DOP G. Magni Ágústsson ÍKS on capturing the rugged beauty of The Ballad of Wallis Island

By Oliver Webb

Photo: Universal Pictures

Charles (Tim Key) lives alone on a secluded island and organises a private concert with his favourite folk duo Herb McGwyer (Tom Basden) and Nell Mortimer (Carey Mulligan). Tensions soon begin to rise as the two bandmates and former lovers are forced to reunite. Originally made as short film in 2007 (The One and Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island) by director James Griffith, The Ballad of Wallis Island was captured by DOP G. Magni Ágústsson ÍKS.

*interview contains spoilers

How did you first get involved with The Ballad of Wallis Island?

G. Magni Ágústsson: James Griffiths (Griff) and I have been working together for almost 18 years now. We've made TV shows, TV pilots, commercials, and short films together. This is our second film, the first one was a TV film, so we have a very strong working relationship.

What were your initial conversations with James about the look of the film?

G.MA: Originally, it was going to be treated as more of a mocumentary. Then they made some script changes and it became a feature film. Griff and I created our language from there. We wanted it to have some sort of realism and because it was a low budget film, we knew that we wouldn’t have lots of resources. We approached it in a slightly Scandinavian way, by using available light to beautify the imagery. Griff and I have very similar taste. We often talk about films, TV shows, photographers and things which we like, but we never actually sit down to watch them together. We just rely on our memories and our emotional attachment to them. I think subconsciously we are trying to avoid imitating what we like in order to keep our vision unpolluted of other influences. I always say that if you could explain exactly what you want with the light and imagery, then I would be writing stuff rather than photographing it.

Tom Basden and Carey Mulligan in The Ballad of Wallis Island. Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

So, it might be fragments of something you remember from a film, for example?  

G.MA: I think we all have our different feelings or emotional attachments to a film and it was about trying to capture that emotional side of it. For example, there’s a film that is very dear to me that I saw when I was much younger. I don’t think it has aged particularly well, but for me it’s a beautiful film and has special meaning to me. If I was watching it now, it might completely falter in the sense that it's probably just a shit film.

What was your approach to lighting the exterior night sequences?

G.MA: We shot the lantern sequence and the “concert” across two separate days, although they were both shot in the same location. There were so many obstacles with “the concert.” Firstly, we needed a big enough light, because it's a little cold and pitch black and the road to the cove was incredibly narrow. The winds were so fierce that we had to wait for farmers to come and move trees that had fallen in the road. We couldn’t get a cherry picker in there because of the narrow road. We had to light everything using small cherry pickers off the ground and we only had one 9K on that particular day to light up the mountain in the background. Then we had one 4K to help fill in spots where the 9K didn’t work. We lit the place around the concert itself with LED lights which we could get to the beach. Everything had to be super light because it was a difficult beach, with lots of pebbles. You would just step and sink essentially. Logistically, it was quite complex in that sense, but it was very simple how we lit it.

Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

Did you have any issues with the locations?

G.MA: Not really. We filmed in Pembrokeshire, so we had to create an illusion that it was an island. That slightly dictated on our locations that we were looking for. We also had to logistically figure out how to bring our stuff into these remote places. Although it’s a small production, you still need all the infrastructure of being able to accommodate the scenes using small vans and Land Rovers etc. Griff and our first location manager spent several weeks scouting every cove and beach in Wales trying to find the right places. We then had to narrow it down from there. We were based quite close to Tenby and that’s where we found this particular cove. We also had to think about where the sun would be at what time, so there were multiple factors dictating where we could go. There was one location at the cove where we had to get to the top of the hill and it took us an hour to load the gear up.

Could you discuss the challenges of capturing interior scenes in the house?

G.MA: The house was challenging as it’s an old house and it was difficult lighting indoors. We planned which room we would film in according to what time of day and where the sun would be. We didn’t have any big lamps and the house had fairly big windows, but the rooms were quite large, so we would drive natural sunlight in. Early on we had to shoot one of the most difficult scenes for the actors because of the weather conditions and they only had fifteen minutes to get into the state of it. It was a passion project for the boys and for Griff because they made the short film 18 years earlier. We were all in the same small boat trying to go to the one destination.

