The International Press Academy’s esteemed TESLA AWARD honoring Visionary Achievement in Filmmaking Technology is presented to Dutch Cinematographer Dan Laustsen.
Forty years into his career, Dutch cinematographer Dan Laustsen is still reinventing his craft, earning three Academy Award nominations since 2018, and has worked on blockbuster films including the John Wick franchise, The Possession, Silent Hill and Nightwatch. Laustsen is a frequent collaborator with Guillermo del Toro which has led to some of his most innovative and provocative work in the films Mimic, Crimson Peak, The Shape of Water and most recently Frankenstein.
Laustsen’s aspiration was to be a documentary photographer, so he worked hard at a young age to afford his first camera. When he was 18, Laustsen heeded the advice of his sister and applied to and was accepted into the Danish Film School even though his passion was still photography. This meant that Laustsen had not studied film or the leaders in cinematography like his fellow students which gave him the freedom to discover his own style without depending on standard techniques.
Light and color as a primary storyteller highlight Laustsen’s style which also relies on the camera as an omniscient narrator guiding the viewer. The use of color palettes with complementary and contrasting shades is dominant in Laustsen’s work creating images that convey emotion and dimension. Laustsen prefers using a single light source, combined with his intricate use of the color palette. His preference for wide-angle lenses and the use filters behind, instead of in front of the lens helps eliminate reflections and softens the digital look and pulls the audience into an immersive experience.
These techniques produced an intense cinematic experience in The Shape of Water for which Laustsen received his first ever nomination from the American Society of Cinematographers, in addition to Oscar and BAFTA nominations. The film projects an aesthetically pleasing fantasy through Laustsen’s use of gels, diffusers and LED lights creating contrasting colors of green, steel blue and teal with red and golden moments to convey the different ranges of emotion and stages in life. To create the illusion of underwater sequences, Laustsen relied on dry-for-wet cinematography with a heavily smoke induced room and light from projectors emitting sunbeams to simulate sunshine breaking through the surface of the water capturing shadows.
Laustsen believes that his voice as a cinematographer and his choice of tools must always service the message, mood, and tone of a film. His use of warm colors in the beginning of Frankenstein represents the creature’s innocence while deeper hues become prominent and signify dramatic shifts as the creature goes through his journey. The set, designed for Laustsen’s preference to light from outside, allowed for the use of massive high intensity lights that beamed through the manufactured windows. That, along with a configured special rig to create the appearance of skylights reflecting from high above, kept the darkness and desired atmosphere. Laustsen’s use of burning torches on the arctic ship provided the true aesthetic look he wanted to achieve for the sequence.
The pioneering stylized lighting and camera techniques displayed in his films make Laustsen one of the world’s most renowned cinematographers. Like Nikola Tesla, Laustsen has a penchant for sharing his ideas with his peers and students through various professional organizations, speaking engagements and demonstrations. The International Press Academy is honored to celebrate Laustsen’s career and traditional yet aesthetic approach to his craft with the Tesla Award at the 30th Satellite™ Awards.
