Clubhouse Conversations — After the Hunt

In this episode, cinematographer Malik Hassan Sayeed is joined by interviewer John Simmons, ASC to discuss his work on After the Hunt — the psychological drama from writer-director Luca Guadagnino that explores the shifting power dynamics between two Yale professors and a student who accuses one of assault.

After the Hunt follows philosophy professors Alma (Julia Roberts) and Hank (Andrew Garfield), whose hopes of tenure at Yale are quelled when Maggie (Ayo Edibiri), Alma's mentee, accuses Hank of sexual misconduct. The film is Sayeed's first feature in 27 years, and sparked a new creative partnership with Guadagnino, with whom he also shot another feature, Artificial, in San Francisco last summer.

Malik Sayeed discusses his collaboration with Luca Guadagnino on Hunt; how he built a visual language rooted in the philosophies of Sven Nykvist and Gordon Willis; the process of recreating Yale’s architecture and atmosphere on Shepperton soundstages; the decision to shoot entirely on film using only pre-1988 lighting technology—eschewing LEDs in favor of HMIs, fluorescents, and tungsten; the discipline of maintaining a single 35mm focal length to create visual cohesion; operating handheld sequences himself to achieve subjective emotional perspective; balancing intuition and structure in Luca’s un-storyboarded, performance-driven process; exploring film projection as a necessary part of cinematic truth; crafting three expressive environments for Julia Roberts’ character—the apartment of comfort, the classroom of armor, and the loft of secrecy; channeling Ozu’s belief in the energy that passes from camera operator to film; and finding harmony through long-time collaboration with gaffer Mozzi Mitchell to sustain a tactile, humanist approach to light.

Conversation Highlights

Sayeed's conversation with Simmons explores a range of strategies, as well as the creative and practical challenges they encountered, including:

• Creating a visual language for the film rooted in the philosophies of Sven Nykvist, ASC and Gordon Willis, ASC
• The filmmakers' decision to exclusively use lighting technology that predates 1988
• Maintaining a 35mm focal length for the entirety of the shoot to create visual cohesion
• The importance of relying on intuition to best complement Guadagnino's performance-driven process
• Crafting the look of the film's key environments to help convey the characters' emotional states

Malik Hassan Sayeed is a cinematographer whose credits include the features Clockers, Girl 6, Cold Around the Heart, The Players Club, He Got Game and Belly.

John Simmons, ASC has had a prolific career that includes work on more than 25 television series, including Roseanne (2018), Family Reunion and many others. Simmons earned an Emmy Award for Nicky, Ricky, Dicky & Dawn and another two nominations for Pair of Kings. He is currently serving as the ASC's 2nd Vice President and is the co-founder and co-chair of the Society's Vision Committee.

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

Unit stills by Yannis Drakoulidis. Images courtesy of Amazon MGM Studios.