Behind the Scenes: SFX and dynamic lighting merge worlds in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice

Tim Burton and Michael Keaton’s return to the fantasy horror comedy hit is lensed by Greek-Cypriot cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos. Adrian Pennington reports.

When director Tim Burton sat down with his cinematographer to discuss a sequel to 1988’s cult hit Beetlejuice he told Haris Zambarloukos (BSC); ‘I’ve already made that film’.

“There’s a world already set up, there is a precedent there but he didn’t want to breathe life into old bodies. He wanted to treat each scene of the new film on its own terms,” says the DoP of his first experience working with Burton. Zambarloukos regularly composes films with Kenneth Branagh including spooky house feature A Haunting in Venice (2023). He says the Edward Scissorhands director knows what he wants...

Latest Behind the scenes
Centre L-R - Cynthia Erivo (as Elphaba), Director Jon M. Chu, and Ariana Grande (as Glinda) on the set of Wicked

Behind the Scenes: Wicked

Opposing colours in the same frame, 6000 lightning cues and shooting 17 sound stages - one the size of four American football fields, all merit why Wicked is the ‘latest hurrah to the golden days of epic studio filmmaking,’ writes Adrian Pennington.

Read more
Steve McQueen in Blitz, now streaming on Apple TV+

Behind the Scenes: Blitz

The director of 12 Years A Slave and Small Axe has created a historical aesthetic of a tragic and turbulent London, depicting lives subjected to a permanent black out, in Blitz, Steve McQueen’s new film based on authentic anecdotes and inspired by filmmaker archives of the era.

Read more
Favourites:

Registered users only: Login

Share this:
Other themes: