Clubhouse Conversations — Griselda

Editors’ note: In-depth coverage of cinematographer Armando Salas, ASC’s work on Griselda first appeared in American Cinematographer's February 2024 issue. Read the full story here — and learn more here about how to subscribe to the industry's leading journal of motion-picture production techniques.

In this episode, cinematographer Armando Salas, ASC is joined by interviewer Amy Vincent, ASC to discuss his work on Griselda — the biographical crime-drama miniseries about the rise of Columbian drug lord Griselda Blanco.

Griselda charts the exploits of Griselda Blanco (Sofía Vergara), a ruthless cocaine trafficker who forges an unlikely criminal career path in 1970s Miami. Salas served as director of photography on all six of the show's installments, shooting entirely in Los Angeles, with locations doubling for spots in Miami, Colombia and other parts of California.

In this interview, Salas discusses coordinating complex Steadicam work with multiple lighting cues and handoffs; how he approached shooting a lead actor wearing heavy prosthetic makeup; how he contrasted the camera languages and color palettes of two characters' distinct 'worlds'; creating a LUT based on Polaroid stills; using LED fixtures to match period-accurate tungsten bulbs, and more.

Armando Salas, ASC is a cinematographer whose feature work includes the documentary Cocaine Cowboys as well as My Lucky Star, Bitch and The Most Hated Woman in America. His television work includes episodes and seasons of the series From Dusk Till Dawn, Mr. Mercedes, Six, Raising Dion, Strange Ange, The Old Man and Ozark.

Amy Vincent, ASC is a cinematographer whose works include Eve's Bayou (1997), Hustle & Flow (for which she won the Sundance Film Festival's Vision Award in 2005) and Footloose (2011), and the series Wayward Pines, Upload, Eastbound & Down and Justified: City Primeval.

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