Talking About Inglourious Basterds with our guest, cinematographer Shane Hurlbut
In this engaging episode of Movies We Like, acclaimed cinematographer Shane Hurlbut joins hosts Andy Nelson and Pete Wright to discuss Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece Inglourious Basterds and share fascinating stories from his illustrious career behind the camera. From his humble beginnings on a farm in upstate New York to becoming one of Hollywood's most innovative cinematographers, Hurlbut's journey is filled with determination, creativity, and a fearless approach to his craft.
The conversation delves deep into what makes Inglourious Basterds a cinematographic triumph, with Hurlbut breaking down the brilliant work of Robert Richardson and how the film's visual style enhances its storytelling. He discusses the importance of tension-building in Tarantino's work, the strategic use of lighting, and how the film's iconic scenes were crafted to maximize dramatic impact. The discussion also explores the significance of color, particularly the use of red throughout the film, and how it ties into the narrative themes.
Hurlbut shares incredible behind-the-scenes stories from his own career, including his innovative work on films like Drumline, Terminator Salvation, and The Babysitter. He details how he overcame challenging shooting conditions, developed creative solutions to technical problems, and established strong collaborative relationships with directors like McG and Charles Stone III. His anecdotes about transforming limited resources into cinematic gold provide valuable insights into the art of cinematography.
Inglourious Basterds stands as a testament to the power of masterful filmmaking, where every technical element serves the story's emotional core. Our conversation with Shane Hurlbut not only illuminated the brilliant craftsmanship behind this modern classic but also demonstrated how passion, innovation, and fearless creativity continue to push the boundaries of cinematic storytelling.
Welcome to Movies We Like • Cinematographer Shane Hurlbut on Inglourious Basterds
About Shane
About Inglourious Basterds (Mostly)
Talking About Inglourious Basterds with our guest, cinematographer Shane Hurlbut
In this engaging episode of Movies We Like, acclaimed cinematographer Shane Hurlbut joins hosts Andy Nelson and Pete Wright to discuss Quentin Tarantino's masterpiece Inglourious Basterds and share fascinating stories from his illustrious career behind the camera. From his humble beginnings on a farm in upstate New York to becoming one of Hollywood's most innovative cinematographers, Hurlbut's journey is filled with determination, creativity, and a fearless approach to his craft.
The conversation delves deep into what makes Inglourious Basterds a cinematographic triumph, with Hurlbut breaking down the brilliant work of Robert Richardson and how the film's visual style enhances its storytelling. He discusses the importance of tension-building in Tarantino's work, the strategic use of lighting, and how the film's iconic scenes were crafted to maximize dramatic impact. The discussion also explores the significance of color, particularly the use of red throughout the film, and how it ties into the narrative themes.
Hurlbut shares incredible behind-the-scenes stories from his own career, including his innovative work on films like Drumline, Terminator Salvation, and The Babysitter. He details how he overcame challenging shooting conditions, developed creative solutions to technical problems, and established strong collaborative relationships with directors like McG and Charles Stone III. His anecdotes about transforming limited resources into cinematic gold provide valuable insights into the art of cinematography.
Inglourious Basterds stands as a testament to the power of masterful filmmaking, where every technical element serves the story's emotional core. Our conversation with Shane Hurlbut not only illuminated the brilliant craftsmanship behind this modern classic but also demonstrated how passion, innovation, and fearless creativity continue to push the boundaries of cinematic storytelling.
Welcome to Movies We Like. Each episode, Andy Nelson and Pete Wright invite a film industry veteran to discuss one of their favorite films. What makes a movie inspirational to a cinematographer or a costume designer? Listen in to hear how these pros watch their favorite films. Part of The Next Reel family of film podcasts.
Andy Nelson:
Welcome to Movies We Like, part of the True Story FM Entertainment Podcast Network. I'm Andy Nelson, and then over there is Pete Wright.
Pete Wright:
I am Pete Wright.
Andy Nelson:
On today's episode, we have invited cinematographer Shane Hurlbut to talk about Inglourious Basterds, a movie he likes. Shane, welcome to the show.
Shane Hurlbut:
Well, thank you so much. I love being able to talk about movies that we love and kinda dig into the idiosyncrasies of why that struck a chord.
Pete Wright:
I I I gotta say, Shane, this is really this is every now and again, somebody comes comes through this show who I don't realize until Andy tells me, hey. This is who we're talking about. And I look at IMDB, and I realize, holy crap. I'm a giant fan of this person. I can't I I you have lanced to some of my very favorite movies.
Pete Wright:
Like, I
Shane Hurlbut:
I Oh, well, thank you.
Pete Wright:
I'm so glad you are here and that we could talk about, you know, your your current work and, and whether or not you were screamed at by Christian Bale.
Andy Nelson:
The question on everybody's lips. Right?
Pete Wright:
The world needs to know.
Shane Hurlbut:
Every single time.
Andy Nelson:
Oh my gosh. So funny. Well, let's kind of jump back all the way to the beginning and start, like, how you got started. Like, what was it that triggered you to say, oh, you're working behind a camera. This is something I think I might want to do.
Shane Hurlbut:
Oh my god. So you know how you have those, like, kinda light bulbs that go off or that moment that literally changes the whole trajectory of your career? Well, that's what I had. I was, I started I went to Emerson College. And going back even further than that, I grew up on a farm in upstate New York.
Shane Hurlbut:
My dad and I were the sole employees of the farm. He also was a professor's assistant at Cornell University. So he kind of farmed, after he got done at work. So after I got done with my sports or whatever from school, I would hop on a tractor and I would do that till 11 o'clock at night. Wow.
Shane Hurlbut:
Okay. And my dad was so adherent on, you know, me making sure I did really good in my studies and everything. So instead of taking me off the tractor so I could really actually study, he welded a book stand onto the tractor so I could kinda grip clip my book, while I read, while I was dragging a field or plowing a field or whatever the hell I was doing. So Oh
Pete Wright:
my god.
Shane Hurlbut:
So that's how I kinda grew up. The work ethic was kinda, you know, I wouldn't say beaten into me, but it was definitely something that was, you know, you you worked your ass off. And I also did that at 5:30 in the morning. So I would get up at 5:30 in the morning, get on the tractor, drag a field or prep it to be planted or something, and then get on the bus and go to school. And this was my life from like 12 years old to 18.
Shane Hurlbut:
So you could imagine that I was driving tractors at 12, I was driving trucks, cars no matter what. And that's not
Pete Wright:
Where in the country was this? Where are
Shane Hurlbut:
you Ithaca, New York.
Pete Wright:
Oh, okay. Alright. Tractors in Ithaca. Alright.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. So I went to film school at Emerson.
Pete Wright:
Emerson. Excellent school? Boston?
Shane Hurlbut:
Excellent school. Absolutely loved it. Then out of there, you know, I came out of Emerson like I think every student does. You know, they're so damn confident and, you know, this we're gonna change the world, and I'm just gonna roll right into a job. You know?
Shane Hurlbut:
So I'm like, you know, my wife or my, sorry. My mom buys me a 3 piece suit, and I'm pounding the pavement in Boston, you know, knocking on doors and everything because, you know, that's what do you think you do back then? And and, just door being closed in my face, production company after production company. And then I ended up going back to the, rental house that I interned at and said, hey. Do you need somebody to work in the warehouse?
Shane Hurlbut:
And they did. So that's how it starts. $3.50 an hour, working, packing grip trucks. Within 3 months, I was then running the whole place. Within another 3 months, I was go I was also, like, the, marketing rep.
Shane Hurlbut:
You know? So I was doing all the orders, arranging all the drivers, prepping all the packages, music videos, commercials, all that stuff. And then I started going out and driving the 10 ton trucks. So when I finally decided to come to Los Angeles, my fiance at the time, I played with her every Sunday because her dad brought my great grandmother communion at our home. So at 4 5 years old, we already hooked up.
Shane Hurlbut:
And by 9th grade, we were dating, and then we never stopped. So it was like fantastic. Yeah. Just an amazing kind of you know, those things just don't happen anymore. Right?
Andy Nelson:
That's a great story. Fantastic.
Shane Hurlbut:
So she got a full ride because she went to, Simmons and she came out as an RN. And, Children's Hospital gave us, you know, an apartment to stay in. They gave her a full moving allowance, everything. So she was basically the breadwinner for the 1st 2 or 3 year well, probably 4 years, while I was trying to make it in Hollywood.
Pete Wright:
And what are you trying to do? Like, you're just still knocking on doors in LA? Or, like, what's what's that look like?
Shane Hurlbut:
So when I got to LA, I immediately went and started back at the bottom all over again. At the point when I left Boston, I was doing really well. I had gotten a home on VFW Parkway, just a nice area of Boston. I was, you know, driving in every work every day to work. I was freelancing.
Shane Hurlbut:
It was good. But what I realized is the only way I was gonna move up in the freelance world in Boston is if the guy or the girl above me died.
Pete Wright:
Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. Yeah. Right?
Andy Nelson:
That's that's one of those tough elements. Yeah.
Pete Wright:
You need to just wish that on people all the time. You just hate carrying that baggage.
Shane Hurlbut:
Of course. So I was like, alright. I'm coming out to Hollywood, and I'm gonna make make it my own. So, we go out there. We camp all the way across with a Ford Ranger pickup truck and a U Haul Nice.
Shane Hurlbut:
Scooter and a tent.
Pete Wright:
Did you know at this point, are you trying to make it behind the camera? Like, is that your do you know already? Like, what
Shane Hurlbut:
are you trying to do? All I know is that I really loved grip and electric work. So I come to Hollywood. I get a job at Key Light. This thing was they had been there since the seventies, and, they were a very they were the largest, rental house in, America at the time.
Shane Hurlbut:
So I started there. And I went from Boston at $3.50 an hour, and I went out, bought all these shorts and sneakers and Clam Digger shorts and t shirts, and I was all ready to enjoy, you know, the Southern California atmosphere. So I show up with that wardrobe day 1, and they're like, alright. Jeans, take off those clambiggers, get some steel toed boots on you, and we're at $5 an hour.
Pete Wright:
And I'm
Pete Wright:
like, what the hell?
Shane Hurlbut:
So I started packing grip trucks and and stuff, and I was that kind of person that was like, everyone said I was, like, the energizer buddy. Right? So I'm always running around. Everyone tells you not to run on set. I tell you exact opposite.
Shane Hurlbut:
If you run, it means you have purpose. And I don't run. I I I walk with intense purpose.
Pete Wright:
Which I love that.
Shane Hurlbut:
A slow run. Okay? Yeah. And, so this producer was trying to arrange a deal with Key Light for their feature film. And, he's up in the second story, and he's looking down onto the main kinda courtyard where all the trucks are pulled in and everything.
