Cinematographer Eric Koretz on shooting the last season of Ozark and more

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 168: Eric Koretz Cinematographer Eric Koretz and our host Illya Friedman have known each other a long time, going back to when Eric blogged about the latest camera gear. Since then, Eric has become a very successful DP. His current work can be seen on the last and final season of the Netflix series, Ozark. Eric shot 4 episodes of the last half of the final season, including the show finale, “A Hard Way to Go” directed by Jason Bateman. Eric loved the look of Ozark, and knew he would have to adapt to the established shooting style of the show. However, he knew that he wanted to bring his own look to it too. Anytime the crew is shooting outside, they begin blocking out the sun, keeping the outdoors very shadowy using negative fill techniques. Eric felt Ozark was a cinematographer's dream to shoot- they use every tool to tell the story, and the producers allow the cinematographers to do what they wish within the style parameters. The show is shot more like a movie than a TV show, with time allowed to let scenes have space and play out, allowing the DP to shoot a closeup on a glass of whiskey or shoot a long shot out a window as a car pulls up, creating tension. Eric found that Jason Bateman as a director and producer knows exactly what he wants and is very technical and precise as a craftsman. Eric first went to college for graphic design. He started making animated videos and applied to American Film Institute to learn more about shooting. While at AFI, he discovered that he really enjoyed cinematography and after graduation, began working in commercials. But the idea of storytelling through longer forms of film and television really appealed to Eric. His first feature was Comet with director Sam Esmail (Mr. Robot), and his second feature, Frank & Lola,  went to Sundance. Eric still shoots commercials as well, which is a great place to learn- commercial shoots tend to have a lot more resources, and these days commercials tend to be very creative, artistic and cinematic, with more crossover from film. Find Eric Koretz Instagram: @erickoretz_dp See all of the seasons of Ozark on Netflix. Close Focus: Dr. Strange in the Multiverse of Madness had a steep drop-off this week of 80% while Everything Everywhere All At Once, another multiverse movie, also had a drop-off but it was only down 11%. It's on track to become one of the highest grossing movies A24 has ever released. Illya's short end: Illya was just at the Pacific Northwest Lens Summit in Portland OR at Koerner Camera. The Lens Summit is a big gathering of lens techs and lens brands who were there showing off their new lens products. And someone who is always fun to see roaming Portland is The Unipiper. Ben's short end: The Slo Mo Guys who have a YouTube channel showing everything in slow motion. One of the most well known videos they've made show them shooting bullets through eggs, cranking a special Phantom camera up to 1 million frames per second. Sponsored by