Full Transcript for Special Report: Stephen Murphy on The Gentlemen

a 37 00:03:17.930 --> 00:03:21.719 great time listening. Enjoy. How did you get involved in filmmaking? 38 00:03:22.460 --> 00:03:24.830 How did I get involved in filmmaking? Well, when I 39 00:03:24.830 --> 00:03:28.879 was a kid, I was really into comic books and 40 00:03:28.969 --> 00:03:33.500 model making and all sorts of nerdy stuff. I still am. And, 41 00:03:33.840 --> 00:03:37.439 you know, my dad took me to Star Wars for 42 00:03:37.460 --> 00:03:39.699 the first time in the theaters. That kind of blew 43 00:03:39.719 --> 00:03:45.199 my mind. And so shortly thereafter, my dad managed to 44 00:03:45.259 --> 00:03:47.810 pick up a magazine that was published in the UK 45 00:03:47.870 --> 00:03:52.969 called The Marvel UK, which was like a... photo magazine 46 00:03:53.110 --> 00:03:55.770 filled with the story of Star Wars, but it also 47 00:03:55.830 --> 00:03:59.199 talked about all the movies that influenced Star Wars, like 48 00:03:59.219 --> 00:04:03.379 the Flash Gordon serials and pirate movies and stuff like that. 49 00:04:03.659 --> 00:04:05.520 And it had a big section in the back of 50 00:04:05.599 --> 00:04:11.810 it that showed you the filmmaking process from the production, 51 00:04:12.069 --> 00:04:17.730 the concept art, and particularly the ILM stuff, building models 52 00:04:17.790 --> 00:04:21.209 and things like that. And that blew my mind. That 53 00:04:21.490 --> 00:04:25.379 sort of turned me on to other movies and other 54 00:04:25.420 --> 00:04:29.319 sci-fi movies. There's a whole section about sci-fi robots, Forbidden 55 00:04:29.339 --> 00:04:33.579 Planet and stuff like that. And it also sort of 56 00:04:34.920 --> 00:04:38.329 made a connection in my young mind between the idea 57 00:04:38.350 --> 00:04:41.709 that you could do something like make models or draw 58 00:04:41.750 --> 00:04:45.300 pictures and have that be your job. So that was 59 00:04:45.360 --> 00:04:47.939 kind of the beginning of the process. From a very 60 00:04:47.959 --> 00:04:51.519 early age, I was really into that. But as I 61 00:04:51.540 --> 00:04:54.220 got a little bit older and I was in school 62 00:04:54.300 --> 00:04:57.240 and I was still drawing stuff and making models and 63 00:04:57.660 --> 00:04:59.699 goofing around with my friends, doing lots of nerdy stuff, 64 00:05:00.480 --> 00:05:04.410 I began to see other books and TV shows about 65 00:05:04.750 --> 00:05:08.389 filmmaking in the 80s because of the success of Star 66 00:05:08.410 --> 00:05:11.189 Wars and Close Encounters. There was a lot of really 67 00:05:11.250 --> 00:05:14.639 cool specials on TV about how they made the movies, 68 00:05:14.680 --> 00:05:17.300 how they did the special effects, stuff like that. But 69 00:05:17.319 --> 00:05:20.019 there was a really great show called Movie Magic that 70 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:22.660 used to be on. And it would kind of talk through, 71 00:05:22.680 --> 00:05:25.189 you know, one week would be about prosthetics, one week 72 00:05:25.209 --> 00:05:27.990 would be about miniatures, one week would be about special 73 00:05:28.009 --> 00:05:31.029 effects and stuff like that. So I kind of got 74 00:05:31.170 --> 00:05:36.439 really interested in the special makeup effects, prosthetics. I loved monsters. 75 00:05:36.839 --> 00:05:41.610 I loved robots. I loved, you know, that. character creation. 76 00:05:42.750 --> 00:05:49.110 And I managed to find my way onto a course 77 00:05:49.250 --> 00:05:54.000 in college that was a two-year course studying makeup for film, 78 00:05:54.740 --> 00:06:02.040 which was 90% straight makeup and 10% prosthetics and model making. 79 00:06:02.740 --> 00:06:05.670 But because of Being on that course, I met a 80 00:06:05.689 --> 00:06:08.420 whole bunch of people. So though I started working in 81 00:06:08.439 --> 00:06:11.259 the industry at quite a young age, I got to 82 00:06:11.379 --> 00:06:16.100 work very briefly in the miniatures team for Stuart Gordon's 83 00:06:16.180 --> 00:06:18.850 Space Truckers, which was filming in Ireland at the time, 84 00:06:19.769 --> 00:06:21.889 and met a whole bunch of people there, which led 85 00:06:21.910 --> 00:06:25.209 to more work doing prosthetics and model making and mold making. 