‘The Kardashians’ DP on Travis Barker’s Phone Call to Kris Jenner: ‘We Had No Idea What Was Going to Happen’

variety.com:

Jazz Tangcay Artisans EditorFor the past 15 years, the Kardashians have been one of the most famous families on camera and off.

The key to keeping up with the family is access — unprecedented access.That means the camera crew for the new Hulu series simply titled “The Kardashians,” headed by cinematographer Travis LaBella, had to be “ready for anything at any moment if a storyline should present itself,” says the DP.LaBella worked with showrunner Danielle King to elevate the freshly formatted series for its new home at Hulu. “Our overall approach was to make the show look a lot more cinematic — to upgrade and elevate the cameras, the lenses and the interview look,” says King.Often, LaBella didn’t know what would be happening and didn’t have time to stage scenes.

Making use of tools including drone cams, he approached the filming style as “more fly on the wall,” he says. “We didn’t want to over-light the scenes.

It was about embracing the natural style.” It was only during sit-down interviews that he could more easily compose the frame and reflect the styles of the individuals.