One take a look at Mathew Rudenberg’s filmography, and one query involves thoughts: how does he do all of it? The South African-born cinematographer has lensed all the things from the moody, arthouse visuals of Ultrasound to the explosive comedy of Die Hart 2, from cult TV hits like Kroll Present to the Emmy-winning polish of Actors on Actors.
And now, he is crushing a number of episodes on ABC and Hulu’s Excessive Potential.
However it’s his deep expertise in documentary filmmaking—which has taken him from Folsom jail to a Juggalo rally and earned him a SXSW Grand Jury Prize for The Work—that could be the key to his success.
We spoke with Mathew about his course of and the way nonfiction taking pictures informs his scripted work, and his recommendation for DPs trying to keep away from being pigeonholed.
Let’s dive in.
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NFS: Hello Mathew! Having joined Excessive Potential in its second season, how do you adapt to a present’s present visible language whereas additionally hoping to innovate upon it?
Mathew Rudenberg: One of many issues I like most about taking pictures tv is that it’s iterative. You possibly can all the time take a look at what’s been achieved and ask, “How can we good this? “Becoming a member of Excessive Potential in Season 2 was an awesome alternative to take a step again, breathe, and actually consider what was working and the place we may elevate issues.
Constructing a visible language all the time begins with story and character. At its core, Excessive Potential is about an unconventional character, Morgan Gillory, whose presence brings colour and unpredictability right into a grounded police procedural world. There’s a pure rigidity in these two worlds colliding, and I needed the visuals to mirror that.
For the police procedural facet, my co-DP Amanda Treyz and I fully re-evaluated our digicam and lens bundle. We spent days testing cameras, filters, and lenses at my longtime digicam home, Keslow, after which reviewed the footage with our incredible colorist, Cody Baker, at Firm 3.
We determined to stick with the Alexa 35 due to its unbelievable vary and pores and skin tones, however Cody constructed a brand-new present LUT that basically introduced out the blues within the shadows. We additionally switched our major lens bundle to the Arri Grasp Primes, paired with zooms, for a clear however cinematic really feel.
For Morgan’s inside world, my longtime collaborator and visionary producing director Nancy Hower inspired me to actually push issues creatively. We zeroed in on the “Morgan Visions” as a spot to experiment and elevate the present’s visible storytelling, taking them past what was achieved in Season 1.
NFS: Are you able to inform us extra in regards to the “Morgan Visions” that play such a vital position within the present? Do you might have any favorites from this season?
MR: The “Morgan Visions” are moments the place the viewers will get to peek inside Morgan’s good and quirky thoughts as she connects seemingly unrelated info to resolve a thriller. They need to ship info, however all the time by means of her lens—her humor, her associations, her worldview.
Our showrunner, Todd Harthan, needed to maneuver away from greenscreen and inventory footage and as an alternative floor these moments in actuality. That doesn’t imply we by no means use CG to enhance issues, however we attempt to do as a lot as potential virtually—even when it’s imperfect. That handmade high quality is a part of the allure.
For instance, we wanted a time-lapse of a plant rising, however didn’t have time to shoot it virtually. As an alternative of utilizing CG, we constructed a faux sq. of floor, pulled the plant by means of a gap, and performed it backward so it appeared prefer it was sprouting. It’s foolish, tactile, and it really works superbly.
To distinguish the look of those sequences, we use Historical Optics Petzvelux lenses, probe lenses, and tilt-shift lenses to craft uncommon visuals. Past that, we’ve created all types of seems to be—from Forties newsreels to 8mm Vietnam hostage movies to Nineteen Eighties academic children’ exhibits. There’s even a really particular cameo I can’t spoil but, however viewers are going to like it.
NFS: How does Excessive Potential examine to your work on different collection, equivalent to Blue Mountain State or The Kroll Present?
MR: Certainly one of my major targets as a DP is to search out the appropriate search for every present quite than impose a private signature. I like utilizing all of the instruments accessible to craft a method that finest communicates the tone, characters, and story. In that sense, I consider my strategy as a bit chameleonic—I’ve constructed completely totally different visible types for comedies, horror, and sci-fi.
Each mission expands my toolbox of methods and concepts. Kroll Present, specifically, was an awesome primer for Excessive Potential, as a result of I labored with DP Christian Sprenger to design quite a lot of seems to be relying on the sketch or section.
That have of continually shifting tone and texture—from heightened parody to naturalism—actually helped put together me for a present like Excessive Potential, which walks the road between grounded drama and playful creativeness.
We had been taking pictures on an early RED digicam that permit us differ the sensor dimension. For the cinematic items, we’d use the total sensor with primes for a wealthy depth of area, whereas for the reality-style segments, we’d crop the sensor to 16mm dimension to imitate ENG cameras. I’ve taken the same strategy on Excessive Potential utilizing the Alexa.
