ShotDeck Drop: Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story (2007)

The visual research database ShotDeck recently added more than 500 stills from the comedy 2007 feature Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story, shot by Uta Briesewitz, ASC for director Jake Kasdan (Zero Effect, Orange County, Bad Teacher).

Released at a time when prestige music biopics were popular with critics and audiences — see Ray (shot by Pawel Edelman, PSC; AC Dec. '04) and Walk the Line (shot by Phedon Papamichael, ASC, GSC; AC Dec. '05) — Walk Hard lovingly skewers the genre's conventions with the fictional story of Dewey Cox (John C. Reilly), who endures a hardscrabble upbringing and the tragic death of a sibling before he finds his calling as a songwriter. Through the decades, he makes his mark on almost every style of popular music, veering from triumph to tragedy before beating back his demons to achieve legendary status. “Many [biopics] have so much in common that they almost feel formulaic,” Briesewitz muses in her correspondence with AC. “I think Walk Hard heightens these commonalities in a clever way.”

Uta Briesewitz was born in Leverkusen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. She studied directing at the Berlin Film and Television Academy, and received her MFA in cinematography from The American Film Institute, where she was also honored with the Mary Pickford Foundation Award. As a cinematographer, her work includes the feature films Session 9, XX/XY, and Arthur. Her television credits include The Wire, Hung (nominated for an Emmy), and True Blood. As a director, her television credits include Stranger Things, Westworld, Severance, The Wheel Of Time, and Black Mirror, and the feature film American Sweatshop.

“Shooting Walk Hard is one of my fondest career memories. It was my first studio feature, which was a very big deal for me.” — Uta Briesewitz, ASC

How did you come to shoot Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story?

I had just moved back to Los Angeles after living in New York for four years. During my time in New York, I shot The Wire in Baltimore. Back in L.A., I was told by my agent that Jake Kasdan was interested in having a meeting with me. Jake interviewed me for his upcoming feature The TV Set. I was surprised that Jake would want to meet with me to possibly shoot his comedy, based on my dramatic work on The Wire, but Jake told me “if you can shoot The Wire, you can shoot my film.” The TV Set started our collaboration and when Walk Hard became his next project, he asked me to shoot it. I said “Good luck trying to get me approved by the studio.” (At the time, not many women were hired to shoot studio features.) Jake’s said he'd put it in his contract if he had to. I remember the exchange very clearly, because it meant so much to me. I was fully capable of delivering on that scale. All I needed was a director to back me, and Jake did it. He had a huge impact on my career as a DP, which I’m forever grateful for.

What were some of your key influences?

Two of our main influences were the recent biopics Walk the Line and Ray. For the black and white parts, we referenced documentary footage from D.A. Pennebaker's Bob Dylan: Don’t Look Back and Richard Lester's Beatles films, A Hard Day's Night and Help!.

How would you describe your visual approach?

Comedies during that time were often lit rather bright. Jake encouraged me to light the film like a dramatic biopic -- where the lighting guides our emotions -- but still supportive of the comedy, where you want to see the performances clearly. There was still a lot of shaping of the light, which marks the period when we were transitioning film to digital capture. With sensors being so powerful these days, you can literally shoot anything with whatever light is in the air.

You shot this film with Panavision Genesis cameras . What were some of the challenges and benefits of digital capture in the early days of digital cinema?

Jake became very interested in shooting with a digital camera once they produced images acceptable for large screen projection. It was important for him to maintain the momentum of filming, and not interrupt the actors' performances with camera reloads every 10 minutes. Looking back, 10 minutes seems like such a short amount of time to really get into the flow of things. It's crazy, the DPs that I work with now are so young that they never experienced shooting on film.

Some of our early challenges were around workflows and protecting the look we established while shooting. Not only did dailies look different than what was created on set, but once the film went through editing it had yet another look. So during the final color timing you usually ended up working on something that was nowhere near what you originally shot.

The Panavision Genesis gave us the best image we could get at the time; it was a bridge from film to digital cinematography. I loved that it was compatible with the Panavision Primo lenses that we used to shoot Walk Hard. The camera itself was pretty big though, and my impression was that it was not that well-balanced. It was rather difficult to use when shooting handheld. As a result, there was less handheld on Walk Hard than I would have liked.

Did you use a different photographic approach for the different time periods?

