After looking at Blake Horn’s vast resume, his diversity as a cinematographer is very apparent. Whether he is globetrotting for a travel show (The World Your Way) or lensing a scripted feature film (Mind Body Spirit), his love of movies shines through the camera. His new project is the documentary A Cursed Man, which follows filmmaker Liam Le Guillou as enters the world of witchcraft and the occult, searching for an answer to the question “is magic real?”
When discussing his documentary work Blake says, “I think the lesson that I’ve learned from shooting documentaries is just trust your gut. Also, slow down. Allow scenes to play out in your frame.” That’s just what he did with A Cursed Man, the end result being a unique social experiment with a horror twist. Blake talks more about his documentary work and A Cursed Man in the below interview, and you can view A Cursed Man here…
Is there anything particularly surprising or unexpected for you when you join a new production with a new director and a new set of people?
Yes, I think everything is surprising. You’re not only figuring out how other people work, but you’re also balancing these personalities. It’s interesting, whenever you join a set, you’re all working together on a project, all trying to bring something together. You’re collaborating with not just one other person, but with a ton of people who are also collaborating with each other. I think bringing a sense of flexibility and active listening is essential. Really hearing people out and offering your suggestions but also being mindful and flexible with your own expectations and ideas. It’s funny, the idea of picking your battles, I never really loved that statement of picking your battles, battle meaning that there’s a fight. I prefer the motto of maintaining flexibility and a clear sense of the vision. Then mitigating what’s important to you as an individual and figuring out, am I trying to plead this case because it’s my own ego, or do I genuinely believe this is the best thing for the project? Oftentimes, it’s your own ego that you have to let go of, but sometimes what’s best for the project really does need to be communicated.
Joining a new project, everything’s new and making sure you have enough time to align with people is very important. That’s why a lot of people work with collaborators that they have worked closely with on multiple projects. You can development shorthand with these people, and feel supported by your shared trust in each other.
Is it much different when you work on narrative films than documentaries?
Usually, they are very different. In documentaries you are dictated by what you’re capturing. You want to be as unobtrusive as possible. You’re looking for the truth. With narrative a lot of it is you trying to bend reality to your image and then reality to your process. You’re trying to make your film world come to life while the constraints of the real world are pushing against you, whether that’s a sun setting, a budgetary constraint, or a personality or a conflict of personalities on set.
What I love about documentaries is they encourage me to constantly practice being present in this reality—to see, listen and learn from what is here. I love bringing that lesson to narrative sets because oftentimes things are falling apart or locations are being lost or whatever it is, there are stresses. Getting present on the day and letting the magic of the moment, of making a movie give you a little bit more energy and provide you some extra inspiration to approach a scene and discover how to capture it.
What drew you in to A Cursed Man?
I think what drew me into A Cursed Man is Liam’s vision of trying to approach a subject with curiosity, but also respecting the people that were on screen and understanding that he doesn’t want to go around and poke fun at anybody. He really does want to discover and understand why people choose this aspect of life and choose this type of belief. Also, I just really trust Liam. I trust him as a filmmaker, and I’ve always loved working with him. The opportunity to work together again and bring a horror element to a documentary was enticing. I didn’t think that would ever really come up and bringing my favorite genre into the real world and finding a balance between the two was an exciting opportunity for me.
Was the final version of A Cursed Man very different from what you initially pitched the director cinematography wise?
I actually think, no. It really ended up looking like the way we intended for it to look. We were excited, or I was excited, so was Liam, to watch the film and look at each other and go, wow, this kind of does look like a horror movie. It felt like an enormous accomplishment. I felt, and I hope that everybody that we captured agrees with this, that we managed to create the look we wanted without dictating the real world practices or bending anybody’s authenticity. I was very pleased with how the film does resemble a horror movie, while being a documentary.
Was any location harder to film than others?
I think it would be an easier question to answer if it were phrased: Were there any locations that were easier to film than others? Because when filming a documentary, every single location is, I would say, challenging. You’re building the plane while you fly it. A lot of times when you walk in, there’s furniture everywhere, and you’re scratching your head going, oh my gosh, what are we going to do?
The hardest location was definitely the therapist section when Liam’s speaking with his therapist or life coach. When we first walked in, this is someone’s apartment, and she had these really beautiful, really comfortable, big couches, but it didn’t allow us any room to place lights or cameras, and we didn’t have any angles. My crew and I moved a ton of furniture that day just so we had enough space, and we got really lucky that she had this big window that ended up being our main key light. We added a little fill to it, but it ended up being this beautifully wrapped key light that looked so natural because oddly enough, it was. We used the Sun Seeker app to see the angle of the sun and how the sun was going to travel. When this told us that we had around two or three hours of consistent light for an interview scene or a long talk scene, we were so exited.
Contrarily, when we walked into the location for Sen Elias’s interview, I thought wow, this has so much depth and an amazing production design. I knew exactly how to light it. We added a few little candles. We lit it, and it just went so perfectly.
You’ve worked on a lot of documentary films. Has your job changed at all from the first documentary you worked on to this one?
The job, no, I don’t think so. But I think I have. I’ve learned from shooting documentaries to just trust your gut. Also, slow down. Allow scenes to play out in your frame. Sometimes you’re holding on a shot and nothing’s really happening at first with the character. I think earlier on in my career, I would get impatient, and I would try to change the shot and make it more interesting, but I would actually end up missing a moment. Now, what I find in my documentary career is that when I’m holding on a character, I’m letting them guide the frame and inevitably something beautiful will happen and an incredibly magical moment. Gets captured.
Would you say documentaries are easier or harder to shoot than a scripted feature?
I think they both have their own challenges, but the benefit of shooting a documentary is that you create very rough shot lists. You create very loose plans, but then when you get on set, you bring a ton of flexibility. Rather than in a narrative set, you’re communicating a lot of information to the crew. With documentaries, oftentimes you’re just receiving information and you’re doing a ton of listening. I love that about docs. I find that to be a very rewarding experience in documentaries that when you get there, you get to be very, very present and you let other people dictate the path. When I work on narrative pieces, I am trying my hardest to lead and communicate clearly with others as plans change. I’m trying to maintain a strong sense of direction. I think docs are a tiny bit easier to shoot, but oftentimes with documentaries you have much smaller crew, less support, and you have very little hours.
Is there a certain type of project you would like to work on one day?
I’ve always wanted to film an explosion, I have yet to have the chance to do that. I think that would be really fun. A really small drama that is highly emotional or something that’s totally character driven would be really sweet to shoot too.
Thanks to Blake Horn for taking the time for this interview.
