Cinemapodgrapher

How do two film crews come together to make one seamless blockbuster? In Part 2 of our Mortal Kombat series, 2nd Unit DP Pete McCaffrey takes us inside the relationship between Main Unit and Second Unit, explaining how every shot, every fight sequence and every lighting decision has to feel like it came from the same camera, even when it is being filmed by different crews. We explore the incredibl...

How do you turn a love of movies into a career? This week, Josh Calder sits down with comedian, filmmaker, podcaster and one of Australia's most trusted voices on cinema, Alexei Toliopoulos. From hosting trivia at the iconic Golden Age Cinema to building a career across stand up, documentaries, ABC film reviews and podcasting, Alexei has spent more than a decade helping audiences discover films th...

Stephen Windon ACS ASC has spent more than 50 years behind the camera, building a career that has taken him from the ABC in Sydney to some of Hollywood's biggest productions. A third-generation filmmaker and ACS Hall of Fame inductee, Stephen's credits include seven Fast & Furious films, Star Trek Beyond, The Gray Man, The Electric State and, most recently, Mortal Kombat 2. In Part 1 of our Mortal...

She helps hold together some of the biggest films in Hollywood, solving impossible problems with gravity, camera rigs and pure instinct. This week on Cinemapodgrapher, we are joined by legendary Key Grip Tana Dubbe. Starting out taking stills in New York before moving into film, Tanner has spent more than 25 years building a career across some of the industry's biggest productions including Iron M...

Johanna "Jojo" Coelho is redefining how modern television is shot. The cinematographer of the award winning HBO series The Pitt joins Lucas Tomoana to unpack the groundbreaking visual approach behind the show. Jojo shares how her journey from France to the American Film Institute shaped her path to becoming a director of photography in Hollywood. The conversation dives into the immersive camera st...

Ashley Connor turns comedy into something quietly unnerving, building images that feel like they are slipping out from under you. In this episode, the cinematographer behind HBO's The Chair Company shares how her roots in experimental film and microbudget features shaped a bold, instinct driven approach to image making. She unpacks her collaboration with the directors, shooting all eight episodes...

Oscar nominated cinematographer Michael Bauman has lived almost every corner of the lighting department, from best boy to gaffer to director of photography, shaping some of the most iconic imagery in modern cinema. At the centre of this conversation is One Battle After Another, the film that marks a defining chapter in his journey behind the camera and a turning point in his creative evolution. Mi...

Academy Award–nominated production designer Tamara Deverell joins the podcast following her Oscar-nominated work on Frankenstein , a visually operatic reimagining that stands as one of the most ambitious production design achievements in recent cinema. With a career spanning decades and long-standing collaborations with Guillermo del Toro , Tamara has helped shape richly textured worlds across fil...

At the age of 30, Jules O'Loughlin ASC ACS walked away from a successful career as a futures trader and made the decision to pursue cinematography full-time. After enrolling at AFTRS, he shot his first feature Kokoda , a film that helped launch his career in the Australian film industry. That decision set Jules on a path from local features to major international productions, leading to credits in...

When Ben Eeley ACO SOC is not camera operating, he spends his spare time running marathons, cycling, swimming and training for the Ironman. This episode explores how fitness and endurance play a role in camera operating, alongside Steadicam, wheels, conventional operating, using the ZeeGee and handheld work. Ben shares insight into the physical demands of the job, how he began his Steadicam career...

International camera operator Brett Hurd SOC joins us after a run on shows like The Handmaid's Tale, Mrs America, The Terminal List and American Primeval. We talk about the path that took him from early sports broadcasting and documentary work to operating on major dramas around the world. Brett shares how still photography shapes his eye, why mobility and body awareness matter for handheld, and h...

This week on Cinemapodgrapher, one of our new hosts, Hannah, sits down with acclaimed production designer Sue Chan, whose work spans Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, Where the Crawdads Sing, Colossal, and now the highly anticipated series Murderbot. Together they explore Sue's approach to world-building, the design of the AI-driven character at the heart of Murderbot, and how her backgro...

This week on Cinemapodgrapher , new host Josh Calder sits down with one of Australia's most respected dolly grips, Dave Shaw. With over 30 years in the industry and credits on War Machine , Thor: Ragnarok , The Hobbit , Avatar , Eat Pray Love , San Andreas , Furiosa , Nim's Island , and Pete's Dragon , Dave has seen it all from behind the camera. They unpack what it truly means to be a dolly grip,...

