‘Love Story’ Cinematographer Jason McCormick Shot the Historical Romance Like a Work of Photojournalism — Watch

FX’s “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette” is an impressive work of historical recreation, with meticulous effort put into getting every ’90s detail just right. That attention to detail was present across all of the show’s departments, from sets and costuming to the cameras that captured it all.

During IndieWire’s Craft Roundtables, “Love Story” cinematographer Jason McCormick went deep into his technical process, from aspect ratios and cameras to color palettes.

“I like to start with a shape, and at the beginning it was 1:85,” he said of the show’s aspect ratio. “And once I knew it was 1:85, then I just kind of reverse engineered the look from there. Like ‘1:85, I’ll shoot spherical.’ Then I hooked up with an amazing colorist and just had discussions with him about finding these colors and this look. I took that, and then I had the tools that I needed.”

Once the technical framework was laid down, McCormick took a more hands off approach to shooting. He cited photojournalism as an influence, explaining that creating great shots often requires a similar philosophy to taking pictures that go down in history — just stand back and let it all be, then pounce to capture the most striking moments.

“The approach was almost like photojournalism,” he said. “Like if you’re in a room and something’s happening, there’s usually one place that’s perfect. The most iconic photographs that we gravitate towards, it’s one image from one spot.”

This conversation is presented in partnership with FX.

“IndieWire’s Craft Roundtables” is now streaming on the PBS App.