86 00:06:25.230 --> 00:06:29.689 And While I was doing that course, one of the 87 00:06:29.730 --> 00:06:32.430 things we had to do was learn black and white 88 00:06:32.829 --> 00:06:37.600 35mm photography and basic photography and basic developing and printing. 89 00:06:38.459 --> 00:06:40.160 And that was my first time picking up a camera 90 00:06:40.180 --> 00:06:43.579 and taking photographs. And that blew my mind. I was 91 00:06:43.699 --> 00:06:47.660 really amazed at what photography and lighting could do to 92 00:06:47.740 --> 00:06:49.860 the things that I had sculpted or built or made. 93 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:54.620 So by the time I got to leave college, I 94 00:06:54.660 --> 00:06:57.560 had decided I was going to become a cinematographer. And 95 00:06:57.620 --> 00:07:00.220 I started working in the camera department as a trainee, 96 00:07:00.360 --> 00:07:02.430 or we would call it a trainee in the UK 97 00:07:02.459 --> 00:07:04.790 or Ireland, but you guys would call it a camera PA. 98 00:07:05.290 --> 00:07:07.709 And I just slowly worked my way up the ladder, 99 00:07:07.730 --> 00:07:11.610 the old school ladder, and learned my trade that way. 100 00:07:12.370 --> 00:07:15.230 That's remarkable. I mean, especially to go from being such 101 00:07:15.250 --> 00:07:17.959 a fan of makeup effects to picking up a camera 102 00:07:18.120 --> 00:07:22.350 and becoming a dp or cinematographer that that's for me 103 00:07:22.410 --> 00:07:24.189 a leap but i know that it has to be 104 00:07:24.269 --> 00:07:26.379 very important for you to even know how to shoot 105 00:07:26.439 --> 00:07:27.060 those kind of. 106 00:07:27.040 --> 00:07:31.720 Things it's also kind of an interesting maybe

mind change 107 00:07:31.939 --> 00:07:35.250 because you're sort of going from a very you know 108 00:07:35.329 --> 00:07:37.810 you're going into like a very alpha male department or 109 00:07:37.870 --> 00:07:39.790 it certainly was at the time when i joined it 110 00:07:39.829 --> 00:07:43.670 in the late 90s and I think when I was 111 00:07:43.689 --> 00:07:46.990 in college, I was the only guy in a class 112 00:07:47.050 --> 00:07:51.139 of 20. So I'm going from that position to going 113 00:07:51.540 --> 00:07:54.759 into the camera team where it's the exact opposite. There 114 00:07:54.779 --> 00:07:59.339 might be one female camera assistant for every 20 guys. 115 00:07:59.720 --> 00:08:02.500 So it was kind of an interesting mind switch for me. 116 00:08:03.160 --> 00:08:06.339 But it also was an interesting background for me to 117 00:08:06.420 --> 00:08:10.110 bring to cinematography because there's sort of a problem-solving aspect 118 00:08:10.910 --> 00:08:15.379 mindset in in physical effects and special effects in terms 119 00:08:15.420 --> 00:08:17.620 of how you perceive a problem and then how you 120 00:08:17.629 --> 00:08:20.620 might solve the problem which is a little non-linear in 121 00:08:20.680 --> 00:08:24.579 its thinking especially when you're doing you know you know 122 00:08:24.699 --> 00:08:26.439 the 80s 90s kind of effects where everything had to 123 00:08:26.459 --> 00:08:29.240 be real and you couldn't really rely on cg um 124 00:08:29.779 --> 00:08:33.580 and that problem solving ethos is something that still sticks 125 00:08:33.600 --> 00:08:35.259 with me and i think really helps me. 126 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:39.639 Well i'm so curious about some of those early gigs 127 00:08:39.659 --> 00:08:41.919 that you had and of course i would love to 128 00:08:41.940 --> 00:08:44.500 hear more about space truckers i freaking love that movie 129 00:08:44.539 --> 00:08:48.059 but you know what were some of your favorite things 130 00:08:48.159 --> 00:08:51.379 to do because i'm sure each job that you've had 131 00:08:51.450 --> 00:08:53.909 has been a little adventure unto itself. 