Checco Varese, ASC on THEM and working in the horror genre

Our returning guest Checco Varese, ASC talks to The Cinepod about
his latest work on the Amazon Prime show, THEM. As a trained
architect, Checco finds some of the same techniques are useful in
cinematography, such as understanding the use of space, flow,
color, art and construction. Having spatial awareness as a
cinematographer helps in understanding physically where the camera
can go to allow it enough room during set design. THEM is a period
piece about a Black family that moves to an all-white neighborhood
in 1950's Southern California, and the terror they experience at
the hands of their neighbors and a supernatural force. Checco and
showrunner/creator Little Marvin discussed at length how they
wanted THEM to look. Little Marvin described it as taking the
classic look of a 1950's movie with the camera language of 1970's
films like The French Connection and The Deer Hunter, using the
tricks of 1990's music videos and the technology of 2021. Checco
and fellow DP Xavier Grobet traded off shooting episodes, and they
both really enjoyed prepping and collaborating together. They
decided to avoid the color red in the set and costume design, so
that when red does appear in the show, it's shocking and more
frightening. Checco has been the director of photography on a few
horror films and series, but he is choosy about what kind of
frightening subject he wants to work on, and considers what the
subtext is beneath each story. Humanity has always tried to make
social injustice or social advancement digestible through a medium,
and the horror genre is a great way to push the envelope. Checco
sees a common thread in three of the scary projects he's shot. The
Strain was about vampire creatures that take over the world, which
are a metaphor for outsiders, or even immigrants. IT Chapter Two is
a drama about outsiders who have to deal with their past, and THEM
is about the horrors of racism, redlining and injustice. You can
watch THEM on Amazon Prime. Checco's latest show, Dopesick, a drama
series about the opioid crisis, will be streaming on Hulu in
October. Find Checco Varese: http://www.checcovarese.com/ Find out
even more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links:
http://camnoir.com/ep136/ Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras:
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