Shooting in the dark: the making of Spider Noir

About this episode

Cinematographers Darren Tiernan and Peter Deming discuss the unique techniques used in the making of the series Spider Noir.

Cinematographers Darren Tiernan, ISC and Peter Deming, ASC are the DPs of Spider Noir, the new MGM Plus and Amazon Prime series starring Nicolas Cage as the hard-boiled 1930s New York detective version of Spider-Man. The character is based on Marvel Comics featuring Spiderman Noir, and first introduced in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Tiernan and Deming created a series that looks like a classic film noir using vintage lights, custom LUTs and a “noir vocabulary.” We dive into: -How the production created a dual release simultaneously in both black and white and color. -Lead DP Darran Tiernan worked for months on LUT development and a workflow that kept every department aligned on both versions from day one. Monitors on set showed what the scenes would look like in black and white. -Why both Darren and Peter used old tungsten lights with Fresnel lenses instead of LEDs whenever possible. Not out of nostalgia, but out of necessity for getting the hard light that defines film noir. -How rigorous preparation, from shot decks before the first meeting to photo boards and green screens on location, allowed creative freedom to take risks in the moment when the cameras were rolling…

People in this episode

Guests: Darren Tiernan, Peter Deming

Topics covered

• cinematography
• film noir
• Spider-Man
• LUT development
• lighting techniques
• production design

Keywords

• Spider Noir
• Darren Tiernan
• Peter Deming
• film noir
• cinematography
• LUTs
• lighting

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: MGM Plus, Amazon Prime

Books & works: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse, Spider Noir

More episodes of The Cinematography Podcast

• Smoke, spotlights, Silicon Valley secrets in The Audacity · June 13, 2026 · 1h 11m
• Bonus Episode: Peter Deming, ASC · June 5, 2026 · 1h 11m
• James Laxton, ASC Frames Class and Generation Gaps in Beef 2 · May 29, 2026 · 1h 11m
• Evoking dread in Something Very Bad is Going to Happen · May 23, 2026 · 1h 11m
• Lawrence Sher ASC: filming Apex in the Australian wilderness · May 15, 2026 · 1h 11m
• Tari Segal, ASC: visual magic in Margo’s Got Money Troubles · May 9, 2026 · 1h 11m