132 00:08:54.429 --> 00:08:57.350 Yeah absolutely i mean when you start off the film 133 00:08:57.409 --> 00:09:01.549 industry is so you know kind of amazing in that 134 00:09:01.610 --> 00:09:04.769 it's not like any other job that's I didn't come 135 00:09:04.789 --> 00:09:06.470 from a family that was into the business. So I 136 00:09:06.490 --> 00:09:09.950 had no connections in the industry. So I'd never been 137 00:09:10.009 --> 00:09:12.669 on a film set. I didn't, you know, in my head, 138 00:09:12.710 --> 00:09:14.870 a job was something that, you know, you went to 139 00:09:15.450 --> 00:09:17.899 an office and at nine o'clock and you came home 140 00:09:17.940 --> 00:09:20.039 at five o'clock and all that kind of stuff, you know? Um, 141 00:09:20.860 --> 00:09:22.539 so when you go out on your first couple of 142 00:09:22.580 -->

00:09:26.710 film sets, it, from the outside is chaos. It's, you know, 143 00:09:26.990 --> 00:09:30.730 loads of people scrambling around, all very focused, you know, 144 00:09:30.750 --> 00:09:34.529 and you sort of can't help but feel like you're 145 00:09:34.590 --> 00:09:37.210 in the way. But then you start kind of getting 146 00:09:37.269 --> 00:09:40.190 comfortable with where you are on the set and what your, 147 00:09:40.889 --> 00:09:43.120 you know, role is and how you function and work 148 00:09:43.129 --> 00:09:46.980 within that sort of team. And you begin to see, 149 00:09:47.860 --> 00:09:50.769 you know, how things are working and understand the language 150 00:09:50.769 --> 00:09:53.639 of you know, being on a film set and, you know, 151 00:09:53.639 --> 00:09:56.779 telling stories. um so it's all fun you know it's 152 00:09:56.879 --> 00:10:00.519 all you know uh it's all the early experiences are 153 00:10:00.600 --> 00:10:03.120 fun even if they're hard work you know but you're 154 00:10:03.159 --> 00:10:05.639 doing things like getting up at four or five o'clock 155 00:10:05.659 --> 00:10:08.100 in the morning to go shoot a sunrise at the 156 00:10:08.139 --> 00:10:12.330 top of a mountain in the pissing rain. It's, you know, 157 00:10:12.590 --> 00:10:15.309 it's fun, even though you're soaking wet and it's really 158 00:10:15.370 --> 00:10:18.149 early and you're really tired, but you know, it's, it's 159 00:10:18.190 --> 00:10:21.289 a very different sort of lifestyle to someone who has 160 00:10:21.370 --> 00:10:24.720 a more traditional nine to five job. So all that 161 00:10:24.740 --> 00:10:27.399 kind of stuff is amazing. Then when you start getting into, 162 00:10:27.419 --> 00:10:30.549 you know, like the nitty gritty of stuff, and you 163 00:10:30.570 --> 00:10:35.470 start working on bigger projects, you're learning all the 16mm 164 00:10:35.490 --> 00:10:38.029 cameras when you start, then you're learning all the 35mm cameras, 165 00:10:38.049 --> 00:10:43.159 then the VistaVision stuff comes along, and it's all new 166 00:10:43.200 --> 00:10:44.980 experiences that are usually pretty good. 167 00:10:46.039 --> 00:10:52.080 For me, cinematography, and I feel bad explaining cinematography to 168 00:10:52.120 --> 00:10:55.230 you since you've been doing this so many years, but 169 00:10:55.269 --> 00:11:01.049 it's such an alchemical process of mechanical and kind of 170 00:11:01.090 --> 00:11:04.200 the magic of light and just trying to transform what 171 00:11:04.340 --> 00:11:09.360 you see through that viewfinder, you know, into an image 172 00:11:09.419 --> 00:11:12.100 that just is going to be striking for somebody who's 173 00:11:12.159 --> 00:11:14.539 watching it. I mean, I've seen your work on things like, 174 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:19.389 you know, Vera. I love the look of Vera, you know, even, 175 00:11:19.529 --> 00:11:23.730 you know, things like primate, you know, where you're dealing again, 176 00:11:23.789 --> 00:11:25.730 kind of going back to makeup and special effects and 177 00:11:25.769 --> 00:11:28.750 those kinds of things. But everything has its own distinct look. 178 00:11:29.350 --> 00:11:30.769 