Why do movies from the 1970’s look so different than films today?
While there are many reasons for this, a few of the biggest factors revolve around the fact that films were shot on a different kind of film stock, and that said film stock was processed differently—grain was a constant and the standard color palettes were subdued. Films like Zodiac, Argo, Licorice Pizza, and, more recently, The Holdovers have all successfully recreated this period. There’s factors like wardrobe and set design, but also the cinematagraphy with lighting and lenses.
Another new film with nods to the classic ’70’s look is Spider One’s Little Bites, which recently world premiered at Fantastic Fest and is now available on VOD.
When discussing the look of Little Bites, the film’s DP Andy Patch said,:
“Little Bites is a period piece that doesn’t overly call attention to itself. To achieve a ’70s vibe I shot in Alexa Mini, Super 35, with vintage-ish lenses. The Alexa Mini color is the closet you can get to look like film digitally, right out of the camera, seemingly more so than the 35.
Also, since large format (anything larger than S35) is very much a modern trend and modern look, it didn’t make sense for me to consider going that route. I knew if I wanted this to look similar to an indie 1970’s horror movie that was largely the way to go.”
Andy talks about this subject, his collaborations with director Spider One and much more in our interview below.
Editor’s note: the following interview is edited for length and clarity.
‘Little Bites’ One Fox
No Film School: Can you talk about how you became a cinematographer? What first sparked your interest in film?
Andy Patch: I always knew that I wanted to work in the arts from a very young age.
Originally, I wanted to be an illustrator and spent most of my childhood drawing pretty obsessively. I was obsessed with early Tim Burton movies as a kid: Beetlejuice, Batman, etc… all the really dark and creepy stuff really stuck with me at an early age. I got in trouble from the teachers because I was always drawing scenes of torture chambers and war scenes. Stuff I probably saw in movies that were already getting implanted in my brain.
Later when I entered high school, I started taking photography classes and read a book of David Lynch interviews called Lynch on Lynch. Listening to him talk about his artistic process in all areas of life really blew my mind when I was about 16 years old. That book alone changed my thought process on art, life, and film more than anything else I can think of.
It’s pretty amazing how certain things at very crucial times of your life can have an extreme impact on you. I’ll always love David Lynch for this.
NFS: What originally stood out to you about Little Bites and made you want to get involved in the project?
Patch: Well, I’ve been working with the Spider One and Krsy Fox duo for the last few years on their films, and it’s gotten to a point where I’m pretty much going to say yes to every one of their projects. They’ve created a little micro studio, and they’ve started producing a steady stream of small films with very limited resources, and it’s all paying off for them in big ways. Their output, drive, and tenacity is incredibly inspiring. They’re the sort of people that won’t wait on a project for years. We all know these days it’s pretty easy to just go make something if you have the right team with you.
Beyond that, I will say this project spoke to me on a lot of levels and stood out from most. The creepiness, vibe, and tone of the film is the lane I like to be in. I love slow burn horror/thrillers with strong thematic messages.
Little Bites story is about a mysterious creature that lives inside a home that’s slowly feeding off a helpless woman day after day, year after year. But what it’s really about is giving up ourselves for our children, and how well you do anything to protect them and care for them, even at our own expense.
During production, my wife and I were expecting our first child, so the themes and message of the film were very much on my mind. It was interesting being in such an intense headspace while filming a movie about exactly what I was feeling.
DP Andy Patch on creating the vintage look of Spider One’s Little Bites.
NFS: What did pre-production look like for you on Little Bites? Do you storyboard shots out?
Patch: The primary time in preproduction was spent on location, walking through each and every scene. There was a lot of talk beforehand about things we’d like to do, camera moves we’d like to try, film references, etc. Often times a lot of that goes out the window or gets altered when you’re physically walking through a space and logistically talking about how to actually do something.
For a film like this with such an intense schedule, I really like to walk through each room with the script in hand, visualizing blocking, talking camera position physically in the space for as long as possible. Nothing about what we did was extremely complicated technically, so this time in the space I’ve found has been the most helpful thing to really get your head in the script.
