Darius Khondji — Cinematography Techniques for Se7en, Uncut Gems, Okja & More

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Darius Khondji Cinematography Techniques — a cinematography breakdown of one of cinema’s greatest DPs, including a look at techniques such as lighting, exposure, and color.

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Chapters:
00:00 - Intro to Darius Khondji
01:00 - Darius Khondji's Approach to Cinematography
02:06 - Chapter 1: Extreme Exposure
06:54 - Chapter 2: Lighting From Above
10:55 - Chapter 3: Green & Gold
15:20 - Takeaways

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DARIUS KHONDJI CINEMATOGRAPHY

You may not know his name but you’ve certainly seen his work. Cinematographer Darius Khondji has been behind some of the best films of the last few decades. Working with celebrated auteurs like David Fincher, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Bong Joon-ho, the Safdie Brothers, James Gray, and Alejandro González Iñárritu, Khondji’s style blends with each director’s aesthetic. And, yet, there are some clear throughlines we can see. In this episode of Cinematography Techniques, we’ll break each of those down, including his approach to exposure, overhead lighting, and the colors green and gold.

One of Khondji’s stylistic strengths is how he approaches exposure. In Se7en, extreme underexposure creates dark and sinister interiors. Added to this was a bleach bypass treatment of the negative that increases contrast and desaturates color. The overall look is bleak, which fits perfectly with the subject matter and the themes at play.

Another one of Khondji’s preferences is overhead lighting. Depending on the context, this type of lighting has various effects. In Okja, for example, Mija and her eponymous friend walk passed massive pens with other super pigs preparing for slaughter. The overhead lights cast hard downward shadows on her face as the blue moonlight adds a layer of melancholy.

Finally, no matter the director or project, Darius Khondji clearly has a thing for green and gold. Sometimes in isolation, sometimes in combination, they add a distinct look and feel from the usual blue and orange. In a film like The City of Lost Children, the highly saturated greens mix with almost nostalgic golds. These competing colors match the competing forces at work — the innocence and warmth of children against the nightmarish plot of a scientist out to steal it from them.

Darius Khondji cinematography is unlike any other. And in the process of aiding these auteurs to manifest their visions, Khondji has created a visual style that is rich, edgy, and inspiring.


#FilmTheory #VideoEssay #Filmmaking

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♬ SONGS USED:

“Flashing Lights” - Kanye West
“New Digs” - Thomas Newman
“Windows” - Daniel Lopatin
“Smoothie” - Daniel Lopatin
“The Godfather Waltz” - Nino Rota
“Father-Ghost” - Bryce Dessner, Alejandro G. Iñárritu
“Suite from Seven” - Howard Shore
“The Immigrant Suite” Christopher Spelman
“Piggy” - Scala Kolacny Brothers (Nine Inch Nails cover)
“Mohegan Suite” - Daniel Lopatin
“Pawn Shop” - Christopher Spelman
“Vision of Fantasy” - Angelo Badalamenti
“The Ballad of Howie Bling” Daniel Lopatin
“Mateo’s Freedom” - Bryce Dessner, Alejandro G. Iñárritu
“The Final Journey” - Christopher Spelman
“Cell Clone” - Graeme Revell
“Caution - Flammable” - Howard Shore
“Lanniversaire Drive” - Angelo Badalamenti
“Back to the Woods” - Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Camilo Frodeval, Dan Zlotnik
“Walking Home” - Christopher Spelman
“Boulevard of Broken Dreams” - Esquival

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