The Gentlemen Season 2 Used Day-for-Night for Action Episode
Cinematographer Dan Atherton reveals how The Gentlemen Season 2 pulled off a day-for-night action episode, controlling sunlight around a house with ten large windows.
Netflix's The Gentlemen Season 2 pulled off one of its most action-heavy episodes using day-for-night cinematography, according to the series' director of photography, Dan Atherton.
Speaking with Collider, Atherton explained that the production had to control sunlight around a house featuring roughly ten large windows. To manage the light, the crew built soft sources into blockers and added hard accent lights.
The final silvery look of the sequence was then created through grading, bringing the day-for-night footage to its finished appearance.
Atherton also noted that shooting exteriors in direct sunlight could sometimes produce better results than overcast conditions — a counterintuitive take on the usual preference for soft, diffused light.
A different kind of daylight
Day-for-night shooting remains a practical tool for productions that need the look of night without the constraints of shooting after dark. In this case, the approach let the team stage a large-scale action set piece while keeping control of the light around a challenging location.
Quick answers
What is The Gentlemen Season 2?
It is a Netflix series. Dan Atherton serves as its director of photography.
How was the day-for-night episode of The Gentlemen Season 2 shot?
The production controlled sunlight around a house with roughly ten large windows, built soft sources into blockers, and added hard accent lights. The final silvery look was created through grading.
What did Dan Atherton say about shooting exteriors in sunlight?
Atherton says shooting exteriors in direct sunlight could sometimes produce better results than overcast conditions.