I think the most obvious stylistic choice was our portrayal of Dewey in his "Bob Dylan phase". We tried to copy the black and white film footage of Dylan's tv performances and protests. It’s the most striking visual shift, with slightly chaotic handheld work, zooms and a grainy, monochrome film look.

Do you have a favorite shot or scene from the film?

I like the end of the movie, when Dewey gives his final performance, “Beautiful Ride”. I love the song and it’s just fun way to revisit the key moments in his life. On top of that, we got to shoot in the Shrine Auditorium in L.A., which is such an incredible stage with so much history. We had an amazing line up of stars: Eddie Vedder, Jackson Browne, Lyle Lovett, and Ghostface Killah, and Jewel. It was just such a fun ending to the shoot, and for me as a European, definitely one of these of those “pinch yourself” moments!

How involved were you with the stage lighting design as it evolved from smaller to larger venues?

The smaller stages were mainly lit by my crew. At the Shrine Auditorium we hired people who were familiar with that venue and had lit that stage before, so I was involved in the stage lighting to a certain point. I went through the different pre-programmed lighting designs and cues with their board operator, including all the light colors, patterns and movements I'd like to see.

This is a really earnest film in spite of all the silliness. How do you walk the line between parody and sincerity?

When Walk Hard came out, music biopics were pretty popular, and many of them have so much in common that they almost feel formulaic: the musicians usually come from a poor, hard-scrabble background, often overshadowed by a childhood trauma. They find their talent for music, and against all odds create a career for themselves. Most of the time, there's a downfall with drugs, dramatic marriages, and a time of creative struggle before being rediscovered again. I think Walk Hard heightens these commonalities in a clever way.

Was there a lot of improvisation on set?

Absolutely. That’s just part of shooting comedy. It starts with a brilliant funny script, and on the day, the scripted lines get shot first. Then other lines get thrown at the actors by Jake or additional writers watching the performance. Once the actors start improvising, everybody else has to be quick on their feet. That makes shooting comedies so much fun, because no two takes are ever really the same.

What's your philosophy for shooting comedy?

"Shooting comedy" usually means seeing the actors faces clearly and most of the time seeing both eyes, so as not to miss any of the performance. That’s why comedies in general are brighter than dramas. Needless to say, the psychology of light plays a part as well. Jake encouraged me to shape faces a bit more dramatic, to get closer to the music biopics we wanted to match. Being prepared for actors to physically improvise had me lighting in a way that allowed them to move around freely on a set, which often changed how I lit a space.

How did you make room for the actors’ process?

As the cinematographer, it’s important to serve the actors. Only a good performance makes a good image, so it’s in your interest as a DP that the actors do their best work. Part of that can be setting a mood with your lighting, an atmosphere that supports the emotional world the actor lives in during a specific scene. Another part is making the set a safe place for the actor by reminding your crew to work quietly or not tell jokes between takes when working on an emotional scene; things like that. Be present and respectful towards performances, always.

I believe in giving actors the freedom to explore their stage more freely. That meant always having my camera on tracks, ready to move. If I needed a certain lineup between two actors, I could adjust to it by moving the camera instead of interrupting a performance. I operated everything I shot, and as an operator you have the front row seat. I think it’s a position of creative privilege and with it should come a certain discipline. There can be a deeper connection between the actor and the person behind the camera, if the operator is vulnerable to experience the performance.

Final thoughts?

Shooting Walk Hard is one of my fondest career memories. I loved working with Jake Kasdan, who is just such an amazingly talented writer/director and an incredible friend. It was my first studio feature, which was a very big deal for me. I also happened to be pregnant with my first child during the shoot, which adds another emotional connection. Artists who are good at comedy always keep it fun and make it seem effortless. I was blown away by John C. Reilly, who memorized and performed an incredible amount of songs and he performed them so brilliantly. Watching John do his art and transform into all these different versions of Dewey Cox at different stages in his life was a truly special experience.

Founded by Lawrence Sher, ASC (cinematographer of Joker: Folie à Deux, The Hangover Trilogy, Garden State), ShotDeck is the world’s largest library of fully-searchable high-definition cinematic images. With over 1.6 Million shots and now an App for iPhone and iPad access, ShotDeck is an invaluable reference, planning, and collaboration tool for filmmakers, students and creatives of any kind.

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