Case Studies
The Zone of Interest – crafting authenticity through a naturalistic grade
Directed by Jonathan Glazer, The Zone of Interest recently took home the best international film and best sound award at the 2024 Oscars. It also won the Grand Prize at Cannes and two BAFTAs, and has received over 150 additional nominations.
The film explores the comfortable family life of Nazi commandant Rudolf Höss in a chilling domestic drama set to a backdrop of the Auschwitz concentration camp. The colour grading, overseen by Gareth Bishop at Dirty Looks, plays a pivotal role in conveying the mood and atmosphere of the story.
A close collaboration
Having worked with Glazer a number of times in the past, Bishop's journey with The Zone of Interest started early, in pre-production, assisting Glazer and cinematographer Lukasz Zal with technical camera tests and helping to analyse available light, before the shooting began.
“The production design, costume and the content place the viewer in the 1940s – not the look of the film. We wanted it to feel natural and contemporary, so the viewer felt like they could be standing there in that garden.”
