Welcome to The Queue — your daily distraction of curated video content sourced from across the web. Today, we’re watching a video essay that looks at what distinguishes the cinematography of Linus Sandgren.
With credits like No Time To Die, La La Land, and First Man under his belt, director of photography Linus Sandgren has easily carved out a space for himself as one of the 21st century’s most notable cinematographers. Hailing from Sweden, the BAFTA and Academy Award-winning DoP has proved himself a reliable talent on big-budget projects, able to bob, weave, and adapt to all manner of genres and deliver striking images (many of which we’ve been happy to highlight over at One Perfect Shot).
The video essay below takes a look at two aspects of what distinguishes Sandgren’s work as a cinematographer. Namely: his creative philosophy and his preferred gear. As the essay explains, Sandgren is keen on adapting his style to meet the needs of both the story and the director’s style. So whether it be shooting Don’t Look Up like a conventional political thriller or ensuring that the scope and scale we’ve come to expect from the Bond franchise comes across in No Time To Die, a quick peek at Sandgren’s resume reveals that he’s quite the chameleon. But, as with most things cinematography, a visual aide is far better than the written word. So buckle up, and check out the video essay below for a look at what makes Linus Sandgren a name worth knowing.
Postscript: it would be criminal negligence on my part to fail to mention the existence of Disco Kung Fu, a short film Sandgren shot in 2002 that I am very fond of. Also look: Sandgren on Roger Deakins’ podcast! Hell yeah!
Watch “Cinematography Style: Linus Sandgren”:
Who made this?
This video essay on Linus Sandgren’s cinematography is by In Depth Cine, a YouTube account dedicated to providing its audience with practical rundowns and explainers on some of the more technical aspects of movie-making. Gray Kotzé, a documentary DP based in South Africa, is the man behind the channel. You can check out Kotzé’s portfolio on their website here. And you can check out In Depth Cine on YouTube here.
More videos like this
- This video essay on Linus Sandgren’s cinematography is part of a larger series that highlights the creative style of different folks. You can click here to check out the series’ playlist, which includes a look at the work of the likes of Ellen Kuras, Gordon Willis, and Bradford Young.
- Here’s another sample of In Depth Cine’s work: how Quentin Tarantino shoots a film at three different price levels.
- And here’s another about how to tell the difference between anamorphic versus spherical camera lenses.
- And here’s In Depth Cine’s breakdown of a bunch of cinematography-related questions, including how they collaborate with colorists.