Clubhouse Conversations — A Gentleman in Moscow

In this episode, cinematographer Adam Gillham is joined by interviewer Patrick Cady, ASC to discuss his work on A Gentleman in Moscow — the British limited series centered on the house arrest of a Russian aristocrat in the aftermath of the October Revolution.

Based on the 2016 novel by Amor Towles, A Gentleman in Moscow tells the story of Count Alexander Ilyich Rostov (Ewan McGregor), a Russian aristocrat who is sentenced to a lifetime of house arrest in the attic of the Hotel Metropol Moscow. Gillham shot five of the series' eight episodes, including the pilot, entitled "A Master of Circumstance."

In this interview, Gillham discusses his approach to lighting the hotel set with tungsten sources; why he chose one shot to represent an entire scene, as opposed to relying on storyboards; creating an easily identifiable look for the show's flashback scenes; and the benefits of keeping a journal on set during production.

Adam Gillham is a cinematographer whose credits include I May Destroy You, Little Boy Blue, Downton Abbey and The Man Who Fell to Earth.

Patrick Cady, ASC studied filmmaking at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and has since carved out an extensive cinematography career in both film and TV. He broke out in 2000 after shooting his first feature, director Karen Kusama’s award-winning drama Girlfight, and went on to shoot many series including Cold Case, Rectify and Insecure, for which he earned a 2018 Emmy Award nomination.

You’ll find all episodes in our ASC Clubhouse Conversations discussion series here.