Shane Hurlbut:
And he's watching me run across the parking lot. And the guy goes, who the hell is that guy? What's wrong
Pete Wright:
with that guy?
Shane Hurlbut:
This this crazy guy from Boston. He's come here and he just runs circles around everyone. We just can't get put give him enough work. And he goes, well, can he drive a truck? And I said, yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
He he drew 10 tons and 40 footers on his farm, and I imagine I saw his class one license. So sure enough, that guy, Roberto, comes down to me, and he said, would you like to work on this movie? And I was like, what is it? And he goes, Phantasm 2. And I go
Pete Wright:
Oh, for the love of everything. Are you kidding me? Oh my god.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. He goes, alright. So here's what it is. This is the dates. This is the thing.
Shane Hurlbut:
Here's the rates. $350, 6 day week, 18 hour days. I think I was making, like, $2.20 an hour.
Pete Wright:
But Fantasm 2. I just work every penny.
Shane Hurlbut:
So this is the I I finally are gonna answer the question to your question.
Pete Wright:
Do you know what? I'll wait. I'm doing fine. You have
Shane Hurlbut:
a set of Phantasm 2, and, obviously, they have this ball, this mirror ball, and that fly through the air and it sticks into people's heads, and then a drill comes out and drills their brains out. Right? Yeah. As you do. The producer had hired this special effects guy that came in, and he's gonna fly the balls.
Shane Hurlbut:
Right? So he's got this piano line, and he's got his ball, and he's got this kind of, it almost looked like some really bad cheesy spring load system. Right? And so we got the camera, and we're all set up. And we roll it, you know, 120 frames per second or whatever.
Shane Hurlbut:
And we're rolling in reverse so it, you know, goes past us or does everything, and he fires it. And the thing goes We gotta describe
Pete Wright:
we gotta describe what you're doing. It's like a spiral act.
Andy Nelson:
Act like a sad corkscrew.
Shane Hurlbut:
Well, it it goes, and then by the time it gets to the middle of the line, it just slowly does the distance stop.
Pete Wright:
Vibrates to
Pete Wright:
a stop. It comes to
Pete Wright:
a stop. Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
The cradle of the weight of it, you know, because he can't stretch the line so tight. And we're like, okay. Let's go again. Roll camera.
Pete Wright:
So sad.
Shane Hurlbut:
So cut. Cut. Cut. You know? And we're, like, burning all this film.
Shane Hurlbut:
And I go up to the producer and I said, you know, I played I pitched in college ball. And he goes, well, how does that help me? And I said, well, if you wanna it to come around the corner, I'm a righty, so I can make it come around that corner, that's a curveball. If you wanna come around that corner, well, that's a rising fastball. You know?
Shane Hurlbut:
And it and it's like, I can I'll throw this damn thing and we'll get the the shot. So we fire the super
Pete Wright:
black sky.
Andy Nelson:
So you're here.
Pete Wright:
You screw the phantasm ball, Shane.
Shane Hurlbut:
I just start fucking these things. I'm like, alright. They wanna come around that corner. So I, like, wind up and then throw a curveball, and that damn thing goes right around the corner. And they're like, woah.
Shane Hurlbut:
Right? And he comes up to me and they're like, oh my god. I'm like, yeah. That was a really good one. Let's do that again.
Shane Hurlbut:
And, of course, I go for the rising fastball, and I release it a little too early and the fucking thing just shatters off the wall. You know? And they go, you know those things are $180 a piece. And I'm like, hey. You know?
Shane Hurlbut:
Just like any pitcher, they throw it in the dirt every once in a while. So I'm like, keeping these things and they're scattering off walls and but we got 4 or 5, and those are the ones that are in the film.
Andy Nelson:
Oh, man.
Shane Hurlbut:
Owned by camera. Right? So I started to, you know, immediately start to have a bond with the producer and everything. And and, so, one of the the key grip's name what the hell was his name? I can't remember.
Shane Hurlbut:
Whatever. He he's on the radio, and he goes, hey, Shane. I need 18 by 24 brought into the crematorium set stat. Right? So I'm on the truck and I grab the flag and I'm running through the and this was all at Chatsworth.
Shane Hurlbut:
We took over, like, this huge warehouse in Chatsworth that we built the crematorium, built all the the specific rooms where they go in the mortuary and everything. And I'm racing this flag down the steps in the crematorium and the the Best Boy Electric, who graduated from USC film school cinematography program and everything, Brian Coyne, is walking up the stairs. And he stops me and he goes, would you be scared? And I go, Brian, what what the hell are you talking about? He goes, look at the crematorium set, because we were on the stairs.
Shane Hurlbut:
He goes, every nook and cranny is lit. There's no shadow. Boom. Right like that. Everything I looked at was light.
Shane Hurlbut:
And I went from a grip truck driver in 1988 to shooting Come As You Are for Nirvana in 1991. So it was literally a rocket ship. Right? It's like, finally, I saw it.
Andy Nelson:
You saw the light.
Shane Hurlbut:
When I jumped into narrative work, I didn't even see that. It was the craziest thing. I couldn't see. When I read a script, I couldn't visualize it.
Andy Nelson:
Okay.
Shane Hurlbut:
So the first 5 or 6 films, which were some of my best work, I really didn't understand how to read emotion, how to read into the character, how to, you know, design camera motion and lighting emotion and all these things that now I I've kind of mastered and figured all out. But in the beginning, I just saw it as words on a page. Then I read The Perfect Storm and Shadow of the Wind. And those two books were a catalyst to finally having me put the words to visual. And once that happened, it was like I was off to the races in the feature world.
Shane Hurlbut:
So it's like what had catapulted me to the music video and commercial world was just trying really crazy stuff, and I was like a wacky photochemist. Right? I was always doing weird things. You know, like I shot the smashing pumpkins cherub rock in Mount Tamalpais up in San Francisco, shot it on super 8, 50 ASA at night in the forest. And then we set it up where we would roll for 10 seconds and then start the song.
Shane Hurlbut:
So then I took all that film, I created a lab in my bathtub, and I would crank it up to 10 seconds in. And then I'd listen to the song, and I was developing the song developing it to the song and the music. When the guitar solo would come in, I'd slow down so it blow out and overexpose. Then I'd
Pete Wright:
whip it
Shane Hurlbut:
back in and it would underexpose and come back out. So it was like the whole music video was like a living and breathing process that I, you know, was able to process all the film to the song. Right? Then I took it out on my beautiful crafts man driveway that had the best cement auger kind of mix. And I put 2 reels, and I just slowly reel it so it slid across and scratched the whole negative, and then that's what we would take to company 3 and, make it so.
Pete Wright:
Wow. That's outstanding. That
Shane Hurlbut:
is That's
Pete Wright:
No no idea. You're I mean, it's like a a chemical, cinematic lunatic, and I'm wondering if you have any room. I'd like you I'd like you to take on the role of my uncle. From now on, you're just gonna be uncle Shane.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. It's crazy. I mean, it's and I got so into all the cocktails. Right? So in early on in my my career, I was all about the the, what kind of cocktails I was gonna cook up with film.
Shane Hurlbut:
Like, I would bake it so I'd lower the ISO. Or I had this idea. It was like I was watching all these people. They're shooting black and white, and everyone's getting all these, accolades for shooting it. And I was like, I wonder if that sound recording film that you could actually expose that.
Shane Hurlbut:
I mean, it's a film. Maybe you could expose it. And I remember going to, Van Horn at photo cam, and he's like, what the hell are you doing, Shane? You're trying to record on the bag stock? And I go, yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
I I'm telling you, I know there's an ISO. You know? So sure enough, I do all these testing, and I find that it has an 80 ASA. And I shoot on this stuff, and it has 10 times the silver that black and white has because it has to record the soundtrack.
Pete Wright:
Yeah. Sure.
Shane Hurlbut:
Well, the black and white imagery is insane. The glaze and the mids have, like, this multiplanning of shadow that looks so three-dimensional. I show it to this one commercial director, and he's like, we're shooting that for this Renova campaign. So this is my whole career has been this. I put myself out there.
Shane Hurlbut:
I find these things, and then something goes awry. Okay? And what went awry on Renova was so that it only comes in 2,050 foot spools. So I had to put a photo cam so they could cut it down into 400 foot loads. Right?
Shane Hurlbut:
My god. Yeah. So we get that all out, and we're out in the middle of Baker, California at Dumont Dunes. And we got all the agency and the client and all these big models, and they're out there with the blowing silk and shit and all this stuff. And I'm just shooting.
Shane Hurlbut:
And the before we roll, the director who is also a still photographer comes up to me. He goes, what if we use a red filter? You know how those red filters, they bring the sky down and then we can add the polarizer and, oh my god, we'll give this even more dimension. I was like, oh, yeah. That's amazing.
Shane Hurlbut:
Let's do it. So we slap the red filter on. We slap the polarizer, and we shoot our asses off for about 14 hours. Sunrises, sunsets, you know, that classic shot where the sun is flaring just over the dune, right, where you're seeing the crest the crescent, and then the model comes up in silhouettes, you know, and just beautiful sweeping crane shots, rushing arms through the whole thing. Huge budget.
Shane Hurlbut:
Go back to the hotel because we're gonna do the next day, and I call Mark Van Horn. And I'm like, I'm so excited. You gotta tell me what this stuff looks like. Come on. You know?
Shane Hurlbut:
You know, blow my mind. And he's like, what stuff? And I go, we shot 8,000 feet. We sent it to you. Yeah.
Andy Nelson:
Oh, no.
Shane Hurlbut:
Did you have the lens cap on? And I'm like, wait. What? What's the safe light for that mag stock? And he goes, red.
Pete Wright:
I'm like,
Shane Hurlbut:
oh my god. Oh my god.
Pete Wright:
I know I mean, you're laughing about it right now, but you gotta give me a second to grieve.
Shane Hurlbut:
Dude, I lost my shit. I was like, oh my god. And I never forget calling the director. Those calls are the worst. I've ever been 5 times in my career, and they are awful times.
Shane Hurlbut:
Oh. Can you tell them that everything we shot, that, you know, $500,000 day is literally gone? So I literally went to all my crew and asked them to work for free. I asked for photo chem to process all the stuff for free, all my vendors to give us another day, and we did it. And we didn't shoot with that goddamn red filter.
Shane Hurlbut:
The footage was unbelievable, and then everyone was super happy.
Pete Wright:
Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
It had an amazing end, but this is this is how I've done my whole career. I'm that kind of person that's fearless. I'll jump off the fucking plane without a goddamn parachute.
