Cinematography in Canada Since 1957

MikahSharkey #AssociateMemberCSC @cinema_shark

It’s time for a momentary distraction from the Flash marathon. Let’s look at the Oscar-run-acquired Hatch.

Sometimes a script necessitates an incredibly technical approach. Hatch is the story of a refugee crossing the border in the back of a water truck, and that meant that we had to deal with the challenged of putting our characters in water first and foremost.

Everything slows down in water, anything that takes 5 minutes on the surface will take at least 15-30 when you have to consider the logistics and safety that comes into play. You also have to worry about the added logistics of the clarity of water and how that changes over the course of your shooting schedule. Then, of course there’s the comfort of actors who are spending all day in and out of a pool in the chill November weather.  Our rigging included a massive tent overtop of the pool to give us complete control over the limited sunlight and a sky blue fabric to emulate open sky for the one shot of our soldier looking into the titular hatch.

 I was incredibly lucky to have a few years of underwater camera assisting under my belt by the time this script came to me, and I was thrilled to learn that the underwater crew that I had largely been working with as an assistant had already signed on to be the ones to bring this project to life.

For the audience to feel the same tension as the characters it was incredibly important to me that the set feel claustrophobic, and not give away that we had build a set on top of a pool. For the isolated “void” sections  we made sure our set was built with a removable floor so that we could drop our young actor into the depths without losing too much time out of our short shooting schedule.

#MikahSharkey #AssociateMemberCSC @cinema_shark

“The Fire Next Time”. After the time skips of Episode 6, episode 8 brought us back to a more grounded, character-driven story. 

The plot centers around Jaco Birch (The Hotness) and a series of attacks involving extreme thermal energy, with Jaco trying to prove to Team Flash that he isn’t the culprit and is just trying to make a new life with his son. To make a character`s fire powers feel diegetic, the interactive light has to physically exist in the space and react naturally on the actors` skin and surrounding geometry.

I worked closely with gaffer Jesse Keay to create a rig that could be placed close enough to an actor that we could overpower the day light with Jaco’s flames. The final piece of the puzzle came from Key Grip Simon Smith coming in clutch with a well placed flag on the rig to be able to cut the fire lights off of Jaco’s face, giving us a look that truly made it look like the flames were being generated from within. You can see in slide 3 what the effect would have looked like without the addition of expert gripping.

We used a 12-light Mole with alternating dimmers to create the effect. While dimming tungsten can lead to mixed color temperatures, that was exactly the effect we desired to produce the flickering flame effect.

#MikahSharkey #AssociateMemberCSC @cinema_shark

Episode 6 of Season 8 in the Flash was the first time I was given an entire episode to shoot instead of just handling second unit. And I couldn’t have have asked for a better calling card to be able to show what I am capable of.

Rather than a standard Barry Allen story, this episode completely shifts focus to his future children, Bart and Nora and takes place between two time periods: the future where the two are heroes in training, and the past, when Barry was in a coma after being struck by lightning. 

I had worked on the show as a daycall camera assistant since season 4, becoming a full time 1st AC for the B-camera in season 7 before becoming the 2nd unit DP for the first 5 episodes of Season 8. When I was given the script, I knew I couldn`t watch every single hour of the existing Arrowverse material. Instead, I pivoted my research toward the audience. I listened to video essays, fan breakdowns, and community commentary to get a genuine feel for how the audience received the show`s visual history. Understanding what tropes the fans loved, where they craved more cinematic weight, and how they responded to the early seasons gave me a clear emotional roadmap.

Perhaps my favorite sequence was Nora’s leap at the climax of the episode. We shot the stunt section on a rooftop in downtown Vancouver and matched her closeup in our greenscreen studio afterwards to maximize our time on location. I made sure to make notes of our lighting setup in the practical set to ensure a perfect match, with stunts providing a lollipop rig to have control over our actor`s rotation. Huge props to Jessica Parker Kennedy for being willing to get spun over and over for an amazing closeup.

