Killing It cinematographer Judd Overton

Killing It is a satiric comedy on Peacock starring Craig Robinson
as Craig Foster, an aspiring entrepreneur struggling to start his
business. The show pokes fun at the absurdities of American
capitalism, class, race, health care, and how it's all stacked
against the little guy. Cinematographer Judd Overton shot all
episodes of Killing It for both season one and season two. His
approach to shooting the comedy has always been to keep it
relatable and naturalistic, even though the characters are going
through things that might seem ridiculous. With three cameras, it
was also important to create a space for the actors to do their
best work- they would often improvise and try to sharpen their
jokes on set. Shooting with longer lenses gave them room to move.
The composition and lighting also have to play together for the
humor to hit. Each of the characters in Killing It have their own
episode, and the lighting is influenced by the places they're in,
such as a strip club or a huge mansion. Judd feels that planning is
essential, and he had to think on his feet to be able to change
blocking or the time of day a scene was shot. One scene in Killing
It from season two required a lot of stunt work and fight scene
blocking in an automotive chop shop, but the comedy beats weren't
working. Without the comedy beats, the fight scene just wasn't
going to play. They had to stop, reblock and shoot again to work
out how to make it feel funny. Judd grew up in the outback of rural
Australia, and his family would buy VHS movies for entertainment
and watch them over and over. The kids would then reenact the
movies, filming it with a camcorder, and edit them together.
Growing up in the driest permanently inhabited place on earth meant
that documentary crews would frequently come through, and Judd
would go and watch them work. It inspired him to become a
cinematographer, so he learned photography in high school and then
became a camera assistant through the Australian Cinematography
Society. He later attended the Australian Film Television and Radio
School (AFTRS), won several awards for his student work and started
getting offers to DP on larger films. Judd's next project is a
feature film called Totally Killer, a slasher comedy that will be
the closing night film at Fantastic Fest in Austin. It releases
October 6th on Amazon Prime. You can watch Killing It streaming on
Peacock. Find Judd Overton: www.juddoverton.com Instagram:
@juddovertondp Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com
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