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Directed by Lawrence Mirisch and produced by John Moio, In Memory Of follows three estranged adult siblings (played by Brent Bailey, Yael Grobglas, and Gloria Cole) after the death of their esteemed father as they clash over the inheritance of a single item, revealing long-buried traumas that shaped their lives. Cinematographer Bobby Hewitt sat down to discuss his favorite scene, his gear of choice, and how the film was brought to life.
Hewitt was brought onto this project by producer John Moio, and the two weren’t strangers.
“John has been a very good friend of mine for over 20 years. He’s been in the film industry for more than 50 years — working as a stuntman, stunt coordinator, and second unit director on countless major Hollywood films. His IMDb credits are incredible.”
Hewitt explains that once Moio introduced him to co-producer Mirisch, they all connected easily. “We ended up shooting over two days at Larry’s house in Westwood with such an amazing cast and crew. It was such a fun experience being on set with everyone.”
When asked about his favorite scene to shoot, Hewitt answered, “The dining room scene.” Bearing in mind the producer’s vision for a classic, old-school look, the scene reflects high tensions between the main characters. “We started with a wide, slowly creeping shot, and then moved into all the table details and the intense conversation between the three siblings. There were large windows behind two of the actors, which made balancing the exposure a little tricky. My longtime friend and great gaffer, Mikie Pederson, was able to help with scrims outside, but it was still very bright, and I was a little worried. However, it was amazing to see how well the camera handled those highlights once we got into post production,” Hewitt explained.
The camera Hewitt refers to is the Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K full-frame, which he says was the first time he and First Assistant Camera, Jeremy Hill, worked with that system. “The full-frame sensor gives you a larger image area, which translates into a more immersive field of view and shallower depth of field. Once we had the camera up and the monitors lit for the director and producer, we were all wowed by the image right away. After dialing everything in, it was just incredibly beautiful.”
In terms of a lens package, Hewitt used a set of Sigma FF Art Primes. “No matter the focal length, the lenses just rendered the scene in such a beautiful and pleasing way.“ He also felt the color-grading, done by Paul J. Lavoie as Senior DI Producer and John Daro as Senior Colorist at Water Color Tower by Warner Bros, really elevated the look of the final film.