Andy Nelson:
Yeah. Just a little bit of stress in there.
Shane Hurlbut:
Well, I know somehow I'm gonna figure out a way to parachute down nowhere. I'll grab a hold of somebody.
Andy Nelson:
Yeah. You'll figure it out. Well, what's so interesting is, like, there's such a level of, like, art that you're just an experimentation in the science of actual cinematography and film and and, like, playing with the stocks and everything. That obviously works really well in the world of music videos that you were were starting in in commercials and everything. But then transitioning into film, it's I mean, there's less of that sort of opportunity generally in film.
Andy Nelson:
So how did you still find ways to experiment and explore as you started jumping into films and and making, movies?
Shane Hurlbut:
Well, so, again, there was, like, just like that moment that light bulb happened that catapulted me to start shooting. I had the same exact thing happen to me in narrative. So I'm shooting a music video for Donna Summer. Okay? And she happens to be singing the song, for the, main needle drop in daylight with Stallone.
Shane Hurlbut:
Stallone.
Pete Wright:
Yeah. Right.
Shane Hurlbut:
Rob Colman was the director on that. And he was, he sent his production staff down to make sure that Donna Summer was all taken care of. You know, Rob Cohen is a a amazing filmmaker. He's very into making sure everyone's taken care of, and he's dots the i's, crosses the t's. I learned so much from this man.
Shane Hurlbut:
So he brought his staff down and then all of a sudden I get this weird call like a week later. And, it's, they said that Rob Cohen would like to meet you, and he wants you to interview for shooting, the HBO movie, The Rat Pack. And I was, like, woah. Okay. So I went to Universal Studios where he had his whole offices, his whole production arm.
Shane Hurlbut:
It was a beautiful cluster, near the Alfred Hitchcock bungalows at Universal. And went in there and had a conversation with him and walked out of there. He hired me to shoot it. One of the things that I I had to do was he said we need to go to the universal or the, HBO Black Tower in Century City, and you're going to need to because, I want you, but HBO is not convinced that they want you. They've never heard of you.
Shane Hurlbut:
You're some crazy, you know, music video shooter. And how could you ever do anything that was narrative? Well, I think I'm going in to just meet the head of production for, movies. You know? And all of a sudden, I'm put in a room with 6 executives, and they just start firing questions at me.
Shane Hurlbut:
And it was really crazy questions and, I mean, good good thoughtful questions that really kind of you know, I had to I got to one point because the questions got so kind of over the top that I just said I I go, you know what? I just wanna cut to the chase here. I understand that this is an absolute amazing opportunity for me, and I am going to bring the rain. I'm gonna use all my contacts and commercials, all my vendors. I'm gonna put together the most amazing crew.
Shane Hurlbut:
I am gonna give you a 180% on this thing if you wanna hire me. If you don't, I'm gonna go back to commercials. Bob Giraldi, who's already offered me a directing gig at Giraldi Suarez, I'll go back to my wonderful commercial world, and I'll be able to, you know, take advantage and see my daughter being born. And, you know, if you want me, you want me. If you don't, you don't.
Shane Hurlbut:
And I stood up, turned around, and walked out. And I was like I because it was like, how do you light, you know, how do you light it? Like skills questions.
Pete Wright:
Yeah. Are you defending a dissertation or what?
Andy Nelson:
It sounds like it. Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. How can you light 6 people? Well, that's kinda what a band is. Yeah. Can you light darker skin tones?
Shane Hurlbut:
You got, Sammy because
Pete Wright:
we got Cheadle in there. Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
Cheadle and and, I go, well, you know, I've dealt with a lot of different, you know, darker skin tones on many music videos. I you know? So these were the kind of questions they were asking me. So I walked out. They all ran after me, and they said, no.
Shane Hurlbut:
We wanna hire you. So I got that job. But what I didn't know, and this was not revealed to me till I finished the last shot. Rob Cohen came up to me, and he goes, Shane, I just want you to know that HBO was not convinced that you would be able to pull this movie off. So they wanted to do these preshoots.
Shane Hurlbut:
And based on the preshoots that we did, they had a crew fully hired for 1 week. They had another director of photography. They were paying another director of photography and a whole crew on standby if I failed.
Pete Wright:
Oh my god. Wow.
Shane Hurlbut:
And I was like, it's a good thing you didn't tell me that.
Pete Wright:
Yeah. No.
Shane Hurlbut:
You didn't. Right. Good. Right? Because it's gonna ruin your confidence that the Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
Right. Studio doesn't believe in you. Right? So by the second day of the preshoot, the HBO exec came in and told everyone that they had discovered me.
Pete Wright:
And I
Shane Hurlbut:
went Of course, they did.
Andy Nelson:
Sounds like an executive.
Shane Hurlbut:
HBO shows and promos for a long time, and it was awesome. I mean, I had such a great relationship with the whole promo department. Chris Spencer, Maurice Maribel was over there. All that team was just fuel we were just fueling off of each other. They gave me ability to direct some promo spots.
Shane Hurlbut:
So it was a really wonderful collaboration that happened all from a music video. That is lightning in the bottle. Those kind of stories just don't happen.
Andy Nelson:
That's crazy.
Pete Wright:
Wow. That's crazy. And then and then Rob takes you on and you end up doing how many did you do? You did the skulls after that. Right?
Shane Hurlbut:
And then I did the skulls. I did a ABC or a NBC pilot with him, and then we were all slated to do fast and the furious. He wanted me to do it. I was all locked in. I was meeting with Brian Grazer and all the team to be able to do that.
Shane Hurlbut:
And then all of a sudden, it switched because they had I guess, Universal had signed some deal with this director of photography that was getting into directing. So he had done all these favors for Universal, and this was the payback. So he had to shoot Fast and Furious to then get this next directing gig. So that was kind of it tossed me out of it, which was unfortunate. But, you know, one door closes, the other one opens.
Andy Nelson:
Yeah. I mean, you've been keeping very, very busy through throughout your career. I mean, from that point in time, like drum line, mister 3,000 into the blue, the greatest game ever played. And then we are Marshall. Marshall.
Andy Nelson:
That's that's where you kinda kick things off with mcgee, right, where you started this relationship that's progressing all the way until now because you're about to shoot or have you started shooting the latest movie with him. Right?
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. So I just shot way of the warrior kid with, McG, and then we're doing the kiss biopic in 20 25 together, which is going to be huge. Oh my god. Can you imagine that? Oh my god.
Shane Hurlbut:
I cannot I mean, I I'm like I've already started, you know, working with MBS, the big rental house out of here. I'm like, you gotta get me par cans for days. I can't have any LED. You gotta gotta go back
Pete Wright:
to this
Shane Hurlbut:
70s and 80. Right? So all this LED tech is gonna be vaporized for what I'm using on stage for sure.
Andy Nelson:
Well, that stage is gonna
Pete Wright:
be hot.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. That that
Andy Nelson:
should give you some some fun return to playing with camera like you were. Right? Like you did in your music video days too. So Exactly. Get.
Andy Nelson:
Yeah. Talk a little bit about, like, the working relationships with directors. I mean, you've you've, there are a number of different directors you worked with, a number of times in your career. McGee is one of them. And just the working relationship, developing that language that you're gonna share with that director over the course of number of different projects.
Andy Nelson:
And, obviously, every project has its own style, its own look, and everything, but what's your process in in jumping into a project with, like, McG, where you both have already a number of projects under your belt, but starting to figure out, like, okay. What are we doing here that is gonna be different from what we've done in the past?
Shane Hurlbut:
So Mick Chi is a a very, communicative director in the start of production of kind of getting everyone making one movie instead of 99 movies. And he does that with a sizzle. He takes the time to really go through the script, and he finds all these amazing moments and movies that you're just like, oh, I remember that. I remember that. I remember that.
Shane Hurlbut:
That's kind of McG's style. He takes something, let's say, remember the Miami Vice, scene where they're going, in the car and it played in the air tonight? And they're driving and it's Michael Mann and it's just the tire, it's just the hood, and then it's those overs where they're gonna go and they got a big shootout that they're gonna go to. And that song is playing through the Miami streets and everything? Well, he folds all that in.
Shane Hurlbut:
He goes, we're just gonna do that again on this film because what's gonna happen is people are going to not necessarily know was that from something, but they're gonna feel that emotion and that is his style. He pulls from these classic movies so you relive that emotion and relive this emotion all over again. It's a very unique style and that's what he's created as his kinda of his look. That's that's the McGhee experience. So he does this sizzle and you hold him to it.
Shane Hurlbut:
Like, the those moments that he is putting in that sizzle are moments that he wants on the screen. He wants this. So once I start to tell everyone that hasn't worked with McG before that this is our Bible as well as the script to really hone in the the details and design, you know, I just sit there and I watch that sizzle, you know, 20 times. And I'm looking at imagery and I'm looking how it feels and the pacing and the roller coaster and all that stuff. And then I communicate that to the team and we start just going.
Shane Hurlbut:
And he just lets me roll. And that's what I you know, we've been working together since 1991. I shot Cypress Hill, Sugar Ray, all his music videos. Back in the day when he was first starting out, I was, you know, working alongside him when I was starting my DP career. So we kinda started together as director DP.
Shane Hurlbut:
It's like first, you know, newbies in the industry. And it was great to to have him, you know, call me for We Are Marshall, and then we went right into Terminator Salvation, and then we did Babysitter together, and then teamed up for Rim of the World, and now, Way of the Warrior Kid. And I've also worked for his company, Wonderland Sound and Vision, because they like to harness a lot of first time directors and really shine a spotlight on them. And I come in as kind of the veteran cinematographer to really teach them how to prep a movie and really put as much on the screen as possible and really organize it and, teach them the etiquette and protocol of shot listing and blocking schematics and how important it is to to, you know, create, lookbooks and pitch decks and all this kind of stuff. So I've done, like, I think, like a 10 or 11 movies through Wonderland.
Shane Hurlbut:
Wow. Okay. So that's kind of McG's style. Then you have first time directors where, you know, they they have amazing ideas that they want to come to to fruition. And if you had, say, a necessary peer that was around the same age as this first time director, well, they're gonna be kind of figuring it all out together.
Shane Hurlbut:
Where I come in and I've lit a 100 bedrooms, a 100 dining rooms, night exteriors, you know, there's not much that I've not been able to light and lens and bring to life. So I really give them the ability to I light stuff very fast and they're able to get in there and really get their performances. So that's that working relationship. So they bring in these grand ideas, and I'm able to actually figure out how to do these grand ideas and put them into the budgetary box. And Musdicka was a perfect example of that.
