BAFTA Leap forward Nathalie Pitters on Articulate ‘ Bring collectively to Heaven From Belfast’ With Plucky Color, Warped Lenses, and Cinematic Comedy

Photos courtesy of Nathalie Pitters and Netflix

Cinematographer Nathalie Pittters used to be no longer too long ago named a BAFTA Leap forward. A colossal honor for her work on the miniseries Channel 4’s Brian and Maggie. Final year, on a Saturday evening, she wrapped that acclaimed mission and commenced taking pictures Bring collectively Heaven from Belfast on Monday morning.

Pittters brings provocative, expressive colors to the comedic pitfalls and murderous hijinks within the gorgeous Lisa McGee–created demonstrate. The story follows three longtime chums – Saoirse (Roisin Gallagher), Robyn (Sinéad Keenan) and Dara (Caoilfhionn Dunne) – reuniting after the supposed death of their inclined schoolmate. Conspiracies, chases, and puzzle games ensue.

Pitters shot episodes four thru six of the characters adventures, taking pictures them within the middle of explosions and footchases, no longer to mention top-tier banter. It’s a uncommon comedy that’s appealing to the compare. Lately, Pitters spoke with What’s On Netflix about crafting visually horny comedy.

There’s a resort bar that just about looks esteem Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Manufacturing facility within the early episodes of the demonstrate. Based utterly utterly on that living by myself, how colossal and expressive with colors did you esteem to want to head in your episodes [4-6]?

I was actually lucky because our block one DP, Ashley Barron, and our block one director, Michael Lennox, position up this kind of fearless and expressive world for myself and for Dan. Daniel Stafford-Clark did block three to educate us [episodes 7-8]. It used to be this kind of pleasure to educate since it supposed that we would decide to be naturalistic at situations, however we didn’t want to be.

There are moments the set tonally within the script, it’s miles suitable for us to be simply with daylight hours and in model model of shaping. And other situations at the same time as you occur to esteem to want to throw the crazy colors in there. What used to be colossal about it used to be that normally when a cinematographer is deciding what lighting fixtures they want to set in or how I’m going to esteem this personality, we at all times use the notice motivations. What’s the motivational mild provide here?

Is it the solar? Is it the lamps? Is it the neon register the background that we then lift? A form of no doubt unusual cinematography, and I judge we’ve all learned this from the total greats within the previous, is that we’re attempting to emulate after which heighten nature.

And this demonstrate can own a reasonably madcap nature about it.

It’s esteem throwing in all kinds of inflamed colors. It supposed that I didn’t want to rack my mind and compare out to judge esteem, oh, however why would I no doubt own a crimson mild here? It’s esteem, fuck it, simply place a crimson mild there. Why the hell no longer? That’s the sector we’re atmosphere up is an world the set there’s no rules. That’s the misfortune that these girls individuals gain themselves in. One thing has came about technique outside of any roughly in model rule that a human would maybe perhaps place a question to to are residing by.

The characters are getting bits of recordsdata on the an identical time because the target market is getting bits of recordsdata. For that reason, I judge having such an expressive color palette, an expressive lighting fixtures decision used to be the accurate decision.

The demonstrate goes to wildly different locations, can switch tonally, and hop genres, however what used to be crucial to protect visually fixed thru the series?

The one thing we’ve actually desired to retain as a visual continuity one day of the total demonstrate used to be the color and that unfamiliar lens, the one who warps the 21 mil. Oh, yeah. Very huge, very warpy. And we cherished it. There own been situations the set we’d use that lens. It’d be esteem, oh my God, I’m literally seeing all my lights. You basically needed to be creative and suave at the same time as you occur to were the usage of that lens.

You may well presumably’t veil anything.

It would maybe perhaps well peep you, even for those who’re within the assist of the digicam, it sees everything. So it used to be actually thrilling. [Director] George [Kane] and I made obvious to utilize that because the fundamental shot on our first day because we desired to effect that continuity from the salvage scoot. We desired to model of declare, we’re staying in this world. Now we own got no plans to exit this world. And that lens is stale so properly in block one after which in my block and in block three to demonstrate the airiness of this unfamiliar world that these girls protect finding themselves in. We desired to utilize it every time there used to be a unfamiliar thing occurring.

What about at the same time as you occur to rob the characters to Portugal? How’d you esteem to own the fearless colors to recount that tale?

Genuinely, it used to be Malta. At the head of that first Malta episode, episode four, a yacht blows up and the girls damage out. What I desired to attain used to be protect the fearless lighting fixtures color, however prepare it extra against hearth color because I desired to position it up for the hearth on the head. We originate with an explosion in thoughts reasonably great with the vehicle. That used to be a exact explosion. And then we cease with the yacht that used to be a VFX explosion, however there were restful some exact hearth aspects.

I desired to rob what Ashley had position up in block one with these fearless colors after which translate them into something that felt extra naturalistic, since it’s a heat color that we gain in our properties, however I desired to set it everywhere the set thanks to this hearth that happens.

Whether it’s dutch angles, making the sector look esteem it’s turning the other design up, were there any staples of the crime model you actually desired to visually lean into with this demonstrate?