#MikahSharkey #AssociateMemberCSC @cinema_shark

How about an unusual detour? In 2010 I joined the ranks of ICG 669 as a 2nd AC and planned on saving funds to buy a camera to go into the world of corporate videography, but that’s not what happened. I did buy myself a Rebel t2i, fascinated at the time with what DSLRs would bring to the world of videography and quickly found myself in a different niche entirely. I had posted a photo of a snowy transformer to a forum I frequented at the time and made a new friend in someone who said, “That looks like Vancouver!” we got to chatting and he showed me a performance video he had of himself and we immediately determined that the next time he visited Vancouver from Finland we would set our sights on doing a collaboration.

From that unlikely beginning, I was brought to some local Vancouver circus events and started making friends, collaborating wherever the opportunity allowed itself. What started as an excuse to hang out with cool people soon started to evolve my own style and craft in ways that I wouldn’t be able to recognize for many years. It gave me a foundation to be able to create stories without dialog, even without a script.

I’m grateful for those days and the fun that I had with my friends, some of whom have become lifelong compatriots. It showed me a side of the world I previously never knew existed and simultaneously sharpened my skills in ways I might never have gotten the opportunity to if I had exclusively shot narrative film.

#MikahSharkey #AssociateMemberCSC @cinema_shark

After spending the last three days diving deep into the world of Brother, I wanted to spend today shifting gears. One of the most rewarding parts of being a DP is the sheer variety of worlds we get to build. Stepping out of one visual language and entirely resetting for the next. I love sitting with a script and soaking I`m how it makes me feel. What colors come to mind and how do I build around them?

Today’s carousel is a bit of a miscellaneous collection from the vault, everything from crisp, symmetrical comedy framing and bright, sun-kissed exteriors to moody, highly stylized character close-ups. Perfect for cleaning the palette after the deep, oppressive blues of Brother

#MikahSharkey #AssociateMemberCSC @cinema_shark

Early in prep, Director Sam Fichtner sent me references for the sequence of Nolan tripping out on the docks. I was excited and immediately sent him a sketch of the rig I wanted to build. The sequence relies heavily on a custom-built setup: a Panavision low-angle prism mounted directly to the lens, layered with a clear acrylic tray filled with water, and topped with a William F. Whites Perry Mirror. This allowed for the subject to be shot through water ripples and let Sam manipulate the image mid-take without disturbing the performance.

The ultimate creative breakthrough came from the elements themselves. Filming on the docks in a brutal −12∘C chill, the water in the tray began to actively crystalize and freeze mid-take. This happy accident introduced an unpredictable, evolving frost texture across the frame and gave our subject a ghostly, crystalline warp. The combined force of the grip and camera departments is not to be underestimated!

#MikahSharkey #AssociateMemberCSC @cinema_shark

One of the things I wish I saw more of before taking the helm  is Cinematographers talking about their prep experiences. A well utilized prep can absolutely heighten what you’re able to do on a production through clear communication and discussion of priorities.

Of course, it is also extremely important to be able to bend to the whims of the day, but today I wanted to showcase some of the Brother prep.

Along with scouts and logistics meetings, a visual bible is one of the most important pieces of my prep. Whether that is a mood board to give my technical teams an idea of where to default or a full document detailing the intricacies of how I intend to approach the shoot. This document was put together after spending a great deal of time listening to the director’s priorities and absorbing references to make sure we were working towards a synergized goal.

With a document like this in hand, seen and approved by the creative team, it is incredibly easy to walk onto a set with confidence even before the first shot is in the can.

And since I`m in a room of Cinematographers: spot what`s special about the cover photo of this post ;)

#MikahSharkey #AssociateMemberCSC @cinema_shark

In 2024 I was sent a script that really caught my eye. Brother is a compelling drama told through the lens of psychological thriller. Speaking with writer/producer Rebecca Roberts, I knew that it was something I wanted to be a part of, given her philosophy on the approach to the craft of film making. Seeing it listed on the nominees for the 2026 Leo Awards made me so proud of our team.

Director Sam Fichtner and I spent a lot of time in prep developing the visual language for the film. We talked at length about the camera as a POV, about the family house as a character, about lighting motivation, lens plot, and really getting to know the characters in a way that let me use the light to help enhance what I knew they were going through (stellar performances also helped, which is no doubt why the film is also nominated for Best Casting!)

Having the opportunity to weave motivated cinematography into the foundation of the feature was something that I wasn’t always able to do with the financial restrictions of indie film making or the specifics of network television and it was an experience I will always be grateful for. I`m going to spend the next couple days talking about this film in more detail!