Idea #95 - Marcell Rév’s Euphoric Cinematography

Since its release back in 2019, Euphoria has been all the rage among Gen Z and millennials alike for its aesthetics just as much as it has been for its plot. So today we learned a little about Marcell Rév’s Cinematography Style in the Emmy-winning masterpiece.

What Rév has tried to achieve in the project is something he calls “emotional realism”.

In his words,

“It is not really based on realism. We called it ‘emotional realism,’ that is more based on the characters’ emotions, and not how the world surrounding them really looks.”

Sam Levinson wanted to create a show that shows how Gen Z teenagers imagine themselves, not how they really look from the outside. Rév understood this precisely and portrayed the sentiment through colours and lights alone. With a diverse range of contrasting lights and colour temperatures, he expressed emotions in a visually exaggerated way, elevating the connection between the characters and the audience.

From upgrading from the digital Arri Alexa 65 in season 1 to the film Kodak 500T 5219 in correspondence with the ascending maturity of the characters to playing with unrealistic colours and lighting to make every scene feel “emotionally real,” Marcell Rév has truly proved his forte in the craft.

Written and Curated by Arya Kastwar