In the Arena: Serena Williams - a conversation with Cinematographer Ayana Baraka

The documentary series ‘In the Arena: Serena Williams’ premiered on July 10, offering an intimate look into the life of the legendary tennis player. Each episode delves into pivotal moments and influential figures from Serena Williams’ life, all presented from her perspective.

The series is shot by Emmy-nominated cinematographer Ayana Baraka, one of just six black female directors of photography in IATSE local 600. Baraka is known for her work on ‘Uncharted’, a documentary highlighting Alicia Keys’s ‘She is the Music’ camp, which premiered at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. Baraka shared her experience of working on ‘In the Arena’ and her approach to using Cooke Anamorphic lenses during the shoot.

Before filming began, Baraka spent time with Williams to better understand the importance of how to visually convey the strength and intimacy of Williams’ life, so that though the interviews she would be conducting with the tennis star, her family and her rivals, she could best represent her story.

As a result, Baraka went through extensive camera and lens testing prior to shooting. To ensure that the imagery would stay true to the skin tones of Williams and the other interview subjects, creating a sense of realism that was crucial to the documentary’s storytelling. Settling on the Cooke Anamorphic/i FF SF lens series and ARRI Mini LF, stating that “it was the most suitable lens for Serenas darker, deeper hues of skin…..Anamorphics always bring a unique cinematic quality to the image. They just take it to the next level visually… it really tells a different story than something shot on spherical lenses… I also happen to love Cooke’s; I use Cooke a lot.”

For this project, Baraka introduced a more intimate close-up style than what was used in the previous season, particularly for the talking head scenes with Williams. She explained, “It’s so helpful to be a little bit closer to Serena… my favorite field of view is those extreme close-ups.” These shots effortlessly captured both the emotional and comedic moments of the series.

Baraka stressed the importance of preparation for this project, recalling: “when you’re working with high profile people, you don’t have a lot of time…we had about three minutes to set-up the lights and then it’s just straight into the interview.”

Williams’ pregnancy during filming added an extra layer of complexity to the lighting process. Baraka adapted her approach to ensure Williams’ comfort, acknowledging that “everything’s changing over the course of the month… but also, you have to be mindful of what she’s going through in her pregnancy.”

Opting for the Cooke 135mm Anamorphic/i lens for A Camera, thus achieving the desired falloff effect. For the B-camera, she used 180mm with a 2x extender on a higher ISO for the close-up shots.

The physical backdrop for Williams’ interviews evolved over the course of the series. Initially, the drapes behind her were tightly clustered and lit more dramatically. As the episodes progressed, the drapes became looser, and the lighting softened, reflecting a shift in tone. “We wanted something that was softer and more regal” reflects Baraka.

The cinematographer also used colour to distinguish Serena from the other interviewees. “Family is under one colour, then her team is under a different colour, so it’s all kind of defined,” she explained. “I’d light (Serena) from a different angle and the backdrop is white and a very soft, elegant material.”

Postproduction was a critical phase for Baraka, who worked closely with the color grading team to develop a custom LUT that complemented Williams’ skin tones. They also used a shooting LUT on set to maintain visual consistency.

Reflecting on her choice of lens, Baraka noted “I was mindful of the fact that normally anamorphic lenses do kind of stretch the image, but that’s a quality that we wanted…not necessarily for the face… I think lighting is important in creating that shape and dimension. The good thing about Cooke and why we chose it is because (the stretch) wasn’t as intense… it was perfect”.

Baraka shot close to the native ISO (800) on the Arri Alexa Mini LF but modified the colour temperature. “Instead of shooting 5600 or 3200 I’m shooting around 4400 and then set the lights somewhere around 4800 and then put colour in front of the light as well.”

Thank you, Ayana, for speaking with us. It was a pleasure.