Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie cinematographers C. Kim Miles, Clair Popkin and Julia Liu

Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie explores the life of actor Michael J.
Fox in his own words. It's a moving and heartfelt documentary as he
talks about his rise to fame in the 1980's with the TV show Family
Ties, the Back to the Future movies, and what his life is like
living with Parkinson's Disease. Fox's story is told with personal
interviews, archival footage and reenactments. Cinematographers C.
Kim Miles, Julia Liu and Clair Popkin all worked separately on
different portions of Still, and all three are Emmy-nominated for
their work on the documentary. Julia served as the primary DP for
the interviews with Fox, discussing the look with director Davis
Guggenheim. They storyboarded the interviews, including shots and
lighting, with ideas for moods to evoke different parts of
Michael's life. Guggenheim wanted most of the interviews to feel
like they were locked off, just like the title. It provided a
contrast to the archival footage, where Fox is incredibly acrobatic
and frenetic.The interview and b-roll of present-day portions of
Fox's life were not completely verite- Julia would approach each
action with a plan, and do a few takes. DP Clair Popkin joined the
team when Still already had edited raw assemblies of scenes with
archival footage cut in. It provided him with a clear idea of how
to match and transition interview scenes in and out of the archival
video clips. Clair had worked with Guggenheim on several
documentary projects in the past, and he was able to step in and
shoot the interview portions Julia wasn't available for. Finally,
cinematographer C. Kim Miles shot all of the reenactment portions
of Still. He met with Guggenheim, who he considers to be the king
of planning, but also flexible enough to shoot off the cuff on the
day. Since the reenactments came in at the end of the process, Kim
found it tremendously helpful to see the rough cut and match the
look. He was able to create a softer, more idyllic look for Fox's
past memories. Kim and the crew spent 20 days shooting the
reenactments, and Fox personally thanked everyone for their part in
telling his story. For both Julia and Clair, it was very exciting
to work with Fox. It was not just a job- everyone was also a fan,
and Julia was thrilled to meet him. Clair felt so much joy and
positivity from Michael J. Fox, who was also a consummate
professional. Find Julia Liu: http://julialiufilm.com/about @jucliu
Find Clair Popkin: http://clairpopkin.com/ @clairpopkin Find C. Kim
Miles: https://ckimmiles.com/ @kimiles Still: A Michael J. Fox
Movie is currently on AppleTV+ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras:
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