How The Last of Us DP Shot The Life of Chuck ft. Eben Bolter

Mike Flanagan’s The Life of Chuck might be the most visually ambitious Stephen King adaptation to date. It’s told in reverse across three acts, each with its own tone, genre, and aspect ratio. I sat down with cinematographer Eben Bolter to break down how they actually pulled this off. From OLED windows to one-take dance sequences, here’s how they filmed this. Thanks to Neon for the clips and support. The Life of Chuck is now playing in select theaters and expanding wide soon - check local listings or keep an eye out for streaming later this year. 00:00 Intro & OLED Window Experiment 00:14 Stephen King Adaptation & Life of Chuck Overview 00:56 Meeting Mike Flanagan & Getting the Job 03:56 Free Pizza 04:56 Early Collaboration & Visual Inspirations 08:12 Production Challenges & Casting 10:11 Aspect Ratio Choices Across Acts 14:43 Camera & Lens Choices 17:35 Lighting Philosophy & Practical Setup (Night Scene) 24:49 Shooting the Street Scene with OLED TVs 29:08 The Dance Sequence: Planning & Execution 35:47 Golden Hour Bridge Scene & Production Approach 40:06 Film vs TV: Creative Freedom & Process 44:45 Film’s Second Life, Final Thoughts & Future Hope