Days of Futures Past
Netflix through a Widelux
Photography
My time at Netflix was a privilege. It is often said that working there is more a lifestyle choice than a job. I certainly got what I wanted — to see how a studio works and thinks. And like any ex-Netflixer will tell you — the experience rewires your brain to always question the dynamics at play within the broader picture. It is remarkable how all of us who’ve worked there share similar skills and perspectives.
Unmatched in scope of vision — why a Widelux for Netflix
With one of my first paychecks I committed to buying a Widelux F8 (more commonly known by now as the ‘Jeff Bridges Camera’). I thought its unique perspective would be a match the scale and scope of working at Netflix. A challenging camera but nevertheless an engineering treasure to behold.
Yet just one month after leaving Netflix, my beloved F8 (serial number 355140) was stolen somewhere in the French postal system after I sent it to be repaired by Widelux wizard Philippe Raybaudi. [You can see the reason for the repair can be seen in the images below].
So in a bittersweet sense, my Widelux experience started and ended with my time at Netflix.
Yet these are some of the images I made that remain.
To perform each day inside a global auditorium brings a level of exposure and vulnerability that every employee needs to be willing to embrace.
In any one moment, you’re either being either galvanised or subjected to sudden flux.
The result is a continual shared state of intense engagement. Everything can change in a heartbeat.
Over 50% of employees are women.
Internal social events set a high bar for organisation, scale and execution.
UCAN, LATAM and EMEA colleagues during a virtual production workshop at ReadySet Studios, Amsterdam.
LATAM and EMEA technologists together.
The Widelux’s shutter maxes out at 1/250th of a second. Whenever you make a group photo — you’re aware (and your subjects also) that it can be the last time those faces will appear in the frame together.
During a studio visit: director Bartosz Prokopowicz, cinematographer Jeremi Prokopowicz and DIT Krzysztof Włodarczyk work on the timing of a complex drone shot for the series The Girl and the Astronaut (2023).
Extras await their call on the set of The Girl and the Astronaut (2023).
Cinematographer Nils Croné photographs Aleksandra Skraba during a camera test for Sexify (Season 2).
Considerable value is placed high quality tests that reflect as much as possible the intended visuals of a title.
An ASC, BSC event at Camerimage.
Representatives from Act Headquarter, Cologne attend a partner workshop in Spain.
Partners and Netflix post-production personnel take a break at Netflix’s Tres Cantos studios in Madrid.
It’s often said there are few unexciting days at Netflix.
A black photon caught in the Warsaw sunlight — sharing a lunch with Kamil Rutkowski, CEO of Black Photon.
I can say I loved my team. Yet another photo of a momentary constellation of international talents.
Unique moments from a unique camera — very much missed.