Spotlight: Utah Cinematographer Brenna Empey

Join us on the set of the short film 'Body of Work,' shot by the talented cinematographer, Brenna Empey (@brenempey).

This captivating project, directed by the skilled duo Sophie (@sooo_sophie) and Andrea Tellez (@andretortelleze), was ambitiously shot over just three days in Utah County. Blending the intriguing elements of horror and comedy, 'Body of Work' offers a distinct and memorable cinematic journey. The film's unique storytelling and visual flair were showcased during its recent premiere at @filmquest.

Enigma 3: What tools did you choose for this project and why?

Brenna: The look we wanted to achieve was a very underlit, soft and dramatic feeling. The script had very specific color profiles associated with different moments in the film. Some segments are very warm and some extremely blue, and overall we wanted it to be very dreamlike. I chose the Alexa LF because we wanted that gorgeous color profile. We shot on a set of Tokina primes. I really love a wide lens, I wanted to make sure we had some gorgeous fall off, and be able to separate our subject from the background. In my work, I never want to go longer than a 35 or 50. I want to be able to see the world we’ve created, and stay wide, very intentionally.

Enigma 3: Who was on your team?

Brenna: I love to surround myself with people who have calm demeanors to try and ground myself on set where things get stressful. Nic Edwards (@niceboytrash) was my AC he’s incredibly good at what he does. My gaffer was Trenton Davis (@trentonmichael), we worked together a bit, he gaffed ‘Go West’ with me and killed it.

Enigma 3: Break down a scene you enjoyed filming.

Brenna: The film cuts between inside a home and a garage. We wanted the garage to feel very different from the home, very warm and dark. In the story the power goes out and the garage had no windows. The garage is supposed to feel cluttered, so we decided to use a light as a window behind the shelves. We embraced the shadows that the shelves were giving us and got a lot of unique lighting in moments where she is not fully lit, where we can only see pieces of our protagonist eyes or mouth.

Stay tuned for ‘Body of Work’s’ wider release.