Authors: Wilson Chapman and William Earl
article originally published on Variety.com
Jordan Peele’s third feature, “Nope,” focuses on a group of characters (played by Daniel Kaluuya, Keke Palmer, Steven Yeun, Brandon Perea and Michael Wincott) attempting to track down an unidentified flying object spotted in the air around the Agua Dulce desert. Many of the film’s scenes take place in the dead of night, but as Peele describes it, the majority of them weren’t filmed at night. Instead, cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema shot most of the scenes during the day using some innovative technological approaches.
“I haven’t wanted to ruin the illusion, but I’ll ruin it for you today,” Peele said at a Toronto International Film Festival Q&A on Sept. 12. “The night shots, for the most part, were shot in the day, which is due to a technological and strategic thing that [Hoytema] brought to the table. ”
Jordan Peele and Hoyte van Hoytema’s TIFF Explanation
Peele and Hoytema spoke at a special screening of “Nope” at the Cinesphere IMAX Theatre, in a conversation moderated by TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey. During the Q&A, the duo — while avoiding spoilers for attendees who hadn’t yet seen the film — discussed how they brought the night scenes to life.
According to Hoytema, conversations around how to photograph the night scenes began when the two began scouting locations in Agua Dulce. While visiting the desert, Hoytema was overwhelmed by both the darkness of the night and the beauty of the sky and the stars, and began to believe that there was no possible way to correctly capture it.
“There’s no way to photograph this, this feeling of vastness, and grandeur of the sky, which was such a big part of our story. We kind of immediately started thinking ‘How can can we portray exactly that feeling that we have when we were out there in the field?’” Hoytema said. “I started very much exploring the technology, how can we do this? How can we photograph in the way eyes see it or the way that we experience it?”
Combining Infrared Capture With 65mm Film
Ultimately, the two came up with a solution where they combined two cameras — one that shot infrared light with a narrow bandwidth, and one that captured 65mm film. The two then would overlay the images, with the infrared capturing how people’s eyes respond to darkness and light at nighttime. They then used the film camera to capture all the color and grain information they wanted for the shot, resulting in the memorable nighttime cinematography seen in the film.
“It’s really cool shit,” Peele said. “This thing really pushes film forward, and was difficult and it’s something that I’m excited to work with in the future and continue to push.”
Nope Infrared Day-For-Night FAQs
What Is Nope’s Day-For-Night Filming Technique?
The article explains that many of Nope’s night scenes were actually filmed during the day. Hoyte van Hoytema used an innovative process combining infrared capture with 65mm film to create the movie’s nighttime look.
Who Wrote The Article About Nope’s Infrared Technique?
The Kolari post credits Wilson Chapman and William Earl as the authors and notes that the article was originally published on Variety.com.
Why Did Hoyte Van Hoytema Use This Technique For Nope?
During location scouting in Agua Dulce, Hoytema felt the desert night sky was too vast and dark to capture correctly with a normal approach. That pushed the team to explore a new way to reproduce the feeling of night as the eye experiences it.
How Did Infrared Help Create The Night Look In Nope?
The production combined two cameras: one capturing narrow-band infrared light and another capturing 65mm film. The infrared layer helped represent how eyes respond to nighttime darkness and light, while the film camera supplied color and grain information.
Why Is Nope’s Cinematography Important For Filmmakers?
The technique matters because it shows how infrared cinematography can solve a real production problem while creating a distinctive visual style. Peele described the approach as something that “pushes film forward,” especially for future experimentation with night scenes.
