Crafting Authenticity: Rodrigo Prieto’s approach to Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon”
The film Killers of the Flower Moon, directed by Martin Scorsese, is a western true-crime thriller that exposes the brutal killings of the Osage people in 1920s Oklahoma. The Osage became wealthy after oil was found on their land, but they faced greed and racism from white settlers who wanted to take their money and rights. The film is based on a book by David Grann, who uncovered the shocking history of this crime spree.
Rodrigo Prieto ASC AMC, the cinematographer of the film and a longtime collaborator of Scorsese was fascinated and outraged by the book: “I read it before I got the script and I was amazed by the story. The level of evil, racism and entitlement of the white settlers was appalling. I felt it was a very important story to tell.”
Scorsese also felt a strong connection to the story when he learned about it. “I started to visualize it — the characters, the setting, the action — and I knew I had to make it into a movie,” he says.
The film is about a rancher who plots to kill an Osage family for their oil rights, and how the script changed from a detective story to a character study. The cinematographer talks about working with Scorsese and the challenges of depicting the characters, especially Ernest, who is a complex villain.
Martin Scorsese’s ambition to shoot “Killers of the Flower Moon” on location at the Osage reservation in Oklahoma led to a deep collaboration with the Osage Nation. This collaboration began with Scorsese and his team forming a strong bond with Geoffrey Standing Bear, the Osage Nation’s Principal Chief, during a scouting trip in spring 2019. Chief Standing Bear emphasized the importance of accurately representing Osage history and culture, and Scorsese approached the project with immense respect and sensitivity.
Rodrigo Prieto, the cinematographer for the film, was heavily involved in location scouting, a process he had experienced in previous collaborations with Scorsese. Prieto joined the production designer on scouting trips, examining technical and logistical aspects while considering Scorsese’s specific shot requirements. When scouting the main street of Fairfax, Oklahoma, which ultimately didn’t meet the visual needs of the film, Prieto and the team pivoted to shooting in nearby Pawhuska, where they closed the main street and built new facades to suit the film’s aesthetic.
For “Killers of the Flower Moon,” the production team, led by production designer Jack Fisk, prioritized authenticity by repurposing existing structures or constructing them from scratch to align with the locations where the events took place on Osage land. Scorsese’s desire to capture vast landscapes initially led to a consideration of shooting in 3D, but this idea was discarded in favor of focusing on nature’s role in conveying the story’s depth and scope.
Nature became central to creative discussions, particularly from the Osage perspective, with sweeping landscapes enhancing the film’s authenticity. Prieto aimed for naturalistic visuals, using a LUT called “Regular Film LUT” to reproduce colors true to the location’s ambiance.
Breathtaking landscapes contrasted with the darker themes of death and deception, emphasizing the film’s focus on capturing the essence of Oklahoma without modern elements.
Authenticity extended to the selection of houses for key scenes, with locations chosen to reflect the story realistically. For instance, Mollie’s house was strategically placed near a river, significant for a pivotal scene. Prieto highlighted the unique challenges and rewards of filming in real locations, emphasizing the intimate atmosphere created by shooting within the confines of authentic spaces. Overall, the production’s commitment to authenticity in both location selection and cinematography was deemed fundamental to the success of “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Approaching Color; The filmmakers delved deep into the perspectives of both the Osage people and the white settlers who intruded upon their land. Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto sought to visually differentiate these perspectives by studying color photography from the early 1920s, exploring how the descendants of European settlers perceived the natural world through the lens of the era’s technology and color photography.
Prieto’s research led him to examine the autochrome process, an early method of color photography invented by the Lumière brothers in France. He collaborated closely with director Martin Scorsese to ensure that the vibrant colors of Osage costumes and blankets remained true to their historical vibrancy, despite the challenges posed by the autochrome process.
Meanwhile, production designer Jack Fisk and the art department meticulously crafted sets and props based on period photographs, ensuring authenticity in every detail. Books on photochrom, another process for producing colorized images from black-and-white negatives, further informed the development of a LUT (Look-Up Table) emulating autochrome and photochrom.
Prieto and his collaborator Yvan Lucas, a senior colorist at Company 3, utilized their expertise and specialized software to create the LUT, ensuring consistency in color grading from pre-production to the final Digital Intermediate (DI). Lucas played a crucial role in supervising dailies, crafting LUTs, and color timing the film alongside Prieto, contributing significantly to the film’s visual cohesion and historical accuracy.
Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto and director Martin Scorsese embarked on a detailed exploration of historical color photography techniques to evoke the era’s atmosphere and enhance narrative elements. Inspired by early photochemical processes like tinting and toning.
Prieto implemented a surreal visual approach for scenes depicting protagonist Ernest’s descent into madness, using red hues to symbolize his inner turmoil. Collaborating with costume designer Jacqueline West, Prieto ensured the vibrancy of Osage blankets and costumes remained intact, even accounting for the desaturation effects of the Autochrome LUT. In pivotal moments of the film, such as a house explosion scene, Prieto shifted to the ENR Technicolor process, enhancing contrast and grain to reflect the bleakness of the narrative. Additionally, to authentically capture a 1930s radio show sequence, the crew utilized a vintage Bell & Howell hand-cranked camera, meticulously refurbishing it and learning traditional operating techniques to achieve a genuine archival feel.
Representation and differing perspectives are central themes, explored through the viewpoints of main characters like Ernest and Mollie, as well as an objective narrator perspective highlighting unseen events, such as some of the murders.
Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto emphasizes the importance of visually representing these themes, employing overhead shots and a repetitive style for depicting the murdered Osage. Prieto’s decision to shoot mostly on celluloid, particularly Kodak Vision3 film stocks, was driven by a desire to capture the era’s feel authentically and enhance the natural color representation, especially in foliage and nature.
Testing involved creating small sets to evaluate different camera formats and lenses, ultimately leading to the choice of shooting on film with the Arricam, a camera system combining the strengths of Arriflex and Moviecam. While Prieto’s preference has historically leaned towards ARRI cameras, test footage revealed the Sony Venice’s advantages in low-light conditions, offering clean images at high ISO levels and color fidelity closer to film. This meticulous approach to cinematography underscores Prieto’s commitment to capturing the essence of “Killers of the Flower Moon” with authenticity and visual richness.
Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto and his team employed a meticulous approach to lighting and capturing various scenes, combining both digital and traditional methods to achieve authenticity and realism. For scenes set in low light conditions or at dusk, Prieto utilized the Sony Venice digital camera, especially benefiting from its capabilities in low-light situations. Exterior night scenes in Fairfax were lit with frayed lights, reminiscent of the era’s practical lighting methods, while a large rig with industrial cranes was used for street celebration scenes in Pawhuska.
Prieto avoided electrical lighting for day exteriors, preferring natural light management techniques like Half Soft Frost diffusion or using day blue bounce for filling faces. Lighting tools included tungsten fresnels, HMI pars, LED fixtures such as LiteGear LiteMat Spectrum, SkyPanel, and Astera Titan tubes, as well as delicate placement of 600-watt halogen bulbs for lantern light.
Adaptations were made for specific locations, like creating fake windows for a courthouse scene and using High End Systems SolaFrame 3000 movers for daylight-balanced light in tight spaces. Gaffer Ian Kincaid’s expertise in utilizing fresnels through windows, hybrid LED lights above windows, and LiteGear LiteMats for soft ambient top light contributed to achieving realistic lighting setups throughout various interior and exterior scenes. The team prioritized realism, even incorporating the presence of the sun in interior shots by using techniques like reflecting sunlight through a mirror rigged to an Arrimax 18K aimed at a 45-degree angle.
Cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto and director Martin Scorsese utilized a combination of traditional and innovative techniques to capture dynamic and immersive shots. Precision was crucial, especially for scene-setting aerial sequences and complex Steadicam shots, which were executed with elegance by skilled operators like Scott Sakamoto SOC.
The decision to shoot in widescreen 2.35 aspect ratio was made early on to best showcase the expansive landscapes, with extensive testing leading to the selection of Panavision’s anamorphic T Series lenses for their vintage feel and subtle distortion on the edges.
Vintage Petzval lenses from the 1920s were also employed for specific sequences, adding a unique perspective and vignette effect, showcasing Scorsese’s willingness to experiment and push boundaries in visual storytelling. Prieto and Scorsese’s collaboration exemplifies a balance between meticulous planning and creative spontaneity, resulting in a visually captivating and emotionally resonant cinematic experience.
Sources:
https://britishcinematographer.co.uk/rodrigo-prieto-asc-amc-killers-of-the-flower-moon/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjTLEfFuPeM
