Filmmaker magazine

“Anything That Does a Good Job Everywhere Can’t Do a Great Job Anywhere”: DP Marcus Patterson on Sunfish

 

KESLOW CAMERA

The Cinematography of "Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake)" with DP Marcus Patterson [Sundance Film Festival 2025]

 

Points of review

SUNFISH (& Other Stories on Green Lake) | A Movie of Memory: Conversation with Cinematographer Marcus Patterson

 

SLUG MAGAZINE

“Patterson, who hails from Birmingham, Alabama, brings his extensive experience and love of the outdoors to Sunfish (& Other Stories on Green Lake), an anthology film directed by Sierra Falconer. Using the ARRI Alexa Mini LF with Masterbuilt Soft Flares and an Angénieux 25-250 HR lens, Patterson embraced the natural beauty of Green Lake Township, Michigan, while crafting three interwoven stories.”

 

THE FILM STAGE

Cinematographer Marcus Patterson captures the lake like a secret, special place, aided immensely by Brian Steckler’s longing score. There is a distinct texture to the lives and places we visit in these short interludes, all softly connected by the lake between them… There is a seamlessness to the narratives here, an overall aesthetic by the camera and the edit that suggests the necessity of these four stories being told together, without ever shoving connectedness down our throats

 

INDIEWIRE

Sundance 2025: How 43 Cinematographers Shot Their Narrative Features


 

INTERVIEW | HIGHLINE CAMERA

“I shoot as many projects on film as I can because we also feel like it gives a really unique flavor.  I can shoot on digital, grade it with a filmic curve, add grain and texture, and I still feel like I’m always pursuing the “film look.”  When I shoot on film I'm just massaging the colors into the right spot and it already feels right from the beginning.”