The Cinematography of NTTD - Linus Sandgren

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  • Junglist_1985Junglist_1985 Los Angeles
    edited July 2021 Posts: 1,036
    I think it’s going to be a gorgeous film. There’s a slight chance it may come across as comicbook-y, but the Jamaica, Norway, and London scenes look very sharp/Bondian. Variety, if nothing else. Also we haven’t seen this much purple since OHMSS!
  • Posts: 655
    While I agree that all this looks beautiful I can’t help but feel pretentiousness and artyness in all this. When I watch a Bond film I shouldn’t feel like I’m looking at the Sistine Chapel or some magnificent artwork. There’s a touch of artificiality in all this. That’s what we’ve been getting ever since we went with these Oscar-winning arty cinematographers.

    I miss the days of workmanlike cinematographers like Ted Moore or Michael Reed who could give you a beautiful looking film by just filming the beautiful on-location scenery. Just check out DN or TB or OHMSS. It felt “real” and I didn’t feel like I was watching some artwork.

    Actually a lot of these images from Sandgren just have this “too clean” look to it. Too sanitized. Almost CGI looking. Too futuristic or something. I’m thinking Kubrick or Ridley Scott Blade Runner. Not really the vibe I want from a Bond film.
  • MakeshiftPythonMakeshiftPython “Baja?!”
    Posts: 8,213
    @ringfire211 that’s a bunch of nonsense. All cinematography is art and we’ve seen those you cite also delve into making surreal shots. Like when Dent enter’s that interrogation room at Crab Key to report to Dr. No. In OHMSS when we get Campbell’s view of Blofeld who’s almost obscured as a silhouette in the blinding sun. All photography is artificial, right down to how light and shadow is utilized. I never think I’m looking at the real world with Bond, at least for the most part. The 80s probably had the least impressive cinematography, aside from a few highlights like that shot in TLD with the Afghan sunrise.
  • I can definitely see the aesthetic not being to some people's taste, admittedly, it took a couple watches of the trailer for it to grow on me, but I do like the fact that the films have become more visually striking and I'd be surprised if that changes.

    Babs and MGW are big proponents of Cubby's "Put all the money on the screen" mantra, and I think a big part of that is having the best looking movie possible, and I don't think a return to more workmanlike production values really aligns with what they're about.

    Also, I'd argue that for its time OHMSS was very stylish and visually interesting.
  • MakeItWorkforYouMakeItWorkforYou originating out of Belarus.
    Posts: 20
    Sandgren has proven himself in the crucible of his experience. Now, he will deliver stellar picture quality in NTTD and I think even nab a nom.
  • Jordo007Jordo007 Merseyside
    Posts: 2,641
    I love all the colour and clarity in NTTD. I'm not clued up on the technical terms, but it seems more rich and clear than I expected

    The Matera scenes (especially the scenes with Madeline) are interesting because it looks like a flashback or dream sequence with the colours and it almost looks too perfect, compared with the rest of the film. It'll be exciting to see how that works in the film
  • Posts: 655
    @ringfire211 that’s a bunch of nonsense. All cinematography is art and we’ve seen those you cite also delve into making surreal shots. Like when Dent enter’s that interrogation room at Crab Key to report to Dr. No. In OHMSS when we get Campbell’s view of Blofeld who’s almost obscured as a silhouette in the blinding sun. All photography is artificial, right down to how light and shadow is utilized. I never think I’m looking at the real world with Bond, at least for the most part. The 80s probably had the least impressive cinematography, aside from a few highlights like that shot in TLD with the Afghan sunrise.
    The interrogation room in DN is just a great set built by Ken Adam and combined with Joseph Wiseman’s voice coming through creates a sinister atmosphere. But it’s all shot in a very natural way. Those colors are REAL, not graded or filtered or whatever they do these days that make films look so artificial and computer generated. That’s what I love about the old films!

    And give me the work of Alan Hume and Alec Mills from the 80s over the stuff we see today... ANYDAY! Their work on FYEO, OP, and TLD is especially gorgeous!

  • MakeItWorkforYouMakeItWorkforYou originating out of Belarus.
    Posts: 20
    We need a production designer with some vision like KenAdam. They're all gone.
  • PropertyOfALadyPropertyOfALady Colders Federation CEO
    Posts: 3,675
    Looking back at the trailers and TV spots, it's pretty fascinating to me how the look of this movie turned out. All of Fukunaga's work looks great, but the doesn't necessarily have a distinct visual style (other than being well composed and relatively naturalistic) and similarly for Sandgren (though his eye for colour is well known).

    What we ended up getting in the trailers completely caught me off guard. In my mind I was expecting something along the lines of CR and SF with a lush colour palate but relatively natural, textured and realistic but No Time to Die feels much more impressionistic, colourful, glossy, and somewhat artificial looking (not in a negative sense) and not really in line with anything I've seen from Fukunaga before. So much of it feels soft, romantic, and dreamy possibly due to the abundance of pink and purple, which is an interesting choice for a Bond film.

    It's the Fukunaga Sunset Scramble! I think that look is fairly consistent with Sandgren's work on La La Land, and Fukunaga's ominous dreamscapes in True Detective and Maniac.

    Case in point:

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  • MakeItWorkforYouMakeItWorkforYou originating out of Belarus.
    Posts: 20
    Sandrine has created shots in LA LA Land that where so powerful it made me well up. Not cry mind you. But it just shows. Sandrine is an artist par excellence. Expect noms.
  • Posts: 655
    Sandrine has created shots in LA LA Land that where so powerful it made me well up. Not cry mind you. But it just shows. Sandrine is an artist par excellence. Expect noms.
    Sandrine doesn’t like it that his name sounds like sardine. Lol!
  • MakeItWorkforYouMakeItWorkforYou originating out of Belarus.
    Posts: 20
    Sandrine has created shots in LA LA Land that where so powerful it made me well up. Not cry mind you. But it just shows. Sandrine is an artist par excellence. Expect noms.
    Sandrine doesn’t like it that his name sounds like sardine. Lol!