It might seem obvious but having a few uninterrupted hours without being rushed is really the best way to mentally prepare yourself for the chaos that will inevitably ensue.
NFS: You have worked with Little Bites director Spider One on numerous films. How has your relationship changed from your first collaboration to this one?
Patch: We’ve definitely gotten into more of a flow, especially with our team as a whole. We’ve really dialed in our core group of crew, and that’s really been invaluable to the process. Apart from all getting along so well, we all know we’re there for the chance to work on something fun, deeply personal, and very DIY.
I’d also say that Spider is a great visual director in the sense that he isn’t extremely technical, but knows exactly what he wants. He doesn’t overthink it, and won’t shoot excessive coverage that’s often so easy to overdo. I’ll always be throwing out ideas for additional shots, angles, etc.
It’s very refreshing that he’s able to call a scene when he knows he’s got it. That may seem like a minor thing, but it’s really empowering for me and the crew to work with a director who has that confidence.
NFS: How would you describe the look of Little Bites?
Patch: We were going for a vintage, ’70s look, but I wouldn’t say we were trying to overdo that too much.
Little Bites is a period piece that doesn’t overtly call attention to itself. In a lot of those older, smaller horror movies, the lighting style is definitely different than todays, since they’ll be a lot of hard light, bright sources to get an exposure on the lower stock film. These days we’re fortunate enough to be able to use small LED lights dimmed down to a few percentage points and still be within working levels. Which I really like. It’s nice to keep a dimmer set when you’re in these scenes, since I feel like it really helps to just immerse yourself in the world of the script.
We had a handful of classic movies that we discussed, but the primary film that Spider would reference was the scene with Marlon Brando in Apocalypse Now. Theres that iconic shot of him bathed in the warm yellow light, and his head just slightly poking out to reveal himself. This was the world we wanted Agyar to be living in. I extrapolated from that from there.
I’d say my primary influences for Little Bites were movies like The Night House, Relic (2020), and Saint Maud. There’s been such a great output of relatively smaller indie horror movies in the last few years. I feel like a lot of those films have been recently engrained in my mind.
‘Little Bites’One Fox
NFS: What are some of the ways you achieved a ’70s look in Little Bites?
Patch: This film, as well as most period pieces, the look is first and foremost dictated by the production design and wardrobe, since without that as the foundation there would be very little I could do.
We were very fortunate to get the location that we did. It was a dusty old house in Simi Valley that was basically hand built by the current owner. It was such a joy to shoot in, because basically every direction was uniquely photographic and timeless.
It’s funny, too, because since we’ve shot there, I’ve seen that house pop up quite a bit in other projects. I think a lot of these unique LA locations tend to get used a lot, but it’s so interesting how different it always looks in every project. I love how every filmmaker that goes in there always brings their own vision to it, because thankfully I haven’t seen anything that looks and feels quite like our film.
But beyond all that, on my end, I’d say first and foremost shooting in Alexa Mini, Super 35, with vintage-ish lenses. The Alexa Mini color is the closet you can get to look like film digitally, right out of the camera, seemingly more so than the 35.
Also, since large format (anything larger than S35) is very much a modern trend and a modern look, it didn’t make sense for me to consider going that route. I knew if I wanted this to look similar to an indie ’70s horror movie that was largely the way to go.
Beyond that, and I think I mentioned this earlier, we added the 1/8th BPM on every scene for the halation effect, and shot at a higher ISO to introduce the slightest amount of grain to the image.
We originally talked about leaning very heavily into the ’70s look—using servo zooms, using all hot lights. But I personally felt that would be a little too on the nose, and that using faster lenses would be a much better way to light this space quickly. What we ended up with was a tasteful homage to some older films, but still felt current.
Overall, I’m very happy with what we did.
‘Little Bites’One Fox
NFS: Cher is one of the Executive Producers of the film. Why do you think she was drawn to the script?
Patch: I wish I had more firsthand knowledge of this.
I know the script was sent to her probably less than year before we started shooting, and I was told she loved the script. Since I never had any direct interactions with her at a higher level, I don’t want to speak too much out of turn, but my assumption is that the themes of this script would speak to anyone with children. Not only is it about the hardships and sacrifices of having children, but it’s about the lengths that we would go to protect them.