We also wanted it to feel new and unusual. I own esteem for those who modified your TV to dark and white and likewise you watched the demonstrate, you’d clearly leave out the total color nuances, however you’d restful salvage the an identical roughly movie noir lighting fixtures. I judge that’s model of high difference, many of depth smoke within the background. We desired to intensify everything. So the moonlight color is even heightened. I’ve got rain, we’ve got hearth, we’ve got explosions, we’ve got everything.

However we also desired to protect it very Irish and intensely humorous. A form of movie noirs, especially the ones I’ve viewed, they’re very serious. No one smiles. So we wanted that however it used to be actually silly and actually humorous. I imply, the demonstrate goes thru all these fantastic tonal shifts. You’ve got this strategy of cult thing then it’s an eerie mystery then. Is it supernatural, then it’s a dismay, then it’s a comedy, then it’s a avenue day out that simply goes thru all these shifts.

However you’ve got these three females who’ve known every other see you later that no conversation is off limits. When we were with the females, it needed to be humorous, despite the undeniable fact that it used to be a fundamental misfortune. So when their yacht is blown up as a substitute of going into serious action movie mode, we simply went into unfamiliar comedy mode because, why the hell no longer?

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Comedy isn’t at all times the most cinematic dwelling. Normally, reasonably customary slicing, framing, and blocking off, so used to be making cinematic comedy a nice job?

Certainly, positively. I’ve shot some comedy sooner than, and it’s understandable, they’re very immune to frames being too dark since it’s no longer humorous if it’s dark. Darkness is serious. I take into legend as soon as being told by an editor, “Lens flares aren’t humorous.” He used to be modifying a demonstrate I did, and I had a lens flare in there. I take into legend pondering, why can’t flares be humorous? And I judge in this demonstrate, flares are very humorous, and it’s all very serious.

We’ve covered a couple of of the extra heightened visuals in Bring collectively to Heaven From Belfast, however what about the pure fantastic thing about the town and the nation? What in Ireland did you esteem to want to clutch naturalistically?

We were taking pictures a couple of of the most horny areas I’ve been to, and I’ve traveled rather a chunk in my lifestyles. There’s simply this raw nature, raw gorgeous nature that would also very properly be rather unforgiving in areas. Hundreds cliffs and steep bits. Hundreds green. I desired to demonstrate it.

We had such an fantastic drone personnel as properly that were serving to us loads with this vehicle riding thru landscapes. It’s a long way a avenue scoot for vacation on the head of the day, isn’t it? It starts in a single set, travels everywhere the set after which it comes assist. I actually hope that we did justice to the Irish landscapes. They’re fully gorgeous.

How To Bring collectively To Heaven From Belfast. (L to R) Darragh Hand as Liam, Roisin Gallagher as Saoirse Cr. Courtesy of Netflix/Christopher Barr © 2025

You studied English Literature in college. How did that affect the technique you define tale?

So my undergraduate used to be English literature with art history. I picked those subject matters because after I was at school, I actually cherished inspecting textual train. With my English lit instructor, you’d own a poem you utilize three or four weeks simply speaking about every line and each notice. I actually luxuriate in digging into the crucial gains of it, especially realizing the subtext and the nuance.

And then in a similar style with art history, that it’s most likely you’ll look at a painting and simply scoot, “That’s nice,” after which protect walking. Otherwise that it’s most likely you’ll search around the edges after which that it’s most likely you’ll title the composition, the lighting fixtures, the sunshine provide. Why is there this rosebush within the body? Does that imply something? Is that linked to the family that paid for it? Does that imply some forbidden luxuriate in?

Once I chanced on out that cinematography existed as a belief, I was fascinated. And then after I was esteem, oh, it’s basically a profession. So then it used to be model of a laser imaginative and prescient of what I needed to attain with my lifestyles, since it’s the most fun thing for me to easily analyze the hell out of stuff.

You salvage to articulate your literature and history background to your cinematography, accurate?

I strive to articulate all of those aspects thru every time I’m pondering personality, every time I’m pondering in this scene, we’ll scoot along with a hotter mild or a softer mild or a extra critical mild or a cooler mild. And I’m pondering, why attain I attain that? Why ought to restful I attain that in this scene? And so, this script used to be properly-organized fun for me because I got to attain all my customary issues, after which I got to throw a couple of of it away and be esteem, fuck it. The colors for me weren’t at all times assigned to an emotion.

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What about when they were?

There’s a scene the set Saoirse and Liam (Darragh Hand) are in a trailer, and we made the sunshine crimson because there’s a chunk romance brewing between them. There’s a chunk of hazard occurring, too. I desired to introduce the crimson in that admire, however then that wasn’t at all times the case. It wasn’t at all times, esteem, crimson equals luxuriate in and blue equals this. It used to be frequently simply your gut instinct. I peep these two model of flirting on masks and being a chunk shady, so yeah, it’s going to be crimson.

It’s a exact privilege to attain my stage as a profession circuitously – however it’s also so declare. I’m no longer an English literature instructor. I’m no longer an art historian, however I salvage to utilize aspects of those to straight positively affect my picks in my job. Now no longer everybody gets to attain that, and no longer everybody gets to attain their hobby as their job. I’m actually, actually blissful.

Bring collectively to Heaven from Belfast is now streaming on Netflix.