The Menu

Cinematographer Peter Deming is undoubtedly skilled at combining comedy with terror. In charge of the lighting for scenes, the design of the shots, and more, Deming had to make sure that the eerie feeling would remain no matter the scene. He chose to use a blue screen instead of LED screens as a plethora of issues would have arisen if they had used them. The LED screens would have reduced the amount of lighting which is not optimal for the set as it limits creativity. Additionally, everyone was always visible on screen, including the kitchen staff, who are all reflected in the glass, and production managers needed to figure out a way for them to be included but not out of place. Deming states, “When [the guests] first get there, we’re sort of on the outside of the diners, moving around on medium and longer lenses and picking up dialogue here and there. Then as the film goes on, we get closer in on wider lenses to feel that immediacy with the diners. We go from dollies and tripods to a lot of Steadicam and some crane work. Then, eventually we just go handheld because it gets really wild” (Mulcahey, 2023). The variance of camera angles in filmmaking is a key part of mise en scène to help enhance the narrative, the theme, and the tone of the film.