The Art of Controlled Chaos: How the ‘Coochie Coo’ Segment Was Shot for ‘V/H/S Halloween’

For cinematographer Powell Robinson, capturing “Coochie Coochie Coo” for V/H/S Halloween wasn’t about crafting good photos—it was about letting go of that intuition fully. The phase, directed by Anna Zlokovic, plunges viewers into the jittery, overexposed world of late-2000s DV camcorders, the place concern feels fast and each body seems prefer it might have been captured accidentally. Robinson leaned into the imperfections of discovered footage—embracing blown highlights, handheld chaos, and the hum of analog sensors—to make the horror really feel disturbingly actual.For these not conversant in the V/H/S franchise, it’s an anthology collection of found-footage horror movies the place people uncover disturbing VHS tapes containing numerous horrifying brief tales, usually linked by a recurring wraparound narrative.Within the Q&A under, Robinson breaks down how he and Zlokovic recreated the look of 2009-era digital video utilizing a contemporary Sony FX9, a customized tapeless DV workflow, and a lighting strategy constructed fully from sensible sources. The result’s a phase that feels each nostalgic and uncomfortably current—a reminder that typically, the scariest factor a cinematographer can do is cease making an attempt to make the picture lovely. – YouTubewww.youtube.comNo Movie Faculty: How did you first become involved with the V/H/S Halloween anthology?Powell Robinson: Anna Zlokovic, the director, and I’ve been working collectively since faculty! We shot a thesis collectively there, have since shot a bunch of music movies, after which Anna’s debut function, Appendage, for Hulu.NFS: What cameras did you utilize to attain the found-footage aesthetic, and did you mix totally different codecs to imitate the look of client gear?PR: We’d initially checked out doing a tapeless Canon XL2 capturing workflow, utilizing a converter cable to file straight from the XL2 to an Odyssey monitor/recorder. However the logistics and stability of the a/v connections offered an enormous problem for a way lively and turbulent the digicam movement and blocking was: I used to be operating up stairs, hitting partitions, and many others., and if you happen to even bumped the DIY connection the mistaken approach, it will shut down. There was additionally the priority of the decrease decision being too arduous to work round for all of our VFX. We did additionally attempt to make a extra easy consumer-DV cam scenario work by utilizing a Canon HV40. Nevertheless it had much more limitations for monitoring, so we shortly nixed that as nicely. Nonetheless, it did function a foundation for our reference of what the women would even have been filming with, had been this actual. So we based mostly a whole lot of our on-set choices and the look off of what the HV40 would have been wish to movie with.Backside line, we pivoted, saving the XL2 for later for a tapeless-tape-out post-analog switch. On set, we shot with a Sony FX9 for 90% of the phase and an A7S for the intro within the automobile. We actually needed the women to have the ability to function that part all on their very own – additionally they wanted to, because the automobile was too tight to suit all of us in there. It additionally actually grounds you on the earth and units you as much as consider that it’s really simply the 2 of them filming the entire time. Credit score: Shudder I went with an FX9 for the majority of the shoot as I needed sturdy and secure video monitoring choices, a broadcast-style ENG deal with to regulate the zoom in a approach that felt like somebody utilizing the zoom rocker on an old-fashioned DV cam, and in addition a light-weight sufficient digicam physique I’d get a very good quantity of jitter/shake from the hand-held so the rendering of movement on display appeared like two youngsters swinging somewhat DV digicam round.Anna and I knew from the start we would have liked the picture to have the dynamic vary and texture of DV to essentially promote the time interval, so as soon as we completed the edit and VFX, we went via a multi-step course of that we referred to as “our tapeless tape out”.We arrange an OLED display, which we filmed utilizing the Canon XL2’s sensor output straight into an Odyssey recorder. That approach, we might seize all of the quirks and imperfections of the older CCD sensor and its coloration house with out the headache of digitizing from tape.Because the sensor’s dynamic vary and coloration science behave so in a different way from fashionable cameras, we routed a stay feed from DaVinci Resolve to the OLED, which let me tweak our coloration grade on the fly, scene by scene, so pictures that weren’t translating nicely via the sensor could possibly be adjusted in actual time.As soon as completed, we despatched the output again to Jared Rosenthal, our colorist, and he utilized some actually particular sharpening to emulate the feel of some references from Blair Witch, in addition to fixing any coloration clipping or artifacting from the DV switch.NFS: Did you limit your self to sure lenses or focal lengths to maintain the phase grounded in a “dwelling video” perspective?PR: For certain, the one prime we ever used was a 24mm on our full-frame sensor that appeared to match the widest lens of the period-accurate client DV digicam we had been making an attempt to emulate—the Canon HV40—in addition to a 24-70 zoom.NFS: Did you utilize practicals—flashlights, candles, family lamps—as your major instruments, or did you complement subtly with hidden items?PR: For the outside trick-or-treat avenue, we had been really filming on a backlot with zero lighting accessible or constructed into the homes, so all of that was created by us. We used a mixture of Astera bulbs, hydra panels, and tubes in and across the homes for sensible sources just like the prop streetlamps. After which creamsource vortex 8’s for the background timber, a Nanlux 2400 hidden on a scissor carry within