And whereas Blue Mountain State was a cult comedy, there’s the same humorousness in Excessive Potential that balances and heightens the dramatic moments.
Mathew RudenbergPhoto by Rob Schroeder
NFS: I’m fascinated by your work because the cinematographer on Selection’s Actors on Actors collection. What has that have taught you about being a artistic or the business at massive?
MR: I’ve shot Actors on Actors for a few decade now, and it’s been one of the crucial rewarding long-term tasks I’ve been part of. The present has advanced lots—it began with extra of a talk-show vibe, however after going distant throughout the pandemic, we returned with a a lot cleaner, minimal aesthetic that I actually love.
That stripped-down strategy places all of the give attention to two actors having an intimate, sincere dialog. Through the years, I’ve had the privilege of sitting simply off-camera from virtually each main actor in movie and tv, listening as they open up about their inspirations, struggles, and triumphs. It’s given me a a lot deeper appreciation for his or her humanity.
Throughout the business, there’s numerous discuss AI-generated tales and performances. However after witnessing these conversations firsthand, I’m satisfied that no expertise—regardless of how superior—can change the lived expertise, ardour, and emotional reality of an actual particular person.
NFS: Excessive Potential deftly walks a tightrope between comedy and drama. How do you navigate that stability from a visible perspective?
MR: There’s a bent in our business to make binary distinctions— dividing exhibits into “comedy” and “drama.” However that’s actually only a sensible separation based mostly on runtime. In reality, all good comedy has drama in it, and all good drama has humor.
I do have slightly saying: “Comedy is clear, drama is soiled.” By that I imply that when taking pictures comedy, I typically go for clear singles—particularly since there’s normally improv and matching might be tough—whereas in drama I like to incorporate each actors in body to really feel the emotional weight between them. However that’s hardly a hard-and-fast rule.
In Excessive Potential, the one moments that lean overtly comedic are the Morgan Visions, since they exist exterior of actuality. Typically we even finish these with a wink to the digicam, breaking the fourth wall. For the remainder of the present, I don’t suppose when it comes to comedy versus drama—I feel when it comes to emotional reality.
For instance, my episode “11 Minutes” tells a heartbreaking story of two very totally different grownup youngsters attempting to reconnect with their dying dad and mom. If it had been shot with a comedic sensibility, it wouldn’t land the identical means emotionally.
NFS: What’s the collaboration like among the many division heads on Excessive Potential?
MR: Some of the important collaborations is with our manufacturing designer, Valerie Inexperienced, and artwork director, Ryan Suchon. Since we keep away from greenscreen and inventory footage, every Morgan Imaginative and prescient requires a bodily set—typically constructed for just some seconds of display time.
For instance, one Morgan Imaginative and prescient was initially written as spinning journal covers flying into body—a easy submit impact. I advised we print every cowl and bodily throw them onto a small set dressed to match every headline. Val ended up constructing little environments—a swamp, a building website, a gymnasium—all just some ft sq..
For one more scene, Ryan constructed a large lock so we may push a probe lens on the digicam by means of it to disclose a prison selecting it from the opposite facet.
Our complete crew loves that we do issues virtually. I can see our particular results coordinator, Jonathan Kombrinck, mild up each time we resolve to attain one thing in-camera, like determining a secure option to simulate a thermite response burning by means of glass.
NFS: Are there every other genres you’d wish to discover?
MR: As I’ve stated, I like tailoring a glance to every mission, and what excites me most is once I get to construct a whole world by means of cinematography—as I’ve achieved on a few of the sci-fi tasks I’ve shot, just like the Nolan-esque characteristic Ultrasound for Rob Schroeder, which performed at Tribeca in 2021.
I grew up studying sci-fi paperbacks from my dad’s library, and I’ve all the time been impressed by the epic worlds of filmmakers like Villeneuve and Kubrick. However I’m simply as amazed by what might be achieved on a smaller scale—movies like Shane Carruth’s Upstream Coloration or Caldwell and Earl’s Prospect.
So a dream of mine would positively be to shoot a sci-fi collection, or a number of extra options in that area.
NFS: Is there the rest you’d wish to share about Excessive Potential or your upcoming work?
MR: I couldn’t finish an interview with out mentioning how unbelievable Kaitlin Olson is—each as an EP and as an actor. She’s the guts of the present and deeply concerned in each facet, from idea to efficiency. Working along with her is an absolute pleasure, and I’m in awe of all the things she brings to the manufacturing each single day.
We’re nonetheless in the course of taking pictures Season 2, and there’s a lot nice stuff developing that I can’t look forward to audiences to see—together with a killer automotive chase we shot proper right here in LA, with a few of the finest stunt drivers within the enterprise, superbly orchestrated by our stunt coordinator, Kimberly Shannon.
If anybody’s curious in regards to the craft behind Excessive Potential, I like sharing behind-the-scenes seems to be at our digicam and lighting setups on Instagram — you will discover me at @rudenberg_dp.