Shane Hurlbut:
Here was Rudy Mancuso. He had never directed a feature film, done a lot of shorts and stuff. We team up together. We literally have 7 3 hour sessions that were just 7 days in a row, 3 hour sessions where we're shot listing the whole movie. And the ideas and craziness with in camera split screens and cameras that move effortlessly with them and oners that are 5 minute shots that have walls opening up and closing and spinning and sets deploying right in front of you and everything.
Shane Hurlbut:
This was his whole vision. And I was Okay. Holy crap. How am I gonna pull this off with the money that we have? And we're shooting in New York.
Shane Hurlbut:
You know? So it's like it it's like and I'm like, I'm going back to the goddamn Charlie Chaplin days on this thing. Right?
Pete Wright:
I Sure. Yeah. Right.
Shane Hurlbut:
Or anything. I'm, like, doing pulleys with goddamn sandbags, you know, 3 eighths inch line to be able to hoist the backdrop up and send it back down. You know, there is nothing automated at all. You know? So and it's that scrappiness that I love when I you know, it's like I love working on budgets that are, like, this far apart.
Shane Hurlbut:
You know? 200,000,000,000 to, you know, 50,000,000. You know? Because that's not gonna get really scrappy. You get put in that box.
Shane Hurlbut:
And then how can you figure out, you know, how to deliver a, you know, $80,000,000 movie for $15,000,000? And that's kind of why I get hired a lot. It's kind of that style. I'm able to be very scrappy. I'm super organized.
Shane Hurlbut:
So I have a whole team of assistants that are not my camera assistants. They're just my assistants to prep the movie. So we go in and we make deals with vendors and we, you know, we're only using the 50 foot techno on this day and on that day. And, you know, we really break it down. So it's not like 50 foot techno like I did on greatest game for, you know, 47 days.
Shane Hurlbut:
It just was there whether we used it or not. Well, with these budgets where they really get shrunk, you really have to detail and go down the rabbit hole of really planning out your shots to know when you need the crane, when you need the show scope, when you don't. You know, that's the whole thing with the movies. So that became kind of like the how I work with first time directors. Then you have directors that are incredibly seasoned, but they only wanna be, around the actors.
Shane Hurlbut:
So it's all the performance and it's all driven by the actors. The actors come in, they block, and we observe, and then I have to figure out as quickly as possible how to light it. Because, you know, I I did my normal style of working with a director that I wanna try to be as organized as possible. So I'm, like, planning out. I'm doing my own blocking schematics.
Shane Hurlbut:
I'm doing my own shot list, you know, because she just wants to be with the actors and the blocking and all that stuff. So, you know, 1st day, walk in, and I'm, you know, dialing in already before she's in there, you know, lighting the whole kitchen. And she's like, good morning, Shane. How are you? And I go, good.
Shane Hurlbut:
Good. And I'm like, so what are you doing in here? And I'm like, well, you know, it's I I'm just reading the script. It says kitchen. Oh, no.
Shane Hurlbut:
We're we're doing that in the billiard room. What? I'm like, oh, wait.
Pete Wright:
What? What's on the other
Shane Hurlbut:
side of this house? Like, like, okay. Guys, we're going to the billiard room. We need to move that magni 167 around with the 3 Pulkins over there. We need a so finally, after that moment that happened 3 days in a row, I go to the dining room.
Shane Hurlbut:
No. We're in the kitchen. I go to the dining room. No. We're in the kitchen.
Shane Hurlbut:
I go to the dining room. No. We're in there. And it was like, okay. I'm gonna surround this goddamn house with so much light and
Pete Wright:
Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
Joy, but we are ready at all times.
Andy Nelson:
Oh my god.
Shane Hurlbut:
You work with directors like that that want the freedom.
Andy Nelson:
Yeah. Sure. Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
Let the actors go and see where they go, and then I have to come in there, you know, with my team of amazing technicians and whip it together as fast as possible.
Pete Wright:
Wow. We we need to we're gonna have to turn our attention to the Glorious Bastards in a second, but I gotta talk about Terminator Salvation. Was that the by the time you get that in 2,000 I don't know when you got it. 2,007, 2008, whatever. Yeah.
Pete Wright:
Was that the that was the biggest thing that
Shane Hurlbut:
Biggest thing I've ever done. I went
Pete Wright:
to Biggest thing you've ever done.
Shane Hurlbut:
58,000,000 on We Are Marshall to but you gotta understand, Terminator Salvation, when it started out, it was only a $100,000,000. It was a it was a low budget film, pretty much. It was all financed through the Halcyon Corp. They had bought the rights to Terminator sell Terminator, the franchise.
Andy Nelson:
Property. Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
They brought that bought that property. They had to end up selling it after Terminator Salvation because all their business dealings and everything kinda went south. But that movie went from a $100,000,000 where I had less money to light on that than I did on $25,000,000 swing vote. Right? So that's how it started.
Shane Hurlbut:
And then Yeah. The writers strike and then the 3rd act expansions, and then all of a sudden, it was a $200,000,000 blockbuster. Right?
Pete Wright:
Yeah. On on a cursed what essentially is kind of a cursed movie. Cursed timing, curse with changes, and curse with budget bloat. And here you are, like, doing the biggest thing you've ever done, and I'm I'd just like to hear some thoughts about you putting the sort of, your sort of visual footprint in a massive franchise like Terminator, that at that point, it was kind of in a in a controversial sort of middle space for fans.
Shane Hurlbut:
Absolutely. And, you know, when I'll never forget the day, because Mick g is always, he he's got his flair. Right? So when he landed the Kiss biopic, he walked on set with the greatest Kiss jacket I've ever seen in my life. I just I'm like, oh, we got it?
Shane Hurlbut:
And he goes Yeah. Alright.
Pete Wright:
That's awesome. Okay.
Shane Hurlbut:
So he walks me in, and, he goes he wanted to have a meeting with me. And I sit down in his office. And then all of a sudden, out of nowhere, he brings this t 1000 and slams it down on the desk, and he goes, how about reinventing this franchise? And I'm like, are you kidding me? Wow.
Shane Hurlbut:
And so, you know, I when that came, he was like, Shane, you're so photochemically like a juggernaut in really figuring this out. I don't wanna do this like all these other postapocalyptic films. I want us to come up with a really unique look. I go, okay. I said I did this weird music video for The Rolling Stones, and I did this, what, Mike Zechariah and I came up with.
Shane Hurlbut:
It was called the Oz process. So what it was is you shot color negative, and then you sent it through at the end a black and white fixer.
Andy Nelson:
Okay.
Shane Hurlbut:
Now what that did is it left all the silver and everything on the negative. It desaturated everything and turned everything a silvery gray. And I go, crap. The machines are taking over the world, taking over the resistance. We're gonna make that New Mexico desert look like silver rods, not golden rods.
Shane Hurlbut:
Everything is gonna have the emotion that these machines, everything you see in the landscape, even though it's a vast landscape, it's silver rods, silvery desert. Everything is not gonna be this brown on brown on brown that we had seen on many post apocalyptic movies prior to this point. And then what I did is we did all those tests. I shot with the Primos, shot at 52, 40 45, I think, at the time. So it was a low 50 ASA stock.
Shane Hurlbut:
I did all the day exteriors, lot all the day interiors, I lit with that same stock 50 ASA, and then obviously 500 ASA, I think 5298 for all of the stuff, for night exteriors and everything. But what it did was red was the only color that would show through. So are you kidding me? Silver and then red? The red.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. Oh, the red of the
Andy Nelson:
Red eyes?
Shane Hurlbut:
Later on. Eyes, the red
Pete Wright:
of his armband. Like yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
So now when we go through this process, I take it to Stefan Sanofella, comedy 3. Love this man. He's such an incredible artist. And we sit down and he sees this footage. And he goes, Shane, this is some of the coolest looking footage I've ever seen.
Shane Hurlbut:
But for us to be able to handle the whole movie, let me take this as the example and let me build this process digitally. So you we can have the freedom to bring the skin back because the resistance has to feel alive. Human. Yeah. Absolutely.
Shane Hurlbut:
They have to have humanity. Right? The the the machines have to be silvery and metal and titanium and steel, but we gotta have that skin tone. So he mimicked it beautifully. And I thought out of all my work, The Greatest Game and Terminator Salvation are 2 of my favorites where I design looks that were very specific to the emotion of the story.
Shane Hurlbut:
Right? Terminator with the silvery and the red shining through and the way that was filmed. I wanted the whole earth to be on fire. So it was always smoking and smoldering, you know
Pete Wright:
And the fire, the practical fire that we get, the explosions have a really interesting contrast that you don't see in very many place. I think I don't I don't think I could I I would have seen had seen much like it until maybe Fury Road, which was doing some really incredible things again.
Shane Hurlbut:
Other take on it where he went instead of silver, he went to the orange sky. Orange. Yep. And skies and more of that Yeah.
Pete Wright:
But as soon as things explode, you get the vibrance. It's almost like HDR adjacent vibrance to the blacks in the in the smoke and the darkness of the shadow. It's it's pretty it's pretty cool, man. The the look of that movie holds up in spite of how fans feel about it as
Shane Hurlbut:
a Terminator movie. But, damn, it holds up. Yeah.
Andy Nelson:
And what I love about what you just said is, like, I have so much more appreciation now for the look period because, I mean, I think you you start thinking, you know, especially post 2,000, oh, the DI process, they can kind of do whatever they want with all the colors and everything. But what you're describing is how much time really goes into thinking about the specifics of what you want it to look like. And then you and the team, like, working through all of the different things to actually find a way to do that, and, yes, it ended up being through the digital intermediate process, but because of all the work that you came up with playing around with all these film stocks and everything.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. Exactly. Fascinating. Was kind of our brick and mortar. Right?
Shane Hurlbut:
That was the foundation of that look, and then Stefan could just riff off of it. And the skies were so so Cool. Steely blue. Right? You know, it's like it was muted, but you still had that depth and the clouds and the I mean, it was so much fun to shoot.
Shane Hurlbut:
And it's I always try to make myself as uncomfortable as possible on everything I do. It's, like, that's how you create Pushing yourself.
Andy Nelson:
Yeah. Absolutely.
Shane Hurlbut:
Like you you go into something, you're not too sure if it's gonna work, and I kinda have this fearless kind of mindset where I just jump in and figure it out. I mean, Act of Valor was a perfect example of that. I mean, I was told by every ASC member that I was literally insane that I could shoot a movie that went to 9,000 screens in, America and abroad and then put in 12 Imax theaters on a Canon 5 d Mark 2 still camera. Right? So it's like, think about the goddamn uncomfortableness of that shit.
