Tami Reiker, ASC on One Night in Miami, working with director Regina King, The Old Guard, early career on High Art, Pieces of April

The Cinematography Podcast Episode 109: Tami Reiker Tami Reiker, ASC focuses on how to make beautiful, authentic performances while maintaining the director's vision. Her most recent film, One Night in Miami, is full of amazing performances. Directed by Academy Award winning actress Regina King, One Night in Miami is based on real events, when Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, Sam Cooke and Jim Brown met in a hotel room to celebrate Ali's fight victory over Sonny Liston. The film is based on a play by Kemp Powers, which presented a challenge for Tami since most of it takes place in one hotel room and it's almost entirely dialog. All the actors had very busy schedules, so she and Regina King had only four days for rehearsal. King had very specific ideas about the type of film she wanted to make, and they planned the blocking and the shots together. It was also important for King for Tami to reproduce some of the scenes from historic reference photos, such as the original Hampton House hotel, Cassius Clay working out in the swimming pool, the diner, and the fight scenes. To give One Night in Miami a less static feel, Tami kept the camera moving, hiding some in walls on the set and using a jib arm, keeping her shots fluid so that the camera feels like a fly on the wall during the men's conversations. Tami chose an Alexa 65 and used Prime DNA lenses with Bronze Glimmerglass to give the movie a vintage look. Growing up, Tami was always interested in photography. She attended NYU film school, where she worked on several student films and met director Lisa Cholodenko, with whom she later shot the film High Art. The 1990's to the early 2000's was the heyday of indie filmmaking and with the advent of digital cinema, Tami was excited to be involved with independent production companies such as InDigEnt, which produced Pieces of April in 2003 starring Katie Holmes. InDigEnt's business model allowed each person on the crew to own a percentage of the movie. Tami shot the film on a mini DV camera, and she still gets a residual check for Pieces of April today. One Night in Miami can be seen at drive in theaters in Los Angeles and is available to stream on Friday, January 15 on Amazon Prime. Find Tami Reiker Instagram: @tamireiker123 Close Focus: The board game Risk is becoming a TV series, which seems to be a trend- there's also movies and TV series based on Dungeons and Dragons, Monopoly and a remake of Clue. Ben's short end: The podcast Dead Eyes. In 2001, actor Connor Ratliff is fired by Tom Hanks from the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers for supposedly having “dead eyes.” Illya's short end: Tokina Cinema Vista lenses are a super premium lens. Now the series will have a 65mm focal length available. You can buy Tokina Lenses at Hot Rod Cameras and pre-order the 65mm Vista. Sponsored by Hot Rod Cameras LIKE AND FOLLOW US, send fan mail or suggestions! Facebook:@cinepod Instagram: @thecinepod Twitter: @ShortEndz Podcast Credits: Editor in Chief:  Illya Friedman@hotrodcameras Instagram: @illyafriedman