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ea (Emilia Clarke) and Twila (Haley Lu Richardson) are two "PONIES" (persons of no interest in intel- ligence speak), who work anonymously as secretaries in the American Embassy. When their husbands are killed under mysterious circumstances in the USSR, the pair become CIA operatives, working to uncover a vast Cold War conspiracy. Ponies was a great opportunity for me to create a visual language that felt cinematic, intimate and slightly quirky, especially compared to what most au- diences would expect from a Soviet-era 1970s TV series. Director/writer Susanna Fogel and I spoke a lot early on about how we wanted our world to feel stylish and composed, but never overly pol- ished, while still embracing much of the eccentricity and personality within the writing and characters. After a fair amount of testing different capture formats, we settled on the Sony Venice, shooting 6K full-frame 3:2, paired with Panavision Panaspeed FF primes and FF Angenieux zooms, including the Optimo Ultra 12x. The large-format image helped add a sense of subconscious im- mersion into the world we were creating. Using full-frame lenses allowed us to fully utilize the entire sensor, which was important because Ponies was ultimately framed and released in 3:2 as well. The tall- er frame suited the architecture, symmetry and layered interiors we were constantly working with throughout the series. We also incorporated Sony FX3 cameras with Voigtlander E-mount lenses for smaller rigging setups and vehicle work. After a lot of testing various LUTs over the final two weeks of prep, we settled on a split-tone camera LUT, which gave the image a distinctive feel — slight- ly warm in the highlights, with cooler undertones underneath. The LUT also incorporated roughly a two-thirds stop pull-down to help protect the darker areas of the frame and retain richness within the shadows. Our show LUT created beautiful separation within the frame and comple- mented the production design, architec- ture and wardrobe. It was also a fairly "chunky" LUT, and required a reasonable amount of lighting to properly satisfy the hungry contrast curve and density within the image. I personally enjoy working this way because it really forces you to light scenes thoroughly and intentionally, much like you would with film. Working closely with colorist Keith Shaw and post production supervisor Jonathan Talbert, we continued refining that look throughout post, as certain hues — particularly within the costume palette — would occasionally drift away from their original intention once pro- cessed through the LUT and into the final grade. Those color shifts were ultimate- ly corrected and refined during the DI process by selectively bringing specific tones and hues back toward their original intent where needed. Working with local Hungarian gaffer Krisztián Paluch was also an absolute dream. We had a huge amount of fun together, exploring the visual world through lighting, and constantly push- ing ideas further. Whenever possible we also tried to incorporate tungsten lighting fixtures, which gave us a beau- tiful, organic quality of light that suited the period world extremely well. Mixing those traditional tungsten sources with newer LED technology gave us a good balance between authenticity, flexibility and speed on-set. One sequence that stands out for me is the madness of the car chase se- quence in Episode 1. What I loved about that sequence was the combination of old-school practical "smash 'em up" stunt work, intense on-set camera coverage and modern techniques. What made the sequence particularly interesting was that all the interior car material was shot separately on a custom-built LED stage created specifically for the production. The LED wall setup itself was relatively small compared to many of the larger volume stages now commonly used, but it was just large enough for us to shoot the sequence properly without blowing the somewhat tight budget. The setup allowed us to maintain complete control over lighting continui- ty, reflections and performance, while still retaining the realism and scale of the practical chase work outside the vehicle. From a safety standpoint, it was also hugely beneficial, allowing the actors to fully focus on performance without the unpredictability of shooting dialogue scenes within live stunt driving environments. I was super happy with how the sequence ultimate- ly turned out. PONIES BY CALLAN GREEN, ACS, NZCS LEAD DP FOR EPISODES 1, 2, 6 & 7 CREATING THE LOOK OF PEACOCK'S SOVIET-ERA SERIES B CINEMATOGRAPHY www.postmagazine.com 24 POST MAY/JUNE 2026 Sony's Venice was used for much of the series. Lens choice included Panavision primes.