Genres of work you've previously done and titles of some of the works

I started out in documentary and doccie-reality on various drama series for Kyknet before filming Trompoppie. Titles include, Alles Malan S1 and S2, Fraksie, Afgrond to name a few. I also filmed the feature film “Hans steek die Rubicon oor” a couple of months before Trompoppie. This was my first thriller, I was so excited as it's probably my favourite genre, and I have never had the opportunity. I wanted to make my mark here.

Which camera(s) you used on this specific job

We used the Sony Fx6

What influenced your choice of camera (why you chose this camera)

Our project required extensive night-time filming, which meant I needed a camera with exceptional low-light capabilities while still being cost-effective. The Sony FX6 was the perfect fit. When the production house decided to purchase two bodies, it immediately eased many of my concerns. The FX6 gave us the freedom to capture rich, detailed images in challenging light and weather conditions, all while staying within budget and schedule. Having access to that reliability and performance under pressure was absolutely invaluable, it allowed me to focus on the storytelling rather than fighting technical limitations.

The release date

Trompoppie premiered on Showmax in 2024

Who the director was and what the vision was

Trompoppie was directed by Etienne Fourie, a genius storyteller and director with a truly distinctive aesthetic. I am very privileged to have had the opportunity to collaborate with him. His ability to weave layered narratives is nothing short of inspiring to me, and I felt both excited and challenged to visually interpret the worlds he creates. His vision for Trompoppie was to peel back the polished surface of high school pageantry and expose the unsettling truths hidden beneath. As Etienne described in his logline: “Trompoppie demonstrates the consequences of ordinary people forced into extraordinary corners and illustrates just how dark a life in the shadow of a rising star can be.”

How you brought the vision to life with the gear you used

My role as DOP was to channel Etienne’s vision into a style that constantly hinted at the instability beneath the symmetry, reminding the audience that what remains unseen can be just as powerful as what is revealed.

The series needed to feel glossy and aspirational on the outside, a world of rhythm, order, and precision. yet quietly charged with unease as secrets began to surface. A fine balance of beauty and grit. Visually for me, this translated into a language of contrasts controlled, choreographed camerawork, giving way to more intimate, fractured, and shadow-driven imagery as the story descended into mystery and psychological tension.

We were quite ambitious from the start, but we remain committed to the outcome. The Fx6’s dynamic range allowed me to preserve contrast in shadow rich sequences without losing nuance in brightly lit performance environments. I combined handheld sequences for immediacy with controlled tracking shots to mirror the duality of control vs chaos in the narrative.

What your favourite things were about using this camera on that production

Right out of the box, the FX6 proved to be a compact little beast. Its 15+ stops of dynamic range gave me the perfect canvas to sculpt rich shadows and luminous highlights, allowing the narratives darker moments to feel textured rather than flat. The colour science delivered skin tones that felt undeniably cinematic, even when I pushed it with a lot of colour in my lighting. The compactness was a gift on set, making it possible to place the camera in tight, intimate spaces, from bathrooms to bedroom closets, without losing fluidity or drawing attention to the equipment. And above all, the reliability of the camera build under a demanding schedule meant minimal downtime; it kept pace with the production without compromise.

Which lenses you used and why

We ended up shooting with the Sigma FF High Speed Primes. The production invested in the set, which was not only cost-effective but also exactly what I needed for this project. What mattered most to me was their speed, with so many low-light scenarios, having fast lenses was essential. The Sigmas delivered beautifully, always sharp, consistent, and reliable. I really appreciated their colour consistency across the set and their solid build quality. They offered the kind of performance you’d expect from much more expensive cinema primes.

How your creative choices affected the outcome of your shoot

I always find it valuable to revisit my initial treatment and visual references long after the shoot, to see how closely we aligned with that vision and how the project evolved into something distinctly our own. Every choice I made was grounded in the story. Lighting and camera movement became the central tools for shaping the world of Trompoppie, and the technical capabilities of our gear gave me the freedom to take creative risks, we took a few. We experimented with unusual character perspectives, playing with scale and composition, and infused rich color into otherwise shadowed environments. These choices helped us craft a visual language that is both striking and uniquely aligned with the series’ tension and atmosphere. I am very proud of what we achieved.

Any challenges you may have faced and how you overcame them

Every film set comes with its own set of challenges, it’s part of what makes this work so rewarding, and why we thrive as problem solvers. The one thing you never want to worry about is your equipment failing. Luckily, we experienced very few technical issues on Trompoppie, and none that ever put us in an impossible situation.

Our biggest challenge, as always, was time. Tight schedules and budgets are never a creative’s ally, but we stayed true to our vision by keeping the end product in focus. In situations like these, a few things make all the difference: a strong, talented cast and crew, and reliable, versatile technical tools that allow you to experiment and adapt on the fly. With these in place, challenges became opportunities to push creatively rather than limit us.

The look and feel you were able to achieve with the selected gear

First and foremost, I felt extremely privileged to work with a visionary director who trusted me to bring his ideas to life. For me as a DOP, the camera has always been a silent observer, a lens through which the story reveals itself. How it sees, and how you choose to show that world, is entirely up to the creator. Having gear I could rely on meant I could focus on creating, experimenting, and pushing the visuals, rather than doubting technical limits.

With Trompoppie, I wanted the audience to feel like they were living inside the characters’ world, close enough to notice a flicker of doubt in someone’s eyes, yet still just far enough to observe it all unfold. Like giving them little secrets, nudging them down the “whodunnit” rabbit hole without ever spelling it out. On set, every day was about experimenting with light, shadow, and composition to uncover moments that were intimate, tense, and unpredictable. I loved seeing how spaces and characters could suddenly shift, what felt familiar one moment could feel off-kilter the next. Watching the finished series, it’s incredibly rewarding to see a visual language emerge that is unmistakably ours, cinematic in scale, and entirely faithful to the emotional flow of the story.

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