For cinematographer Powell Robinson, shooting “Coochie Coochie Coo” for V/H/S Halloween wasn’t about crafting perfect images—it was about letting go of that instinct entirely. The segment, directed by Anna Zlokovic, plunges viewers into the jittery, overexposed world of late-2000s DV camcorders, where fear feels immediate and every frame looks like it could have been captured by accident. Robinson leaned into the imperfections of found footage—embracing blown highlights, handheld chaos, and the hum of analog sensors—to make the horror feel disturbingly real.For those not familiar with the V/H/S franchise, it is an anthology series of found-footage horror films where individuals discover disturbing VHS tapes containing various horrifying short stories, often linked by a recurring wraparound narrative.In the Q&A below, Robinson breaks down how he and Zlokovic recreated the look of 2009-era digital video using a modern Sony FX9, a custom tapeless DV workflow, and a lighting approach built entirely from practical sources. The result is a segment that feels both nostalgic and uncomfortably present—a reminder that sometimes, the scariest thing a cinematographer can do is stop trying to make the image beautiful. - YouTubewww.youtube.comNo Film School: How did you first get involved with the V/H/S Halloween anthology?Powell Robinson: Anna Zlokovic, the director, and I have been working together since college! We shot a thesis together there, have since shot a bunch of music videos, and then Anna’s debut feature, Appendage, for Hulu.NFS: What cameras did you use to achieve the found-footage aesthetic, and did you combine different formats to mimic the...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Tuesday, 7 October