Director of photography Thomas Brémond talks to Panavision France about the making of "Prosper", by Yohann Gloaguen

How did you become involved in the project ?

Thomas Brémond : Prosper is Yohann Gloaguen’s first film, and by chance the project’s theme intersected with my photographic work. From the very first moment we met, our conversation flowed smoothly. We even ended up scouting locations at the New Morning, which became an important setting for the film.

How would you describe the look of the project ?

TB : In Prosper, fantasy intrudes into the very realistic setting of the main character’s life as a Uber driver. So, we had to build a universe that would allow fluid back-and-forth between these two aspects, realism and fantasy.
The story takes place in the Parisian Sape scene, saturated with bright colors, so we had to pay homage to these colors, but while saturated, the image remains matte, with a very long shoulder of the densitometric curve.

The film is in 1.85 format, taken in the anamorphic 2.40 of an Alexa LF. The world behind the faces is therefore often very abstract, in the magnificent blurs of the Technovision series.

Were there any particular visual references you looked at for inspiration ?

TB : Yohann Gloaguen came up with a strong visual reference, the Safdie brothers’ film Uncut Gems, [DP Darius Khondji, AFC, ASC Editor’ note] for its very dirty highlights and textured backgrounds. We also talked about Julian Schnabel’s The Diving Bell and the Butterfly [DP Janusz Kaminski Editor’ note], to induce the fantastical elements using a lens with a throwing off-center.
The Sappers’ costumes and vehicles also conjure up references such as Francis Wolf and Reid Miles’ photos for the Blue Note albums, and some of Roy Decarava’s images for the very dark nights. too.

What brought you to Panavision for this project ?

TB : I’ve been working with Panavision for a long time and had already used the Techno-Zeiss series on Joe Ingabire Moys’ film Bazigaga.
We were in preparation when Alexis Petkovsek told me that this series had just been modified to cover full frame.

Doing a 1.85 in the LF Scope was a very strong choice that corresponded to Yohann Gloaguen’s request, so we talked about it and then did some tests that finally convinced us.

What inspired you to become a cinematographer ?

TB : A chance acting experience as a child introduced me to film sets.
I went on to become a photographer, although I’m also a great cinephile.
The trigger was probably Jacques Rivette’s The Story of Marie and Julien, lit by William Lubtchansky, AFC, which made me aware of the power of light as a narrative tool.

What keeps you inspired today ?

TB : The answer is vast and could be different every day !
I’m lucky enough to have received a beautiful script for a shoot at the end of the year, so I think about it a lot...
In everyday life, inspiration can come from a surprising bounce of light between two buildings. In photographs by David Allan Harvey, Alex Webb or Joseph Koudelka. The beginning of Emanuele Crialese’s Golden Door, in which every Agnès Godard, AFC, shot is a great photograph, but I could just as easily have cited films by Terrence Malick, Andrea Arnolds, Steeve McQueen or so many others...

(In the article portfolio, please find two photographs of the shooting by Stéphanie Branchu, still photographer.)