Ben Kutchins, Emmy-nominated cinematographer of Ozark, on creating the look of the show, working with Jason Bateman, the Veronica Mars movie, Mozart in the Jungle

Cinematographer Ben Kutchins feels that in filmmaking, you have to
be fully committed to believing the story you're telling, and your
focus must be unwavering when shooting. There is no other story
happening in the world other than the story you're telling. This
single-mindedness has served Ben well when shooting the series
Ozark for Netflix, which is shot with very controlled light sources
and camera movements. Every scene in the show is planned out
carefully to reveal more about the story or the character. He and
director/producer Jason Bateman wanted it to always look dark and
shadowy, and many of the shots in the show are done as “oners,” or
one long take. It might take seven to ten takes to get the oner,
depending on how intricate it is. Before Ozark, Ben started off
exploring still photography as a teen, then landed an internship at
Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), which led to a production
assistant job at ILM. He had the opportunity to use the lab at
Lucasfilm to experiment and process film to understand how it could
look. But Ben knew his passion was film, so he enrolled at NYU Film
School in order to learn more and work with other young filmmakers
such as Rachel Morrison and Reed Morano. He shot about 60 short
films in two years, then worked on several indie films before
getting hired to shoot the Veronica Mars movie and then the Amazon
series, Mozart in the Jungle. Shooting Mozart in the Jungle gave
Ben the opportunity to work with and learn from very seasoned
directors. He thinks working in television has been an amazing
opportunity to collaborate with other DPs and that television has
helped him develop a style and hone his craft. You can find Ozark
season three streaming on Netflix. Find Ben Kutchins:
http://www.benkutchins.com/ Instagram: @benkutchins Find out even
more about this episode, with extensive show notes and links:
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