The cinema of "Barry" evolved for maximum impact

Organized by the IndieWire Crafts team, Craft Considerations is a platform for filmmakers to talk about recent work that we think deserves accolades. In partnership with HBO, for this edition, we take a look at how director and star Bill Hader, cinematographer Carl Herse and stunt coordinator Wade Allen took the making of "Barry" to new heights.

Nothing could be in danger of appearing visually simpler and more understated than the struggles of budding actors in Los Angeles, even those who are reluctant hitmen. But "Barry" creator Bill Hader has always loved movies where "you're in such a unique world that when it's over, you're stuck in that world." Hader told IndieWire that he approaches filmmaking for the series from as cinematic a point of view as possible, using image and especially sound to capture the thought processes and emotional struggles of characters trapped by their own bad choice. It is also a comedy.

For Hader's singular blend of humor, character drama and visual storytelling - which has only come to life over the three seasons of "Barry" - he draws inspiration from comedic but heightened worlds and visually arresting directors like Jacques Tati. Like Tati, Hader and his creative team construct a kind of distanced comedy, one where the camera can inhabit Barry's perspective, but often exploit the show's comedy from the perspective it offers on Barry (played by Hader himself, of course). "The camera is in the point of view of someone judging this, saying 'Please stop. You're destroying the house.' And then when [the characters] go out of frame, [the camera] says "Ugh. I don't even want to see that," Hader said. typical action sequence."

To do something atypical for both action and comedy - ruthless and relentless and still very funny - requires a strong point of view and real artistry. In the videos below, you'll see how Hader directs "Barry" to give the show its strong point of view and uniquely cinematic style; how cinematographer Carl Herse visually captures the dramatic struggles of the characters; and how stunt coordinator Wade Allen blends violence and comedy without indulging in comedic violence for the show's action sequences.

The management of "Barry"

The visual approach to Hader's "Barry" has evolved over its three seasons. He's always tried to shoot his episodes with the character's point of view in mind, but there's been a shift from trying to build scenes that embody cinematic conventions to ones that try to find a more grounded and less generic throughout; to try to make the suspenseful scenes feel like a Hitchcock thriller to take the more observational point of view, perhaps, of a Preminger. "The scene [in Season 1] where Fuches (Stephen Root) gets his teeth filed, I feel like I've learned so much since. There was just something about it that felt a lot like 'A Movie ", Hader said.

With Season 3 of the show, Hader has adopted a style that doesn't reveal everything we need to know about a sequence upfront. Withholding visual information outside of a deliberately composed frame, withholding a score that tells us how we feel, withholding cuts and letting scenes unfold in all their absurdity – Hader found that all of this actually brings the audience closer to Barry. "He must be a little confused and that will also be confusing to us," Hader said, referring to the season finale where Barry is captured by the police trying to murder Janice's (Paula Newsome) father. , Jim Moss (Robert Wisdom). "When Barry walks into Jim Moss' house, even in the edit everyone was like, 'You want to cut the [cops] who are yelling at him, don't you? "And I was like, 'No no no. They are the last.'"

What Hader learned during the making of the series is that sometimes the cops are the very last thing we need to see to understand the truth about what is going on and how bad Barry is. is screwed. Hader continually finds cutscenes for the audience to complete the on-screen action in our own minds, before or without needing to be shown the proverbial shoe that's about to drop. Like Barry Berkman, we do the worst things on the show to ourselves – and that's what really hurts. In the video above, you can watch Hader explain how he translated his cinematic influences into "Barry's" distinctive cinematic style and use of sound design to shape audience expectations and convey the emotional states of filmmakers. characters.

The cinematography of "Barry"

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