Pete Wright:
It's a I
Shane Hurlbut:
had to literally spearhead and engineer a whole platform. Right? You couldn't just take the still camera there. We gotta have focus. We gotta have motors.
Shane Hurlbut:
We gotta have all this stuff that nobody ever figured out. You know? And I oh my god. And then I'm like, what if I take this thing and I create a Panavision mount, put that thing on there. And then I On a Canon 5 d card?
Shane Hurlbut:
I can put 12 ones on there. I can put all these lenses on the back of this 5 d. I I'm putting the head, there, and the camera is just floating on the back of the lens. The head is for the lens, not the camera. Right?
Shane Hurlbut:
So it was like a complete reinvention of how you even think, and and the assistants would come in. You know, I'd hire, like, assistants, Hollywood assistants that would come in, and they're, like, seeing all these pieces and parts and little mini HDMI cables and shit. And they're like, what the hell have I just walked into? You know? And it was a huge learning curve for everyone.
Shane Hurlbut:
But this is kinda what I think that's what fires my creativity to really push the boundaries of of cinematography and really take it in directions that, people not necessarily would have gone.
Andy Nelson:
God. I love it. Well, speaking of pushing bounds, let's shift gears, and let's start talking about, Tarantino, somebody who certainly pushes bounds and does unique, tells stories in unique ways, makes really fascinating, films, and we're gonna talk about inglorious bastards.
Shane Hurlbut:
10 hot. Eyes forward.
Aldo Ray (Trailer):
My name is lieutenant Aldo Ray, and I need me 8 soldiers. We're gonna be dropped into France dressed as civilians. We're gonna be doing one thing, one thing only, killing Nazis. Yes, sir. Members of the National Socialist Party have conquered Europe through murder, torture, intimidation, and terror, and that's exactly what we're gonna do to them.
Aldo Ray (Trailer):
We will be cruel to the German, and through our cruelty, they will know who we are. They will find the evidence of our cruelty. And the disemboweled, dismembered, and disfigured bodies, their brothers we leave behind us, and the German will not be able to help themselves from imagining the cruelty their brothers endured at our hands, in our boot heels, in the edge of our knives. And the German will be sickened by us. The German will talk about us.
Aldo Ray (Trailer):
And the German will fear us. Ain't got no humanity, and they need to be destroyed. Each and every man under my command owes me 100 scouts, and I want my scouts.
Andy Nelson:
And you sent us a fantastic list of films to, to pick from, and I don't know. I I don't know. I I don't know. I think Pete and I might have just been in a Tarantino sort of mood,
Shane Hurlbut:
which is
Andy Nelson:
an easy mood to be in, or, like, oh, let's do
Pete Wright:
I was like, oh, yeah.
Andy Nelson:
There we go. What is it about this film that stands out for you?
Shane Hurlbut:
I want you to I wanna clear the air with this. When I go to watch a movie, I go to watch a movie to watch a movie. I'm not sitting there overanalyzing the lighting and and saying, oh my god. I couldn't believe he did this or she did that or whatever. It's there to just enjoy the time being in the theater, feeling the heartbeat of the audience, all that stuff.
Shane Hurlbut:
That's what movies is all about. So I go in
Pete Wright:
And and I don't know how to do that anymore, but go ahead.
Shane Hurlbut:
I I'll go back a second time and watch it, and then I'll overanalyze the shit out of
Pete Wright:
it. Sure.
Shane Hurlbut:
First time, I really wanna experience it. What was so compelling on this movie was the first scene. The first scene, Tarantino was able to create a level of tension that few directors have ever been able to accomplish, and that is his genius, right, putting the audience in a situation where we're literally transitioning from, you know, upstairs where he's having that nice little cup of tea or whatever and go down and see that everyone who is hiding underneath the the damn floorboards and everything. And just the way that actor talked and how he, oh my god. It was just like he was a snake slithering around that guy's neck till the point where, you know, he had to cry uncle and, you know, they just went and shot all the people down and just one person survived.
Shane Hurlbut:
Right? Right. Right.
Andy Nelson:
And you
Shane Hurlbut:
come off of that and that scene was uncomfortably long too. Yeah. Right? And a lot of people said to me, well, how do you know, why do you like this movie? The whole beginning is boring.
Shane Hurlbut:
I'm like, what are you talking about? The tension, the building. This is this is his how he really he sets the tone. And once you have that, once you know how ruthless this guy is, you know he's gonna be coming back in the end, you you know the the weight of what the Germans are are doing at this time. I love that he centered it around like this movie theater too that it had all the the the the dealing.
Shane Hurlbut:
I thought Brad Pitt and his whole collection of Nazi hunters were just unbelievable. Like, they're the guy from Brooklyn, the guy from him, he was from the South, just the whole collection. That's where Tarantino builds these very unique characters. And what I find in his scripts, more than a lot of other directors, is I know the backstory on that character, and I don't even know the backstory. That's how well he does it.
Shane Hurlbut:
Right? You already know Brad Pitt, where he is from, how he was raised, all this stuff, just by him coming on screen using his accent, the way he dresses. All those things add up to, my god. I know this dude's backstory and Tarantino hasn't even told it to me. He's Exactly.
Shane Hurlbut:
To us in very subtle ways, but so beautifully done that you absolutely know and feel it.
Andy Nelson:
Down down to the rope burning around his neck. Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
Totally. Totally. Exactly.
Pete Wright:
One is the the there are 2 bits of backstory that he reveals in, I think, really interesting ways because you're absolutely right. Most of the characters that we get to know, we don't really get to know them through any sort of book of the vampire. But Daniel Brule, we get through other people speaking unsubtitled German to him in a way that lets us through only body language understand that he is famous, which I think is lovely. And, Hugo Stiglitz, who has a completely different, like, backstory reveal because he's so gloriously violent, and that becomes the thing that makes it important and different for us to get a back he's, like, the only one that we get a backstory on. Yeah.
Pete Wright:
You get
Andy Nelson:
the Samuel Jackson narration and everything.
Shane Hurlbut:
Right. And we do that, and he does that with those really quick punch shit, you know, that's again, it's like what I love about Tarantino is he's a chameleon. Right? And I call and I I use his playbook. I call, this is Shane Hurlbut.
Shane Hurlbut:
Cinematography is my mixtape. I take a little bit of Richardson. I have a little little Deacon's. I take a little of Chivo. I take a little of, of, Harris and Edith.
Shane Hurlbut:
You know? It's like and I that's the whole book. Well, Tarantino does the same thing with all his Japanese inspired films and this, that, and all these different animations and anime.
Pete Wright:
Westerns and Yes.
Shane Hurlbut:
The western and all that stuff. And he just cooks us into a damn, you know, crock pot and kicks out Inglorious Basterds. You know? And you're just, like, in awe of the dialogue. That's the other thing.
Shane Hurlbut:
Not only is he able to to do this beautiful backstory that you immediately understand the characters and their depth and dimension, the dialogue is so goddamn genius and so well written and well crafted. I mean, the words that come out of Brad Pitt's mouth are I mean, you're just sitting there laughing your ass off. He did the same thing in Django Unchained. He you know, with Don Johnson, that whole damn pillowcase thing and where you're gonna cut the eyes and all that stuff and the full regalia. And he's, well, shit fire.
Shane Hurlbut:
You know? Don Johnson has never been better. You know? It's like I wanna see him in more movies because it's like I he has the acting cred. Where the hell did he go?
Shane Hurlbut:
You know? But, yeah, I just, again, being able to pull from all these elements, and infuse it into a period piece, you know, Nazi hunters, it's just got the greatest snippet of storytelling that all of a sudden you're like wedged in on this wonderful time that actually kind of happened. Right? Wasn't it based on like a true story of some extent where they actually had these people that went out? Just like, you know, when, you know, Hitler was trying to confiscate all the artwork and everything, you had those guys remember, Clooney did that one where
Pete Wright:
The Monuments Men.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. Yeah. Monument Men to be able to go in and rescue all the Renoirs and all this amazing work of art. So just that whole kind of I just love those kind of period pieces and, taking that all in.
Andy Nelson:
Well and he also plays with, music a lot, which I think is fantastic and and, like, bringing in a wide variety of of tracks that he's pulled from all sorts of other films just like you were talking about all the things that he pulls and shakes in his box from all these different films. Same thing with the music. And then we get David Bowie. Yeah. David Bowie pops in.
Andy Nelson:
It's like, that is so anachronistic, but it it emotionally, it fits so perfectly as we're watching, Shoshanna there standing by the window.
Shane Hurlbut:
Like
Pete Wright:
Well, it's a it's like a Butch Cassidy play. Right? Raindrops keep falling on my head. It just feels weird and also perfect.
Andy Nelson:
Yes. Exactly. Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. And you always know that there's gonna be some kind of massive brutal killing at the end where blood's gonna be flying to the left, to the right, center hitting the ceiling. You know, it's always awesome. There's always some incredible, you know, 3rd act.
Andy Nelson:
To the point where he even calls out Mexican standoffs in the in the bar. Right?
Pete Wright:
He like, they actually call it out. That was that was a thing. Like, you you were talking about the incredible, like, building of pressure in that opening sequence, but there are, like, 4 or 5
Andy Nelson:
Oh, yeah.
Pete Wright:
Scenes in this movie that do the same thing. That sequence in the bar when Jude Law gives up his, you know, 3 Michael
Andy Nelson:
Fassbender, you mean?
Pete Wright:
Or Michael Fassbender. Aren't they the same guy? I think they're the same guy. You guys don't know. Whatever.
Pete Wright:
The the the, 3 or 3, bit that gives it away, that sequence where they find like, that is it's it's suffocatingly long. No. Exactly. It's incredible. And when he comes back around at the end and tries to make all these dipshits speak Italian in the theater thing, like, that could not like, I would have had to just leave The watching the movie in my own home, I was so, so tense at that sequence.
Pete Wright:
It's incredible.
Shane Hurlbut:
Brad Pitt with his southern accent trying to
Pete Wright:
scoot down in.
Shane Hurlbut:
So good.
Andy Nelson:
Plays so well.
Shane Hurlbut:
He's got tension. He's got suspense. He's got drama. And then you're also laughing your ass off through the whole thing too Yeah. Because everything is so absurd.
Shane Hurlbut:
It's like it's everything is just extra. You know? It's not 10. It's 11. You know?
Shane Hurlbut:
It's just turned up a little.
Pete Wright:
So so okay. So you're watching this, though. Let's just let's say you've now watched it as a fan. When you watch it and you're pulling it apart as as the camera guy, what is the stuff in this movie? Like, are there specific sequences that you look at and you think, okay.
