Andor’s second season is receiving rave reviews for its production, writing, directing and acting. The television series created by Tony Gilroy for the streaming service Disney+ is part of the Star Wars franchise and a prequel to the film Rogue One.

Panavision recently caught up with Mark Patten BSC and his fellow Andor Season 2 cinematographers Christophe Nuyens SBC and Dámian García for a roundtable conversation about the series’ visuals.

“It’s extraordinary being on a show like Star Wars because the scale of the departments is so huge,” says Patten, who served as cinematographer for Andor Season 2 episodes 207-209. 

“You just go into another realm of filmmaking. It’s its own galaxy, and yet, at the crux of it is a story centered around this one individual who carries this narrative across the galaxy. The naturalism and the fact that it is a story about people, I think that’s key. We might be in these amazing sets, but it’s the humanity that really gels the narrative. To be involved in that and to dive into the construct of these worlds was an immense honour.”

Nuyens (episodes 201-206) shares, “I thought for Season 2, we should go full frame. That was one thing to bridge the gap with Rogue One, and that’s why I went searching for the Ultra-Vistas. I saw test shots from those lenses several years ago, and they looked so beautiful. I still remembered them, and Panavision was able to get us the four sets we needed. You have to get to know these lenses, but once you do, they have such a nice patina, which I was looking for. I don’t see how a show like this could be shot on clean, clinical lenses.”

García (episodes 210-212) adds, “We always tried to be very attached to the ground. The camera could only be in places where it actually could be, and the shot is only what you really see if you are there. In those amazing sets that [production designer and executive producer] Luke Hull did, we always tried to keep the camera within the set so you can feel that reality and that truthfulness. It feels like a spy film that happens in the Star Wars universe, but it could happen in any other universe. I think that, for me, is the key of the show.”

Read the full interview here.