I don’t think I’d be wrong to say she responded to that.
NFS: What sort of camera and lenses did you use on the shoot?
Patch: We shot on my Alexa Mini, in ProRes 4444, with Zeiss Super Speed MKII lenses. I think we had an additional 14mm standard speed in there as well, for one or two shots. I used a HBM 1/8th filter on everything, just to add that extra bit of halation, as I knew we’d be featuring practicals throughout the film.
I rated most of the scenes at 1280p, just to get that small amount of grain pattern that we’ve all come to know and love from the Alexa sensor. I don’t think I ever considered shooting on any other camera. I own several other camera options, but nothing really comes close to that filmic ARRI look that helped us achieve that vintage, classic look.
‘Little Bites’One Fox
NFS: What was the most difficult scene to shoot in Little Bites and why?
Patch: I’d say overall the main challenge of the shoot—and most low budget features—is time. You’re always in survival mode, as you’re desperately trying to make your days and fight for as much time as humanly possible to get through the pages and create something you’re proud of.
Thankfully I have an amazing team that’s still willing to work for me.
That being said, I think the craziest day was our scenes with Barbara Crampton. We had to move our schedule around in way that prioritized our effects makeup, which meant by the time we got to her last scene we had to quickly recreate a daytime interior setup within minutes of our schedule.
I remember our 1st AD Lisa [Palenica] told me we had about 10 minutes to shoot, and I couldn’t help but laugh. It seemed impossible.
Thankfully my team got to work immediately, and we whipped together a daytime look in about eight minutes, and I think we had just enough time for two takes. What I learned is that with a strong crew that’s committed to the project, paired with fantastic actors that can deliver perfect performances at every take, you can really set yourself up for success.
NFS: You use shadows very interestingly in Little Bites. When Mindy is at home she is a lot of the time encompassed in darkness. What was the thought process behind this approach?
Patch: That was all motivated by story.
Our main character Mindy’s life at this point is very bleak and dark, and we generally wanted to lean into the fact that this isn’t someone who is in the best physically and mental shape, so she wouldn’t be in a position to tidy up herself, her home, and go around turning on every light in the house, and so on. We went with dark, moody, and high contrast images.
As a DP shooting in such a cool location, I probably would have taken an extra 10 minutes on every shot to light up backgrounds, give accent lights, try some different colors. But Spider is also pretty good at knowing when an image is to his liking, and I’ve learned to not be too greedy with my tweaking. Everything is to serve the story, and thankfully I always feel confident that the Alexa is keeping enough shadow detail.
We had a few different moods we wanted to convey in the film, so it wasn’t all the same tone. There actually was an opening epilogue scene between Krsy’s character, Mindy, and her husband, when they discuss the happiness of having a child. That scene was very bright, high key, warm, and welcoming—a stark contrast to the rest of the film.
Unfortunately that scene didn’t make the cut. But we did it!
‘Little Bites’One Fox
NFS: Can you talk about the bathroom scene towards the end of the film with the flashing red lights. Walk us through how you executed this?
Patch: This one was nerve wracking.
We had shot a few moments of this scene in that downstairs room, which didn’t include any sort of lighting gags, effects, or anything… we simply had a relatively standard lighting setup. It was all working and the performances were incredible, but I could also tell that Spider wasn’t quite getting what he wanted.
After throwing out a handful of ideas, he suggested that we introduce moving, strobing RGB colored lights to completely make a tone shift in the completely opposite direction. This took me a second to wrap my head around, since this was a total new idea that I hadn’t fully visualized that in the context of the story.
I’m a classic over thinker.
However, when you’re in the middle of the shoot with a schedule like ours, the luxury of time is practically nonexistent, so you really have no choice but to trust your director and go for it. Thankfully it all turned out great, and with the addition of the fake blood in VFX I’m glad we went in that direction. Lessons learned? Trust your director, and be willing to adapt.
Author: Jason Hellerman
This article comes from No Film School and can be read on the original site.
