CinematographerJeff Cutterfirst collaborated with directorDan Trachtenbergon10 Cloverfield Lane. Their successful partnership continued on thePredatorprequel,Prey, which became Hulu’s most-watched streaming premiere. Jeff and Trachtenberg found they had a strong bond over their mutual interests, such as films likeDie Hardwith “muscular” camerawork. As gamers, the two often use cinematic moments and cutscenes from both videogames and movies as visual references during pre-production meetings. “Dan is very much always about, well, how do we make this, what can we add to this? Whether it’s smoke and fog, or whether it’s rain, or whether it’s sand and dust blowing up, always what are the textual ways that we can affect the image, which then also affects the light. How do we give it mood? And because I think both of us played so many games, they can just have this mist that can cover an entire sequence. So we sort of strive to do that kind of thing as well.”
ForPredator: Badlands, Tractenberg created a previsualization (previs) of the major sequences. He and Jeff then discussed the overall visual tone and the right approach for the camerawork. A key thought exercise they use is determining how each scene could be shot as a oner, even if the final plan doesn’t involve a single-take sequence. Jeff explains, “The exercise just lets us, it really lets you figure out who is the scene about? What is the context and what is the subtext?” He finds that it’s a creative way to focus and narrow down the visual choices to make each scene distinct.
Jeff built upon the visual foundation he established forPrey. For that film, he and Trachtenberg wanted to subvert audience expectations of aPredatormovie, focusing on a naturalistic approach that relied as much as possible on natural daylight, firelight, and moonlight as the primary sources. “Going intoBadlands, I wanted to continue that naturalistic sort of feeling and that very grounded approach,” says Jeff. “But we had to expand on that, because we’re into other territory now. Even though it was shot on a stage, it needs to be very simply lit. You don’t want to feel like there’s a lot of stuff competing with each other. The lighting has to feel real and always based on a source and not something that just comes from nowhere just because you need to see the scene.”
Defining thePredator: Badlandslook by color palette
The Yautja Planet (Predator Home World): Jeff chose a distinct brown and blue palette accented with warm tones. The look is designed to evoke a sense of harsh but beautiful reality, defined by sandy deserts and stark rock formations.
The Planet Gena: Shot partly on location in New Zealand, this environment called for a greener, more naturalistic look, with a bluer color for nighttime scenes.
The Weyland-Yutani Base: This section connectsPredator: Badlandsto the largerAlienuniverse, notably through the Weyland-Yutani corporation and its synthetic main character, Thia (played byElle Fanning). Inspired by the industrial, ominous atmosphere and moody lighting of films likeAliensandPrometheus, Cutter aimed for an industrial look dominated by cyan, blue, and green tones.
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SHOW RUNDOWN:
01:53 Close Focus
12:01-1:04:42 Interview
01:05:03 Short Ends
01:13:10 Wrap up/Credits (with a little blooper at the end)
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