For many years Jacques Jouffret ASC was one of the world's top camera operators, winning the SOC Camera Operator of the Year award for his work on Into the Wild and contributing to multiple Transformers films, Swordfish, Seabiscuit, Deepwater Horizon, Man on Fire, Patriots Day and Lone Survivor. Today he is an acclaimed cinematographer whose credits include The Purge, Jack Ryan, Mile 22, Gran Turi...

The legendary team from Skywalker Sound, Supervising Sound Editor Al Nelson, Lead Sound Effects Editor Luke Dunn-Gielmuda, and Sound Design Assistant Andree Lin join us for Part 2 of F1, the movie. From working with Joseph Kosinski, collaborating with Sir Lewis Hamilton, to drawing lessons from Top Gun: Maverick, the team breaks down how they reconstructed the visceral sounds of Formula 1 racing....

Andor Season 2 has earned 14 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Cinematography. DP Christophe Nuyens SBC joins us to discuss his nominated work on Episodes 1–6. We talk about his journey through the Belgian, French, and English film industries, and his extended preproduction with director Ariel Kleiman, where they used ILM's live-vis system to plan shots. Christophe also shares why he prefers...

Born in Taiwan and raised in Australia, cinematographer Matthew Chuang ACS has always been drawn to telling stories rooted in culture and identity. After reaching a creative ceiling in Australia, he made the leap to Los Angeles where he connected with director Justin Chon. The two have since collaborated on multiple projects, most recently reuniting for Apple TV's epic series Chief of War . In thi...

The first digital imaging technician to join the podcast, Jason Bauer began his career using still photography for previs on productions shooting film. As cinematography shifted to digital, Jason trained other digital imaging technicians before eventually stepping into the role himself. Now one of the most sought-after DITs in the industry, he has worked on major productions around the world. In t...

From fighter jets to race cars, Dan Ming is a world-class 1st AC who loves tech. Dan Ming and his team are known for their work on Top Gun: Maverick, and now they've taken those lessons, pushing the boundaries even further, to bring you F1. We talk about the collaboration with some of the biggest brands in the game: Sony, Apple, and Panavision, and the camera builds that came out of it: Sony's Car...

DP Adam Newport-Berra and Camera Operator Mark Goellnicht SOC ACO are the powerhouse duo behind the lens of The Studio . In this episode, we dive into what it's really like working with comedy legends and co-directors Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg. Adam and Mark take us through the camera rigs they tested and how they meticulously choreographed scenes that feel like total chaos but are actually tig...

Cinematographer Ksenia Sereda takes us behind the scenes for The Last Of Us Season 2. It's clear from the start how deeply she loves what she does. She lives and breathes her work and her passion is infectious. In this episode, we break down everything from the custom-built Cooke lenses she helped design, shooting cast on horseback and the responsibility of being setup DP for the show. We dig into...

Chris Teague, an Emmy Award winning Director of Photography, has worked on a diverse slate of projects, from Russian Doll and Only Murders in the Building to entering the Star Wars universe with The Acolyte . In our conversation, we talk about his path into drama, the value of building strong creative relationships, and what it means to be a setup DP. We also get into preproduction, LUTs, fight ch...

Key Grip Adam "Skull" Kuiper and Best Boy Josh Calder lead one of Australia's top grip teams at AJK Grips. In this episode, we dive into how Skull earned his nickname, his journey into key gripping, and the art of building grip trucks from the ground up. Josh shares insights into the role of a Best Boy Grip and their shared vision for training the next generation of technicians. We also chat about...

Aiden Kelly is one of the world's leading remote pilots and the co-founder of XM2. He shares how he started out flying remote helicopters and running a hobby shop, which led to building XM2 into a global remote head company with offices in Australia, the US, the UK, and Korea. We talk about the early days of drone cinematography and how XM2 expanded into arm cars, e-bikes, cable cams, and RC track...

Mandy Walker AM ASC ACS's stunning cinematography has captivated audiences around the world. From Australia to Elvis , Snow White , and commercials for global brands like Chanel, Nike, Louis Vuitton, and Audi — her work is bold, emotional, and always cinematic. In this episode, Mandy shares how she carved her own path without film school, became a trailblazer for women in film, and developed her a...