Hitchcock always prioritized the emotional experience of the audience. How they added the visual pieces together, and how they interpreted them. He did not care about messaging, plot, or even content. He cared about conjuring emotions and creating a compelling, and unsettling, experience.

Even though the two go hand-in-hand, visual storytelling should start with lens choice rather than camera choice, and the technical decision behind which lenses you do choose should be informed by the story that’s being told. If you’ve been around the cinematography campfire for more than a day, you’ve probably heard of the terms spherical and anamorphic.

We’ve done these films in between the Batman films…like The Prestige got slotted in there and the was very low budget. We sort of slowly discovered the beauty and the advantage of getting around locations and getting as many as possible.

Top Gun: Maverick might be capitalizing on our nostalgia for 80s action flicks, but its cinematography is from the future thanks to some amazing new cameras.

Check out the behind-the-scenes video below, then read through some key takeaways!