team deakins in minneapolis
Event RECAP: CineMechanics and MSPIFF Welcome Team Deakins to Minneapolis
Introduction
This Spring, CineMechanics and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival (MSPIFF) partnered in hosting a once-in-a-lifetime event series with legendary cinematography duo Roger and James Deakins. Over two days, the pair—known also by their podcast moniker, “Team Deakins”—joined festival goers and fellow filmmakers to share their passion and insight with our community. For us at CineMechanics, it was a true honor not only to host these masters of the craft, but to see the impact their presence had on the professionals we work with every day.
Of course, we also owe a debt of gratitude to the supporters who made these events possible, especially the many local production companies who sponsored them. Thank you once again to: Triglass Productions, The Howdy Gang, Current Resident, k2 Studios, Motocrane, Drive Thru TV, Plural Films, SureCan Productions, Committee Films, and Richter Picture.
"Industry Night" feat. Wilson Webb
On Tuesday, April 23rd, we welcomed over four hundred filmmakers, craftspeople, students, and film lovers for a cinema industry social hour and in-depth live conversation between Team Deakins and renowned on-set photographer Wilson Webb.
Wilson, a Minnesota native, has worked with Roger and James on three different feature films, including A Serious Man, True Grit, and Prisoners. Wilson has also photographed behind-the-scenes stills for several of the most acclaimed filmmakers of our time, such as Paul Thomas Anderson, Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach, Edgar Wright, and Todd Haynes—if you’ve ever been to our shop, you’ll surely have been struck by the beautiful collection of Wilson’s photo prints on our walls!
Industry Night was held at the historic “Machine Shop”, an iconic industrial space-turned-event venue right along Minneapolis’ St. Anthony Falls and Stone Arch Bridge, just a block from the St. Anthony Main Theater where MSPIFF was underway. Folks gathered for drinks, food trucks, and conversation with friends and colleagues before settling in for a wide-ranging discussion. Wilson, Roger, and James went back and forth trading stories from their days on set, reflecting on their careers, and exploring the artistic insights they’ve gained over the decades in a rapidly changing field.
"[I] want people to find their own sense of expression, whatever that is- it's intangible. I want to be inspired by what somebody else does, like I was inspired by Kazuo Miyagawa's work, or other great cinematographers of the past. Now, when I see other cinematographers where I'm inspired, there's no way I could do it like [they do], and they probably wouldn't want to do it like me either - that's not the point. It's about finding your own eye"
- roger deakins
Watch the full "Industry Night" Conversation Here
Byways Book Signing
On the second day of their visit, Team Deakins held a book signing of Byways, the first ever print publication of Roger Deakins’ collected still photography work. The photographs in Byways were compiled while deep in the throes of pandemic lockdown in 2020, but represent nearly 50 years of Roger’s life, spanning all the way back to 1971. All in Black and White, the imagery is as striking as any of Deakins’ cinematographic work, ranging from sweeping vistas, to still life, to abstract.
At the signing, dozens of attendees lined up to meet James and Roger in person. Each person was able to chat with Team Deakins, some choosing to ask questions about their favorite films, others thanking them for their contributions to cinema history, and some just taking the opportunity to make casual conversation.
FArgo screening
For the final event in the Team Deakins series, Roger and James sat down for another live conversation and Q&A ahead of a screening of the Coen Brothers’ iconic film, Fargo, moderated by Minnesota-based director Matt Osterman.
Obviously, Fargo holds a special place in the hearts of many Minnesotans, so it was a unique privilege to be able to hear from the cinematographer himself about working with the Coens, shooting in Minnesota, and stories from the set. After the conversation Team Deakins took several questions from the audience, engaging them in-depth on everything from their more artistic and philosophical insights to their nuts-and-bolts technical expertise. As the discussion wrapped up and Fargo began to roll, one could sense a real excitement in the room to revisit the classic film with fresh eyes and a new appreciation for the people who made it.
"A lot of it is intuition, and how you feel about something. Like, why did Denis Villeneuve know that that tracking shot into that tree was gonna be such a shot? My dolly grip, Bruce, was going 'we're tracking into a tree?' - and I was saying the same - and it's a wonderful shot, but without the movement it wouldn't have been anything. It's about that intuition that there's something fitting emotionally about that moment."
- roger deakins
Check out more photos from the team deakins events in minneapolis
