Satire with Fangs – Exploring the Unique Black-and-White World of El Conde

MZed EducationOscars 2024

by Mascha DeikovaMarch 6^th, 2024

“Everything has already been done, every story has been told, every scene has been shot. It’s our job to do it one better.” This quote by the great Stanley Kubrick kept spinning in my head while we were watching Pablo Larraín’s dark comedy, “El Conde”. It isn’t like no one does black-and-white films anymore – in fact, three out of the five films nominated for “Best Cinematography” at the upcoming Oscars feature monochromatic sequences. Not even the satiric vampire story is a novel invention (a nod towards Taika Waititi’s “What We Do in the Shadows”). Yet, this dry comedic feature gave me a feeling that they managed to do it “one better”. What’s so special about the black-and-white world of El Conde then? Let’s find out together.

“El Conde” offers the audience a satirical look at the fascist reign of Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. In the film, he is depicted as a 250-year-old vampire who yearns for death when the atrocities he’s committed finally begin to haunt him. However, he changes his mind halfway through after falling in love with Carmen, a beautiful nun, whom Augusto’s children hired to exorcise and kill their father (under the disguise of auditioning for the family’s wealth).

There is also Fyodor, a white Russian servant, who Augusto turned into a vampire, and a sudden appearance of Margaret Thatcher and other plot twists that I don’t want to spoil. Instead, let’s dive into the remarkable cinematography of “El Conde” as discussed with the DP Ed Lachman in a recent ASC clubhouse conversation on MZed.com.

If you want to watch the entire episode, head over here.

The origins of El Conde’s unique black-and-white world

Some cinematographers’ visual and lighting styles are instantly recognizable. Others try to always build a unique world that will be true to a given film. Ed Lachman belongs in the second category. At the beginning of each project, he first tries to find out what makes a story exceptional.

Does content drive the visuals, or do the visuals drive the content? In a certain sense, it’s an overlap. They both affect each other.

A quote by Ed Lachman from his ASC clubhouse conversation with Greig Fraser

He recalls when Pablo first approached him with a story about Pinochet as a vampire that launched their journey into the past. Naturally, they had to go back and take a look at “Nosferatu” and “Vampyr” by Carl Theodor Dreyer. These references, along with the depicted time, influenced their decision for a black-and-white world for “El Conde”.

To me, it made the story feel more authentic. Although, of course, the visual metaphor of a tyrant sucking the blood out of his people is obviously grotesque, the monochromatic perspective brought it back to the realm of history. Maybe this was also his intention, as the real Pinochet was never on trial for his crimes and died a multi-millionaire. This way, in “El Conde” people can finally find retribution – even though it’s only in a fictional world.

Working with a monochromatic sensor

In most cases, you would shoot film in color and post-process it afterward (when we talk about digital photography). Here, Ed Lachman opted to work with a monochromatic sensor instead. At that time, ARRI had already gained experience in producing these, but never for the Alexa Mini LF, which was Lachman’s system of choice for “El Conde”. He needed it within two months and the experts managed to roll it out in time, but they let the cinematographer run the tests himself.

His tests showed that this sensor was about three-quarters of a stop faster, which felt like a godsend for shooting in low-light situations (we will describe some below). Additionally, Ed was able to rehouse the original Baltar lenses, a simple single-coated glass from 1938. (If you are a film theory fan like myself, the same lenses were used in classics like “Touch of Evil” and “Citizen Kane”, to name a few).

Working with these, the Alexa LF monochrome sensor, and a special exposure latitude (EL) system allowed the cinematographer to have the most precise control of highlights and shadows as possible. He could read all of the details and trust this information, and that provided the film with its beautiful high depth of exposure. (Also, it convinced Lachman that sometimes digital solutions can be more convenient than analog ones).

Simplicity in work and frame

If you watched “El Conde” then you probably noticed the film’s cinematography uses simple yet beautiful movements, shot compositions, and lighting setups. This simplicity manifested itself not only in the visual language but also in the workflows on set.

This was the first time Ed Lachman had worked with a full Chilean crew – he didn’t know anybody, only barely spoke Spanish and had to trust the process. He asked for 10k lights but they only had 5k available. He wanted 20 by 20 over the heads – well, they provided him with china balls instead. The cinematographer even jokes that the strength of this film is that he couldn’t change much during production, so he couldn’t mess anything up with his perfectionism.

In the behind-the-scenes picture above, you can see how the creators shot all the interrogation sequences. Two cameras were set up side-by-side with the same focal lens, recording the dialogue simultaneously back and forth. Ed had no other option than to light it in the simplest way possible – with a paper china ball. The result is comedic in its weirdness:

Practical approach

All the interior shots were filmed on stage, so in most scenes, filmmakers went for lighting only through the windows or using practicals. It was important for Ed to work with tools that were available at the time. For instance, during the French Revolution scenes, they could only rely on the authentically emulated daylight through the window. In more modern sequences, Ed hinted at Kinoflos in several scenes, including the underground hallway and the room with the hearts and the freezer:

Another attempt at simplicity was a 15-foot Technocrane around which the director designed the sets. That way, they could find beautiful frames quickly and shoot a lot of interior shots from interesting perspectives.

A great thing about black-and-white

A great thing about black-and-white, admits cinematographer Ed Lachman, is that you don’t have to worry about the color temperature. As long as you achieve the correct contrast, you can make your pictures look like they were shot at dawn, even if you film during midday.

For example, blood was a very important element in the story. During pre-production tests, filmmakers discovered that the color blue looked better on camera and was much more expressive in black-and-white than normal red. So every time we see one of the vampire characters drink their smoothie, made from fresh or frozen hearts, bear in mind that the actual liquid on set was blue. Curious, huh?

Learning more about the black-and-white world of El Conde

“El Conde” will compete at the upcoming Oscars for Best Cinematography. It is the only nomination for the film, and to be honest, the picture seems more like an arthouse underdog in its category next to huge productions. Even if it is unlikely for the black comedy to take the prize, its carefully crafted world deserves praise and attention.

In the ASC clubhouse conversation, you can also find out more about the groundbreaking EL Zone system, that Lachman liked so much, explore how he shot interior scenes and matched them to the following exterior shots, and dive into his philosophy for developing a visual language. Just head over here and listen to the full episode on MZed.com.

Have you watched “El Conde”? If so, what feelings and senses did its black-and-white world awaken in you? Did you notice any special scenes you would like to break down? Looking forward to our discussion in the comments below!

Full disclosure: MZed is owned by CineD

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Feature image source: a film still from “El Conde” by Pablo Larraín, 2023.