    Blame the spellcheck lad... sorry about that. Linus SANDGREN!!!!!
  • marketto007marketto007 Brazil
    Posts: 3,277
  • Posts: 4,410
    Linus Sandgren's photography is so glossy and pretty 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

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  • Posts: 571
    Linus Sandgren's photography is so glossy and pretty 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

    A6LiNAO.jpeg
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    O8pf6LR.png
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    SYGQEOd.png

    That one of Bond looking up is religious as hell, very last episode of True Detective too.
  • jake24jake24 Sitting at your desk, kissing your lover, eating supper with your familyModerator
    Posts: 10,592
    BMB007 wrote: »
    Linus Sandgren's photography is so glossy and pretty 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

    A6LiNAO.jpeg
    d4cK39y.png
    O8pf6LR.png
    lGlkcT0.png
    SYGQEOd.png

    That one of Bond looking up is religious as hell, very last episode of True Detective too.
    I was just thinking that.
  • Junglist_1985Junglist_1985 Los Angeles
    Posts: 1,036
    Question becomes:

    Will Linus unseat the master? (Deakins in Skyfall?)
  • Question becomes:

    Will Linus unseat the master? (Deakins in Skyfall?)

    The styles are so different it’s hard for me to compare but there are some visuals in Skyfall (Shanghai fight, casino entrance, Skyfall lodge fire) that are hard to imagine another one topping
  • edited September 2021 Posts: 4,410
    BMB007 wrote: »
    Linus Sandgren's photography is so glossy and pretty 😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍😍

    A6LiNAO.jpeg
    d4cK39y.png
    O8pf6LR.png
    lGlkcT0.png
    SYGQEOd.png

    That one of Bond looking up is religious as hell, very last episode of True Detective too.

    God, you're right....I'm getting True Detective finale vibes.

    Also, I noticed that the colour-grading in the trailers are different. The new trailer screengrabs are at the top of both images. I'm still undecided which I prefer, but it seems that Fukunaga and Sandgren have tried to give the motorcycle chase a more 'magic hour' filter.

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    Also, it seems that in some shots that the colour in Craig's eyes has been enhanced in the DI.........Or they are that blue. Which do we think?

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  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    Posts: 4,343
    I prefer the updated one.
  • Posts: 859
    The old one was better.
  • CraigMooreOHMSSCraigMooreOHMSS Dublin, Ireland
    Posts: 8,231
    The eye colour of Dan has always been played up I think. I often wondered if he was even wearing contacts during Skyfall. They're amazingly blue. I wouldn't be surprised if they did something to enhance them.

    Either way, I think it's great. It adds to his magnetism a bit.
  • matt_umatt_u better known as Mr. Roark
    Posts: 4,343
    Maratea mon amour.

    This shot here has been upgraded quite brilliantly.

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  • Jordo007Jordo007 Merseyside
    Posts: 2,641
    I'm on the fence about the cinematography I've seen so far in the trailers, I'll wait and see the final product.
    Some shots look breathtaking, others look too much like a dream sequence, as if the colours are almost too perfect. I can't put my finger on it
  • HeinsenbergHeinsenberg France
    Posts: 48
    The cinematography of No Time To Die looks stunning, but I think Deakins will remain my favorite. Sandgren is an excellent colourist, but there is always something a little blurry about his images. Deakins work is always incredibly clean and perfect.
  • The cinematography of No Time To Die looks stunning, but I think Deakins will remain my favorite. Sandgren is an excellent colourist, but there is always something a little blurry about his images. Deakins work is always incredibly clean and perfect.

    Very big stylistic difference between the two, but I like them both. Skyfall was much more sharp, slick, and contemporary. Everything was so meticulously framed and crystalline clear it was stunning but still felt tactile and real. No Time to Die definitely has this very ethereal, hazy, dreamlike sense of heightened reality.
  • HeinsenbergHeinsenberg France
    Posts: 48
    Your description is perfect. Let's say I have a natural preference for Deakins sharpness but can't wait to see NTTD on the big screen.
  • Posts: 490
    The cinematography of No Time To Die looks stunning, but I think Deakins will remain my favorite. Sandgren is an excellent colourist, but there is always something a little blurry about his images. Deakins work is always incredibly clean and perfect.

    Very big stylistic difference between the two, but I like them both. Skyfall was much more sharp, slick, and contemporary. Everything was so meticulously framed and crystalline clear it was stunning but still felt tactile and real. No Time to Die definitely has this very ethereal, hazy, dreamlike sense of heightened reality.

    I agree with this. NTTD has the same dreamlike, hazy vibe that Spectre had, but instead of it looking old-fashioned with muted colors it looks extremely modern, almost futuristic.
  • Posts: 571
    The eye colour of Dan has always been played up I think. I often wondered if he was even wearing contacts during Skyfall. They're amazingly blue. I wouldn't be surprised if they did something to enhance them.

    Either way, I think it's great. It adds to his magnetism a bit.

    I don't know if you've ever seen "Knives Out", but his eyes are ABSURDLY blue there. Maybe it's something they just do in all his films, really make them pop out through movie magic, but it's crazy how blue they look.

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    Like good lord!
  • fadetoblack7fadetoblack7 Chicago IL
    Posts: 60
    Is it safe to say we can expect a long tracking shot somewhere in this film?
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