Matthew Libatique, ASC, PART 1: The Prom, Pi, working with director Darren Aronofsky and his early career

Cinematographer Matty Libatique's work ranges from mind-bending
features like Pi, Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream to huge Marvel
movies such as Iron Man and Birds of Prey. He enjoys balancing his
work on both large films and smaller indies in order to feel
satisfied and to keep his craft sharp. For his latest film, The
Prom, Matty met with director Ryan Murphy about the project. The
star-studded cast and the message about gay acceptance appealed to
him. But once Matty saw the Broadway play he was concerned- he had
never shot a musical before, and he wasn't quite sure how to
translate a big Broadway musical into a movie. Matty had worked on
several music videos and was the cinematographer of 2018's A Star
is Born, which featured musical performances, but it was incredibly
gritty and grounded in reality compared to The Prom's bubbly
feel-good fantasy world. He and director Ryan Murphy met and knew
they wanted to keep it big and colorful while not going too over
the top. Murphy loves working with color, and the two decided The
Prom had to feature two distinct palettes of colors- the
yellow/browns of normal Indiana contrasted with the bright pastels
of “the prom” and the theater people who descend on the town. For
the final scene in the movie where all the characters go to the
all-inclusive prom, Matty and his team utilized a full array of
lights on stage that they programmed on the fly. Growing up, Matty
was always attracted to light, camera and composition in movies,
but he didn't understand what anybody did on a film set until he
saw Do The Right Thing. The Spike Lee film made him realize he
wanted to make movies. He went to AFI film school along with
director Darren Aronofsky and the two bonded right away. They began
making movies together in a partnership that continues today. Matty
says of his long relationship with Darren Aronofsky that when you
keep working with the same directors, it's a sign you're doing the
right thing and dedicating your craft to the right ideas. Their
first feature together, Pi, had to be created within the parameters
of an incredibly low budget. Aronofsky couldn't afford to shoot
color film, only Super 16mm black and white reversal, so Pi had a
grainy, gritty look and style immediately. A few scenes in Pi use a
body-mounted rig to give it a first-person perspective. Matty and
Aranofsky first saw the rig used by Icelandic cinematographers
Eidur and Einar Snorri, now known as a Snorricam, and knew they
wanted to use it in Pi- but the key was to use it sparingly.
Matty's film, The Prom, is currently on Netflix. He is currently
shooting the film, Don't Worry Darling, directed by Olivia Wilde.
Hear our 2019 interview with Matty Libatique:
https://www.camnoir.com/ep33/ Listen for Matty Libatique, Part 2,
coming next week! He talks about Tigerland, The Fountain, working
with Spike Lee, Iron Man and more. Find Matty Libatique: Instagram
@libatique Find out even more about this episode, with extensive
show notes and links: http://camnoir.com/ep120/ Sponsored by Hot
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