Capturing the essence of The Substance: Benjamin Kracun, BSC

In The Substance, Elisabeth Sparkle (Demi Moore) is an aging
celebrity fitness instructor who's fired once she turns 50. She
injects herself with a black market drug that creates Sue (Margaret
Qualley), a younger, more perfect version of herself. While
initially tempted by the promise of renewed youth and fame, she
soon realizes that the drug comes with a set of unexpected and
dangerous side effects. The body horror film explores unrealistic
beauty standards and the dangers of worshiping fame and youth.
Though he wasn't a horror fanatic, cinematographer Benjamin Kračun
grew up with David Cronenberg and John Carpenter movies. Ben
admired visionary director Coralie Fargeat's work on Revenge.
Likewise, she was impressed with his work on Promising Young Woman.
Ben read through the script of The Substance, then immediately
read it again. “I felt emotional reading it,” says Ben. “I don't
usually feel that when reading these types of genre scripts. Even
though it speaks more to women aging, I think everybody can relate
to the fact that we're all aging, everyone has issues. The minute I
read it I was just so in tune with Elisabeth." Together, Ben and
Fargeat have crafted a film that's equal parts grotesque and darkly
satirical, a twisted reflection of our obsession with youth and
beauty. The Substance begins in a glamorized Hollywood world that
feels romantic and timeless but quickly descends into a nightmare.
Ben and Fargeat chose to go old school, using a Translight backdrop
on the apartment soundstage for the view overlooking Los Angeles.
To differentiate Elisabeth's world from Sue's, Ben used a special
pink swirl lens to emphasize color and vibrance on Sue. In
contrast, he chose to light Elisabeth with hard light and cooler,
bluer colors. Ben found that spherical lenses worked best for the
numerous closeups in the film and against the Translight backdrop.
As Elisabeth's world crumbles, so do the camera angles, and Ben
tested them all during prep. Initially, the frames are meticulously
centered, reflecting the order she desperately clings to. But as
chaos ensues, the angles become more extreme, mirroring her
unraveling sanity. The set for Elisabeth's bathroom was huge and
completely white, and a good deal of the action takes place in that
room. It was challenging to shoot in that space, but it became a
white canvas for Ben's masterful use of camera movement. Fargeat
meticulously storyboarded every gruesome transformation, ensuring
seamless transitions between practical effects and subtle digital
tweaks. All the special effects in the movie were done practically,
with special builds, makeup, prosthetics, and movie blood. Digital
VFX was used only to help stitch together or smooth out some of the
makeup and prosthetic effects. Rather than use a second unit, Ben
shot every single frame alongside Fargeat, who wanted to give the
film her full attention. This included many top down perspective
shots throughout the film, along with several inserts and close
ups. Once the cast was wrapped, Ben and the crew moved on to the
close-up shots and inserts of the lab on a soundstage where “the
substance” is created. In the end, it was the longest shoot he'd
ever done at over 100 days. When The Substance premiered at Cannes,
Ben was amazed at the audience's reaction. “No one had seen it. We
didn't know what the reaction was going to be,” he says. “It was
amazing to see it come together in the cinema. That film stands
out, it changes with a large audience. When they understand it's
satirical, they laugh through the third act.” The Substance is in
theaters now. Find Benjamin Kračun: www.benjaminkracun.com
Instagram: @benkracun Hear our previous interview with Ben Kračun
on Promising Young Woman: https://www.camnoir.com/ep116/ Sponsored
by Hot Rod Cameras: https://hotrodcameras.com/ The Cinematography
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