Polly Morgan ASC, BSC on shooting A Quiet Place Part II, Legion, working with John Krasinski, Ellen Kuras, Wally Pfister and more

When cinematographer Polly Morgan reads a script for the first
time, she finds herself immersed in images. Her cinematography
draws inspiration from art and art history and she finds visuals
speak to her on a fundamental level. For A Quiet Place Part II,
Polly knew it was important to reference Charlotte Bruus
Christensen's previous work on A Quiet Place and blend it
seamlessly with her own style. Each DP has their own cinematic
look, and she was able to settle into her cinematographic method
once the family leaves the farmhouse in the film. From the very
beginning, Polly talked with director John Krasinski about making
the film as immersive and subjective to the characters' experience
as possible. A Quiet Place achieved that look with Charlotte's
primarily handheld, tightly eye-level and over-the-shoulder
camerawork. With A Quiet Place Part II, Polly wanted to expand the
feel of the camera as the Abbot family's world grows a bit larger.
At its heart, the film is still a family drama about a mother and
her children, although there's a lot more action in Part II
compared to the first movie. She included many long oners that
start wide and then push into a closeup, combining a slow methodic
camera with fast paced, quick cuts to create a push and pull with
the viewer's emotions to keep them on the edge of their seats.
Polly and Krasinski decided to never cut away separately to the
creatures or the source of the danger- they always keep the danger
within the character's frame, with no escape from what is
happening, which keeps it as close and immersive as possible. She
and Krasinski prepped for a few weeks in New York City to discuss
the look of the film, before going to Buffalo to shoot. They talked
about the movie's rhythm, starting with a slower pace for the
prologue, giving the audience a feel for the Abbot's town and the
community before the monsters arrive. Polly found the script very
descriptive, providing a roadmap for the composition. Krasinski was
also clear on how much coverage for each scene was needed, and they
would often shoot a scene in one shot, then move on. Polly grew up
in the countryside in England and loved watching movies as a child.
As a teen, a film crew used their farmhouse as basecamp, and she
was fascinated to see how movies get made. She knew then that she
wanted to pursue a film career. After university in England, she
came to Los Angeles to attend AFI, but needed a job between
semesters to afford school. Polly learned that Inception was going
into production in England, found Wally Pfister's email, and he
hired her as a camera assistant on the film, which served as a
great learning experience. When she was first starting out, Polly
found it hard to find steady work, but she was able to work on
projects in the UK and bounce back and forth until she was hired to
shoot season three of Legion on FX. Polly loved the visual
surrealistic storytelling of Legion, where the camera plays such an
important role in creating the practical visual effects for the
show. She was also pleased to have the opportunity to DP for
director and cinematographer Ellen Kuras who directed an episode of
Legion. Polly is currently shooting the film, Where The Crawdads
Sing. You can watch A Quiet Place Part II currently playing in
theaters. Find Polly Morgan: https://www.pollymorgan.net/ Instagram
@pollymorgan Find out even more about this episode, with extensive
show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/ep127/ Sponsored by Hot
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