Peacock's The 'Burbs is a TV reboot of the cult classic film of the same name starring Tom Hanks. This new version follows Keke Palmer as Samira and Jack Whitehall as her husband Rob as they relocate to a mysterious suburban neighborhood.
Cinematographer Jonathan Furmanski (in glasses) and director Jeff Byrd (in green shirt) on location for The 'Burbs. (Peacock)
Cinematographer Jonathan Furmanski (The Dropout, Search Party) was a fan of the original film and jumped at the chance to work on the reboot series. Furmanski wanted the photography to be richly colored, but still feel natural. This look really comes together in a surreal opening dream sequence from Episode 2.
During the scene, Samira is walking her son in a stroller when he vanishes, leading her to run into a nightmare house. Furmanski was inspired by Owen Roizman's shot from The Exorcist and lit the scene with Samira in a shaft of light, rushing to rescue her baby.
The 'Burbs (Peacock)
A late script revision adding a sequence with red and blue flashing lights, a callback to a scene in the pilot where Samira is racially profiled by police, brought a new technical challenge. Gaffer Jeff Chin found wireless RGB bulbs to fit the fixtures in the Victorian set, then programmer Owen Simmons developed cues from the show's existing tungsten look to create an affect that mimicked the police flashers from the pilot.
Despite scheduling conflicts, Furmanski and multiple departments pulled together to create a disorienting feeling for Samira and the audience using warm practicals, a powerful 20K Fresnel through a window, haze, and a custom diopter.
"Ultimately, the sequence was a joy to shoot and I hope it gives the audience an exciting visceral window into Samira’s state of mind," Furmanski said. "As happy as I am with the cinematography, my real pride lies with our crew; it was a true “all hands” effort that made the scene what it is."
Read the full article for Jonathan Furmanski's breakdown of The 'Burbs' cinematography:
