DP Tari Segal ASC wrote-in with details about her work on the new Apple TV+’s series Margo’s Got Money Troubles, starring Elle Fanning, Nicole Kidman, Nick Offerman, and Michelle Pfeiffer. After director Dearbhla Walsh and her DP Carl Herse had shot the first two episodes, Segal jumped into episode 3 to establish the world of Only Fans as well as later on a wrestling convention and more.
Credit: courtesy of Apple
Segal is well-known for her credits on Peacock’s critically acclaimed shows Poker Face, created by Rian Johnson, and Long Bright River, starring Amanda Seyfried, as well as Hulu’s Interior Chinatown alongside her work on multiple independent titles, including Bookends.
When I first read the script for Margo I knew this was going to be a special project. I was hired, along with DP Carl Herse, after meeting with Dearbhla Walsh. I was recommended to the producers by Eva Anderson, with whom I worked with on Interior Chinatown. I knew if she was involved that it was gonna be a fun experience with brilliant writing.
Carl and I had very similar ideas and visions for how to shoot the series so our collaboration on the project was very freeing and I felt we truly championed each other. The series was shot a little out of order, I shot episodes 3 & 4 with Kate Herron and 5 & 8 with Dearbhla Walsh for the final block.
Credit: courtesy of Apple
The series was shot on the Arri Alexa 35 with VA Primes from Panavision. The occasional Petzval and Arri Heroes lenses were used for some stylistic moments. We shot with an aspect ratio of 2.2:1 and did our final colouring through Trafik with Ricky Gausis.
One of the exciting components of the show was teaming up with production designer Richard Bloom again. We did Hunters Season 2 together and his vision for the sets and the world being created is always so in tune with the cinematic style. He and his team, namely set decorator Linette McCown, bring so many authentic details that expand the sets that we get to live in.
Credit: courtesy of Apple
Margo’s Got Money Troubles explores the world through Margo’s eyes, a young college student living in Fullerton, CA who aspires to write. The lighting approach was very natural, bordering on realism without getting too gritty. It has moments that feel bright and hopeful but soon the fun stops and life’s challenges must be faced which often led to moodier moments created with contrast and dirtying up the shadows with a coldness. This is evident during some of the solo scenes with Jinx in episode 4 where he is feeling sorry for himself. For those moments, we eliminated any fill and used stronger key lights. In the bathroom, we lit him solely from clear vanity bulbs, giving it a more vulnerable and internal feel.
Margo goes through ups and downs and takes us with her on the journey. Sometimes the camera is whimsical and moves with the energy she brings, sometimes the camera is very still or slightly handheld to mirror her melancholy. Ultimately the camera was always reactive to Margo and the mood of our characters in order to heighten the viewing experience of the show. Always making the most of a shot!
Credit: courtesy of Apple
Episode 3 wakes up, literally, with Margo beginning to put her life back on track while trying to multitask with her new found responsibility. Everything in this show was shot practically. The milk squirting, the baby, the driving. It was very important to the creatives to not rely on VFX. One of the challenges with shooting a baby is their unpredictable nature and the limited few hours we had with them on set. We got so lucky with our two babies that played Bodhi and were able to include them a lot more than we anticipated. There was an amazing moment at the very end of episode 3 where Margo is bathing Bodhi and showing him her phone. We cross shot it and to our surprise, the baby reacted to Margo holding up the phone and gave us a perfect reaction to it. It was really priceless cause it actually felt like Bodhi was connecting and responding to what Margo was saying.
Episode 4 was an especially challenging episode for all departments cause we had to create a WrestleCon from scratch. Jinx, an ex-pro-wrestler and absent father to Margo, is trying to make up for lost time and attempts to give Margo a peek into his world by inviting her to a wrestling convention. During prep, producers sent us to an actual wrestling match at the Intuit Dome and the experience was pure insanity. The fans, the lights, the show….it was clear that there is a strong passion for wrestling and we wanted to bring that to our episode. After extensive location scouting, we landed on a convention hall in Pasadena. It was huge, bare, and empty. Somehow we were gonna transform this place into a legit convention hall with a press area, vendors, TV screens, lights, and the biggest set piece of them all, a wrestling ring, all on a budget. Due to costs and scheduling, we were given a day and a half to load in and rig, and then a day and a half to shoot.
Credit: courtesy of Apple
During the Wrestlecon episode, I wanted to light it in a very realistic way, not too stylised or moody. I wanted it to feel very real and uncontrolled but in order to create that, I needed a lot of control. There were huge skylights overhead and to keep the light consistent over 2 days, Key Grip, Michael Alexonis, had custom pyramid-shaped Silent Light Grid rags made with interchangeable ultra bounce sections, and Gaffer, Oliver Alling, had 18k Arrimax’s lying in wait for when the sun went down. We supplemented daylight with a cloud balloon inside and added a bunch of hidden tubes in low ceilings so we didn’t have to swap the insane number of existing practicals that gave a very off-putting color. In addition, we added a lot of coloured can lights, movers, accent lights, and built some cool light boxes with the help of art department. It was a lot to rig in just 2 days. The other challenge was shooting stunts with Nicole Kidman in the ring with limited time.
Credit: courtesy of Apple
We had to work fast and plan for an environment that we could light and control to create that natural but flattering lighting approach. In general, we didn’t want to limit the movement of the actors or their performances so there was a lot of planning in prep to be ready to come in with the things we needed. Our camera team built out the cameras as small as possible to be able to be nimble on a bouncy floor. An important part of the lighting was being able to quickly dim and refocus our moving lights to avoid any camera shadows on Nicole while she move around. We also had fill light at the ready on high stands to move in when needed. We had a wonderful crew that really came together to move mountains and make the hardest shots appear more effortless.
Credit: courtesy of Apple
Margo’s Got Money Troubles was a very memorable show to work on. We were really encouraged by the producers to push the visuals and when paired with brilliant writing and a fantastic cast, the motivation to meet all the challenges was always there. It took a lot of meticulous planning in prep to be able to be creatively flexible in the moment and I couldn’t be prouder of contributing to this fun and exciting show.
