Maxance Vincent
It’s been ten years since the release of the original Daredevil series, which had its own incredible aesthetic in visualizing the story of Matt Murdock in his transformation as the Devil of Hell’s Kitchen. With the latest iteration of the series on Disney+ in Daredevil: Born Again, the latest Marvel Cinematic Universe streaming title has a very distinct look that not only tips the hat to the Netflix show’s greatest hallmarks but also sets it apart enough for Born Again to stand on its own two feet.
In crafting the visual language of the series, cinematographer Hillary Fyfe Spera tells Awards Radar that one of the first decisions made was to shoot Born Again in anamorphic:
“I always saw it as an anamorphic show. It felt like a lot of the city lent itself to that type of framing, and some of the action and performances really did. There’s something about anamorphic lenses that feels so interesting, just in terms of showing a duality and relationship within the frame, which is such a big theme for the show. Right off the bat, it was something I felt in my gut to try to convey. We also tried to find ways to keep it grounded and human. We’re telling a street-level story. We’re shooting New York for New York, which almost never happens. We’re usually in other places, trying to pretend it’s the city they’re featuring. We got lucky, because the city is a character, so we try to find ways to feel the texture and the character of being on the streets of New York.”
It’s no secret that the show underwent a creative overhaul during the strikes in 2023, with Dario Scardapane joining as showrunner, alongside Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead to direct a new pilot and two more episodes. In working with the directing duo, Spera tells us that the two “brought a lot to it, in terms of the visual language. It didn’t get reworked completely, but it definitely had awesome new additions, like their use of sound, color, and texture as well. It felt like it was a really nice compliment to the direction we were already going. All the stars were aligning when everyone came on board post-strike. It was great to re-pivot, and it felt like the show was moving in a good direction.”
One of the additions Benson and Moorhead added to the series was specific aspect ratio changes to represent Daredevil’s sensory abilities. In visualizing this shift, Spera explains that “the challenge is depicting visually a thing that’s not visual.”:
“What was so fun about using the aspect ratio changes is that it expands first to include the world around him, and narrows it down to really hone in on the thing that he’s able to tune into. We ended up using it sparingly, which was a good thing, because it’s the kind of thing where, if you do it too often, it loses its effect. We use it at moments that were pivotal for Daredevil’s experience, like with Foggy and the moment with Bullseye on the balcony in episode eight. These are moments that are going to be changing for the future of the story.”
There was a lot more to discuss in our conversation, which can be seen below, including how light and shadow were employed at pivotal sequences, using different colors to convey meaning to the audience, the process in shooting the “one-take” fight between Daredevil and Bullseye, creating the aesthetic of the “BB report” segments, and shooting some of the most pivotal action sequences of the series.
You can check out my full interview with Hillary below and see all episodes of Daredevil: Born Again on Disney+ today:
[Some of the quotes in this article have been edited for length and clarity]
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