Nicolaj Brüel, was born in Copenhagen on 19 August 1965: his father Dirk is also a cinematographer. After graduating from the National Danish Film School in 1991, he has worked with some of the best directors in the world on commercials. He achieved international success with the film The Machine (2013) by Caradog W. James and in 2018 the definitive consecration thanks to his work in Dogman (2018) by Matteo Garrone, with which he won the David di Donatello for Best Cinematography. In 2019 always for Garrone he illuminated Pinocchio.
The cinematography is a family tradition. In fact, your father Dirk is also a cinematographer: was he the one who passed on to you the passion for this profession?
Yes that’s true. My father is an amazing cinematographer, but I don’t think he was the one who brought me the interest in cinema. Actually I didn’t like the industry so much when I was a kid, of course I blamed it for my dad always being away from home on movies. Nowadays it’s great to have the same passion, we often share ideas and discuss technical solutions to different problems.
When you were a child, what film made the strongest impression on you?
I think the first really strong impact a movie had on me was Dersu Uzala by Kurosawa. It really is a masterpiece. I will have to watch it again sometime soon actually.
Which cinematographer did you draw inspiration from during your training?
Early on movies like Once Upon A Time in the West by Tonino Delli Colli. Then Apocalypse Now and The Conformist by Vittorio Storaro, Blade Runner by Jordan Cronenweth… Also I love Darius Khondji's work on The City of Lost Children and Seven of course…
Your consecration, after The Machine (Caradog W. James, 2013), definitely arrives in 2018 thanks to Dogman by Matteo Garrone, a film with which you won the David di Donatello for Best Cinematography. How did you meet Garrone? Before Dogman in 2017 you shot a commercial for D&G together…
The Machine, Caradog W. James (2013). Cinematographer Nicolaj Brüel
The very first time I met Matteo was on a Renault Car commercial actually. He was very nice. He was very straight forward and very brave. I thought, course he asked for my help in how to shoot the car nicely, course back then he didn’t have so much experience in doing car commercials. I thought that he was very cool. After that we did a couple of short films and also some commercials, among those D&G. I think it was about that time he told me about his Pinocchio project. I was of course very excited to have the possibility to do such an amazing story together. At that time I was trying to make the move from shooting commercials into shooting more movies. I remember one day I called Matteo from a commercial job in Madrid to ask if there was any news about Pinocchio and he told me that he had decided to do another small project of his first. This was a script he had in the drawer for quite some time, but now was the time. The story was called Dogman.
How was your professional relationship for Dogman with him in the dual role of director and camera operator?
Shooting Dogman proved to be a challenge on many levels. Matteo’s approach to his work is very unique I think. He likes as much freedom as possible in all possible ways. Freedom to play with the scene and freedom to change the scene on the spot if he doesn’t like it. As a Cinematographer this working style can be nerve racking, especially if you like to control things like I do… So you need to just go with it and enjoy the ride as much as you can. I really didn’t have a problem with Matteo operating on most of the movie. We used quite heavy anamorphic lenses and we did lots of hand held cameras, so it made sense that Matteo would operate, of course he is much stronger than I am… Ha ha ha… No really, he is actually very good at doing handheld!
Your cinematography in Dogman deliberately desaturated, made of livid tones, is pale and dull like the life of the protagonist Marcello (Marcello Fonte), declined on the scale of grays (and a blue that tends to green) and dull colors, almost to represent a post universe-apocalyptic: it is no coincidence that the sun never shines in the sky (even metaphorically). How was your study of the character and the environment around him?
Hmmm… I think both Matteo and myself find beauty in an environment not necessarily lit by sunlight. Apart from that, we wanted to portrait the hard environment the dogman is living in, in a realistic but also respectful way, which meant trying to find some beauty in this run-down but unique location.
The dogman-shop is situated at the Villaggio Coppola, Castel Volturno: what can you tell us about the choice of location? Did you participate in the inspections?
Yes, we were actually supposed to shoot in a much more modern part just outside Rome, but luckily Matteo chose Castel Volturno instead. That place is so special and the sole of it plays a huge role in the movie, I think.
Are the less gloomy photographic moments in the film related to the relationship between Marcello and his daughter, as in the case of the canine beauty contest and the boat trip?
Yes that’s correct. A life with his daughter is what the dogman dreams off. This represents a beautiful dream, therefore the warm sunlight as a contrast to a cold world, if you like.
Paradoxically, when Marcello is imprisoned, we are faced with an almost blinding light: does the environment prevail in white, like the walls, the sheets, the bars?
The idea behind this look was to show how vulnerable this little creature is in a place like that. Really there is no place to hide. No warm dogman shop where you can close the door behind you. A place like prison is almost unearthly in a way. Not a part of real life.
Dogman, Matteo Garrone (2018). Cinematographer Nicolaj Brüel
What can you tell us about your collaboration with Francesco Scazzosi, the DIT- Digital Imaging Technician, and with the colorist, Angelo Francavilla?
Francesco is great, he has so much technical knowledge which is super helpful in so many ways, and Angelo has a really good eye and understanding of colours.
Have you developed any LUTs (Look Up Tables) during filming or in post-production?