Pete Wright:
That's that's expert to a level that I feel like I need to I need to shout from the rooftops.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. I mean, I think that Bob Richardson is probably my favorite cameraman out of all
Pete Wright:
the Okay.
Shane Hurlbut:
Okay? And the main reason is because he and I kind of he was, like, 5 or 8 years ahead of me in the music video shooting, kind of era. But a lot of the stuff that he was doing was kinda like what I really because I was following you know, I was looking at his work and seeing what he was doing. And I remember, seeing JFK and born on the 4th July and started to see that amazing, layering of super 8 and 16 and all the cross processing and everything that he was doing to the negative and how he was and and it was kinda like what I was excited about too. So it's like he is a crafter of different stocks and lenses.
Shane Hurlbut:
And and the way he lights is ballsy as shit, and I really like that. I you know, it's like, would you think about even in Glorious Basterds, where the hell is that light coming from? There is no goddamn light in the world that is going to drive down that bright onto that table and bounce off their faces. They didn't have skylights in these homes in the forties. Right?
Shane Hurlbut:
It doesn't make any sense, but it visually looks awesome. It's awesome. What does that light do? It culminates what you're supposed to look at as an audience. We're that's the table.
Shane Hurlbut:
We don't need to worry about the windows and the doors and the shit around the peripheral. It's like this conversation. And then we transition through the cobwebs and the floorboards and down into the underbelly of the, you know, the crawl space, right, and then back up. And you're it's just I love what he did on, what was that, killers thing, that he did with
Pete Wright:
That Richardson did?
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. Richardson did. It was something with Stone, with Oliver Stone.
Pete Wright:
Oh, god. Natural Born Killers. God.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. Natural Born Killers. And his surreal worlds that he put them in when they were in the car and all that thing. He wasn't really driving and all. I mean, this is this is I love that artistry.
Shane Hurlbut:
Right? And and that's what really gravitated towards him. It's like you got Richardson, you got Deacons, then you got Deacons, and then you throw in Jesse James. I think of all his work, it is the best he's ever done. That and no country.
Shane Hurlbut:
Right? And there's just a style and and effortless feeling to the visuals that are just so perfect. The silhouettes, the calmness of the camera, the you know, all these things. Right? So I I I like to to really, you know, observe their work.
Shane Hurlbut:
And and when I saw Inglourious Basterds, I saw, okay, this is this is Richardson coming in. Here's the what I loved very much is think about how beautiful the red curtains looked in that theater and how important red was. Right? And you know Tarantino is grinding down on that. This is the Nazi regime.
Shane Hurlbut:
We gotta match that red. These things gotta be
Pete Wright:
With her dress?
Shane Hurlbut:
Yes. Exactly. He go I I remember the, conversation where he talked about it. I wanted you to put your hands on the image when you touch the curtain, then you can drip red from your fingers. And I remember saying the same thing.
Shane Hurlbut:
It's like, okay. That's a great analogy, Bob. When I had an interview with Drumline, I go everyone's like, boy, when I saw Drumline, I'd never seen color like this before. It's like it's like they popped off the screen. And I said, yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
What I did this process with put an inner negative, then an inner positive, then an inner negative. And once you do that, you do when you get all those reversals in, you're just making everything more colorful and more contrasty. Right? So it bakes in its color. So then I wanted you to feel when A and T came out there, I wanted you to touch the screen and you had gold and blue on your fingers.
Shane Hurlbut:
You know? And that was kind of the analogy that I stole from Bob Richardson, you know, because this was how that really felt. And, it was, again, a huge story point to work into the emotion, the lighting emotion, the the camera emotion where, you know, the camera just feels so static and you're like, why are we here for all this time? And then then you start to slowly move down and you're like, oh, God. And then you reveal and you're like, and then the tension is just I look to always try to when I'm trying to do really tense scenes, I always go back and watch a lot of Tarantino movies because he has that kind of incredible tension.
Shane Hurlbut:
Look at, you know, that, Hollywood movie, you know, what would that Once Upon
Andy Nelson:
A Time in Hollywood. Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
Think of the tension that goes into that final act sequence, right, where, you know, they come into the house, they got the gun, they got the knife, the all they're going down in there, and then he's got the dog and he's got the dog food and I'm just a flamethrower and but the tension of all this is just so visceral. And, you know, so anytime
Andy Nelson:
Or that spawn ranch sequence. I mean, we
Shane Hurlbut:
Oh my god. Totally. Yeah. Oh my god. That one's almost he took the Inglourious Basterds scene, and he took it up 10 notches with that one.
Shane Hurlbut:
Oh my god. No kidding. Oh my god. That that weird house with, like, all the and I thought Bob did a smoking job in there because it looks so seedy, and you didn't know what was in a corner. You know, you saw where we've come
Pete Wright:
see it.
Pete Wright:
All Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
It up, and you did was there something did something move over there? You know? It was poopy as shit, and it was daytime.
Pete Wright:
Yeah. Right. Right.
Andy Nelson:
Well and that's the process of, like because it's, like, it's the lighting where you're putting the lights and everything, but also the smoke in that particular case, or the and building the shadows in and everything. And, I mean, we're certainly getting that here in Inglorious Basterds. Like, I I love the moment when the theater is burning and you've got all that smoke and you just have her face, like, laughing projected onto the smoke. Like, we're should I see that? Right.
Andy Nelson:
Just it's like, yeah, that is insane. And just like the thought process of putting that together and and I'm sure, like, they had to do do some tests to figure out, like, what's the right sort of smoke that we're gonna be able to get to kind of use it
Pete Wright:
with a projector. You gotta be able to see through it. Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. You can still see through it, but you could also see it project the time of the smoke, which is brilliant. I mean, that's just, you know, a lot of Tarantino and Richardson. I mean, they work so well together. They've done so many movies together.
Shane Hurlbut:
And, you know, it's like I think that any good director, when they find that cinematographer that just you don't even have to say anything and we just start doing it. And that's very much like the relationship I have with McG, also with Gabriel Muccino. I did fathers and daughters with him. And, Castitutabene, he's a director that I just love telling his stories because they're all based on drama and he really, is enables you to move the camera. He loves moving camera.
Shane Hurlbut:
He doesn't like a lot of coverage. He really loves to just let the actors act, and it doesn't have to be in a close-up and an extreme close-up. It could be in a 5050, and that's fine. You know, it's like it's a more of a European style to directing. And, you know, when I'm kind of shaping myself as a cinematographer, I don't wanna just work with, you know, directors that are American.
Shane Hurlbut:
You know, I want, I want to, you know, I worked with a Chinese director on Into the Badlands and he taught me so much about action and how to shoot it. I worked with Susanne Bier on Perfect Couple. Well, she's Danish and she has a whole different view. It's very dogma the way she likes to, do her films and stuff. And then I worked with Gabrielli, the Italian side of it all.
Shane Hurlbut:
And, you know, you just see the all the different directing styles, and you just try to to conform to and and bring their style to life in a way that, you know, you're communicating this to to all the key players and and trying to to make it as as, as beautiful and and powerful emotionally as possible. You know?
Pete Wright:
Yeah. Absolutely. I just and I don't think you did this exactly, but it got me going back through I'm I'm scrubbing the babysitter. One of my very favorite, horror comedy. I'm not so good.
Pete Wright:
I So fun. Freaking love that movie.
Shane Hurlbut:
Shame is so good. It's like we shot that in 20 days.
Pete Wright:
Oh my
Shane Hurlbut:
gosh. We were all at Warner Ranch. Now they bulldozed it and put 10 more studios there. It was the best ranch to shoot on in all of Hollywood. It was done by working production designers and cinematographers that built the grid, like where the streets are.
Shane Hurlbut:
They built it to the perfect light. They built all the homes, so they were oversized inside, but you lens them correctly. All the box beams have outlets in them, so you can plug in your lights right into the ceiling. The doors, because you know how difficult it is to shoot doors. Right?
Shane Hurlbut:
You know? In the door, there's always you can't get light anywhere. They put transom on the left and right side, so I'm actually able to light. You know, it's like all this stuff, all these fine details. We were there for 8 19 days, and we did one day on location at the Speedway.
Pete Wright:
The the the thing that's interesting about it is and you could tell as you talk about how the houses are built there that you move the camera in ways that don't feel like you should be able to move the camera. And there are some reveals of moving from in his bedroom to out and down the stairwell that feels so Tarantino Richardson. Right? Like, that you could just feel that flavor, and it works so well. I have to know whose idea was it to put the camera on the bottle for the spin the bottle game.
Pete Wright:
Right. There you go, man. This is why you're such a player. This is why you're uncle Shane. That was so good.
Pete Wright:
It's so good.
Shane Hurlbut:
It it's like those are the kind of things where I'm such a tweaker, you know, a guy that's always, like, trying to take a you know, even as a director of photography, you know, I pan over and you can see my my DP card over there. Right? Right? So it's like that thing I've, you know, rigged to the max. I'm in there with screw guns and drilling new things in it and rigging everything.
Shane Hurlbut:
You know? So it's like I love that kind of, you know, stuff. So I got a cheesy lazy Susan, you know, from Amazon and put the that there and got a 12 millimeter lens so you could see the bottom foreground. We cut the bottle out so I could
Pete Wright:
get Adjust the neck of the bottle. Out.
Shane Hurlbut:
Right? So we got the glass cutter and we cut the thing so I could sit it right down there. So I almost felt like I was the POV of the bottle over it.
Pete Wright:
A 100%.
Shane Hurlbut:
And it just worked like a $1,000,000, and I lit that so everyone looked really cool in there. And then when those 2 girls kiss, oh my gosh.
Pete Wright:
It's like it feels like this is what's so great about the bottle shot. It's like the bottle is manifesting that kiss. Like, the bottle's like, I know what I want. I'm a bottle, and I know what's gonna happen next. That's how good that shot is.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. And then I remember when, Mick g and I were talking about, you know, the big stunt where he, you know, gets the Camaro and he drives it he drives it through the house. I'm like, well, Mick g, we're just gonna you know, he's gonna hit that thing and go like this. He goes, no. No.
Shane Hurlbut:
No. You know, Mick g, nothing is ever, you know, like a normal thing. You know? He goes he's talking to the the stunt driver and everything. He goes, I want this thing to spiral.
Shane Hurlbut:
And I'm like, who the hell would spiral off of that? You know? It's like, this but this is now I it took me so and I call my I I think I'm dumb sometimes because it took me so long to understand Mick g's style where I'd always say, Mick g, this is not realistic. There's there's no way he would hit that thing and it would spin like this and go into the house. You know?
Shane Hurlbut:
Come on. Let's be and he goes, no. No. We're doing this. We're doing this.
