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Director Andrew Bowser brings one of his most famous comedic characters to the big screen Onyx The Lucky and Talisman of Souls. Onyx the Fortuitous (Bowser) is a struggling amateur occultist who believes he’s made it to the big leagues when he’s invited to a demonic séance by his idol Bartok the Great. But when they manage to awaken the ancient spirit, he must fight to save his life—and his soul.
DP Dan Adlerstein discusses his longtime collaboration with Bowser, bringing the film’s specific brand of horror comedy to life, and much more.
See all the answers to our annual Sundance Filmmaker Interviews here.
director: How and why did you end up cinematographer on your film? What were the factors and qualities that led to your being hired for this job?
Adlerstein: I have worked with writer/director Andrew Bowser for years on a variety of projects including branded content, commercials and short films. Andrew is always such a pleasure to work with and we have built a really great working relationship. When he told me he was writing a movie centered around his character Onyx, I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of it.
director: What were your artistic goals for this film and how did you realize them? How did you want your cinematography to enhance the film’s storytelling and treatment of its characters?
Adlerstein: My approach to my cinematography in every film starts first and foremost with the character and the story. I’m a firm believer that everything should serve that, and as such I try not to instill any kind of preconceived overarching personal style into the film. And I try not to see pure beauty or visual dynamics as an end in itself. I have been fortunate to shoot a wide variety of projects throughout my career and dabble in many different styles and genres. While Onyx is an incredibly unique film that deserves its own distinctive visual narrative—in many ways, the goals are always the same. Tell the story.
director: Were there any specific influences on your cinematography, whether it was other films, visual art, photography or anything else?
Adlerstein: Onyx was conceived by Andrew as a throwback to 80s adventure/horror/comedy films such as Ghostbusters, Scary night and gremlins. These films are completely embedded in Andrew’s DNA as a director and the first thing he did was give me a list of about 15 of them to watch. Everything from gremlins to A squad of monsters. But early in our discussions we agreed that while Onyx it should feel like a comeback, it shouldn’t look exactly like one. When those movies came out, to that audience, they felt modern. So instead of copying “80s film aesthetics and tropes, we set out to make a modern looking film with a modern sensibility that would evoke the same emotions and sense of wonder.
director: What were the biggest challenges posed by the production for these purposes?
Adlerstein: We knew from the beginning that achieving that fine balance between horror, adventure and comedy would be difficult to say the least. In some ways, horror and comedy visuals can seem diametrically opposed. Comedy is about seeing the joke, while horror can often be about what you don’t see. But Andrew and I discussed how, in many ways, Onyx is a “fish out of water” story. This ridiculous character gets into serious situations with serious consequences. So the comedy was actually served more often than the film, which felt more like a horror. The more serious the visuals, the funnier Onyx’s character becomes.
director: What camera did you shoot with? Why did you choose the camera you did? What lenses did you use?
Adlerstein: We shot with an ARRI ALEXA Mini with Atlas Orion anamorphs. With ARRI cameras, I simply find their color rendition, skin tones, exposure gradation and fall-off to be second to none. In terms of lenses, one of the first decisions Andrew and I made was to Onyx to shoot anamorphic. Yes, we wanted that grand and epic feeling that anamorphote can help us provide. But also – Onyx is an ensemble piece and the 2.39 ratio would allow for more natural framing of group shots. We wanted to be creative with the negative space. We wanted the shallow depth of field to add a sense of mystery to the surroundings. And knowing that we’d have a lot of candles in the background of the shots, we thought anamorphic bokeh would help enhance the gothic mood and atmosphere of the venue.
director: Describe your approach to lighting.
Adlerstein: We wanted the lighting to have a gradual but distinct progression throughout the film. When our heroes first arrive at Bartók’s mansion, they feel a sense of excitement and optimism. During the day, we start with the light pouring in through the windows – strong splashes of sunlight bouncing off the surfaces and illuminating the interior. But as their weekend at the mansion progressed, we made the interior lighting softer and bluer, as if it were getting cloudier outside. Trouble is brewing. For our night scenes, we started with a soft, warm, safe light. But as the stakes are raised and the dangers begin to abound, we played on the moonlight coming through the windows more and more, and the inner tungsten less and less. The idea is that the cold dangerous night penetrates the safe warm interior.
director: What was the hardest scene to pull off and why? And how did you do it?
Adlerstein: There’s a crucial scene about 40 minutes into the film where things really turn tonally. In many ways, this is the film’s first horror scene. We had a whole plan for the scene we had shot laid out during prep. But when we blocked the scene just before noon for one night, this approach seemed daunting, if not impossible to achieve in the allotted shooting time. So here we are, around midnight at noon, coming up with a drastically different approach to the scene – something much more subjective with Onyx’s experience of the unfolding events. There would be no wide shots, with almost the entire scene being shot in close-ups. Visuals became more expressive, more intimate and bolder. We went with the new plan and it turned out to be my favorite scene in the movie.
director: Finally, describe the ending of the film. How much of your look was “baked in” versus realized in DI?
Adlerstein: It’s very important to me that what we shoot on set looks as close as possible to what we want for the finished film. I want the editor to edit how we intend the film to look. Much of the emotional weight of certain scenes, shots or moments can change with different visuals and this can result in a different edit. Even though we didn’t have a dailies colorist, I was very proud of the fact that the first rough cut looked damn good and close to what we wanted. Now that being said, a great colorist can be invaluable and really take your visual storytelling to the next level. We were lucky enough to work with Tyler Roth from Company 3 who has an amazing eye and did a fantastic job. He didn’t just make the movie look better, he made the movie better – period.
TECHNICAL BOX
Movie Title: Onyx The Lucky and Talisman of Souls
Camera: Ari Alexa Mini
lenses: Atlas Orion Anamorphics
Color Gradation: Company 3
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