Description
Creating the visual language of Star City meant resisting the urge to make every frame beautiful. Cinematographer Brendan Uegama explains why the Apple TV+ series embraces handheld camerawork, imperfect lenses, and naturalistic lighting to make its alternate-history Soviet space race feel grounded and authentic.
In this exclusive Collider interview, Uegama breaks down the philosophy behind shooting nearly 80% of the series handheld, how the team approached convincing zero-gravity photography, and why they deliberately avoided overly polished images. He also discusses testing anamorphic lenses in Berlin, filming inside cramped real apartments in Vilnius, Lithuania, and balancing practical production challenges with emotional storytelling.
Uegama also highlights one of the season's most powerful sequences—the Stasi prison interrogation in Episode 2—and explains why stripping away cinematic flourishes helped the performances become even more impactful.
If you've been wondering how Star City achieves such an immersive visual style, this behind-the-scenes conversation offers a fascinating look at the cinematography that brings Apple TV+'s alternate reality to life.
Chapters:
0:00 Brendan Uegama on Star City
0:46 The Challenge of Zero-Gravity Photography
1:35 Why 80% of the Series Was Handheld
2:17 Choosing Imperfect Lenses for an Alt-History World
3:28 Lighting Scenes to Feel Honest
4:23 Filming in Tight Real Apartments
5:25 The Prison Scene That Defined the Visual Style
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Video By Michael Zimmermann & Dano GS
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