Shane Hurlbut:
So now on all his movies, it's like, you want that? Absolutely. You know? In in, this last movie, he's like, yeah. I want him jumping off.
Shane Hurlbut:
There's, like, this whole thing where he he's got a moment with the child and he is trying to convince him to, you know, be fearless and, you know, he's been bullied, this kid. And so he's he's trying to, you know, get him to jump off this bridge. So we went and scouted the bridge in San Diego. It was about a 20 foot drop. Well, that that felt realistic to to a 12 year old kid could actually, you know, jump off there and survive and everything.
Shane Hurlbut:
No. No. No. McG, we go up to this bridge that is up Angeles Crest that's got a 400 foot drop, and there's no water. And he said, oh, I'll put water in there.
Shane Hurlbut:
Well, I'll do this. I'll do this and manicure it and everything. And sure enough, you go to the visuals and you're like, holy shit. You know? But in realism, you know, realistic things, the guy would never take the kid there.
Shane Hurlbut:
He would never jump off of that thing. But this is the magic of McGhee. And this is where that element comes in. And, you know, that was kind of what babysitter was all about. It was that turned up to 11.
Shane Hurlbut:
You know? She goes into and he wanted this fireworks to be able to blow her up underneath the house, and then he wanted to blow himself out and we smoked them all up so he was all singed up. And you and then what was so good about this movie is he just survived that, and he lands. And then there's the next guy that try and kill him. Right?
Shane Hurlbut:
There's that guy that covers the shirt. Like, why does he not have a shirt on?
Pete Wright:
Because he's Ravi Amel, and he never wears a shirt. The dude doesn't own a shirt, Shane.
Shane Hurlbut:
Exactly. And then he's, like, you know, about ready to strangle him and he hears, like, the sound. And he goes over and the guy's egg in his house, you know. And he's like, well, you gotta stand up to him, you know. And he was like, what?
Shane Hurlbut:
The dialogue, that's the Tarantino. This is the weird thing that that makes all these movies work is because you get the suspense, you get the thriller, you get the horror element, but then you're laughing your ass off the whole time that you're not scared to death. And that is really, a great kind of, mixture.
Andy Nelson:
I think that's what's so exciting to find those sorts of directors who have that, who just kind of push these things. And Tarantino has been doing that really from jump. And, again, that's what makes this film so fun to watch because and, you know, going back to his style where we got the different chapters, we're walking through it in a chapter storytelling style. But then to kind of, like, get to know these characters step by step before we really kind of put them all into the mix at the end, you know, like, get Christophe Waltz's Landa, like, really getting to know that character. And then it's a right turn, and then suddenly it's like, well, let's spend some time with the bastards.
Andy Nelson:
And then it's another right turn, and then we're, like, with Michael Fassbender as he's hanging out with, with Mike Myers. You know, like, try like, we're setting the plan in in in motion. And it's just it's so fascinating to kind of walk through his worlds. And like you were saying, like, his passions come through and it makes it so much more that exciting. The fact that it involves a movie theater that we're talking about, like, these these actual historical, Nazi filmmakers like Riefenstahl and
Shane Hurlbut:
Yes.
Andy Nelson:
And and we're actually getting, like, a history lesson.
Shane Hurlbut:
Right? I mean, she's shooting all that propaganda footage and everything. I mean, it was unbelievable. You know? And and tying that all in and it being around the launch of this theater and the thing and it's like he's a master of storytelling and script and scripting.
Shane Hurlbut:
It's like he he he knows when to bring the roller coaster up, when it needs to fall, when it goes through a low when it comes back up again. He just really knows the pacing. It's it's it's it's a fun ride, and you walk away also really thinking about life and thinking about things. So it's like that's the best case scenario ever, You know? When you walk out a movie and it and it, pushes your thoughts and and, you know, you come back and you think, wow.
Shane Hurlbut:
I never knew that whole era even existed. I love when they transport you to different places that you it was like, okay, here's a good story. So I get, hired to shoot drumline and I had never worked with Charles Stone before, never worked with it was like my 3rd movie or something. My son is about ready to be born. Well, before I even got the movie, I'm shooting in Kansas City, and I'm directing a, children's hospital spot.
Shane Hurlbut:
You know, I'm directing. Things are taken off. You know, I'm like, okay. I did couple narrative pieces, but now I'm back into commercials. It's awesome.
Shane Hurlbut:
I'm directing. Oh, this is great. And I, get this call from Tim Bourne, the producer, and he's like, so have you read the script yet? And I go, Tim, I'm sorry. You know, I'm in Kansas City.
Shane Hurlbut:
I'm working on this you know, directing this children's spot. I haven't had the time, and I don't know if I'm into this goddamn saints go marching in bullshit, grubby marching band. That's what I said to him.
Pete Wright:
Be be careful, Stan. You're you're shedding a little bit of your curmudgeon credibility. Right?
Shane Hurlbut:
Well, at the time, that's what I thought. You know? Yeah. Right. I was like, I don't know about this.
Shane Hurlbut:
And he goes, where are you? And I was like, Jesus. Okay. I'm, I'm in, the Westin in Kansas City. I I need your address and your room number.
Shane Hurlbut:
So I'm like, oh, shit. Okay. So I I you know, I I give him all the information. He's like, alright. I was like, woah.
Shane Hurlbut:
Okay. So I go and I direct the the next day. I come back from the hospital and everything. And in my room is you know, back in the day when they had those AV carts where it had that cathode ray tube TV on top and it had a little VCR in the and on the second, shell. Right?
Shane Hurlbut:
And then all the cables dragging all around and everything. So that is in my room when I walk in, and it just says play me.
Andy Nelson:
Nice. Nice.
Shane Hurlbut:
What the hell is this? So I pop it in and I hit play. And it is a video of the senate, which was the the featured drumline at A and T just going off. And I was literally running to the phone. And I called Tim, and I go, holy shit.
Shane Hurlbut:
Oh, so all of
Pete Wright:
a sudden, you're in he's
Pete Wright:
so marching full
Pete Wright:
of shit now.
Shane Hurlbut:
I'm like, this is a subculture. I had no idea. This is amazing. I wanna shoot this movie. And he goes, alright.
Shane Hurlbut:
You know? We were boom. So I fly in, and I meet with the director for the first time. And he's so excited to go show me his vision because he's already been scouting there for weeks. And he takes me to, Clark, Atlanta, and it's a, African American, you know, school.
Shane Hurlbut:
And it's, kind of just behind the Georgia Dome, kinda, you know, below midtown in this kind of somewhat seedy area. And he, takes me and I'm envisioning so once I signed on to this, I'm like, I'm reading the script, and they come out of the tunnel while I'm seeing the USC Trojan Tunnel. Right? I'm seeing a big hook, right, that they come into the Colosseum on. I'm like, oh, that's gonna be amazing.
Shane Hurlbut:
You know? And then the band room, I'm seeing the triple, double, quadruple, layers, you know, where all the bands and all their playing and the drum lines up at the top. And it's like, got all the sound baffles and tall ceilings and everything. I'm like, oh my god. This movie is gonna be so visual.
Shane Hurlbut:
So we're walking down the hallway and all the hallway is all this cinder block. And he opens these double doors to the music room. And the music room might have had 7 foot 6 ceilings in it with 3 layers, 3 6 inch layers
Pete Wright:
of rock.
Shane Hurlbut:
So the drum line heads were at the ceiling here.
Andy Nelson:
Yeah. Yeah. So visual.
Shane Hurlbut:
Right. Yes. So visual.
Pete Wright:
And they
Shane Hurlbut:
got cinder block white walls with dark skin tones and this weird, bad, kind of rudimentary, kinda graffiti, you know, murals on the wall. Sure. Like, this is where the drum line's gonna do this is where we're gonna do the little battle in here. This is where doctor Lee comes in and leads the team and all. And I'm like, okay.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. And he goes and then he goes, and let me show you the the tunnel. And I'm like, oh oh my god. Okay.
Pete Wright:
Here it is right now.
Shane Hurlbut:
Here's the tunnel. This is awesome. And he takes me into a hallway
Pete Wright:
with them just feeling
Shane Hurlbut:
and recessed floor tiles. And I'm like and then I go, so where do they go out in the state onto the field? And he goes, right through those double doors. And the double doors had the bar in the center. Right?
Pete Wright:
Yeah. Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
Was like, oh
Pete Wright:
my soul.
Shane Hurlbut:
It was like, goddamn
Pete Wright:
bars. Of
Pete Wright:
course, the award winning band is gonna get the double doors for the bar.
Shane Hurlbut:
I'm like,
Pete Wright:
that's the most marching band thing you could say.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. I'm like, okay. Alright. And then he goes, let's go out and see the field. So we go out to the field and it's like, you know, substandard, you know, cement seating on one side, and then the other side are these kind of brick buildings in the distance, and there's power lines and shit everywhere.
Shane Hurlbut:
And he goes, alright. So you've seen A and T. What do you think? And I go, well, Jesus, Charles. I I gotta be perfectly honest with you.
Shane Hurlbut:
How depressing do you wanna make this movie?
Pete Wright:
Oh my god.
Pete Wright:
I I want the punchline to that story to be Charles was punking you.
Andy Nelson:
Yeah. Right.
Shane Hurlbut:
Right. Showing you these
Pete Wright:
tiny offices. And, like, isn't this dramatic? I know we've never met, but wait till you see this pus white room.
Shane Hurlbut:
Exactly. And trust me, That hallway, I mean, I I you cannot imagine what I was envisioning. I was envisioning those Trojans coming down there and their shadows on the wall. I put some big ass 18 k down there, and you see all the tube of shadow. I was envisioning all this in my head.
Shane Hurlbut:
And then it's a goddamn hallway that's, like, 4 and a half feet wide with the double doors and a bar in the center. So I'm like, holy shit. How am I gonna make this exciting?
Andy Nelson:
Yeah. So I
Shane Hurlbut:
go to my gaffer and I go, alright. We're gonna cut can lights, and we're gonna put them all the way down the, you know, on the left and right side. So they do light, dark, light, dark streaks. So you're gonna have all the so when I I see the band back there, they're gonna have all that depth of mention. Hot, dark, hot, dark, hot, dark, hot, dark, all the way down.
Shane Hurlbut:
And this was where, you know, the big line of the movie, doctor Lee comes around the the cross, you know, the corner, and he goes, halftime is game time. Right? Oh, well, holy crap. How can I make this exciting? I I got fault ceiling tiles, fluorescence lights, and and they're supposed to go out and do this massive, you know, halftime show.
Shane Hurlbut:
And I was like, oh, I got an idea. So Charles goes, what do you got? I said, what if he comes around the corner and he goes, alright. You know, band. 1 band, 1 sound.