And it's got to be very interesting for you to 179 00:11:31.070 --> 00:11:32.830 even try to come up with that process. How am 180 00:11:32.870 --> 00:11:34.590 I going to make this look the way that this 181 00:11:34.649 --> 00:11:36.149 particular thing needs to look? 182 00:11:36.990 --> 00:11:38.950 Yeah, it's, I mean, it's the part of the job 183 00:11:38.970 --> 00:11:41.149 that's really interesting, right? You're not, you're never doing the 184 00:11:41.169 --> 00:11:44.669 same thing twice. The mechanics might be similar from job 185 00:11:44.720 --> 00:11:46.340 to job. You know, you're putting the lights outside the 186 00:11:46.360 --> 00:11:49.080 windows or you're putting the camera on, Steadicam or whatever 187 00:11:49.100 --> 00:11:52.409 it is. But how you're using all those elements and 188 00:11:52.450 --> 00:11:56.149 pieces is totally different job to job. You know, you're 189 00:11:56.169 --> 00:11:58.590 working with different people each time. They're all bringing something 190 00:11:58.649 --> 00:12:01.639 different to the job. You know, so the sort of, 191 00:12:02.419 --> 00:12:05.779 you know, the secrets in the sauce are always, you know, 192 00:12:05.879 --> 00:12:08.740 slightly different. The ingredients are always slightly different and the 193 00:12:08.779 --> 00:12:10.700 end result is always slightly different. And that's what makes 194 00:12:10.750 --> 00:12:14.080 it interesting. And the good thing about being a cinematographer 195 00:12:14.159 --> 00:12:18.539 is I don't necessarily need to commit to one genre 196 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:21.379 or one type of project. I can, I could do 197 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:23.210 commercials if I wanted to, and then I could do 198 00:12:23.250 --> 00:12:25.070 a movie or a TV show, or I could do 199 00:12:25.110 --> 00:12:27.370 rom-coms or I could do horror movies. So you can, 200 00:12:27.529 --> 00:12:30.090 you could be on something one for three months. That's, 201 00:12:30.889 --> 00:12:34.059 you know, super funny comedy. And then you could spend three, 202 00:12:34.120 --> 00:12:37.480 four months doing something that's super serious drama. And They 203 00:12:37.500 --> 00:12:40.820 both have their pros and cons, and that's the great 204 00:12:40.980 --> 00:12:46.750 thing about it. It's not the same job for a year. 205 00:12:46.779 --> 00:12:48.799 It's not the same job for two or three years. 206 00:12:48.830 --> 00:12:50.389 There's a huge variety in this. 207 00:12:51.669 --> 00:12:54.970 How is it for you working with, you mentioned music videos, 208 00:12:55.029 --> 00:12:57.289 how is it for you working with U2 on A 209 00:12:57.309 --> 00:12:58.870 Beautiful Day music video? 210 00:13:00.320 --> 00:13:02.039 And that was great. The funny,

that's the thing I 211 00:13:02.059 --> 00:13:05.399 was more interested in working with was it was, um, 212 00:13:05.759 --> 00:13:09.120 I was working with, uh, Harris Savides, the cinematographer who, 213 00:13:09.580 --> 00:13:12.519 you know, when I worked with those guys and, and 214 00:13:12.559 --> 00:13:14.600 Phil Schoenu, the director, and I'm a huge fan of 215 00:13:14.639 --> 00:13:16.970 state of grace, the movie that he directed. And I 216 00:13:17.009 --> 00:13:20.830 was a huge fan of, uh, Harris Savides work. So, 217 00:13:21.029 --> 00:13:24.809 so that was the exciting thing for me working in 218 00:13:24.830 --> 00:13:25.870 the YouTube videos. 219 00:13:25.950 --> 00:13:29.399 So, And you mentioned, you know, each one is a 220 00:13:29.419 --> 00:13:31.580 little bit of an adventure. You're working with different people. 221 00:13:31.779 --> 00:13:33.980 Are you really working with different people? Do you have 222 00:13:34.019 --> 00:13:37.220 directors that are like, oh, I need Stephen on this 223 00:13:37.299 --> 00:13:39.519 particular project? A mix. 224 00:13:39.639 --> 00:13:43.330 So I have a bunch of directors that ask for 225 00:13:43.350 --> 00:13:45.669 me a lot. The schedules don't always sync up, so 226 00:13:45.730 --> 00:13:47.389 I can't always say yes to all of them at 227 00:13:47.409 --> 00:13:51.309 the same time. But I try and vary it so 228 00:13:51.330 --> 00:13:53.830 that I'm working with the ones that I really love, 229 00:13:54.570 --> 00:13:57.250 you know, that I know I can work with again 230 00:13:57.269 --> 00:13:59.950 and enjoy being around them, enjoy working with them and 231 00:14:00.110 --> 00:14:02.570 mix that up with working with new people. So, uh, 232 00:14:03.049 --> 00:14:05.600 and then in addition to that, your teams are different, 233 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:08.059 you know, as much as I would love to take 234 00:14:08.100 --> 00:14:10.360 the same, you know, camera operators and focus followers and 235 00:14:10.379 --> 00:14:13.519 gaffers with me on every job because I travel all 236 00:14:13.559 --> 00:14:16.240 over the world and work all over the world. It's a, 237 00:14:16.590 --> 00:14:20.279 you know, it's a totally different experience every time. The 238 00:14:20.340 --> 00:14:23.370 crew you use in the U.S. for one job is 239 00:14:23.450 --> 00:14:25.570 going to be different from the crew you use in 240 00:14:25.750 --> 00:14:29.029 Italy for the next job. And the kind of cultural 241 00:14:29.070 --> 00:14:32.429 differences are really interesting and the way they work is 242 00:14:32.909 --> 00:14:37.169 slightly different. But that slight difference is the interesting part 243 00:14:37.190 --> 00:14:37.379 of it. 244 00:14:39.549 --> 00:14:44.320 How do you and the director communicate the vision from 245 00:14:44.419 --> 00:14:46.379 one person to the other? Because I'm sure you have 246 00:14:46.419 --> 00:14:48.519 something in your head, they have something

in their head. 247 00:14:48.879 --> 00:14:50.679 How do you get that across and kind of come 248 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:51.960 to a common understanding? 249 00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:54.700 So for me, it sort of starts with listening a lot. 250 00:14:56.419 --> 00:14:59.159 You meet them. If it's a new director, a new collaboration, 251 00:14:59.179 --> 00:15:03.240 you're meeting with them to see if you click. It's 252 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:05.960 kind of a two-way interview. They're interviewing me. I'm interviewing them. 253 00:15:05.980 --> 00:15:08.000 I'm kind of trying to figure out, do I want 254 00:15:08.019 --> 00:15:10.940 to spend, you know, three, four, five months with this person, 255 00:15:10.960 --> 00:15:13.860 you know, doing long days? Are we going to have 256 00:15:13.899 --> 00:15:17.529 fun together? Or is it going to be stressful? But 257 00:15:17.590 --> 00:15:20.960 in terms of what they're trying to do, usually when 258 00:15:21.000 --> 00:15:23.639 they meet you for the first time, that's kind of 259 00:15:23.679 --> 00:15:27.759 the beginning of that conversation for them about what the 260 00:15:27.779 --> 00:15:32.250 movie should visually feel like. And they're sort of articulating 261 00:15:32.289 --> 00:15:35.669 it for the first time. So most directors don't go, hey, 262 00:15:35.710 --> 00:15:38.769 it's exactly this. Most directors can't tell you that. And 263 00:15:38.870 --> 00:15:41.970 that's okay. So usually what you're doing is you're trying 264 00:15:41.990 --> 00:15:45.159 to tease that information out and they might have a 265 00:15:45.200 --> 00:15:48.700 very strong preference for you you know, particular aspect of 266 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:51.659 the visuals, like maybe camera movement or how dark it 267 00:15:51.700 --> 00:15:53.580 should be or how bright it should be or something 268 00:15:53.600 --> 00:15:55.970 like that. But a lot of the time it's a, 269 00:15:56.220 --> 00:16:00.440 it's a series of conversations. It's not one conversation that 270 00:16:00.919 --> 00:16:05.519 instantly unlocks the secret sauce to the movie. It's, you know, 271 00:16:05.600 --> 00:16:07.960 I think it's this, I think it's this mixed with 272 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:10.120 a bit of this. And then you put your, your 273 00:16:10.279 --> 00:16:12.899 ideas in and, you know, the designer is putting their 274 00:16:12.980 --> 00:16:16.320 ideas in and, you're looking at locations and that's going 275 00:16:16.340 --> 00:16:19.500 to inform what's happening. You know, you start casting the 276 00:16:19.539 --> 00:16:22.070 movie and then that informs it as well. So it's 277 00:16:22.129 --> 00:16:25.669 a kind of a constantly involving conversation. But for me, 278 00:16:25.690 --> 00:16:29.210 a lot of it's listening and then trying to figure out, 279 00:16:29.269 --> 00:16:31.789 you know, trying to get in sync with their taste, 280 00:16:32.509 --> 00:16:35.200 you know, as much as possible. And then to some degree, 281 00:16:35.220 --> 00:16:38.480 they're getting in sync with my taste too, because they're, 282 00:16:39.210 --> 00:16:42.690 They're casting me in the way they cast an actor. 283 00:16:43.309 --> 00:16:47.240 They're casting the designer in the same way. I'm going 284 00:16:47.250 --> 00:16:50.639 to give them a different flavor than a different cinematographer. 285 00:16:51.240 --> 00:16:53.700 So you sort of listen a lot, but also trust 286 00:16:53.740 --> 00:16:56.460 that they've seen your stuff and they like what you've 287 00:16:56.519 --> 00:17:00.539 done before and they want your ideas and they want 288 00:17:01.000 --> 00:17:02.120 the you of it. 289 00:17:03.720 --> 00:17:05.559 How was it working on The Gentleman where I think 290 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:07.990 you worked... four episodes and they were all with the 291 00:17:08.009 --> 00:17:10.289 same director. So are you shooting this almost like a 292 00:17:10.710 --> 00:17:12.619 long movie? Yeah. 293 00:17:12.859 --> 00:17:15.500 Um, the way a lot of the TV shows schedule 294 00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:18.980 nowadays is in what we call shooting blocks or blocks. Um, 295 00:17:19.279 --> 00:17:20.880 and so we'll come in and we know that we're 296 00:17:20.900 --> 00:17:23.180 going to do, you know, three episodes or four episodes 297 00:17:23.680 --> 00:17:26.740 and it's kind of scheduled just like a movie. Um, 298 00:17:27.119 --> 00:17:29.299 and then other directors are doing, you know, other directors, 299 00:17:29.359 --> 00:17:32.619 they're not necessarily always consecutive episodes or not, but in 300 00:17:32.660 --> 00:17:34.869 our case for the gentleman, I think we did three, four, 301 00:17:34.920 --> 00:17:37.819 five and eight. So you spend a period of time 302 00:17:37.859 --> 00:17:41.500 prepping that and then you're off to the races and 303 00:17:41.519 --> 00:17:44.069 you start shooting. And when you start shooting, then the 304 00:17:44.190 --> 00:17:49.049 next team begin prepping whatever their episodes are. So they're 305 00:17:49.069 --> 00:17:52.230 in the office prepping away while we're out on location 306 00:17:52.269 --> 00:17:55.710 shooting or in the studio shooting. It's a really, it's 307 00:17:56.109 --> 00:17:59.509 quite a nice process to work with. I was very 308 00:17:59.650 --> 00:18:01.490 fortunate in that I was working with a director called 309 00:18:01.549 --> 00:18:05.400 Iran Grevy, who the two was just going on really well. 310 00:18:05.420 --> 00:18:07.299 You know, it was one of those meetings where when 311 00:18:07.319 --> 00:18:09.640 we first met, we clicked over a lot of the same, 312 00:18:10.059 --> 00:18:11.240 you know, similar tastes. 313 00:18:12.109 --> 00:18:15.930 And it was just going on really well. That show 314 00:18:16.069 --> 00:18:19.769 is remarkable. I mean, it does feel like I am 315 00:18:19.849 --> 00:18:24.410 watching a very extended film. I kind of like that 316 00:18:24.470 --> 00:18:26.509