Tim Key, Tom Basden and Carey Mulligan in The Ballad of Wallis Island. Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

Which camera and lenses did you use? 

G.MA: I shot the film with the Alexa 35, specifically because of the night scenes. I knew I wouldn’t have the resources with the lighting. The camera has this enhanced ISO mode that makes a really fine grain. It gave me a little bit of leverage. I used the Leitz Primes large format lenses on the camera because I wanted to get a little bit of a flatter image, but also slightly narrowed depth of field. It was a slight experiment, but I think I got away with it. It’s very minute noticeability, but I saw a difference with the testing I did.

Did you create any LUTs with a colourist? 

G.MA: Well, yes and no. I usually just take the Rec. 709 base LUT and de-contrast it a little bit, but I have tendencies in my cinematography to use lots of colour filters to create the mood. I used very subtle filters to bring the tone to it. We wanted a specific, naturalistic look, so it’s not very heavy colourisation in it. We had to work very quickly and the weather in Wales changes every five minutes. On this project, I needed a little bit more help, in the sense that when we started shooting a scene it would be sunny and then doing the coverage it’s pouring with rain. That happened quite often.

G. Magni Ágústsson and Tim Key behind the scenes. Photo courtesy of Universal Pictures

How challenging was that to navigate?

G.MA: Coming from Iceland it’s something that I have had to deal with early on in my career. I’ve filmed a lot in South Africa as well and it’s the same thing there, as the light changes constantly. So, it wasn't a surprise, but with that experience you play it a bit safe and don’t take needless chances because I knew that I had to even out in the colouring all those different weather conditions in each scene.

How long was the overall shoot?  

G.MA: 18 days.

Is there a shot you're most proud of in the film?

G.MA: You're asking a very pessimistic Scandinavian who hates everything I do. This project, and some other feature films I’ve done have been quite close to my heart and I care a lot about them. We had a short period of time for this and you had to give so much of yourself for it. The scene with the comings and goings of people on the beach was something I really enjoyed working on. There were so many things to take into consideration, such as the position of the sun, the tide, wind direction and the swell of the ocean. When the ocean was in high tide it would literally be next to the house where we were filming, then in the low tide it’s 500-600 yards away. We had to plan out all those different elements. With the Welsh weather, you would get this really beautiful hard sunlight, but very dark and black in the background, so the image would get very saturated in a very monochromatic way and slightly depressing, but that’s something that I quite like.

There was a really wide shot we did and we just allowed the clouds to part and the sun was almost coming through. It was one of those things that worked with all the logistics put together. It was just a camera, with a lens on a tripod and a little bit of luck with the ocean and a wet beach that reflects the highlights. You’d have that lucky Ansel Adams zone system. We had something wide and black and the whole spectrum of the grey shadows and in-between.

What was the approach to capturing the scene when Herb stumbles into the ocean?

G.MA: That was a challenge to not fall over. Everything just had to be planned. It was very cold, so we would only have one or two goes at it. After the first fall, he needs to change his clothes, so he had to sprint up to land to change his clothing and then back again. In the meantime, we’d shoot stuff that didn’t involve him. The boat was heavy and we had some marine guys who were quite tough and dealt with it. Ultimately, it involved planning the wind direction and tide and all those elements. We opted to shoot it handheld as it was the quickest way of doing things in the ocean. I could barely see the ocean when I went to the location for the first time because it was so far out, but on the previous day it was nice with beautiful waves, hammering the beach. The approach was very organic. We ended up going with the flow of things and would deal with the consequences as they came along.

Did you have a lot of room for creative freedom in terms of camera movement etc?

G.MA: Griff and I have naturally built our visual approach. We’re of the same mind when it comes to discussions. His vision of the script was parallel to how I saw the script and when that clicks together, you naturally get the opportunity to have the freedom to photograph the project. We shot so many exteriors, so it was just about reading the light etc. There are obstacles and limitations of what you can do, but sometimes this pushes you to be creative and that gives you the freedom of the approach.

Do you have any other upcoming projects that you can discuss?

G.MA: I’m working on another project with Griff, but I can’t say anymore than that unfortunately at the moment.