If there’s anything one could glean from Guillermo del Toro’s work, it’s that he has an affection for monsters, and none more so than the creature that birthed the science fiction genre—Frankenstein’s monster. For the better part of 20 years, del Toro has talked about wanting to bring his take on Mary Shelley’s classic novel to the screen. Now, after a number of false starts and close calls, it has finally arrived as an epic production filled with lavish sets and captivating performances.
Camera Operator spoke with A camera operator Gilles Corbeil, SOC, and Steadicam operator James Frater, SOC, to learn more about what it was like working with Guillermo del Toro to bring this passion project to life, from the massive practical builds that had to accommodate cranes to camera work that ethereally glides through the compositions.
It is 1857, somewhere in the Arctic Circle, where the crew of a Danish naval ship comes across Victor Frankenstein, near death, bleeding out onto the ice. He is taken into the captain’s quarters and nursed back to health as he tells the tale of his ambitions to defeat death and the monster he made in the process. All the while, the Creature has pursued the Baron to this desolate place, marching across the ice to take his revenge against his creator. Frankenstein is written and directed by Guillermo del Toro and stars Oscar Isaac, Jacob Elordi, Mia Goth, and Christoph Waltz.
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David Daut 