just because it all feels of a piece and it 317 00:18:26.569 --> 00:18:30.190 really feels like each chapter is telling me something new. 318 00:18:30.539 --> 00:18:32.660 But I love how fast it moves and I love 319 00:18:32.680 --> 00:18:36.440 all the on-screen visuals that are going on. It just 320 00:18:36.460 --> 00:18:39.299 has such an interesting look to it. Were you familiar 321 00:18:39.319 --> 00:18:41.039 with that before you got onto it or did they 322 00:18:41.079 --> 00:18:43.119 have a lookbook for you to be like, okay, this 323 00:18:43.180 --> 00:18:44.059 is what we're going for? 324 00:18:44.079 --> 00:18:48.109 They didn't have a lookbook, no. I'd seen season one 325 00:18:48.609 --> 00:18:52.490 and And I'd seen Iran's other work. And when I 326 00:18:52.650 --> 00:18:55.779 spoke to Iran, you know, he talked about this sort 327 00:18:55.799 --> 00:18:57.539 of the moments of season months that he sort of 328 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:01.200 thought was successful or the most successful. And we talked 329 00:19:01.220 --> 00:19:03.420 about other influences. You know, we have a shared love 330 00:19:03.480 --> 00:19:05.940 of Tony Scott movies. So we've talked about that and 331 00:19:05.980 --> 00:19:07.460 a bunch of other movies. We both love movies from 332 00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:10.480 the 80s and 90s, you know, with similar ages. So 333 00:19:10.519 --> 00:19:13.250 we grew up loving the same stuff. And even if 334 00:19:13.269 --> 00:19:15.769 you're not going to directly reference those or, you know, 335 00:19:15.789 --> 00:19:18.980 you're not necessarily trying to imitate anything. but it's the 336 00:19:19.019 --> 00:19:23.289 sort of shared influences, a shared sort of taste influenced the, 337 00:19:23.309 --> 00:19:25.349 you know, the visuals and the influence, the end result. 338 00:19:26.119 --> 00:19:29.259 So we sort of, you know, you talk about stuff 339 00:19:29.859 --> 00:19:32.119 and then, like I said, as you start the prep 340 00:19:32.160 --> 00:19:35.680 process and you start looking at the actual locations, then 341 00:19:35.700 --> 00:19:38.680 you can kind of dial things in. And Iran is very, 342 00:19:38.700 --> 00:19:41.589 you know, clued in about the show. He did season 343 00:19:41.650 --> 00:19:43.990 one as well. So he's, you know, he's able to 344 00:19:44.029 --> 00:19:46.140 kind of say, okay that's not quite the show or 345 00:19:46.579 --> 00:19:49.680 you know oh this would be great because of xyz 346 00:19:50.200 --> 00:19:51.839 and then i can dial into that as well and 347 00:19:51.880 --> 00:19:53.619 sort of filter it through my taste. 348 00:19:54.109 --> 00:19:56.470 What were some of the biggest challenges of making the 349 00:19:56.490 --> 00:20:00.109 gentleman a lot of the challenges of the gentleman are 350 00:20:00.269 --> 00:20:03.150 kind of connected to speed that we have to work 351 00:20:03.210 --> 00:20:06.710 at you know the like modern sort of tv production 352 00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:10.059 you know tv has always. 353 00:20:09.240 --> 00:20:12.640 Been you know a very fast sort of machine um 354 00:20:13.319 --> 00:20:16.019 but you know sort of the netflix and the amazon 355 00:20:16.079 --> 00:20:19.319 and the apple you know streamers sort of shows in 356 00:20:19.339 --> 00:20:22.900 the last couple years they work at a simmer pace 357 00:20:22.940 --> 00:20:26.799 they you've got 15 days to shoot an episode but 358 00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:31.019 the ambition is huge you know the you're doing you know, 359 00:20:31.059 --> 00:20:33.220 the same sort of stuff as you do in a movie, 360 00:20:33.240 --> 00:20:36.359 a big movie. You know, you've got multiple locations. Some 361 00:20:36.380 --> 00:20:38.720 of them are international. You know, you've got a lot 362 00:20:38.769 --> 00:20:41.470 of cast coming in. There's a lot of speaking parts. 