the timber that felt like streetlights raking via the surroundings. We additionally had a lantern globe on an LED stashed approach within the distance for some atmosphere on the homes within the background. Exterior home lighting Credit score: Shudder The Mommy home exterior was on the identical backlot and wanted to really feel very naturalistic in the identical approach till all of the Halloween decorations and inside lights began to pulse in a synchronized trend. I discovered a set of decorative-looking string lights made by Chauvet which you can ship to Blackout/Luminair via DMX, which obtained strung up in entrance of the home, in addition to a bunch of Astera bulbs stashed within the pumpkins. We hid another vortex and tube lights in and round the home, all set to very natural-looking coloration and brightness values. However then, as soon as the women discover the home, since all the pieces was arrange via DMX to the iPad, my gaffer was in a position to set off an impact the place your entire setup would begin to rhythmically oscillate on the similar time.As soon as inside the home, I’d say we switched to a extra conventional discovered footage gentle supply, the digicam’s “onboard flashlight.” Nonetheless, in our case, this was an Astera pixel brick mounted straight in step with, and resting proper above, the lens on the FX9. Our Manufacturing Designer, Danny Erb, fabricated some 3D-printed highlight mount rings and diffusion that permit us change the spot/flood quantity in addition to its high quality of softness relying on the shot. 3D-printed highlight mount rings and diffusionCredit: Danny Erb NFS: Every V/H/S entry appears like a mixtape of horror types. How did you need Coochie Coochie Coo to face out visually among the many different segments?PR: We needed to verify it felt correct to its time interval, in addition to the characters who’re presupposed to be filming, and why they proceed to carry the digicam. It’s much less about them “needing to doc” the entire thing, and extra that it’s extremely sensible that they want the flashlight to see within the in any other case pitch black surroundings. Additionally, the DV cam aesthetic of 2009 is kind of totally different from a extra conventional VHS-Tape-Out by way of each look and backbone, in addition to colorspace.NFS: How would you describe the visible model of Coochie Coochie Coo?PR: Gritty, naturalistic, and nostalgic. And I suppose usually fairly visceral haha.NFS: Have been there particular issues in framing or lighting grotesque or surreal parts so that they didn’t really feel too “cinematic” for discovered footage?PR: I’d say the extra surreal parts had been really simpler to movie “discovered footage” model than the drama and conversations. Typically, the pure intuition as a DP is to gentle and movie protection/dialogue in a approach that’s each flattering to the actors and feels cinematic and nicely composed, so you’ll be able to simply take within the essential data from what they’re saying. In discovered footage land, you must do not forget that when persons are speaking, these are presupposed to be actual individuals holding the digicam and wouldn’t be listening to holding a very good body or really aiming the lens on the individual in any respect, except unintentionally. Anna was very on high of cuing me for moments to form of drop the digicam or maintain it off angle and sideways, however hold half an actor’s face in so the digicam place felt extra genuine throughout these drama beats.NFS: Wanting again, what was the most important technical hurdle you solved on this phase?PR: Perfecting the post-analog switch course of. At first, we tried with a client dv cam, the Canon HV40, as a result of we needed it to have such a pure, lo-fi really feel, nevertheless it gave us a whole lot of ghosting. Additionally, when filming the offline footage with temp coloration, the black degree was all over, and so was the shutter angle for the reason that digicam had restricted guide management features and stored auto-adjusting.We realized early on that the simplest approach to consider the method was tricking the outdated CCD sensor into considering it was capturing actual life. If the footage had been too lifted or too sturdy of a “look” from the offline LUT, it felt inauthentic. So, earlier than our ultimate switch, Jared, our colorist, did an end-to-end balancing move, normalizing the white level and all of the black ranges so, on an OLED display, it was about as near seeing the footage with your individual eyes as potential.After rounds and rounds of trial and error with the HV40 (so many 12+ hour switch take a look at days), we determined the tapeless recording course of with the Canon XL2 could be integral to the method because the XL2 had full guide management and we wouldn’t be reliant on log and capturing from tape.NFS: What’s one instrument or trick you relied on that horror followers won’t notice was shaping their expertise of the movie?PR: I used to be in costume your entire time, usually doing a number of costume adjustments a day when the 2 characters handed the digicam off to one another in case we noticed my toes/legs whereas operating, or caught my reflection in a window.One other enjoyable one was the infant monitor within the Pink room upstairs: you see Samantha’s character holding the digicam with the sunshine within the child monitor, nevertheless it was really far trickier than it appears, since I used to be working and we didn’t need to use VFX. The monitor had a small digicam that we arrange within the room about 5ft to the left of the monitor itself (off-screen), in order I entered the room, Samantha adopted me, holding a tiny flashlight and matching my blocking, however from 5 toes again. Once I caught the monitor, she made certain to be aiming the sunshine precisely as I used to be, panning previous the monitor-camera so it completely syncs up and seems to be displaying her within the monitor display. Very happy with that little second.