Shane Hurlbut:
Right? And he walks past camera. And I go and then all of a sudden, this stick is gonna come up and bifurcate the frame. And then all of a sudden, you're gonna see this I remember it was a 21 mil, 240, and that stick comes up perfectly center. And then all of a sudden, the other stick goes,
Pete Wright:
cack, cack, cack.
Shane Hurlbut:
And then boom. They fucking come out like a goddamn it was like a megaphone. And then all of a sudden, I was like, holy crap. Now I understand this tunnel. The sound that hit us was like
Andy Nelson:
Sure. Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
Percussion. Right? It and and everyone was putting nose or, nose plugs.
Andy Nelson:
Share plug.
Pete Wright:
Nose plugs.
Shane Hurlbut:
Because they were bleeding out of their mouth. Bleeding. They put ear plugs in their ears because they're like, holy crap. That's so loud. I'm like, I gotta hear this every single time because it is the greatest sound I've ever heard.
Shane Hurlbut:
Right? And sure enough, every time I rip the blanks, I'm on the camera. You know? And I was like, boom. And and, these are the things that you know, once I understood the subculture and Charles finally took me to the emotion of the scene of what this kid is gonna go through and how he and and then I started to understand that subculture and understand, what and how amazing these musicians are.
Shane Hurlbut:
And then I knew exactly what to do. But, boy, that first scout date
Andy Nelson:
took a minute.
Pete Wright:
2 weeks after.
Shane Hurlbut:
It'd take a minute for me to regather myself.
Pete Wright:
All I can imagine is, like, the poor tuba players getting stuck in that damn doorway with them.
Shane Hurlbut:
Right. I finally told them because what was weird is they that was permanent. Right? I go, how could you put that? That's like, first off, probably a fire hazard or whatever.
Shane Hurlbut:
But all these huge stadiums were built for the 76 Olympics. So they didn't do any of the stuff that was, you know, they just those they said
Pete Wright:
Throw it up there as fast as they can.
Shane Hurlbut:
Exactly. They said the cement was still drying on all these stadiums when the people were in them. That's how quickly they will pour in those cements in those
Andy Nelson:
states. Holy cow.
Pete Wright:
Right?
Shane Hurlbut:
Oh my god. So I go, we have to cut that goddamn beam out of there. And sure enough, the I'll never forget the grip comes in with his sawzall, and he's like, hey. That's for knocking the thing out of there. I said, they gotta go double wide out of there.
Shane Hurlbut:
I can't have them go single file. Yeah. Because I
Andy Nelson:
had this
Shane Hurlbut:
freaking crane shot where I wanted to start low and the drum line and the players come out, then I wrap up to a top down, you know? Yeah. And, so I wanted to to, you know, to come out not like a piss stream, but, you know, some volume out of that thing. You know?
Pete Wright:
Oh my god. That is outstanding. That is an outstanding story.
Shane Hurlbut:
That movie had a lot of these moments for me as a cinematographer. Right? Because, you know, 3rd, 4th movie, trying to figure it all out, trying to figure out the prep process, how to communicate with the director, there's a lot of things that I'm trying to, you know, figure all out. We come to the last kind of 10, 15 days of the movie, and it's the Georgia Dome and it's the big Southern classic at the end. Tim Bourne was big on this and he was really good with it.
Shane Hurlbut:
We did it for drumline. We also did it for mister 3,000. We were able to do these promoted extras, and we were getting 36,000 people to show up.
Pete Wright:
Wow. Nice.
Shane Hurlbut:
We got 36,000 on the 1st day and 24,000, I think, on the 2nd day. And we gave away cars. We gave away TVs, everything to try and keep these people in the stand.
Pete Wright:
Sure. Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
But by the time we, you know, got everything that Charles wanted to get and the scope of it all and the spectacle of it. Because if you don't take in all that, then the end has not as much meaning. Right? You really gotta show the performances of all the different bands and really show each one competing with each other, you know, to tell that story and the weight of it all. Well, by the second day, we were very far behind, and they're like, Shane, we don't have extras for any of the drum line drum battle.
Shane Hurlbut:
We don't have extras for any of this stuff. We've basically done what we can do. And I was like, what if we turn the lights off?
Pete Wright:
Mhmm.
Shane Hurlbut:
And the producer goes, what are you talking about? I said, I'll put a 60 by 60 light box over center field, And I'm gonna surround it with blacks, and I'm just gonna nuke this beautiful soft top light down to the 50 yard line. I'll take some egg strobes that you can get super cheap. I'll put them all in the stands behind them. And those strobes just fire every once in a while like it's flash bulbs.
Shane Hurlbut:
Then we bring in the sound design of the crowd, the roar, and everything. And now we've put all the focus on the musicians in this drum battle. And it's not about dude with the fluorescent green shirt in the background. It's not about the person, you know, going woo hoo. It's just about the artists and their excellence.
Shane Hurlbut:
And Charles Stone goes, oh, we're doing that. Yeah.
Pete Wright:
And that shot that shot, like, I'm looking at that shot in the what I think is part of that that must have been that day of shooting where the bands walk together. You've got a weak
Shane Hurlbut:
camera going down. Doing like the revolutionary war. Right?
Pete Wright:
It perfect. It's perfect. And the you you needed what? 20 people? There's like a cone of of people that are at in the stadiums right at that 50 yard line.
Pete Wright:
But you got 20 people and you've just simulated 35,000.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yes. Correct. Correct. And, you know, it was kinda one of those moments where you were completely put in a box. You were not able to do what is envisioned, what the script read.
Shane Hurlbut:
You know, they play in front of this big stadium and all this kind of stuff. And, you know, so you you take that and then you break it down to the very essential storytelling beats, and that's what made that scene so powerful. The whole time, Charles Stone told me, he goes, being in a drum line is being in the military. You walk in a specific way. You walk to the beats.
Shane Hurlbut:
You are in perfect lines. It's all about symmetry. So we wanted all the shots to have that left to right, that up and down, no diagonals, no everything was military. And you know what what was funny is, like, getting them all in a line, right, to be able to shoot down them, it the first time because I had never done this before. You know?
Shane Hurlbut:
I was never dealing with drum lines. So the first time we're doing it and we're like, okay. Number 1, step out a quarter of an inch. Right now finally, I was like, there's gotta be an easier way. Oh, a hunk of rope.
Shane Hurlbut:
So I hung hung a rope. I tied it to a combo stand, and then I put it at the perfect angle to the lens. And all they had to do is that all the drum was and lined right to the thing. Alright.
Pete Wright:
Rip it out. They know how to do that. Exactly. Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
It was, like, perfect. Right? They just touched their drum to the thing, and it was downline so you got that perfect where you saw every drum, every stick. You know? So when we did that drum battle at the end, I wanted the full on revolutionary war thing where they
Pete Wright:
both come up, they stand.
Shane Hurlbut:
You know, that was the stupidest thing in the world. Who the hell comes up and then, you know, 20 feet away, you're to the and you shoot them. And then no one's No one's hiding. Who
Andy Nelson:
people? Eyes. Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
Who came up with this style of warfare?
Andy Nelson:
I
Pete Wright:
know. But it works for the movie, though.
Andy Nelson:
It works for the movie. Yeah. And that's really what it all boils down to. Shane, so many great stories about, all of these films that you've been a part of and Inglourious Basterds, of course. Thank you so much for coming on here and talking with us about all of this and sharing these stories.
Shane Hurlbut:
Oh, absolutely. It was, my absolute pleasure. I love these kind of things. And, you know, I've been doing this for 30 plus years and I because of my crazy nature, I have stories that that are very, very unique. So, I love
Andy Nelson:
to share we've just tapped it tapped the surface.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. That's just that's just that we're scratching the surface.
Andy Nelson:
Yep. Right. Oh my gosh. Well, it's fantastic. You're you're online out there and the socials.
Andy Nelson:
Right? People can find you out on, Instagram, I believe?
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. You can find me. It's 8 girl but ASC on Instagram. Obviously, I created this massive filmmaking resource called the Filmmakers Academy. If any parent out there is watching this podcast and is thinking their their son or daughter wants to be a filmmaker, there is an option not to send them to Tisch or u USC or Emerson at 70 or $80,000 a year.
Shane Hurlbut:
We do have an online resource that people have compared us to. 4 months at Filmmakers Academy is not equal not even equal to 4 years at USD. I try to kinda define the education. So imagine if you had a professor that you went to college and every time the professor came in, he had a different story or something to show because he just did something prior to him coming in. So what filmmakers academy is is imagine that you're watching me master the art of cinematography and I'm taking you along on that journey.
Shane Hurlbut:
So as I shoot the perfect couple, I immediately come back and do a light quality master class on how I lit Nicole Kidman.
Pete Wright:
Yeah. That's fantastic.
Shane Hurlbut:
I took all these different foam sources and bounce sources and everything and fabricated them. I did a lot of night work on way of the warrior. So I come back and I launch night cinematography master class. Right? I had 70 plus individuals shooting this over 4 days.
Shane Hurlbut:
And so it's like it's almost, you know, the greatest education because it's tip of the spear learning that I'm immediately able to boil down and, break it down where at a level they say, I make it so easy and effortless to learn that they hardly ever have to go back and watch it again, which I thought, oh, that's a fail for me because I want people to stay on the platform forever, so we keep on making money.
Pete Wright:
So maybe
Shane Hurlbut:
I should confuse his wife.
Pete Wright:
Uncle Shane saying the quiet part out loud. Oh, wow.
Andy Nelson:
That's awesome, man. That's fantastic. We'll definitely make sure we have links for all that in the show notes.
Aldo Ray (Trailer):
Yeah.
Andy Nelson:
Yeah. Fantastic that you do that. Yeah.
Shane Hurlbut:
Yeah. Thank you.
Pete Wright:
Thank you so much, man. Thank you for being here.
Shane Hurlbut:
Absolutely wonderful. Thank you so much. Great questions. Great, places we we went, and and, I cannot thank you enough.
Andy Nelson:
Well, we had a great time. We'll have all of Shane's links in the show notes. Again, we appreciate you, joining us here today. And for everyone else out there, we hope you like the show and certainly hope you like the movie like we do here on movies
Pete Wright:
we like.
Andy Nelson:
Movies We Like is a part of the True Story FM Entertainment Podcast Network and the Next Reel family of film podcasts. The music is Chomp Clap by Out of Flux. Find the show at true story dot f m and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, threads, and letterboxed at the next reel. Learn about becoming a member at the next reel.com/membership. And if your podcast app allows ratings and reviews, we always appreciate it if you drop one in there for us.