363 00:20:42.190 --> 00:20:44.750 There's a lot of big sort of dialogue scenes and 364 00:20:44.769 --> 00:20:47.269 there's a lot of big sets to license shoes and 365 00:20:47.289 --> 00:20:50.289 a lot of amazing looking costumes and stuff like that 366 00:20:50.309 --> 00:20:52.869 as well. That takes time to get them dressed and things. So, 367 00:20:52.890 --> 00:20:57.799 you know, we're all sort of up against the speed 368 00:20:57.900 --> 00:21:01.940 of us. And we're all aiming for maximum quality at 369 00:21:01.960 --> 00:21:05.079 the same time. So that's usually the challenge, the biggest 370 00:21:05.099 --> 00:21:06.059 challenge on a show like this. 371 00:21:06.779 --> 00:21:09.579 Well, kind of speaking about amazing sets and costumes, how 372 00:21:09.640 --> 00:21:13.640 was it working with Yorgos Lathimos on The Favourite? He 373 00:21:13.660 --> 00:21:14.059 was great. 374 00:21:14.319 --> 00:21:16.720 I just took over for a week on that movie. 375 00:21:17.319 --> 00:21:19.960 You know, the cinematographer, Robbie Ryan, had to step away 376 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:22.720 for a week for personal reasons. So I came in 377 00:21:22.799 --> 00:21:26.500 and took over early in the show. I mean, that 378 00:21:26.519 --> 00:21:30.009 was amazing. He's got a very... sort of particular way 379 00:21:30.049 --> 00:21:33.630 of seeing the world and it was great working with 380 00:21:33.670 --> 00:21:35.690 somebody who had such a clear idea of how he 381 00:21:35.730 --> 00:21:39.000 wanted to you know make his movie you've. 382 00:21:38.819 --> 00:21:41.039 Been doing a lot of horror lately i know you 383 00:21:41.059 --> 00:21:44.680 did a little additional photography on hokum i mentioned primate 384 00:21:45.579 --> 00:21:48.740 hard eyes how was it working on hard eyes and 385 00:21:48.779 --> 00:21:50.900 coming up with that very distinct look that you had 386 00:21:50.920 --> 00:21:52.400 for that one it. 387 00:21:52.400 --> 00:21:55.369 Was really good fun hard eyes was with josh rubin 388 00:21:55.390 --> 00:21:59.319 directing he's a lovely guy he's you know He's really creative. 389 00:21:59.339 --> 00:22:03.440 He's super collaborative. Hard Eyes was actually really tricky because 390 00:22:03.480 --> 00:22:06.299 it's a really, you know, the genre sort of bending it, 391 00:22:06.680 --> 00:22:08.910 the blend of the rom-com and the horror. It's a 392 00:22:09.029 --> 00:22:14.170 really tricky, fine line to sort of ride. So, you know, 393 00:22:14.490 --> 00:22:18.390 we worked really hard on that. We knew very clearly 394 00:22:18.410 --> 00:22:20.869 what we wanted the horror stuff to look like. But 395 00:22:20.890 --> 00:22:23.390 trying to dial in on the rom-com stuff, you know, 396 00:22:23.410 --> 00:22:26.950 it took a bit of experimentation and a bit of time. Thankfully, 397 00:22:26.970 --> 00:22:30.349 we got it right. It was a tricky but fun challenge. 398 00:22:31.170 --> 00:22:32.089 What are you working on next? 399 00:22:33.049 --> 00:22:36.630 Right now, I am in Morocco shooting some episodes with 400 00:22:36.670 --> 00:22:39.490 a round of the third season of The Gentleman. We've 401 00:22:39.529 --> 00:22:42.660 literally just finished our second day. Wow. 402 00:22:43.119 --> 00:22:44.960 Didn't the second season just come out? 403 00:22:45.819 --> 00:22:47.960 Yeah. I think there was a big gap between season 404 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:49.980 one and season two. I think a two-year gap maybe. 405 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:53.779 And I think they're keen to shorten that for season 406 00:22:53.799 --> 00:22:54.420 two and season three. 407 00:22:55.230 --> 00:22:57.930 That's fantastic. Is there a good place for people to 408 00:22:57.990 --> 00:22:59.359 keep up with you and your work online? 409 00:23:00.720 --> 00:23:05.099 Probably, although I don't, you know, post very often. I'm 410 00:23:05.140 --> 00:23:10.920 on Instagram. My Instagram name is Stephen Murphy BSC. So 411 00:23:11.119 --> 00:23:15.950 Stephen with a PH. But my website is stephen-murphy.com. And 412 00:23:15.990 --> 00:23:19.450 that's where most of my, you know, work would be. 413 00:23:20.390 --> 00:23:21.849 So you can certainly see my stuff there. 414 00:23:22.450 --> 00:23:24.900 Fantastic. Well, Stephen, thank you so much for your time. 415 00:23:24.940 --> 00:23:26.240 This was wonderful talking with you. 416 00:25:26.490 --> 00:25:26.869 Thank you.