From Actor to Auteur: Strange Darling DP Giovanni Ribisi, pt. 1

In the new horror film Strange Darling, a one-night stand at a
motel becomes a dangerous game of cat and mouse as the woman is
chased down by a serial killer. But nothing is what it seems as the
film is cleverly revealed in chapters out of sequence, allowing the
audience to slowly piece together the thriller. Giovanni Ribisi,
the cinematographer of Strange Darling, has been a familiar face on
screen for decades as an actor. Over the past 15 years, he's been
quietly honing his skills behind the camera on music videos and
commercials. Strange Darling is his first feature as a
cinematographer. After growing up on film sets and around cameras,
Giovanni was always curious about the mystery, magic and technology
of creating images on film. He says, “The difference between acting
and cinematography is, with acting, you start from a subjective
place where you want to work from the inside out on a character to
establish or understand the experience of what the writer had
intended for that character. (Cinematography) is the inversion of
that. It's an objective launching pad trying to get more subjective
for stories.” After working on the visually captivating film, Sky
Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), Giovanni began exploring
the world of visual effects. He enrolled at the Gnomon School in
North Hollywood to learn the basics, while continuing to act in
order to pay the bills. Giovanni and some partners formed the
visual effects company, Stereo D, which they eventually sold.
Though he continued acting, Giovanni turned his attention to
photography and cinematography, experimenting with film stock and
cameras for personal projects and music videos. Once Strange
Darling director JT Mollner sent Giovanni the script, they were on
the phone within 15 minutes discussing how they could make the film
on a tight budget with some of Giovanni's gear and resources.
Giovanni feels strongly that most filmmakers don't have the time to
really dig in and create a movie. Strange Darling was about $4
million dollars, and typically would have been granted 18 days to
shoot. Instead, they budgeted for a 32 day schedule, which allowed
Mollner to have time to make something in realistic terms, with a
humane schedule for the crew. Giovanni's choice to shoot Strange
Darling on 35mm film was a deliberate one. When a film is shot
digitally, Giovanni feels the camera crew is often just checking
off boxes, “hosing down” a scene with as many shots as possible
without much thought to the process as they go. He appreciates the
aesthetic qualities of film and the meticulous planning involved.
In contrast to the often frantic pace of digital filmmaking, he and
Mollner meticulously planned every shot, creating a detailed
shotlist that guided the entire production. The visual inspiration
for Strange Darling came from classic films of the 60s and 70s,
such as Mademoiselle, The Innocents, and The Devils. They worked
closely with the production designer to develop a unique color
palette for each scene, with vivid primary colors playing a huge
part in each scene. As the cinematographer, Giovanni was extremely
proud of a long dialogue scene in the film that was bathed in neon
blue light from the motel. The carefully crafted lighting and
composition create a visually striking and memorable moment.
Strange Darling showcases Giovanni's ability to create visually
stunning and thought-provoking work as a cinematographer. His
passion for filmmaking and transition from actor to cinematographer
is rare and inspiring. Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras
www.hotrodcameras.com The Cinematography Podcast website:
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