No, I find it very helpful to work with LUTs and we actually always dedicate almost a full day with the camera to finetune them in different light scenarios. I believe we made 2 or 3 different ones for int. and the same for ext. I like to make them as close as possible to the final vision, of course it’s helpful to everyone on set. Director, production designer, wardrobe and makeup. Also much less time is needed in the final colour correction, course you are almost there already. If I remember correctly, I think we were scheduled to grade for 10 days, but finished after 5, so the time spent in preparation comes back in the end. But also Angelo is great and super fast of course.
Did you shoot with an Arri Alexa Mini (ARRIRAW): did you test before choosing it or was it a camera you had already measured yourself with?
I have tested many cameras and lenses, but it’s impossible to keep yourself 100% updated on all the new camera equipment and updates, so I went for Alexa which I know well and I think is doing a good job on producing digital images that don't look too digital.
Special lenses were used, like Cooke Anamorphic SF (Special Flare), right?
Yes that’s correct. What I like about the SFs is not so much the flair you can have, but more the softness they produce. I think they look very nice on skin, which for me is very important. I also found that the softness of these lenses was an interesting contrast to the somewhat rough location. Nice to mix the rough with a bit of romance, I guess.
How did you collaborate with production designer Dimitri Capuani?
Very very good. It has been a big pleasure to work with him on both Dogman and Pinocchio. As a matter of fact I have met so many wonderful and skillful crew in Italy. From Eleonora, my focus puller, and her assistant Carolina to Alex Bramucci who has been the gaffer on all my Italian movies. I have had great steadicam operators in Alex Brambilla and Daniele Massaccesi. Costume designer Massimo Cantini Parrini and make-up artist Dalia Coli. It has been such a big pleasure to work with them all... As a cinematographer you are totally depending on their skills and talent.
Is there a sequence that satisfied you the most?
I liked the scene where Marcello goes back to the villain's workshop to pretend he is asking for forgiveness, for smashing up his bike, even though he has just been brutally beaten down by him. The scene and the way the camera moves was improvised and just happened very naturally. I thought it worked out nicely.
How was the experience of working for the first time in an Italian production?
Ha ha ha… Exiting! How can I describe it? As different as our cultures probably. Danish people are very organized. We like to control everything. A little bit like the Germans maybe? The Italian way seems much more open minded, but also a bit more chaotic. I guess it has its charm, when you get used to it. I have also noticed that not all Italians produce the same way. Actually ha ha ha…
Your latest work with Garrone is Pinocchio (2019), another magnificent photographic proof: for this film you have been awarded The Bronze Frog at the Camerimage Film Festival and The Golden Light Meter at the latest edition of the italian Gianni Di Venanzo Award. Also in this film you used the Alexa Mini (and lenses Cooke SF) as in the previous one. What was your photographic-visual approach to the fairytale world of the film?
The reason behind choosing the Cooke SFs on Pinocchio, was to a certain extend the same as on Dogman. On Dogman we wanted to soften the roughness of the location a bit. To portray it in a respectful way, without looking down upon the obvious decay, but to find some thought of realistic beauty in it, if that makes any sense. From Collodi’s hand Pinocchio has a lot of darkness in it. Even madness almost. It was important for Matteo to stay as close as possible to Collodi’s original tale, so we wanted to keep the darkness, but still we had to balance it to the fact that this was to be seen by children as well. In that sense the lenses helped to add a little bit of romance to the darkness due to their softer feel.
Compared to Dogman, Pinocchio is a richer and more complex production.
Yes you are right. Pinocchio was a far more complex production than Dogman. Dogman was shot in a geographically very small area, where Pinocchio was shot pretty much all over Italy. The visual approach for any movie I prepare for, comes from the time when I read the script for the very first time. For me this is where I start to imagine the movie. The feel, the colours etc. With Pinocchio it was especially like this. It being a fairytale, with such a rich imaginary world, I really tried to stay true to my very first visual images formed when reading. So lots of the choices of colour and contrast leads back to that first read... Obviously it is a mix of many factors which forms the visual language of a movie in the end. It will always be a mix of other inputs, from the director, production designer or others… Also you can’t be too obsessed with trying to stay true to your original vision. At times you have to be able to take a new approach. For instance, I originally had some very beautiful images in my mind of how the nights in Pinocchio would look like. It would be some thought of a misty and mysterious yellowish moonlit night. But when I realised that Pinocchio's costume was going to be in a bright red colour, that kind of idea fell apart, course I couldn't imagine a red Pinocchio in an all yellowish misty light. So… the nights became cyan-blue instead, which I thought worked better with Pinocchio’s red costume.
Pinocchio, Matteo Garrone (2019). Cinematographer Nicolaj Brüel
Which Italian cinematographers, past or present, do you most admire?
I like the work of Dante Spinotti, but if I have to pick one it will have to be Vittorio Storaro! What an amazing career he has had.
How are you experiencing this particular historical moment that has also affected the film industry?
Most importantly I hope the pandemic will wear out soon, so we can shoot movies, hug and kiss each other again… And that we can go watch movies where they are supposed to be watched, namely in the movie theater!!!
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