The Cinematography Podcast

The Cinematography Podcast


Jody Lee Lipes on shooting the HBO series I Know This Much Is True, A Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood, Girls, Tiny Furniture, Martha Marcy May Marlene and more

July 12, 2020

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 83: Jody Lee Lipes

Cinematographer Jody Lee Lipes has always enjoyed working on diverse projects with intimate stories. Shortly after film school, Jody collaborated with actor/director Lena Dunham on her first film, Tiny Furniture, which led to Jody's shooting the HBO series, Girls. He also shot the acclaimed indie thriller, Martha Marcy May Marlene, directed by Sean Durkin, about a woman who escapes a cult and grows increasingly paranoid. Larger projects soon followed, including Academy Award nominated films, Manchester by the Sea and A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood with director Marielle Heller. When Heller asked Jody to be the director of photography for her film about a journalist writing a profile piece on Mr. Rogers, he was extremely moved by the script and it gave him a renewed passion for his craft. Jody's most recent project, the HBO series, I Know This Much is True, is the story of Dominick, who is struggling with caring for his mentally ill twin brother Thomas. Mark Ruffalo plays both twins, one of whom is much heavier than the other. Jody had to first shoot the “A” side of Dominick, then the B side of his brother Thomas several weeks later after Mark Ruffalo had gained weight. Director Derek Cianfrance decided he did not want to rely very much on special effects, and they discovered that often, a single two-shot of the “twins” would sell the idea that there were two people in the room. Shooting I Know This Much is True proved challenging in other ways as well. It was shot on film, with extreme closeups on long lenses, and controlling the light was key so that it would match each shot.

Find Jody Lee Lipes

Instagram: @jody_lee_lipes

See I Know This Much is True currently on HBO

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Close Focus: Quibi is turning out to be a monumental failure, failing to hit even 30% of its first year subscriber goals.

Ben's short end: A YouTube Channel called Video Revealed, mostly about Adobe sound design. Adobe Creative Cloud offers subscribers a sound effects library that you can download.

Illya's short end: Fletcher Adcock Camera Comparison Chart will aid those in the market for a new camera.

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Podcast Credits:

Editor in Chief:  Illya Friedman@hotrodcameras instagram@illyafriedman instagram