Charlotte Bruus Christensen. Image via IMDb.
In the realm of popular contemporary films, 'A Quite Place' stands out for its bold choices. For one, dialogue in the film is quite minimal — characters have to stay silent in this dystopian upstate New York setting, lest they attract the monsters who hunt by sound. Secondly, the movie is shot on 35mm film, a rarity for films of the monster sort.
Cinematographer Charlotte Bruus Christensen, whose prior work includes 'Fences' and 'Molly's Game', explains the capturing 'A Quiest Place' in an interview with The Credits. The film, set in late summer, employs warm tones that bring about the beauty of the locations.
“The film is taking place in late summer, and we had all these golden fields and gold from the sun and grass. Every light was to add warmth, so what was white was actually warm...
Christensen also shot Denzel Washington's Fences' on film. Image via pilot.
Immediately when you think heavy VFX work and creatures and a lot of night, everybody thinks that digital would be the right method“And it might very well be, digital would have done a very good job. But it’s different, and that’s the thing. The warmth that we spoke about, the softness, the truth, the reference movies we spoke about, No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, they were all shot on film."
Christensen also felt that 35mm simplified the process:
"From a lighting perspective, the simplicity of shooting 35mm is you have your light meter, and you look on the set, you sit by the camera and it’s very analogue and I like that [....] You can create a simple, strong image. Having seen the movie, we’re very happy that we ended on film.”
Check out the full article, where she explains how she was able to incorporate the VFX of the creatures — Ingmar Bergman is even referenced. Other great resources are Christensen's interview with Kodak's podcast, 'The Kodakery', and her interview with Filmmaker Magazine. Enjoy.
- JG
Emily Blunt in 'A Quiet Place'.