In the horror feature Saccharine, medical student Hana (Midori Francis), becomes terrorized by a sinister force after taking part in an obscure weight loss craze that involves eating human ashes. Natalie Erika James directed the film, which takes a deep look into one woman’s struggle with body image, self-worth and shame-driven compulsion. The film opened in select theaters across the US on May 22nd.
Charlie Sarroff (pictured) shot the project, which continued a decade-long relationship with James that's includes collaborations on short films and music videos.
"I was fortunate to shoot her debut feature film, Relic, and was then asked back to shoot Saccharine, our second feature film together," he shares.
Sarnoff opted to shoot with Arri's Alexa 35, noting its wide dynamic range, which makes the camera very versatile.
"I like how it renders skin tones and appreciate the filmic rendering of highlights," says the cinematographer. "We used the TLS rehoused Canon FD-X primes. I loved their warm vintage feel and their bokeh. They remain sharp at the center, but soften at the edges, which we used to our advantage when composing shots that needed to make our protagonist, Hana, feel more in or out of control of a situation."
When shooting digitally, Sarnoff often chooses vintage lenses and says the Canon FDX served this production well.
"Canon also has the FD range and K35 lenses, which I also regularly employ."
In the case of Saccharine, one of the production challenges was its tight schedule, which they were able to overcome thanks to the crew's detailed planning.
"Another challenge that comes to mind is working with the prosthetic cadavers, as the film is set around medical students with several scenes set in a dissection hall," he explains. "We only had one chance to film particular dissections, and as fun as it was, there was a lot of pressure to get things right from the start."