Acclaimed Cinematographer Jeff Cronenweth Shoots 1952 from a Distinctly 2021 Perspective A LENS INTO THE PAST To convey Lucille Ball’s deliberate and precise approach to I Love Lucy ’s zany comedy, Being the Ricardos re-creates a few unforgettable moments from the groundbreaking sitcom. Writer-director Aaron Sorkin and director of photography Jeff Cronenweth agreed the goal was to evoke the feeling of the show without replicating the look of its three-camera shooting style. According to Cronenweth, I Love Lucy cinematographer Karl Freund used massive amounts of flat light to offset the extreme contrast levels introduced by broadcast and television set technology of the time. “If you had walked on the sets, it would have been all gray tones with hundreds of lights,” he says.
“But I believe audiences today are so sophisticated that unless there’s a good reason to mimic the style of another era, you have to present it with the kind of detail and contrast younger people are familiar with.” For the black-and-white footage, Cronenweth used the compact RED Ranger camera system with the Monstro monochrome sensor and Arri DNA lenses, which use vintage optics to give each lens its own unique personality. “The Monstro sensor has all the pixels dedicated to black or white,” Cronenweth explains. “It has this beautiful silver tone, 50 ASA quality. The Arri lenses have some artifacts and aberrations that can be a bit unpredictable but add texture and quality you might not normally get. As far as I know, it’s the first time someone’s used the Arri DNA glass with the RED camera.” Ironically, for Being the Ricardos’ behind-the-scenes drama, Cronenweth often did employ multiple cameras. “When you’re filming an Aaron Sorkin script, the pace and the energy are so strong and the performances tend to overlap to create tension among the characters. In order to make it possible for an editor to cut that, whenever possible we used more than one camera to cover a scene from different angles.”
TUNGSTEN , LED AND NATURAL L I GHT combine to add warmth and a sense of authenticity to the visuals.
SORK I N ASKED CRONENWETH to find new ways of using lighting and cameras to enhance the story.
V I NTAGE GLASS lenses mounted on cutting-edge digital cameras help create the film’s unique look.
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