Clubhouse Conversations — Moon Knight

In this 76-minute episode, Gregory Middleton, ASC, CSC (below, right) discusses his Emmy-nominated camerawork in the Marvel Studios superhero show Moon Knight, as interviewed by Patrick Cady, ASC

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In this Disney Plus limited series, Marc Spector (played by Oscar Issac, below) suffers from a dissociative identity disorder, and not only has three distinct personalities, but has also been granted the powers of the Egyptian moon god Khonshu.

This complex narrative led Middleton to a visual approach in which perspective became an important cue, as Spector’s is in constant flux. In practice, the camera reveals information only as each personality would experience it, closely tied to his action and state of mind. There was also the imperative to suggest that any given scene may be a delusion on Spector’s part — creating suspense.

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Middleton shot four episodes of the limited series (with Andrew Droz Palermo shooting the other two) and relied on Alexa Mini LF cameras paired with Arri Signature Primes, capturing in ArriRaw for a 2.35:1 frame. The cinematographer occasionally employed Tiffen Glimmerglass filters to accentuate highlights.

Middleton’s diverse body of work includes art-house films, mainstream features and television projects. Born in Montreal, Quebec, he began filmmaking with the family Super 8 camera. He followed that into high school and college starting various clubs with other student filmmakers. Travelling to Vancouver to attend University of British Columbia was when he decided to let his passion guide him into a career in cinematography. His first feature was the award-winning indie hit Kissed starring Molly Parker. His other credits include The Five Senses, Better than Chocolate, James Gunn’s horror/comedy Slither, Eduardo Ponti’s Between Strangers, starring Sophia Loren, and the multi-award-winning Fugitive Pieces, based on the novel by Anne Michaels. He was honored with CSC and Genie Awards for the latter film and the World War I drama Passchendaele, respectively. His other television credits include Fringe, The Killing, Game of Thrones (for which he earned two Emmy nominations and an ASC Award nomination) and Watchmen (for which he earned another ASC nomination and won the Emmy in 2020, both for the episode “This Extraordinary Being”).

Interviewer Patrick Cady was raised in rural New York and attended Ithaca College, later studying cinematography and directing at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. “My middle-school teachers encouraged me that a country kid could actually end up working in the movie business,” he told American Cinematographer. “I then learned from a slew of wonderful cinematographers in the 1990s when I was a gaffer. Sol Negrin, ASC and [honorary ASC member] Larry Parker have mentored me in both film and family.” His career took a turn in 2000 after shooting his first feature, director Karen Kusama’s award-winning drama Girlfight. His extensive television credits include Cold Case, Make It or Break It, Suits, Rizzoli & Isles, Body of Proof, Betrayal, Rectify and Bosch. He earned a 2018 Emmy Award nomination for his work on the series Insecure. He has been a member of the ASC since 2011.



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

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