IN THE LARGE
FORMAT FRAME
WITH MURDER
MYSTERY 2

Murder Mystery 2 – with the tagline “Deux or Die” – reunites Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler as husband-and-wife detectives reprising their roles from the 2019 original Netflix production. In the new installment, the action/comedy formula remains, but this time the stunts are bigger, the villain is richer, and the settings include Paris landmarks and the north shore of Oahu, Hawaii, the latter standing in for an unnamed tropical island. Director of photography Bojan Bazelli, ASC worked with director Jeremy Garelick and producer Tripp Vinson on the project, extending a string of big-budget flicks like Snake Eyes: G.I. Joe Origins, 6 Underground, Burlesque, and Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

Along with carefully planned major action set-pieces, the comedic aspects of Murder Mystery 2 required some degree of improvisation. Bazelli’s approach needed to facilitate ad libbing while also framing explosive action and keeping the stars – two of the biggest in the world – looking their best. He worked with the large format ARRI ALEXA 65 camera and ARRI DNA lenses to accentuate portrait photography while lending a sense of scale to the proceedings.

Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston, Director Jeremy Garelick and DoP Bojan Bazelli on set

“For dialog, we didn’t often shoot a scripted scene exactly as written,” says Bazelli. “We weren’t shooting wide, medium and closeup, with the actors repeating the lines. They bounce off of each other. You’ve got to do that with a single camera, or the lighting suffers – it starts to look like a sitcom. So the question is, how to capture these two actors, their moments and their humor, while helping them look their best? Making sure the actors look good was probably the most important reason I was hired. Early on, we set up some rules about how to shoot and light the actors, and that helped quite a bit.”

Often, the challenge on the 60-day shoot was to keep one lead’s light from interfering with the other’s, especially in scenes like the one shot on location in the Palais Garnier, Paris’s famous 19th Century opera house. Another factor was Bazelli’s penchant for wider lenses, which helped show off the sets and costumes – the production design, music and choreography are sometimes reminiscent of a Bollywood extravaganza. Bazelli’s extensive participation during location scouting went a long way toward avoiding potential problems. 

"THE QUALITY OF THE 65 FORMAT GIVES YOU ELEMENTS THAT ARE HARDER TO GET ON A REGULAR FORMAT"

Murder Mystery 2 is Bazelli’s third feature with the ALEXA 65/DNA lenses combination, which allows him to shoot with a very limited assortment of lenses. The others were Peter Pan and Wendy, with director David Lowery, and 6 Underground, for director Michael Bay – Netflix’s largest budgeted project at the time. 

“The quality of the 65 format gives you elements that are harder to get on a regular format,” says Bazelli. “The LF is close, but the chip and the lenses that come with 65 are unique. For the most part, I used only used three lenses on this film, and each one is great. I used the DNA 65mm quite a bit. My go-to was a unique 36mm that is a converted 35-format lens – the equivalent of a 15mm in standard format – that is beautiful. Sometimes I used that for medium closeups on actors, although not for Jennifer. And then I had a 27 that was super wide. But generally coverage was done with the 36mm. I also had a detuned 60mm that was softer on the edges, but I only used it a couple times.

Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston on set

“I prefer sticking with a few focal lengths,” he says. “When you jump to a new focal length, it’s like a new feeling. On Peter Pan and Wendy, close and wider meant we could show the children together and not cut so much. I believe the closeness of the camera to the actor adds weight to the performance.”

On Murder Mystery 2, the ALEXA 65 and its rich ARRIRAW files helped bring the over-the-top colors and glamorous locations to life on screen. CODEX technology is essential to the ALEXA 65, making it more affordable, dependable and efficient. The high-performance CODEX in-camera recording is the first step in a streamlined camera-to-post workflow. 

"OTHER THAN 65MM FILM EMULSION, THE ALEXA 65 FORMAT IS ABOVE AND BEYOND EVERYTHING..."

“The images are fantastic,” says Bazelli. “Some people shoot film, and of course I understand that. It’s really the only thing that can compare. Other than 65mm film emulsion, the ALEXA 65 format is above and beyond everything. The file depth, the resolution and the amount of detail is astonishing. Even when the information is scaled down, there are major benefits – the bokeh, the depth of field, and the information in the shadows. And most important is the way it all plays together – it’s just beautiful. Once you get used to that level of quality, it’s hard to go back. Many people, including producers, might say that they don’t see the difference. But there’s a big difference for the audience, even if it’s not conscious. And the better the projection or presentation, the more the movie benefits.”

Dany Boon on set

Bazelli is originally from Montenegro, the son of a doctor. He studied filmmaking in Prague and apprenticed for master cinematographer Miroslav Ondricek on Amadeus in the mid-1980s. Soon afterwards he was shooting in New York. Today, Bazelli has deep experience with the ARRIRAW workflow – he was one of the very first cinematographers to use the ARRIRAW format, on Rock of Ages, a teen musical that was a hit for Warner Bros. and New Line in 2012. Soon after that, CODEX recording was being built into ARRI ALEXA cameras, now the industry standard. On The Lone Ranger, Bazelli blended film emulsion and ARRI ALEXA/ARRIRAW images for a unique, seamless look. Now he uses the ALEXA 65/ARRIRAW workflow whenever possible. 

“Why do beauty and fashion photographers shoot large format?” Bazelli asks. “The detail, the resolution, the amount of depth. There’s a sharpness, but it’s not a harsh, razor sharpness. It has a kind of subtle beauty and that’s why they use it. The larger the better is my philosophy. Anytime I can convince the producers to go with 65, I do it.”