MOLLY

Lens/Camera Information
Lens series: Cooke SP3
Focus lengths: 18/25/32/50
Camera: Sony FX6
Format: Digital
Original aspect ratio: 1:66

Production information
Director of Photography: Darius Shu
DOP Instagram: @dariusshu_
Director: Darius Shu
Producers: Kaushik Ray, Pooja Chauhan, Darius Shu
Production companies: Taran Tantra Telefilms, Silverprince Pictures
Colourist: Vanessa Aparicio
Rental: SLVision

MOLLY is a romantic drama where a chance encounter at a launderette draws Vinnie and Ryan into an unexpected and deeply felt intimacy. As their connection deepens and closeness begins to blur into desire, they’re forced to confront what love asks of them, before it risks fracturing everything they’ve built.

I wasn’t chasing a “look” so much as a feeling, something soft, intimate, warm, slightly nostalgic, like a memory that lingers in the back of your mind. That instinct led me to the Cooke SP3 lenses.

There’s a kindness in the way they render a face. Just human. The centre holds your attention while the edges gently fall away, creating a quiet intimacy where your focus settles naturally on the person. That felt right for a story rooted in unspoken connection and the spaces between words.

I was drawn to the emotional texture and aesthetics of 80s/90s cinema, not as reference, but as a feeling. The SP3s sit in a beautiful middle ground, modern, yet never clinical. They carry a softness without losing clarity, with gentle contrast, natural skin tones, and subtle highlight bloom. The nostalgia was already there, without needing to force it.

Committing to these lenses changed how I shot. I moved closer, held longer, and let moments breathe. At T2.4, there’s a confidence in knowing the lens won’t punish honesty. You can stay on a face and trust it will carry emotion with a depth that feels natural. It allowed me to prioritise performance over composition, to observe rather than control.

I kept returning to the 32mm and 50mm for majority of the film, incredibly intimate, but grounded. The 32mm became the emotional perspective, while the 50mm allowed for more internal, fragile moments.

Paired with the Sony FX6, the SP3s gave us freedom to move quickly and stay fluid between tripod, handheld and Steadicam, essential when shooting a 23-minute film in three days in small locations. We weren’t constructing shots, we were catching humanistic moments.