Interview: ‘Silo’ Cinematographer Baz Irvine on Balancing Past and Present in Season Two

Cinematographer Baz Irvine was given a complex task in Silo S2E1 “The Engineer.” As Juliette (Rebecca Ferguson) takes refuge in the abandoned Silo 17, the Apple TV+ series must visually adapt to this newly cramped and unsettling space. The security and expansiveness of the titular silo where we first meet Juliette may have always been false, but this season two opener finds Juliette at a uniquely vulnerable juncture in her journey. As she wanders through the unsettling darkness of Silo 17, the lighting grows warmer, presenting a flicker of faith.

“I wanted it to feel like there was a faint beacon of hope and possibly life, to entice her further down, like a moth to the flame.”

Of course, it was for important to Irvine and episode director Michael Dinner that audiences remain as limited in their perspective as Juliette. That resulted in some tight over-the-shoulder framing, often captured in handheld, but perhaps became most vital during that epic bridge collapse, in which Ferguson experienced the stunt for the first time alongside the rest of the cast and crew.

“Although Rebecca was rigged to wires, she really was almost experiencing it for the first time, having to jump for real onto the concrete platform as the bridge falls away,” says Irvine.

We stray from Juliette’s perspective sparingly in “The Engineer” to revisit moments from her past. Irvine was hesitant to make the visual differences between past and present too stark, relying instead on audiences’ ability to pick up on the subtleties of this new visual language he had developed for Silo 17.

“We still used a more classic style of elegant camera moves and tracks for her past with more color saturation, and subtle direct action cuts between the different aged characters to make it feel like Juliette was seeing the ghosts of her past in front of her eyes,” says Irvine.

Check out my full conversation with Baz Irvine below. We dive deeper into “The Engineer” and how he worked to establish the visual palette for Silo‘s intriguing second season.

Hi Baz! There is a real sense of isolation in the way Juliette moves through Silo 17. How did you use lighting and framing to reflect what she’s going through emotionally in those moments?

It’s very important not to let the camera get ahead of Juliette on her journey. We stayed close with her over shoulder, and usually hand held, so we experienced the new Silo for the first time. Sometimes, the level of handheld work would become frantic and chaotic to mirror the levels of despair and fear she was feeling. We also wanted to feel that she was possibly being watched, so very subtly, we used the odd wider angle hidden behind the concrete pillars – is she alone? There had to be just enough light to see the dilapidated structure of the rotunda, overgrown with vines, but also dark enough in certain areas to create mystery and fear about where she was heading. After a lot of testing I came up with the idea that this Silo still had some overhead light, but had been on back up power for years and the light source had picked up a dimmer greener hue, and become covered in dirt etc. Any emergency bulkhead light that still had a functional bulb might still be flickering, but it was important to protect the darkness, so the use of her flashlight picked out the shadows and highlighted the strange artwork and frescos of this new world. Also, when she finally looks down to see that there is some warmer light emanating from the IT level, I wanted it to feel like there was a faint beacon of hope and possibly life, to entice her further down, like a moth to the flame.

Episode 1 of the season jumps between the present and Juliette’s past. What were some of the visual choices you made to help those timelines feel distinct, but still part of the same world?

We talked at length about the flashbacks and how different they should look. I’m not a fan of using extreme techniques to replicate the past and felt the differences between her upbringing in the old Silo, and the new visual language of Silo 17, would be enough. We still used a more classic style of elegant camera moves and tracks for her past with more color saturation, and subtle direct action cuts between the different aged characters to make it feel like Juliette was seeing the ghosts of her past in front of her eyes.

The bridge collapse scene is intense and really well-paced. Can you take us behind the scenes on how you approached shooting it, both technically and creatively?

Michael Dinner, my director, wanted all the action scenes to feel as immersive and visceral as possible, not resorting to too many crane moves. I suggested using a mimic head on the crane, which gives the feeling of handheld but still enables complicated moves. We built the bridge in the art department studio, and looked at how it could collapse ‘for real’ in different sections and ultimately fall away. We wanted to do this in one take. It took weeks to work out how to construct the bridge from found materials, so it would look believable and we tested with a stunt performer again and again, and when we finally shot it, although Rebecca was rigged to wires, she really was almost experiencing it for the first time, having to jump for real onto the concrete platform as the bridge falls away. As she slips and falls into the darkness, we don’t let the viewer see the water below til she breaks the surface with the camera positioned below her. I knew if the water was clear and perfectly still, it would feel like she would fall directly into the camera, and the water would come as a surprise. We only used three cuts to show the fall, and I love how it looked. The shot from below as hits the surface was shot in the famous underwater tank at Pinewood studios, but we built our own huge circular tank to film all the action when she breaks the surface and struggle for life, and had a sizeable section of the concrete stairs for her to climb onto – once again, letting it all happen in real time with a handheld camera in the water with her.

Silo 17 has this gritty, shadowy look that adds a lot of tension. How did you work with those darker, more textured spaces to build suspense while still keeping the emotion front and center?

That was the idea – it needed to look gritty and shadowy, mysterious and cavernous, crepuscular and devoid of life. The broken concrete, with bullet holes and twisted vines, gave the feeling of grain, and the subtle green hue of the lighting provides a discomfiting feeling. The suspense is in her journey and the feeling that her fading flashlight could find some horror lurking around any corner. We never let the camera get ahead of Juliette. We didn’t want to telegraph the action in advance.

Due to its tight space, the silo doesn’t give you much room to work with. How did you work around those tight, confined spaces to keep things visually interesting and immersive?

Apart from a few moments, like in the airlock after she descends down the ramp, we didn’t ‘float’ any walls to create more space for the camera. It needed to feel claustrophobic. Even when she comes out into the huge rotunda, which is nearly a mile deep, we wanted the vastness of that space to feel threatening, and dangerous – definitely not a sanctuary. We used fallen power cables and broken canopies to close down the corridors, making the spaces feel tighter. 

There’s very little dialogue in parts of this episode, so the visuals do a lot of the heavy lifting. How did you think about camera movement and shot choices to keep the story moving and emotionally engaging?

We treated Episode 1 like a silent movie – apart from the flashbacks, there’s no dialogue to give exposition, so the shots have to tell the story. It was so refreshing and unusual in the modern world of high-end TV production to have the chance to make an episode so distinct as this. We rigorously storyboarded all the action scenes so we didn’t end up with random shots on the day. It’s actually quite a short episode, and we wanted to feel like you have to gulp for air when it finally finishes. There’s no respite. Building the tension was all pre-planned. The visuals were tight and sinewy – no showy camera moves, or motion control, but always motivated by Juliette and her next move. Juliett’s close-ups were shot with wider lenses closer to her face – we wanted to be with her, and Rebecca conveyed the anxiety and tension brilliantly. She makes us feel vulnerable watching. I’m so proud we pulled it off.