The Cinematography Podcast Episode 246: Catherine Goldschmidt

Cinematographer Catherine Goldschmidt was thrilled to be the DP for House of the Dragon, episode eight, “The Lord of the Tides.” It was a huge behemoth of a production, with many cast and crew members, complex set design and costumes, as well as tons of visual effects to work with. But her hard work has paid off with an Emmy nomination for the episode.

Catherine worked with director Geeta Patel for “The Lord of the Tides.” House of the Dragon is mainly shot with two cameras, plus a third camera that floats between units. For this episode, which included an epic family dinner and dramatic throne room scenes, they used 4 cameras and lots of planning to capture all the action. Her favorite scene in “The Lord of the Tides” was when Daemon Targaryen hunts for dragon eggs, which mainly used practical effects and stunts. “The camera glides along the floor and up the mound, and you see somebody kneel down- you don't see who they are. They're digging, they're digging, they're digging, the egg comes out and then you reveal it's Daemon, all in one shot.”

Growing up in New Jersey, Catherine tried theater and then helped make a short student film in college, which inspired her to pursue film. She soon moved to LA and began working as a camera assistant, then went to AFI for grad school. Catherine worked on the first scripted Quibi series, Dummy starring Anna Kendrick. She was asked to shoot the series so that it could be viewed on phones in two different aspect ratios, both horizontal and vertical. It seemed like it would be overly complicated, but Catherine figured out a way to frame for a square. Both aspect ratios could be taken from that, without affecting the framing of the shots.

Catherine was cinematographer on two episodes of the upcoming House of the Dragon Season 2.

Find Catherine Goldschmidt: Instagram @cgdop

Close Focus: Variety's Directors on Directors with Spike Lee and Bradley Cooper. Cooper is against chairs or a video village on sets.

Ben's short end: A Brian De Palma documentary called De Palma from 2016 in which Brian de Palma discusses his career.

Illya's short end: The new Wonka movie is enjoyable, especially Hugh Grant's performance as an Oompa Loompa.

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House of the Dragon cinematographer Catherine Goldschmidt, BSC

The Cinematography Podcast