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We had a chance to chat with Bruce James Bales, an award-winning cinematographer working in film, television, and commercial video production. Bruce most recently worked on the Amazon Prime documentary ChiefsAholic as the Director of Photography. This was the perfect chance for Bruce to use his story and character-focused cinematography skills. Read on to hear Bruce’s perspective as a cinematographer, working on ChiefsAholic and more.
The story of Xaviar Babudar is truly one-of-a-kind, with so many unexpected twists. From a cinematographic perspective, how did you aim to reflect the unpredictability and intrigue of his story through your visuals?
Director Dylan Sires and I talked a lot about framing and energy during our short time with Xaviar. We wanted to frame him in more extreme ways, and one of my favorite shots Dylan got was of Xaviar at the very bottom of the frame with nothing but the sky and a passing aircraft above him. I thought it was really poetic. This kid has the weight of the world on his shoulders, and he is just looking up at all this uncertainty coming at him. We tried to think about how our framing reflected Xaviar’s place in society.
We also wanted our time with Xaviar to have an energy to it. Because of this, we stuck with a handheld style and kept our cameras loose and ready to react. I remember being on the close up while filming Xaviar watching the 2023 Super Bowl and chasing him around like crazy. He never stopped moving and that feeling of the chase went a long way for those scenes. That Super Bowl scene is one of the most intense I’ve ever been a part of, and I think we captured it really well. Our editor, Alex Amoling, also worked really closely with Dylan to craft a pace and energy that amplified everything in the film.
In terms of visual storytelling, did you and Dylan Sires have a specific vision for how you wanted the audience to experience Babudar’s psychological complexity and the emotional toll of his dual life? How did that translate into your approach to the film’s look and feel?
I think energy was a huge focus for Dylan and I. There were times we wanted the film to feel calculated and controlled, and times we wanted it to feel chaotic and unpredictable. Looking bac,k I really think that the film reflects the energy shifts of a sporting event. As a viewer, you are never really sure what is going to happen or how you feel about your “team.” The ups and downs of this story led us to lean into that and use different styles for different sections in hopes that we could achieve an amplified emotion.
This is an emotional story. Xaviar Babudar is a complex and mysterious character. I think we tried not to get in the way of the story in order to allow the audience to make their own assumptions about our protagonist, the culture of Superfandom, and the weight of identity.
You utilized a mix of archival footage, reenactments, and original photography in this project. How did you adapt your shooting style for each of these elements, and did any particular scenes challenge you in terms of balancing the different visual formats?
We shot as much of this film as we could, from filming the actual TV screen during the 2023 Super Bowl to Dylan filming computer screens with Xaviar’s social media activity. Our goal was to use as little archival as possible and provide our editor with enough content in order to not have to lean on someone else’s footage.
The different styles we used pretty much told us what they needed to be. I always say sometimes the film tells you what it needs, and I think ChiefsAholic was one of those cases. For instance, Xaviar’s energy dictated a more loose handheld feel, as did the bail bondsman, Michael Lloyd. I try to really listen and pay attention to what feels right for scenes. That being said, Dylan and I talked a lot about how we wanted certain parts to feel, and then we tailored our approach to amplify those feelings as much as we could.
The world of super fandom is often depicted through vibrant colors and dramatic visuals. What role did color grading and other post-production techniques play in conveying the various layers of Babudar’s life, from the fanatical highs to the darker, criminal lows?
I can not say enough good things about Dylan and our editor, Alex Amoling. Those two brought this film to life in post-production. They created a pace that mimicked what it felt like to be in the middle of this story. I remember thinking about how fast my heart was beating the first time I saw the film. It reminded me of how I can feel when I’m watching an important sporting event. Giving the audience that feeling was one of our goals, and I think Dylan and Alex really took that to heart and made sure that feeling was as strong as it could be.
As far as the grade, Dylan and I exchanged a lot of screenshots from films we thought were well done. There were a lot of David Fincher references, for sure. Mindhunter was a big one for me. There is an inherent darkness in that show that I think correlated with the story we were telling, so we discussed our recreation scenes being moody with deeper shadows.
ChiefsAholic often shifts between moments of frenetic energy and quieter, more introspective sequences. How did you approach pacing through your cinematography, and what techniques did you use to keep the audience engaged through these transitions?
We really had three different speeds of cinematography in ChiefsAholic: fast, medium, and slow. Our quicker sequences were reserved for scenes with Xaviar or the bail bondsman, Michael Lloyd. We wanted a strong kinetic energy in those scenes, so we kept them handheld and reactive. Our recreations were more of a medium speed. We used Dana Dolly and Steadicam for a lot of these scenes because we wanted to mimic the sense of control Xaviar felt during his robberies and then the subsequent pressure of his arrest. Our Steadicam operator, Lakoda Leep, was a dream to work with, and he really understood the pace we were going for. Our slower moments are our interviews and BRoll with the folks we interviewed. These are moments we slowed down a bit to really focus on the characters of the super fans and Xaviar’s lawyer, Matthew Merryman.
I can’t take any credit for the overall pacing of the film. That was all our Director, Dylan Sires and our Editor, Alex Amoling. Those two created a rollercoaster of a film, and I think that is one of the strongest pieces of ChiefsAholic.
The film dives deep into themes of obsession and identity. Was there a particular moment or scene that you found most challenging or rewarding to shoot, considering how the cinematography needed to mirror these deeper themes?
For me personally the interview with the bank teller, Payton Garcia, was a really difficult thing to film. Up until that point, we had talked a lot to people who supported Xaviar or at least glorified him in some way, but Payton was a reality check. Her story grounded the documentary. It reminded us all of the consequences of Xaviar’s actions, not just for him, but for the people who he affected during his robberies. In hindsight I think the film is better with her perspective, and I am grateful that she was willing to share her side of things.
The themes of obsession and identity are really strong in all of the segments about the Superfans, and those were all a lot of fun to shoot. Everything in the Superfan world is super vibrant and extreme, so I honestly felt like my job was super easy. The Superfans were doing most of the work for us.
Documentaries often require an element of spontaneity in shooting. Did you encounter moments where you had to adjust quickly to capture a raw, authentic reaction from your subjects, and how did that affect your approach to lighting or camera work?
I think documentaries are a lesson in patience and focus. Also, I think it is imperative to capture things as they happen without putting too much weight on how. With documentary work, you want to film things as they are happening and try your best not to have any effect on the scene. Because of that, you have to abandon the idea of perfection. You have to get out of your head and into your body.
Dylan and I would always talk about how we wanted to cover a scene beforehand, so we always had a rough game plan. That enabled us to be ready to shift at a moment’s notice but also to be within the aesthetic parameters we had laid out for ourselves.
When you reflect on the final product, what moment or scene from the film stands out to you the most, in terms of how the cinematography helped elevate the emotional or thematic weight of the story?
I think two parts of the film really stand out to me: the scene of Xaviar watching the 2023 Super Bowl and our recreation scenes. For the Super Bowl scenes we just did the best we could to capture Xaviar’s energy during that game that won him over $100,000. We didn’t have to do much besides keep the camera rolling and on his face because the energy was so intense we just had to record it. Still, to this day, that was the most feverish sporting event I have ever witnessed.
For our recreation scenes, we wanted to give the shots a sense of controlled chaos. Our Steadicam operator, Lakoda Leep, went above and beyond for us and got us exactly what we were looking for. The smooth yet prompt feeling of trailing behind Xaviar during his robberies in those recreations gave our audience a feeling of being along for the ride, and I think that perspective really helped our audience understand how intense these robberies really were.
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Thank you for reading! You can learn more about Bruce James Bales here.
