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Italian Cinematographer Pierluigi Gigi Malavasi AIC made his third film debut with Director Michelle Danner with Under the Stars, a romantic comedy featuring Toni Colette and Andy Garcia as supporting roles.
The film was shot using Cooke Anamorphic/i 2x lenses, marking the cinematographer and director’s second time using these lenses on a project, the first being Miranda’s Victim (2023).
Cooke had the pleasure of speaking with Pierluigi about his time working on this charming new film.
The film is set against the stunning backdrop of Puglia with delectable views of vineyards, clear seas and rolling hills. Beginning in London, it follows Ian (Alex Pettyfer), who is stuck in a bored and loveless relationship. Ian’s life is swiftly turned around when he travels to Italy and meets the girl of his dreams Arianna (Eva De Dominici).
Pierluigi spoke highly of Director Michelle Danner, remarking, “Michelle’s visual style is quite similar to mine, which made our collaboration seamless… I couldn’t resist the opportunity to work on something with her again.”
Not only was his collaboration seamless with Michelle, but this also rang true for the rest of the team: production and costume designers, the VFX team and the colourist. “We engage in extensive discussions about colours, character ideas, and locations… Italy has exceptionally warm tones, so I ensured that the characters stood out from the backgrounds. Our colourist and VFX team were involved from the very beginning of pre-production.”
Pierluigi, a fan of planning, enjoyed every aspect of the pre-production process, with assistance from post-house M74 who are based in Rome. “(M74) were with us throughout the entire process, and it was incredibly helpful.”
The majority of the filming was on location in Lecce, a beautiful city in Puglia’s southern region. Pierluigi reflected, “Italy is one of the best places to shoot in. The crews are incredibly talented, and the cities are incredibly welcoming. I also appreciate the shorter shooting days (in Italy, you only work eight-hour days), which allows you to focus more on quality. Additionally, you get warm pizza or focaccia every day for a snack, which makes the experience even more enjoyable.”
Having used Cooke on most of his previous projects, for Pierluigi it was not a question that he wanted to use them once again, referring to the Anamorphic/i 2x lenses as his “favourite lenses in the world”. He paired the Cookes with the Arri ALEXA 35 camera. “We captured Arri Raw full frame footage and subsequently cropped the native 2.66 aspect ratio to 2.40 for our final output.”
At the beginning of Pierluigi’s cinematography career, he was “instantly smitten” with Cooke S4/i lenses. As time went on, he gradually started shooting more in Anamorphic and so decided to make the Cooke 2x Anamorphics his go-to.
“There are several aspects of Cooke glass that I absolutely adore. Firstly, their exceptional construction is truly remarkable. But more importantly, they seamlessly complement my preferred lighting style. I appreciate their precision and gentleness, which enables me to achieve both clean and aggressive shots… I particularly love how they reproduce skin tones, especially when paired with the Arri ALEXA.”
In his work, Pierluigi leans towards a more naturalistic look, however does not shy away from extreme differences between light and shadow, “their versatility allows me to create a wide range of styles, making them an invaluable tool in my arsenal…whether I want to achieve a clean look or create something more unconventional, Cooke lenses have the flexibility to accommodate my vision.”
For Under the Stars, Pierluigi stuck with shorter focal lengths, using the 40mm and 50mm for the majority of the film. “Occasionally, we used the 65mm Macro, which is one of my favorite lenses for shooting inserts. I love that we don’t have to add diopters. The 65mm Macro is a fantastic lens!”
“The exceptional quality of the glass and the softness of the skin tones played a pivotal role in shaping my vision. I am particularly drawn to their solidity, not just in terms of their construction, but also in their relatability.”
As VFX was prominent in the production process, the DOP took full advantage of Cooke’s /i Intelligent Technology that is integrated into the lenses, recording the lens metadata throughout the shoot to supply to the post-house.
“I am aware of their immense popularity among the VFX department due to their exceptional distortion-free quality…I enjoy revisiting how we shot certain scenes while reviewing the dailies. It was also crucial for our VFX department to have access to all that information. It truly aids the camera team in tracking everything, and it can be extremely useful when communicating with the second unit.”
Finally, Pierluigi makes a heartfelt acknowledgment to his team “I do want to thank from the bottom of my heart my entire camera team who was just fantastic. They were so great I am currently working with them on a movie I am shooting now in Rome.”
Supported by: REC (Rome)
