‘Pluribus’ Cinematographer On How Vince Gilligan Spoiled Him

AppleTV’s Pluribus cinematographer Marshall Adams says series creator Vince Gilligan spoiled him. Here, in an interview with The Contending, he dives into their relationship. Gillian, in particular, gives Adams ample time to make the perfect shot. Be it just focusing on one liquor bottle or capturing a world of Joined people working in sync, Adams gives each shot the care needed to get it right.

The Contending: In episode 1 you have that harrowing moment when the Joining happens, with Carol trying to get Helen to the hospital, first going through the bar with everyone freaking out, then dealing with the truck. What went into making those harrowing scenes?

Marshall Adams: Well, first off, a lot of thought went into it on Vince’s part. He had  a very clear plan ahead of time as to what he wanted to shoot, and how he wanted to shoot it. We also developed it a little bit as we went, being able to travel with Carol, leaving Helen. In that shot where we head over to see how the guy is in the truck that just crashed is the first sense that something’s wrong. But we really wanted to be with her through all of that, and leave Helen alone so we could  see it all from Carol’s eyes. That was the whole point of our visual approach in a lot of ways, to make sure that we pivoted on her.

The Contending: In episode 2 with the cleanup, we are introduced to Zosia and we get to see how the Joined work in this new world, the silentness, the way they can just get off and onto a vehicle, and then we further just get to Zosia as she’s preparing herself for her role. What was it like to capture that alien feeling in these people?

Marshall Adams: It was exciting. The first introduction to Zosia on the scooter you think she is taking these wild chances at first, and then realize afterwards it was all choreographed, that everybody knows where she’s going and what she’s doing. The timing of the truck door opening just in the nick of time so that she can get through, and her going around the cars. That was tricky for the stunt people.  We were in Gran Canaria  rehearsing and developing that shot as we went along. We had a camera that was mounted to a motorcycle and the driver was actually a motocross champion that lives in Spain. So we developed shots and the choreography was… was just an absolute blast. It was a lot of fun, and different from what I’ve experienced before in that people are communicating silently, and they all know where everybody’s going at a given moment.

The Contending: In a more intimate moment in episode 2, we have Carol, when she’s first waking up, and we just have the bottle there, and it gives us that whole sense of everything she’s gone through in that one little moment. What was that like to capture?

Marshall Adams: We know from previous conversations and the fact that she has that device in her car, so she can’t drive if drunk, but it really drives home what her coping mechanism is. In this scene  it was a great place to start showing it. Vince had the idea, and luckily we carried those probes with us so that we could get down in there and really be almost full frame on those drips as it fell. Those are really fun moments,  great storytelling that works visually. I’ve said before that we try very hard to make sure that people don’t go, Wow, look at that, that’s a cool shot, or look at that camera move. That’s not in our repertoire, it’s gotta fit the story. So, this was an ideal moment to be able to kind of take advantage of that, and to start in a place that we couldn’t normally start. That particular set of lenses had only been out for a couple years. I don’t think I could have done that shot two years earlier, and it worked out beautifully. The dolly grip and the operator really worked on that shot to make sure they sold that the drip was huge at the beginning, and that we could not only shoot that as a separate element, but that we could develop it into the rest of the scene.

The Contending: A great moment was showing the Joined ganging up on Carol, surrounding her, saying please, Carol, as she’s trying to get information. Then we get the overhead shot looking down at all of them. What was the thought process when you guys were crafting that sequence?

Marshall Adams: Working with Vince, he has very specific visual ideas.  Paul (Donachie) and I get a lot of joy when we can sell him on an extra shot that he doesn’t necessarily have planned. Vince is very well-educated in what the camera’s capable of doing, and where it can be, and where it should be, and the size of the frame, so that comes from him. But we were able to go to that location and talk it through and figure out  where the best angles would be, and sell exactly what was going on. Originally there was an accident on the helipad that was supposed to be next door, and then that developed into the ambulance.  Which I think actually sold better visually with the interaction of the shorting transformer and became part of it. The show was great in a lot of ways–that we had the time to scout multiple times and really talk about a visual approach, where the lighting was going to be, what it was going to do, how it was going to interact, etc., etc.

The Contending: In Charm Offensive there are so many different shots of just Carol and Zosia in the world, just doing different things, and it helps give us this sense that, while Carol is still trying to get that information out of Zosia, it also shows them bonding, and a romance that is  developing. How did you guys go about planning for us to feel that from those two characters?

Marshall Adams: You know it’s just about knowing the story, where we’re going, who we’re pivoting to, and whose viewpoint we’re telling.  We had quite a bit of prep time being able to see all that.  In episode 2 we were able to spend a lot of time at the hotel in Spain and that big area where they ate outside didn’t exist at that hotel. They built that nearby and brought it up there, and mounted it there for us so that we could have a cover for the lunch, and we were able to shoot it over 5 days. So, it’s all about prep and being able to communicate. Denise Pizzini and I communicate about potential lights, colors, or whatever she may have in mind.  Making sure that it fits with where we’re coming from and what we have in mind.

The Contending: Well, you’ve  talked just how involved Vince is and how well he knows the shots he wants and you have worked with him for a while. Is there anything else you want to say about just what that relationship is like?

Marshall Adams: Oh, it’s a cinematographer’s dream! Vince and the writers come up with visual ideas that are on the page sometimes, before I’m even part of the process. I’ve told this story before but when I first was offered the job on Better Call Saul, I went in and met with Peter Gould and Vince and a couple of the other producers, and one of the first things that they told me was that they would rather me take risks and we would have to go back and reshoot something than feel like we left anything on the table. I was just dumbfounded. I have never heard that from a producer before in my entire career. And that’s really his approach. You know, the door’s always open, he’s always open to ideas. If you pay attention, you know that, you know he’s thought about it a hundred different ways, and so probably has already had this thought, but sometimes you can sneak one in. He treats everybody with respect, and there are no egos, and it’s just an absolute dream. Absolutely spoiled me for working everywhere else.

The Contending: Is there any other shot or sequence that kind of stood out to you that you think our readers would be interested in that I haven’t mentioned?

Marshall Adams: The one that we did at the introduction to the poker game in episode 6 in Vegas was a lot of fun to develop. Then the process we went through in Vegas to be alone on the streets. We had all of these police officers that were, you know, clearing spaces, so that there wasn’t a single soul on the road. Those were all experiences that I will never forget as a cinematographer, because you kind of go, what is going on right now? This is amazing.

In the episode you were talking about, where they’re bonding, and we’re in that shelter, it was a real experience because the surface is all metallic. And the reflective angles, we really had to experiment because it’s  brushed steel inside, that was  semicircular and compound curves, so everything bounces back at you. That was a challenge and a lot of fun to kind of develop and figure out what our approach was going to be. But again, we just had enough time, materials, people, and tools to really do it right. It was a lot of fun. It was a real heck of an experience.