Richard Dunton on shooting Edge Of The Blade in Atlanta

The $1.5m feature, Edge Of The Blade, directed by Norman Stone, is the story of when Oscar Pistorius (Andreas Damm) met Reeva Steenkamp (Toni Garrn) and their subsequently tragic story. Cinematographer Richard Dunton wrote in with details about his work.

“After reading the script, films like Blue Valentine (2010, DP Andrij Parekh) and We Need To Talk About Kevin (2011, DP Seamus McGarvey) were inspirations from the start. Fortunately, Norman and I were on the same page from the beginning, and it was great that he trusted me to be free and creative. We opted for a modern building as the location for Oscar’s house, where a substantial part of the film is set. I took inspiration from films such as Force Majeure (2014, DP Fredrik Wenzel) with its still, symmetrical wides and strong lines, that worked well with the sleek lines of the house.

We shot on ARRI Alexas and, after several tests, I decided on the Zeiss B Speeds, paired with Mitchell Diffusion filters. I felt they gave the slightly softer edge I was after. Also, I felt the lenses’ signature triangular bokeh, from the nine-blade iris, lent itself to enhancing the surreal nature of the couple’s relationship.

In pre-production, I had a lot of discussions with my gaffer, Will Hickocks, about the look Norman and I wanted to create. A significant part involved silhouetting, with the main sources of light coming through windows, giving a natural look. Due to budget we had just a few M18s, with an LED package consisting of LiteMats, Quasar Tubes, and Astra panels. The LEDs were great because it meant we weren’t always relying on the Genie.

The shoot took place in Atlanta, GA, over 18 days throughout June. The gear was supplied by Commander. They were amazingly helpful in facilitating what we needed for the shoot on the tight budget we were working to.

It was my first time shooting a feature in Atlanta, and I quickly learnt that it could go from blazing sun to thunderstorms in a matter of minutes. Obviously very tricky for any sort of continuity. The film is currently in the cutting room, but I’m really looking forward to getting it in the grade.”