Director Antoine Fuqua and cinematographer Robert Richardson on the Apple TV+ film, Emancipation

To tell the story of Emancipation, director Antoine Fuqua and
cinematographer Robert Richardson were influenced by the colors in
the famous photo "Whipped Peter," whose story and the photograph of
his scarred back is still one of the most famous photos documenting
the brutality of slavery today. They chose to desaturate the images
to a sepia-tone with just hints of color. Antoine also felt the
lack of color reflected the world of a slave- it's bleak and
hopeless, and he wanted the film to look beautiful but brutal. The
Louisiana swamps Peter must navigate through as he escapes also
looked more eerie and otherworldly with a lack of color. Antoine
says he and Bob spent a lot of time discussing the film, designing
shots, laying out storyboards, and going over the story more than
with any other cinematographer he worked with. Antoine wanted
Emancipation to show that a movie about slavery could also be a
taut, entertaining thriller. They both wanted to create an action
movie with sustained intensity throughout, but at its heart, Bob
saw the film as a love story about a man fighting against
insurmountable obstacles, on the run to get back to his family.
They decided to show the caring Peter has for his family in the
opening scene of the film, as Peter gently washes his wife's feet.
Bob chose to use long, sweeping one shots to build the tension
throughout the film, rather than relying on quick cutting. This
allowed the tension to build as the slaves run away into the
swamps. He and Antoine didn't do multiple takes or alternate shots
if they didn't think they needed it. Antoine created tension within
the railroad camp scenes with many layers of action- it wasn't
necessarily what was going on right in front of Will Smith's
character, but also what was happening to the men and overseers
behind him. As a director, Antoine always wanted to work with Bob
Richardson, but at first Bob said no to shooting Emancipation. Bob
says that as a white man, he didn't really feel comfortable making
a story about race. Antoine points out that most human beings could
feel compassion for someone else's story, and slavery exists across
races. Though it wasn't Bob's personal history, Emancipation was
telling the story of our history in America. Antoine Fuqua and
Robert Richardson are currently shooting a second project together.
Find Antoine Fuqua: Instagram @antoinefuqua Find Robert Richardson:
Instagram @robertbrichardson Emancipation can be streamed on Apple
TV+. Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras: www.hotrodcameras.com The
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