Capturing Light - A Director of Photography's Podcast
Sep 23, 2026 · 46 min · 12 segments
## In this episode, we talk about ***HIGH VALUE TARGET: THE HUNT FOR SADDAM*** - Creating two very distinct worlds: the polished, controlled world of Washington, and the war-torn, oppressive…
Xavier DolléansGuest
Les GaddisHost
So let's talk more about this project and the two different, well, I mean, there's a bunch of different looks, but you're in different places.
So you're in Washington, and then you're in Baghdad, or you're shooting in Egypt.
How do you balance from a storytelling perspective something that might feel a lot more structured.
And, you know, you're shooting behind desk and then all of a sudden you're in you're in tunnels, you know?
We tried, so we talked about Sicario, we talked about Zero Dark Thirty, we talked about Hurt Locker, we talked about Thirteen Soldiers of Benghazi, we talked about many, many war movies and series also a bit.
Of course, when you are shooting in the desert or Egypt, I mean, you are doing Baghdad.
And when you shoot in some desk and some meetings, well, it depends on what you do with the production design.
desk and maybe colder tones, you know, because also of the weather, because, and I was like, no, no, I want to go away from that preconception.
So we did the scouting and I did, you do your picture, you know, just to take some pictures during the scouting.
And I was like, Well, I'm not going to fight against that because this is what's happening in real life.
So when I was doing the just scouting picture outside and in the streets of Cairo and I was like, oh, my God, this is already dusty in the background and yellow in the sky and yellow on the facade of the building and yellow, orange everywhere.
Mm hmm.
And I was like, oh, all those windows are already tinted green and blue in the pictures and the office and everything is already.
And then we tried to, I'm always trying to bring some color balance in every frame.
Even if we completed everything with the production design, but you can't change everything.
So let's talk more about this project and the two different, well, I mean, there's a bunch of different looks, but you're in different places.
So you're in Washington, and then you're in Baghdad, or you're shooting in Egypt.
How do you balance from a storytelling perspective something that might feel a lot more structured.
And, you know, you're shooting behind desk and then all of a sudden you're in you're in tunnels, you know?
We tried, so we talked about Sicario, we talked about Zero Dark Thirty, we talked about Hurt Locker, we talked about Thirteen Soldiers of Benghazi, we talked about many, many war movies and series also a bit.
Of course, when you are shooting in the desert or Egypt, I mean, you are doing Baghdad.
And when you shoot in some desk and some meetings, well, it depends on what you do with the production design.
desk and maybe colder tones, you know, because also of the weather, because, and I was like, no, no, I want to go away from that preconception.
So we did the scouting and I did, you do your picture, you know, just to take some pictures during the scouting.
And I was like, Well, I'm not going to fight against that because this is what's happening in real life.
So when I was doing the just scouting picture outside and in the streets of Cairo and I was like, oh, my God, this is already dusty in the background and yellow in the sky and yellow on the facade of the building and yellow, orange everywhere.
Mm hmm.
And I was like, oh, all those windows are already tinted green and blue in the pictures and the office and everything is already.
And then we tried to, I'm always trying to bring some color balance in every frame.
Even if we completed everything with the production design, but you can't change everything.
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3 of 6
Lighting Saddam’s Capture Near Saqqara
The biggest shoot came with enormous risks.
Shoot As Much As Possible
His advice for cinematographers starts with action.
Cinematography Reveals The Truth
The visual language evolves as truth approaches.
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