Shooting in the dark: the making of Spider Noir

Cinematographers Darren Tiernan, ISC and Peter Deming, ASC are the DPs of Spider Noir, the new MGM Plus and Amazon Prime series starring Nicolas Cage as the hard-boiled 1930s New York detective version of Spider-Man. The character is based on Marvel Comics featuring Spiderman Noir, and first introduced in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Tiernan and Deming created a series that looks like a classic film noir using vintage lights, custom LUTs and a “noir vocabulary.”

We dive into: -How the production created a dual release simultaneously in both black and white and color. -Lead DP Darran Tiernan worked for months on LUT development and a workflow that kept every department aligned on both versions from day one. Monitors on set showed what the scenes would look like in black and white. -Why both Darren and Peter used old tungsten lights with Fresnel lenses instead of LEDs whenever possible. Not out of nostalgia, but out of necessity for getting the hard light that defines film noir. -How rigorous preparation, from shot decks before the first meeting to photo boards and green screens on location, allowed creative freedom to take risks in the moment when the cameras were rolling. -Why the goal was never to recreate classic noir but to absorb its philosophy of shadow, composition and expressionistic light and apply it to this specific story. That distinction is what makes Spider Noir feel fresh rather than like a period piece.

Find Darran Tiernan: https://darrantiernan.net/ Instagram: @dazt

Find Peter Deming: Instagram @peter_deming

Spider Noir is now streaming on MGM Plus and Amazon Prime.

SHOW RUNDOWN:

03:10 Close Focus 14:42-01:06:55 Darran Tiernan interview 01:06:58-01:39:36 Peter Deming interview 01:40:40 Short ends 01:53:43 Wrap up/Credits

The Cinematography Podcast website: www.camnoir.com YouTube: @TheCinematographyPodcast Facebook: @cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Blue Sky: @thecinepod.bsky.social