The Cinematography Podcast Episode 325: John Conroy, ASC, ISC

For the Netflix six-part political thriller, Zero Day, cinematographer John Conroy, ASC, ISC worked with director Lesli Linka Glatter to create a visual style that felt grounded in reality. Their goal was to make the story, which follows a cyberterrorist attack, feel like it could happen tomorrow. This approach allowed them to focus on the human element and the psychological impact of the events rather than sensationalized drama or violence.

John shot all six episodes of the series, a creative choice he found deeply rewarding, although he doesn't feel the need to always be the lead DP. “Ultimately, if you're lucky enough to be shooting, you should feel lucky enough that you're shooting,” he says. “Doing all six was really great because I felt that I could curate the whole look of the show by episode by episode. But if I was only going to do two episodes, I would have enjoyed it just as much.” The cohesive approach was important since they prepped the episodes over 10 weeks as three separate films. John and Glatter shotlisted scenes on weekends, deciding what images would create the most impact for beginnings, transitions and exits for each scene. He made notes in his script to track the desired look, light, and emotion for each scene.

John says working with Robert De Niro was a pleasure. “It was one of the privileges of my career to shoot him. And he was very gracious and took notes and was very helpful with the camera crew and overall it was just like a really really good experience.” John found a subtle way to enhance De Niro's performance through lighting and camera tests. “People's faces look different when you light them from one side or the other,” he notes. “I found with Bob that when he was lit from his right hand side, that he looked more severe than when he was lit from the left hand side.” John used this technique in interrogation scenes to emphasize the character's increasing pressure and tension. For more emotional scenes, he lit De Niro from the left to convey a more nuanced and serious tone. Framing each shot was important to the story as well. John always shot De Niro's character, George Mullen, around high doorways and down long hallways, making him seem trapped and under increasing pressure.

A key element of the show's look is John's use of single-source lighting, keeping things simple and uncomplicated as much as possible. But he encountered a challenge with the Zero Day Commission offices, whose walls consisted of several layers of glass. John collaborated closely with the set builders to plan his shots and manage the numerous reflections in the office sets. To prevent unwanted double reflections, they created custom black panels to black out panes of glass behind the camera. The lights were cued to dim as actors walked through a shot, controlling reflections.

John's passion for cinematography began at an early age, inspired by his father, Jack Conroy, who was also a cinematographer. At just 12, John began loading 16mm film for his father on documentaries and commercials. He then worked as a focus puller until he decided to move into cinematography after working on The DaVinci Code. He and his father were able to work together on the TV series Broadchurch, with Jack shooting second unit.

John's current work can be seen on Back to Episodes