. Alex Bickel has spoken out about how grading can alter the presumed production value of a film, and a recent guest post from Michael Medaglia and Jalal Jemison discussed the importance of communicating your story through the process. This video from the International Colorist Academy offers a nice visual supplement to the aforementioned claims, as it demonstrates the colorist’s ability to amend the tone and context of any given scene. When it comes to transforming day to night, and romance to horror, some things can be left […]...
- 9/2/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Color correction is often the least talked about, most overlooked portion of the post-production process. Alex Bickel has spoken out about how grading can alter the presumed production value of a film, and a recent guest post from Michael Medaglia and Jalal Jemison discussed the importance of communicating your story through the process. This video from the International Colorist Academy offers a nice visual supplement to the aforementioned claims, as it demonstrates the colorist’s ability to amend the tone and context of any given scene. When it comes to transforming day to night, and romance to horror, some things can be left […]...
- 9/2/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
The post-production process is an often underestimated one, both in the amount of work it necessitates and in its shaping of the final product. From an outside perspective, viewers may assume that a film’s visuals are simply captured on-set, in camera, and transferred to screen without much alteration. In reality, color grading the camera’s images is an art form unto itself. Over at Hammer to Nail, Chad Hartigan, director of last year’s Sundance Next inclusion This is Martin Bonner, interviews his colorist Alex Bickel, whose fingerprints were on a whopping six titles in Park City earlier this month: Blue Ruin; Camp X-Ray; Kumiko, The […]...
- 1/30/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
The post-production process is an often underestimated one, both in the amount of work it necessitates and in its shaping of the final product. From an outside perspective, viewers may assume that a film’s visuals are simply captured on-set, in camera, and transferred to screen without much alteration. In reality, color grading the camera’s images is an art form unto itself. Over at Hammer to Nail, Chad Hartigan, director of last year’s Sundance Next inclusion This is Martin Bonner, interviews his colorist Alex Bickel, whose fingerprints were on a whopping six titles in Park City earlier this month: Blue Ruin; Camp X-Ray; Kumiko, The […]...
- 1/30/2014
- by Sarah Salovaara
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
"There's no palm trees in Portland." It was this simple observation that changed the course of Aaron Katz's third feature from being a family drama into a thriller and may well change the course of his career. Not that any change is necessary on Katz's part, but "Cold Weather" represents the film that could push the conversation about the writer/director beyond the cineastes who bring up his name to impress in conversation like a well-kept secret, knowing full well that loaning the DVD double feature of his first two films "Dance Party USA" and "Quiet City" is akin to turning a friend onto some really good drugs. Whereas the director's last films indeed felt like trips - beautifully composed and immaculately realized dramas that captured the exuberance of youth - his latest, which sees Doug and Gail, a brother and sister (Cris Lankenau and Trieste Kelly Dunn) try...
- 2/5/2011
- by Stephen Saito
- ifc.com
ABC's "Pushing Daisies" and a Jaguar commercial called "XF Hush" led the pack Thursday as the Hollywood Post Alliance presented its third annual HPA Awards to the top behind-the-scenes talent working in motion pictures, television and commercials.
The event at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles also honored Elizabeth Daley, dean of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, with its Charles S. Swartz Award for outstanding contribution in the field of postproduction and Ron Burdett with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
"Daisies" earned trophies for TV color grading for the episode "The Fun in Funerals," with the prize going to Joe Hathaway of LaserPacific Media, and for TV editing for its "Pie-Lette" episode, edited by Stuart Bass.
Jaguar's "Xf Hush" took home awards for commercial color grading for Alex Bickel of Outside Editorial and commercial editing for Neil Gust of Outside Editorial.
Engineering Excellence Awards went to Quantel, FastSoft and Panasonic.
The event at the Skirball Center in Los Angeles also honored Elizabeth Daley, dean of the USC School of Cinematic Arts, with its Charles S. Swartz Award for outstanding contribution in the field of postproduction and Ron Burdett with its Lifetime Achievement Award.
"Daisies" earned trophies for TV color grading for the episode "The Fun in Funerals," with the prize going to Joe Hathaway of LaserPacific Media, and for TV editing for its "Pie-Lette" episode, edited by Stuart Bass.
Jaguar's "Xf Hush" took home awards for commercial color grading for Alex Bickel of Outside Editorial and commercial editing for Neil Gust of Outside Editorial.
Engineering Excellence Awards went to Quantel, FastSoft and Panasonic.
- 11/7/2008
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The films "Iron Man" and "Into the Wild" and the TV series "Pushing Daisies" received two nominations each for the Hollywood Post Alliance's third annual HPA Awards, which were announced Tuesday. The awards will be held on Nov. 6 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles.
The awards, launched in 2006, acknowledge creative and technical excellence in the art, science and craft of postproduction.
At the awards, dean of the USC School of Cinematic Arts Elizabeth M. Daley will receive the first Charles S. Swartz Award, which honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of postproduction.
The nominees for the HPA Awards are:
Outstanding color grading feature film in a DI process
"Iron Man"
Steven J. Scott (EFilm)
"Sweeney Todd"
Stefan Sonnenfeld
"Kite Runner"
Mike Sowa (LaserPacific Media Corporation)
???
Outstanding color grading, television
"Pushing Daisies," "The Fun in Funerals"
Joe Hathaway (LaserPacific Media Corporation)
"Espn: The Masters"
Siggy Ferstl (Riot)
"Andromeda Strain,...
The awards, launched in 2006, acknowledge creative and technical excellence in the art, science and craft of postproduction.
At the awards, dean of the USC School of Cinematic Arts Elizabeth M. Daley will receive the first Charles S. Swartz Award, which honors individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the field of postproduction.
The nominees for the HPA Awards are:
Outstanding color grading feature film in a DI process
"Iron Man"
Steven J. Scott (EFilm)
"Sweeney Todd"
Stefan Sonnenfeld
"Kite Runner"
Mike Sowa (LaserPacific Media Corporation)
???
Outstanding color grading, television
"Pushing Daisies," "The Fun in Funerals"
Joe Hathaway (LaserPacific Media Corporation)
"Espn: The Masters"
Siggy Ferstl (Riot)
"Andromeda Strain,...
- 9/23/2008
- by By Gregg Kilday
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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